Review: 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

Recommended for: mystery lovers and fans of the Bones T.V. show (though not to be compared as the show was inspired by Reichs and only borrows the main character)

Teaser Quote:
Had I been grabbed at home? On the street? In my car? Outside the Edifice Wilfrid-Derome? Inside the lab?

Was my captor a random predator and I a random victim? Had I been targeted because of who I am? Revenge sought by a former accused? By a conspiracy-theorist next of kin? What case had I been working on?

My rating: 4/5

My thoughts:

Temperance Brennan is back again starring in the 12th book of the series by Kathy Reichs.

The story begins with Brennan hog-tied and trapped in an underground tomb. As she decides how to get herself out, she goes over recent events in an attempt to figure out just how she got there in the first place. Throughout the book, we jump between the present and the past, always left eager to find out just how she will come to free herself and ultimately who the perpetrator was.

From what Brennan recalls, she was working a case involving the murder of elderly ladies. Were they related & just why (or how) could someone be so cold to hurt the innocent women? Aside from the murder investigations, it is brought to Brennan's attention that someone may be out to sabotage her career. Lucky for her (or us?), Brennan is working alongside detective/ex-boyfriend Andrew Ryan. The banter between Brennan and Ryan added an enjoyable/flirty element to the book that I hope to see more of in the future.

I was a little disappointed that I had figured out part of the ending about halfway through the book and didn't feel the 'sitting on the edge of my seat' suspense I had anticipated. Reich's ability to write about the topic of forensic anthropology without feeling like I was in a university lecture was refreshing. Newcomers to the series need not worry as you don't have to begin at book #1 (though I'm sure having a background may have been beneficial - I'll let you know later!).

Other reviews on 206 Bones worth checking out:
Books N' Border Collies
This Girl's Ever Expanding Library

Word Verification Balderdash

A fun & exciting weekly meme over at Sheila's blog http://bookjourney.wordpress.com/

All you need to do is write down a few of those crazy word verifications when you post and make up your own definition.

My words this week:

pursest - a collector of high-end handbags

mulnet - french slang word referring to assaulting someone for the way they look. The word can be traced back to the infamous mullet hairstyle.

Thoughtful Thursday - September 3, 2009

The wonderful world of books enriches our lives by giving us the opportunity to experience, well pretty much anything one can imagine! We can be transported to a new time or place, experience pure joy or extreme sadness, become a president or a slave etc. etc.

Where has your book taken you this week? What have you learned?

Comment then post a link to this post on your blog for others to find their way here and join in on the fun :)
********************************************************************************

This week I was a forensic pathologist while reading 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs. Not only was I helping to solve crime, I became a victim...kidnapped & left to die in a unground tomb, but of course, I survived :) I learned way to much about bones, especially teeth!

I just started The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks yesterday. I am a teenage girl, angry about her parents divorce three years earlier only to be shipped of to spend the summer with my dad.

Giveaway: The Last Song

Not only am I super excited for this release next Tuesday, I have the opportunity to share the love with one lucky winner :)

#1 bestselling author Nicholas Sparks's new novel is at once a compelling family drama and a heartrending tale of young love.

Seventeen year old Veronica "Ronnie" Miller's life was turned upside-down when her parents divorced and her father moved from New York City to Wilmington, North Carolina. Three years later, she remains angry and alientated from her parents, especially her father...until her mother decides it would be in everyone's best interest if she spent the summer in Wilmington with him. Ronnie's father, a former concert pianist and teacher, is living a quiet life in the beach town, immersed in creating a work of art that will become the centerpiece of a local church.

The tale that unfolds is an unforgettable story of love on many levels--first love, love between parents and children -- that demonstrates, as only a Nicholas Sparks novel can, the many ways that love can break our hearts...and heal them.


Watch for my review early next week :)

For aspiring writers, I came across a couple of videos that may interest you :)


Nicholas Sparks - Video 1

Nicholas Sparks - Video 2



now for the rules :)

Contest End Date: Sept 15, 2009

Open to Canadian & US addresses only

For one entry, comment below with your email address

Additional entries:

+2 for being a follower

+3 for promoting the contest on your blog (please leave a comment with link)

+4 for referring a friend ( just get them to mention your name & blog)

Good luck everyone!

"Waiting On" Wednesday

This weekly event is hosted by Jill at http://breakingthespine.blogspot.com/

My can't wait to read book this week is:

Release date: Oct 20

I love the spin Malcolm Gladwell puts on things we take for granted OR simple things never think about

from cover:
What is the difference between choking and panicking? Why are there dozens of varieties of mustard-but only one variety of ketchup? What do football players teach us about how to hire teachers? What does hair dye tell us about the history of the 20th century?

In the past decade, Malcolm Gladwell has written three books that have radically changed how we understand our world and ourselves: The Tipping Point; Blink; and Outliers. Now, in What the Dog Saw, he brings together, for the first time, the best of his writing from TheNew Yorker over the same period.

Here is the bittersweet tale of the inventor of the birth control pill, and the dazzling inventions of the pasta sauce pioneer Howard Moscowitz. Gladwell sits with Ron Popeil, the king of the American kitchen, as he sells rotisserie ovens, and divines the secrets of Cesar Millan, the "dog whisperer" who can calm savage animals with the touch of his hand. He explores intelligence tests and ethnic profiling and "hindsight bias" and why it was that everyone in Silicon Valley once tripped over themselves to hire the same college graduate.

"Good writing," Gladwell says in his preface, "does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the strength of its ability to engage you, to make you think, to give you a glimpse into someone else's head."What the Dog Saw is yet another example of the buoyant spirit and unflagging curiosity that have made Malcolm Gladwell our most brilliant investigator of the hidden extraordinary.