Kathy Reichs hat mal wieder ein neues Buch heraus gebracht.

Wen wunderts! Für mich ist die Frau einfach genial. Von ihrem Schreibstil mal ganz abgesehen. Spannend, fesselnd, packend, mitreißend, mit einer guten Portion Witz und hier und da auch ein kleines bisschen…naja sagen wir mal Romantik.

Ihr neuestes Werk heißt:

Das Grab ist erst der Anfang

Hier eine kliene Information zur Story:

Nachtschwarz. Eiskalt. Atemlos. – Tempe Brennan jagt einen Mörder. Ihren eigenen.

Nachtschwärze, Eiseskälte, Grabesstille – als Tempe zu sich kommt, ringt sie in Todesangst nach Atem. An Händen und Füßen gefesselt liegt sie lebendig begraben an einem Ort, wo sie niemand rufen hört. Allmählich kehrt ihre Erinnerung an die letzten Stunden wieder …

Forensikerin Tempe Brennan ist es gewohnt, dass Mörder die Spuren ihrer Tat so zu verwischen versuchen, dass nicht einmal Expertinnen ihres Rangs sie aufzudecken vermögen. So ermittelt sie mit Detective Andrew Ryan im schneeverwehten Chicago gerade bei einer Reihe seltsamer Todesfälle: Drei Frauen wurden ermordet, alle auf grausame, aber verschiedene Weise. Es hat den Anschein, als gäbe es keine Verbindung zwischen den Morden. Bis Tempe schließlich doch die Handschrift eines Serienkillers erkennen kann. Umso schockierter ist sie, als man ihr vorwirft, sie habe eine Autopsie absichtlich manipuliert und ein Verbrechen vertuscht. Was Tempe nicht wissen kann: Ihre Arbeit wird sabotiert. Von jemandem, der sie um jeden Preis scheitern sehen will. Jemand aus ihren eigenen Reihen. Und so wird Tempe schon bald einen ganz besonderen Mörder jagen müssen: ihren eigenen.

Und die dazu gehörigen Pressestimmen:

“Unglaublich, wie geschickt Kathy Reichs den forensischen Jargon und ihre knackigen, witzigen Dialoge, Wissenschaft und Spannung verbindet. Bewunderns- und beneidenswert!” (Sandra Brown )

“Sie ist Amerikas Top-Thrillerautorin!” (Brigitte )

“Solche Romane wünscht sich der Krimifreak!” (Die Welt )

Na dem kann ich mich nur anschließen…zumindest ihre vorangegangenen Werke betreffend.

Für jeden den es interessiert…das wäre doch ein schönes Weihnachtsgeschenk!

Yet another cheap crime novel.

Tempe Brennan is a forensic anthropologist working with the FBI. She’s on her Canadian rotation with the usual mishmash of cases. One set of bones stands out and reminds Tempe of a childhood friend who when missing when she was 14. Cue a sideline investigation and a child porn ring is discovered. A little bit of tension some history and science later. Mystery solved and childhood friend is found.

In general, I like Kathy Reichs. The only thing I will fault her on is the science. She used to work in forensics herself and I feel that sometimes she goes to deeply into the science of investigations that is really needed. It can be a little convoluted and I don’t feel that it’s always necessary.

A nice easy quick read.

It’s been 11 days since I’ve updated my blog. I don’t really know why I’ve been absent. I guess I’ve been reading a lot and doing school work too. (Mostly reading!) I finished the 2nd Temperance Brennan novel by Kathy Reichs and just started the 3rd one. Woo! Reading is fun. That is really all.

 Bones is inspired by the novels of Kathy Reichs and those novels are loosely based on Reichs’s work as a forensic anthropologist. However, just as the novels differ greatly from the reality of Reich’s novels, the television series has taken on its own life as well.

The main character is Bones is Dr. Temperance Brennan. She works as a forensic anthropologist and writes novels on the side. When police agencies discover bodies that are so decomposed that they can’t identify them through normal means, they call in Brennan. She is teamed with Special Agent Seely Booth, who doesn’t like relying on science to solve crimes. At first, these two clashed, but they have grown closer over the five seasons that the series has been on.

I enjoyed Reichs’ books, so it took a little getting used to the differences between the book and series. I’ve grown to appreciate both. The TV series has more humor in it than the books and I enjoy that, particularly as a way to contrast some of the grisly realism you see on the screen. The series also has its fair share of action, too.

