Evil Bones, Kathy Reichs
Evil Bones, Kathy Reichs
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Evil Bones

Author: Kathy Reichs

Narrator: Linda Emond

Unabridged: 8 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 11/18/2025


Synopsis

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, magnetic “thriller of the highest order” (Bookreporter) featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself enmeshed in a series of grisly animal killings that escalate into something far more sinister.

Small creatures—a rat, a rabbit, a squirrel—have been turning up throughout Charlotte, North Carolina, mutilated and displayed in a bizarre manner. But one day, as Tempe is relaxing at home alongside her aimless, moody great-niece Ruthie, she’s diverted by a disturbing call. The perp is upping the ante. This find could be human.

Tempe visits the scene and discovers that the victim is a dog. Someone’s pet. As one who has always found animal cruelty abhorrent, Tempe agrees to help apprehend the person responsible, and she acquires an equally outraged ally in semi-retired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell. Needing a better understanding of possible motives, Tempe seeks input from a forensic psychologist. The doctor has no definitive answer but offers several possibilities, warning that the escalating pattern of aggression suggests even more macabre discoveries—and a shift in the perp’s focus to humans.

And then it happens. A woman is found disfigured and posed in a manner that mimics the animal killings. Subsequently, people Tempe cares about begin to go missing until it becomes clear she is being taunted, the target in a sick game that has her and Slidell racing against a ticking clock. In this “grisly mystery that keeps us guessing” (Booklist), Tempe faces a terrifying question: “What is pure evil?”

About Kathy Reichs

We know the theory about life imitating art as describes by Oscar Wilde, but in her case, the writings of author, Kathy Reichs, is more that her art writing imitates her life. Riechs has many degrees in forensic anthropology and academia. She is one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists who are certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. Many television fans will recognize her main character in her books, Temperance "Tempe" Brennan as the main character in the Fox series, Bones. The series is loosely based on Reich's books and her professional experiences. She has even been a guest participating in a few episodes. Emily Deschanel plays Temperance "Bones" Brennan, the man character in the series.

Author Reichs has had a very diverse career aside from her success as a premier author of nineteen novels. She has consulted in Tanzania, to testify at the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Assisted in the Highlands of Guatemala, and served as a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team to assist with the disaster at the World Trade Center.

Reichs describes herself as "fastidiously conscientious about getting the science right" in her books.......just as she would be when conducting an actual investigation. She relies on her true life experiences when writing her books........art imitating life. She has been known to say that anything she described in a book actually happened in real life. She was an expert witness in the Casey Anthony case. She refused at first, but felt it necessary when Anthony began to be tried in the press instead of in the court of law. She did a full skeletal analysis of Anthony's daughter, Caylee, and could not determine the cause of death, but concluded that there was no evidence of child abuse or malnutrition. Sometimes life can be a lot more puzzling than art.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Linda on September 15, 2025

I received a copy for review purposes. All opinions are honest and mine alone. It’s been a few years since I’ve read a Temperance Brennan book and unfortunately, EVIL BONES is not the title to convince me the series is worth diving back into. A few things are missing from this novel: much of the foren......more

Goodreads review by April on October 13, 2025

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Trigger warnings: animal cruelty, animal death Kathy Reichs delivers another classic Temperance Brennan mystery, balancing forensic detail with psychological unease. Evil Bo......more

Goodreads review by Candace on September 30, 2025

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoy this series, it’s like a combo of police procedural and psychological thriller all in one. Even though the TV series Bones is loosely based on this, the books are much different. As per the usual for books like this,......more

Goodreads review by Amy on August 11, 2025

Someone in Charlotte is mutilating animals and displaying them in a disturbing manner. The animals are getting larger, and forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan and sort-of retired detective Slidell are concerned that the perpetrator may be working his or her way up to humans. In a subplot, Tem......more

Goodreads review by Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle on August 12, 2025

Alright, let’s get this out of the way: Evil Bones is like that slightly disappointing episode of your favorite show where the main character wanders off into a weird side quest, and you’re left clutching your popcorn wondering if you accidentally tuned into the wrong channel. Kathy Reichs has been......more


Quotes

"Narrator Linda Emond's deliberate pacing and the building tension of her delivery create a compelling listen. The latest installment of the Temperance Brennan series finds the forensic anthropologist in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her volatile niece, Ruthie, when a string of small-animal mutilations escalates to the murder of a woman. Tempe partners with semiretired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell to find out who’s behind the violence. As they get closer to the truth, people in Tempe’s life begin to go missing, and she and Skinny must confront questions about the nature of evil. Emond does an excellent job of balancing the scientific aspects of Temperance Brennan’s work and the horror of the violence."

"Narrator Linda Emond's deliberate pacing and the building tension of her delivery create a compelling listen. The latest installment of the Temperance Brennan series finds the forensic anthropologist in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her volatile niece, Ruthie, when a string of small-animal mutilations escalates to the murder of a woman. Tempe partners with semiretired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell to find out who’s behind the violence. As they get closer to the truth, people in Tempe’s life begin to go missing, and she and Skinny must confront questions about the nature of evil. Emond does an excellent job of balancing the scientific aspects of Temperance Brennan’s work and the horror of the violence."