by Kathy Reichs
Part of Temperance Brennan, book 6
First published 2004
Dr. Temperance Brennan prepares for her first vacation in years when charred infant remains surface in a Charlotte woodstove. The forensic anthropologist's romantic plans crumble as more cases pile up. A plane crashes in a North Carolina cornfield, leaving two victims burned beyond identification and covered in an unknown black substance. At a remote farm, Brennan discovers bones that appear animal in origin but prove shocking under laboratory analysis. X rays and DNA results make no sense. Someone shadows Brennan and her daughter Katy around Charlotte's sweltering summer streets. Katy's new boyfriend raises red flags. Personal decisions about emotional commitment hang in the balance while Brennan races to solve cases that threaten everything she holds dear. The bones demand answers, but someone works hard to keep those answers buried.
Genres: suspense, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: amateur-sleuth, personal-stakes
Setting: Charlotte, North Carolina
383 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Pocket Star
Content warnings: death, violence