 Now in its fifth season, Bones continues to develop and stay strong. It is definitely as show that grows on you. I find myself enjoying it more and more as you get to know and care about the characters more. Another reason you’ll enjoy the later season is that you’ll understand some of the inside references and jokes more.

Maybe it’s just my short attention span, but I thought that I would begin a new post – yet again.

SO … Who is the most famous or coolest person you know personally? That is, you know them and they know you equally well. Maybe you email or phone each other on occasion.

I’ll go first. My most famous connection is probably Kathy Reichs, the acclaimed author and executive producer of the CBS drama Bones. The show is in its fifth season on CBS and doing well. Dr. Reichs was my Physical Anthropology Professor and lab director when I was a student at UNC Charlotte back in 1985. I almost became a forensic anthropologist because of her inspiration. But jobs for that line of work weren’t considered needed by too many folks at that time. That was before the OJ trial (and PCR), the mass murders (and following forensic identifications) of the genocidal wars in Bosnia or the popular TV show CSI. Dr. Reichs made her name as a consultant on such projects.

Dr. Reichs is pictured here with actress Emily Deschanel, who resembles Reichs when she was younger. Interestingly, Reichs wanted to model the TV character to resemble herself more than the character Deschanel plays from the book series. This last piece of information is according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_Brennan_(Bones)

Dr. Reichs and I still email once in a while. I often wonder what might have happened had I followed my heart with Forensic Anthropology instead of my brain with Biological Science. A few years ago I realized that I was burned out on lab science and wanted to absorb more business knowledge – a real social science.

-Tim T.

Maybe it’s just my short attention span, but I thought that I would begin a new post – yet again.

SO …  Who is the most famous or coolest person you know personally?  That is, you know them and they know you equally well.  Maybe you email or phone each other on occasion.

I’ll go first.  My most famous connection is probably Kathy Reichs, the acclaimed author and executive producer of the CBS drama Bones.  The show is in its fifth season on CBS and doing well.  Dr. Reichs was my Physical Anthropology Professor and lab director when I was a student at UNC Charlotte back in 1985.  I almost became a forensic anthropologist because of her inspiration.  But jobs for that line of work weren’t considered needed by too many folks at that time.  That was before the OJ trial (and PCR), the mass murders (and following forensic identifications) of the genocidal wars in Bosnia or the popular TV show CSI. Dr. Reichs made her name as a consultant on such projects.

Dr. Reichs is pictured here with actress Emily Deschanel, who resembles Reichs when she was younger. Interestingly, Reichs wanted to model the TV character to resemble herself more than the character Deschanel plays from the book series. This last piece of information is according to Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperance_Brennan_(Bones)

Dr. Reichs and I still email once in a while.  I often wonder what might have happened had I followed my heart with Forensic Anthropology instead of my brain with Biological Science. A few years ago I realized that I was burned out on lab science and wanted to absorb more business knowledge – a real social science.

-Tim T.

Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

I realized, after reviewing her newest title, that I had missed one.  Luckily, my mom happened to have it, so I was able to rectify that mistake rather quickly.

This was not one of Reichs’ strongest pieces of work.  It was still better than Twilight.  And no, that joke never stops being funny.   As Tim Gunn would say, that’s a whole lotta look.  Reichs tries to cover Santeria, voodoo, Wiccan, blah blah blah.  It’s too much for one book.

From Amazon:

If you are a long-time fan of this series, I’ve written this review for you. You can skip this book if you want to. In terms of series continuity, I’m sure Dr. Reichs will be able to put in two sentences near the start of the next book to handle what happens in this one.

I learned way too much about pagan religions and medical details from this book, but I liked the mystery being difficult to solve.

Won’t let this blog die! Nooooo! Poor neglected blog, dying of a wasting disease over here. I’ll do my best to revive it a bit. Because I have been reading here and there. I took a kind of reading-vacation for a while, and now I’m back in. I’d liken it to those fancy meals where they give you sorbet as a palate cleanser between courses. I played a lot of iPhone games as sorbet, and now I’m back on the book train.

Before my break, I had read, but neglected to write about two books in the Temperance Brennan/Bones series by author Kathy Reichs: Bones to Ashes and Devil Bones. I liked them enough that I’m going to hunt down the others in the series and start from the beginning. I really like how Reichs fills in the science background in a rather plausible way with conversations between various experts. It does feel a bit like clunky plot exposition at times; akin to Hurley on Lost when his lines all seem to be “I’m going to run down what happened in the last five episodes!”  Still, it’s well done for novels which are very detailed in a field that not too many of us have a lot of experience with. I’ve never actually watched Bones, but after reading these books, I might give it a try.

And I’m still slogging through Infinite Jest! For so much of Infinite Summer, I was ahead of the page goal for the week and now, the project has ended and I’m still in Viewing Room #6 with Hal. I almost don’t want the book to end, even more so now that I know what’s lying around the bend. What am I going to do? Start again at the beginning like some kind of depressive’s Bible? I can think of worse fates. I can only read IJ in small increments – I have a 20-40 minute window of time between shower and sleep that is dedicated to lying in bed with my cat, David Foster Wallace, and the OED on my iPhone. (Yes, I broke down and paid to have the OED on my phone. Hal would be proud.) It’s certainly not anything I can read at work, even during rest time, it’s too engrossing to put it down and it requires too much mental energy to be able to also focus on whether or not my charges are still alive.

[EDIT: I'm glad that people aren't just reading IJ as an Infinite Summer fad! Just today a MeFite asked about how to prepare to tackle the tome!]

So far, they are. Still alive. And I’m still reading after taking a bit of a break. I think that sometimes I go into reading overdose and playing iDig It on my iPhone for hours is the only way to rest those precious brain cells.

17 days post surgery

The past week or so have just been throw away days.  I’m supposed to be still so my body can heal itself.  I feel like a puppy that just got fixed and it’s KILLING ME to not run around and play.  This past week, I started bleeding and got my dad to take me up to the doctor where I just sat in the waiting room and shook for an hour or two.  My body had attacked one of the stitches and formed a huge clot around it so the dr took it out, did some blood work, then sent me home with another prescription.

I have mixed feelings about this doctor’s nurses.  They’re nice enough but they seem too caught up in their own office drama to actually give a damn that this is pretty serious – at least in my own opinion.  I’m sure they listen to a lot of bitching each day from cranky people but dang.  The nurse that took my blood got pissed off that a drop of blood flipped off the needle and landed on her pants – after she stabbed me three times looking for a vein that hadn’t been blown.  Apparently I was too stressed for her to find a good vein… of course, there’s no reason for me to be stressed at all, right?

So Shaun took the rest of the week off and he’s off tomorrow too for Labor Day.  He’s been enforcing the “chill out” rule.  I’m getting ill watching House marathons and I thought that would never happen.  So, I’ve done little stuff – crocheted and sewed, fixed clothing, watched every episode of Project Runway that was on the DVR and season 3 of Psych, every episode of House and seasons 1 and 4 of Bones.  We don’t have 2 and 3 on the HDMI yet, so I didn’t bother with the DVDs.  I dug out my most recent sketch book and put down some quick ideas for some uniform clothes for the chickpea.  Sorted buttons with chickpea and LJ.  Read Terry Goodkind’s new book.  Read my Real Simple magazine.  Finished Kathy Reich’s new one.  Upgraded to a Flickr pro account.  Ordered some business cards.  RSVPd for my 10 year reunion.  Threatened E-baby with ratting him out to Grandpa – E’s current best buddy – if he kept throwing tantrums and being a badass.

Oh yeah – that’s a good tip for all y’all parental folks.  Tell the kid you’re going to call in the grandparents and that was going to be SOOOOO BAD.  I remind the rugrats that the gparents raised ME and I’m meaner than a hornet so while they know nice grandmommy and grandpa who spoil their little asses – they really don’t want to see the bad side.  That stopped a full blown tantrum in its tracks last night.  Suddenly, E’s face wasn’t red or wet from crying, he stood tall and looked me in the eye like a big boy.

The chickpea has been stealing straight pins for some odd reason.  I think she’s interested in the fact that they’re sharp but small… she has the weirdest obsessions at times.  She’s super observant of stick pins but she thinks climbing the built in bookshelves won’t cause her any harm at all.  Um… that’s a little backwards, kid.  You could stick a straight pin all the way through you and you’d still not be hurt too bad.  If even one of those shelves breaks, though, that may be the end of it.  I’ve climbed them before (to show it really was anchored well) but still – you don’t take chances like that.

I need to get some real work done but I don’t like sitting at the computer for long right now.  I have about 15 things to get up on Etsy and I need to start working on a branding for Shaun’s antique restoration stuff.  If I don’t get something to do, I’m going to end up watching the Real Housewives of Atlanta and that would be very bad.

206 Bones by Kathy Reichs

First of all, I will tell you that I have read all of Kathy Reichs’ books and I read a LOT of them before the TV series Bones ever came about.   Because I’m so engrossed in the character in the books, I simply cannot watch the series.

This is not a bad novel, but it certainly isn’t one of Reichs’ best.  I would hazard a guess that as she is so involved with the series, she may be stretched too thin to write a great novel right at this point.

What bothered me most was where we were inside Tempe’s head.  Writing out her thoughts line by line just fills up space and makes it difficult to read.  A couple of paragraphs to reflect her feelings would have accomplished the same.

From Amazon:

“206 Bones,” by Kathy Reichs, opens with Tempe Brennan realizing, to her horror, that she has been handcuffed and buried in some sort of underground crypt. She does not remember how she got there, but is understandably terrified. The author then traces the complicated series of events that led up to Tempe’s abduction and entombment.

For the uninitiated, Temperance Brennan is a renowned forensic anthropologist who divides her time between laboratories in Montreal and the North Carolina. Her pal and partner in detection is the hunky Lieutenant-détective Andrew Ryan, who works for the Sûreté du Québec. The two have an on-again, off-again romance that is currently off, although they remain good friends. Tempe and Ryan have their hands full probing several convoluted mysteries, including the deaths of three elderly females as well as that of a fifty-nine year old woman whose body was found thirty months after she disappeared in Quebec. As a favor to a friend, they also try to learn the fate of a young man who fell or was thrown into a quarry. Ryan spends many hours tracking down potential witnesses and searching for physical evidence, while Tempe follows up leads of her own and carefully studies skeletal remains.

Reichs’ strength lies in her encyclopedic knowledge of forensic anthropology. When Tempe talks bones, we listen. In addition, the author skillfully captures the bleakness of a harsh Montreal winter, with its icy temperatures, slick roads, and heavy snowfall. The bitter weather is a fitting counterpoint to Tempe’s mood. She is indignant that some of her colleagues are challenging her competence, especially an ambitious newcomer named Marie-Andréa Briel. The reader suffers, as well, because Tempe’s inquiries are not all that interesting. They lack the suspense and nail-biting tension that we have come to expect from this talented author. This is a talky novel with too much cutesy dialogue, and the author telegraphs the identity of the villains far too soon. When the bad guys are unmasked, few will be surprised. Another annoying element is Ryan and Tempe’s silly banter; these two act more like lovesick teenagers than mature adults. “206 Bones” offers little suspense, a drawn-out and dull plot, and almost no character development. This series may be close to running its course.

ormai considero chiusa la parentesi estiva. sono definitvamente in ufficio e tiro le somme delle mie letture…

• glenn cooper, la biblioteca dei morti. Bello e basato su un’idea tutto sommato originale…. all’inizio un po’ dispersivo, ma poi le varie storie confluiscono in una e si legge che è un piacere. con colpo di scena nelle ultime 10 righe….
• giorgio faletti, io sono dio. I libri di faletti non mi sono mai piaciuti. questo invece si legge bene, e scorrevole e non troppo banale.
• kathy reichs, 206 ossa. palloso

Dimly based on the life of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, “Bones” is a police procedural drama TV Show which focuses on a series of FBI case files shrouded in mystery. Sometimes, to unravel a murder, you have to strip it to the bone and that’s what this show is doing… literally. When the human remains are badly burned, decomposed or destroyed, when traditional identification methods are in vain, FBI needs Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan’s (Emily Deschanel) help. A forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C., but also a best selling crime novelist, she has the ability to read clues left behind in a victim’s bones. While most people don’t understand her skill, intelligence and the way she struggles to unriddle each case, FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) is the exception. A former sniper, he didn’t trust in science or scientists who go at a crawl, but he realized that his team and Dr. Temperance Brennan’s knowledge are a fiendish combination.

Episode 01: Pilot
This pilot has an advantage before most other pilots: You start liking the characters the first moment you see them. Thankful to the actors, who have clearly a good chemistry in front of the camera. Especially David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel. There is proper introduction to the characters: Bones as a untypical scientist, who hates psychology, doesn’t have a clue about human relationships, but is the best in her job. Her friend Angela (Michaela Conlin), Bones’ gal between work stuff and normal life. Booth, the bad-ass FBI agent with some funny one-liners. And another advantage: The episode didn’t begin with the crime itself, the remains of the victim occurred a few minutes later, explaining in a fast way that it was murder, intro, then you go on solving the case. The case itself was pretty interesting, with some twists in it and a good solution. In between there are some character moments, the most of them preparing for serial elements in the series. Good start to one of my favorite crime shows. 8/10

Episode 02: The Man in the S.U.V.
A good episode with some political issues (like the pilot). Booth and Bones trying to solve a murder, what looked like a terrorist attack in the first place and developed in a terrorist attack afterward. Again some nice twists in the story, but the highlight were the dialogs between the squints (especially Hodgens [T.J. Thyne]) and Booth. Or the jealousy of Bones, after she saw Booth’s lawyer girlfriend Tessa (Anne Dudek, nice bra, btw). Good finale, some unnecessary goofs, nice murder of the week, great beginning.
An all-good episode. 8/10

Episode 03: A Boy in the Tree
I don’t understand why Booth was so mad to the squints the whole time. This was out of character. So, that’s the lamest part of this episode. The rest was quite good. A nice murder victim of the week with the nice question if it was suicide or murder. Good dialogs between Booth and the rest and Zack’s (Eric Millegan) doubts about his sex life were even better. Due to Booth’s out of character scenes I give 6,5/10.

Episode 04: The Man in the Bear
I don’t take the view with Bones that this was an interesting case. It was a boring one. Merely the religious part of it was good. But Bones and Booth on a field trip was a nice way to get them more together as a team. But there were a lot of good scenes in the lab, too. Zack’s and Hodgens’ duel for the hot delivery girl – hilarious (Ange: “The clash of the horny titans.”). And Ange is winning this clash without being in the fight – hilarious as hell.
btw: I find Bones’ “I don’t know what that means”, which she is saying in almost every episode very amusing. 7/10

Episode 05: A Boy in a Bush
Very good episode. The case was very nice and realistic written with some very good twists; the character work was almost excellent; the dialogs were funny. Everything in this episode was good. So, Hodgins is one of the rich men and practically the boss of his bosses, but his little speech about “Let me be Jack Hodgins” gave a little character development. Just like Angela, who came with much more feelings in this episode. And then Brennan: Now we saw her emotional side. And it is strange to see, how she manage to split her emotions with her job – and that’s why she is the best in her field. The talk with the little boy was great acting work.
Best episode so far. You don’t see character development in every crime show. But in this series, after five episodes… That’s why Bones is my favorite crime show. 8,5/10

Episode 06: The Man in the Wall
It was an interest topic in a crime show (and lots of other different topics will follow, especially in season two), but overall the episode was a little bit boring. Bones had some funny moments in this episode: First she was high on drugs in the beginning, then she started to like hip hop music, even changed the music in Booth’s car. The interaction between the squints and Booth is developing with each episode (Booth gives Hodgins time to conclude the case with his theories) and here and there there are some funny moments and lines. Unfortunately it is the last episode to see Booth’s girlfriend Tessa. It would be great to see him in a relationship more often as just in a few episodes. 7/10

Episode 07: A Man on Death Row
Strong episode – with thrill, some serial elements for future episodes and with a really good twist at the end. The gun application scene at the beginning is very hilarious and shows once more, that Bones is not a normal crime show.
So, we meet Howard Epps (Heath Freeman) for the first time, we will see him in two other occasions in season two. His case was good written and executed. And with the race against time, there are some parallels to the real time thriller 24. All the way long the episode was good in its typical way, but the final twist slayed it to a really good episode. This was unexpected and it showed some deep character moments at the end. 9/10

Episode 08: The Girl in the Fridge
This episode shows that Bones can be a good legal drama, too, because the complete second half of the episode is situated in the courtroom and reminds of a Law & Order episode. Unlikely that the team knew all the time, who the killers were and what happened (so the twists were missing within the cases like in the previous episodes), the episode still had some great twists. The best example: Brennan’s former teacher, professor and boyfriend Michael (Josh Hopkins) is working for the other side. And during the courtroom scenes there were some nice character developments for Bones.
Oh yeah, Bones had actually sex in this episode, what a shame her friends didn’t know about that. 8/10

Episode 09: The Man in the Fallout Shelter
Excellent episode, maybe the best of the season and the series. There is the common murder case of the week, yet it wasn’t the main story in this episode like in the rest of the series, it backed up the characters. And incomparable with the rest of the season, the whole team was working or doing something together. Even Goodman (Jonathan Adams) had a lot of screentime.
The case was pretty interesting and heart warming at the end; more importantly are the many character scenes: We learn a lot of history, see a lot of feelings, even meet their families – everything is great. And the best part is, that it is a Christmas episode and you have more emotional and charming scenes in addition to the funny ones.
Still, there were a few issues and really bad goofs, which shows that the directors and authors don’t care much about the rightness of the episodes. 9,5/10

Episode 10: The Woman at the Airport
A case about plastic surgery – could be interesting, when it is good written. But it wasn’t. The murder case was uninteresting, just Bones’ perspective from the anthropologist side about the whole surgery thing was amusing, and the conclusion didn’t knock my socks off.
The clash between Goodman and Hodgins was pretty good and I like the fact, that Hodgins is hard to break, even when his boss is telling him to do so – he won’t shut up, he will prove his points. That makes him a great character.
The episode was still good, it had some funny moments (Bones and Penny Marshall), but I didn’t like the murder case. Pretty much a bit over average. 6/10

Episode 11: The Woman in the Car
This episode was okay, nothing to get excited about. The murder case of the week was boring at the beginning, but came out to be an interesting case of child kidnapping. Besides the case of the week we have some more character moments: Ange is married, Bones doesn’t want to have kids, Booth would do anything to get his kid back, if he is missing, and Hodgins wants to be a dangerous guy. The side plot of the woman interviewing the staff for security reasons was funny at some points, but I don’t now about the phone call Bones made when she was interviewed. If I remember correctly, this was never picked up in later episodes, so this remains as an unsolved mystery in Brennan’s life. Maybe there is something coming, like… in the series finale.
The action sequence at the end was good looking, even though it was over after 15 seconds. 7/10

Episode 12: The Superhero in the Alley
A really good episode and one of the highlights this season. One with fewer scenes in the lab, more scenes outdoor, more character moments between Bones and Booth and with an interesting murder case of the week. This time we are in the world of comics and their superheroes. The writers did a good job with the victim being a geek at the beginning, transforming to a little hero at the end. And we get to see Booth’s “charming smile”, this time with a definition of it.
The case had a lot of interesting twists and the conclusion was good enough to be logical. I liked the more serious side of the episode, it could be integrated more into the series. 8,5/10

Episode 13: The Woman in the Garden
A little bit over average with some good character moments. I tried to have interest in the murder case, because it started good with the drive-by, but it developed to a boring case. The whole immigration and family thing wasn’t very good written. Finally we know, why Bones is so tough (very sad) and we saw Hodgins’ imitation of Booth (very funny).
Nothing more to say 6/10

Episode 14: The Man on the Fairway
This episode was alright. The case was interesting; the funny parts were funny; some character developments between Bones and Booth, Goodman and Hodgins, Booth and Zack. The “frozen pig through a wood chipper” scene was hilarious and the aftermath for Hodgins as well, it turns out that Goodman is just playing with Hodgins (his smiling was the burner after he made Hodgins small). And finally there is more about the missing cases of Bones’ family. With Booth having the case’s files there is something to come. 7,5/10

Episode 15: Two Bodies in the Lab
An excellent episode with two cases, a lot of great twists (despite Adam Baldwin being the bad one was clear from the beginning) and serious thrilling scenes. And with some more character developments and Brennan and Booth getting closer more and more, this episode scores all the way from start to finish. 9,5/10

Episode 16: The Woman in the Tunnel
The episode was average. The murder case of the week was not really interesting and I didn’t like the whole treasure story. Maybe it would be good, when the authors would have concentrated more about the people living in the tunnel. And some logic would be nice, because I didn’t really believe any of this tunnel underground system crap (had the same problem with Spider-Man 3, where Spidey and Sandman fought). 6/10

Episode 17: The Skull in the Desert
A good episode which brings us Ange a little bit closer. But she is not really believable in this one, because we didn’t see her that emotional once before. The forensic investigation was cut short and I didn’t miss it; instead the episode arc had an interesting location. But I didn’t quite get the story, maybe I wasn’t concentrated enough or some points were illogical. Interesting is the behavior of Hodgins and Goodman in front of Zach. 7,5/10

Episode 18: The Man with the Bone
Good episode, pirate themed, with a sunken treasure and a murder. The case is interesting and gives Booth and Hodgins enough moments to praise the times of the pirates and their treasures. Hodgins should really be more often on field trips. The side plot of the missing bones was good, shows that the lab is full of stories, when the authors start to think about that. It is a welcome change, that a real storyline happens in the lab, like the Christmas episode.
Not really a season highlight, but a good episode. 7,5/10

Episode 19: The Man in the Morgue
I don’t know, it was kind of boring. The episode started great with Brennan covered in blood and not remembering what happened. But the authors didn’t bring everything into the story, it just was another murder case of the week. The side plot of Brennan being a murder suspect was not a real plot, because it was over pretty soon or they didn’t give too much into that story. And maybe they should have shown a little bit more about Katrina’s aftermath; after the beginning this topic went down really fast. But I liked the whole voodoo theme, it shows that the authors are very creative when it comes to murders. And Hodgins tried to make a move on Angela – the start of a private story arc in Bones, it was about time. 6,5/10

Episode 20: The Graft in the Girl
A good episode with an interesting case and more emotional moments for other characters than Bones or Booth (okay, both of them never show any real emotional feelings, they are too rational), this time Ange again. A shame that the case didn’t have any nice twists, it just went straight from the suspects to the conclusion – simple and easy short before the season finale. Nothing more, nothing less. 7,5/10

Episode 21: The Soldier on the Grave
An average episode. The case first was boring, but it got interesting, when the secrets of the friendly fire was revealed. So, the first half of the episode was a bit boring, the second half turned really interesting. But I didn’t like the fact that the case turned from a Devon case to a Charlie case. There was a body on a grave and the scientists and FBI looking on the case from the guy, who was in the grave. Sure, one thing lead to another and both murders were connected, but I didn’t like it.
Among other things: The episode was really unrealistic. The military didn’t see that Charlie still had the bullets in his body. He had the funeral with the bullets in his body? They didn’t investigate further? Somebody should have seen that there was something foul. 5,5/10

Episode 22: The Woman in Limbo
It was an ordinary season finale. The bones of Brennan’s mother were found and she finally can deal with this thing. But all the twists the episode had were really boring. I don’t know why, but Brennan’s parents being fugitives and Brennan herself with a different past than she anticipated were so unreliable, it was almost boring and non existent. I didn’t care.
And sometime in the episode I didn’t care about the case anymore and the episode got lamer. Even the cliffhanger was boring, because it was obvious that something about Brennan’s father is coming, especially after the closed case about her mother. It just prepares the story for the second season and it looks like the writers didn’t have any good ideas. The are involving Brennan’s family into the story. Nice to see some family storylines, but I don’t like this story. 6,5/10

Season average is 7,41. It is a very good average for a procedural cop show. No wonder, why Bones is one of my favorite cop shows. I will watch the second season right afterward, but I let myself time with it.

Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs

A plumber stumbles upon a forgotten cellar in Charlotte, North Carolina in a house under renovation and makes a disturbing discovery: animal and human remains, including a teenage girl’s skull, cauldrons and religious artefacts, all arranged in a gruesome display. Dismembered bodies start showing up, and washing up, carved with pentagrams and strange symbols. Panic over Satanism and witchcraft ensues, led by an evangelical politician. For Dr. Temperance Brennan, nothing is clear, not even her own heart as she finds herself estranged from her departed lover. As she digs deeper into the alarming evidence found in the gruesome cellar, she will unearth the truth – darker and more frightening than she ever imagined.

Kathy Reichs strikes again, with her vivid descriptions of frightening remains, and strange goings-on in and around Charlotte, North Carolina. Her quick sense of humour and self deprecating remarks are particularly sharp in this novel, as her main character finds herself more on her own since the sexy Detective Ryan is somewhat out of the picture. Her flaws float to the surface as she tries to resolve this dark mystery. The formula is much the same as in all her other novels. I just happen to appreciate the genre and the macabre side of Dr. Brennan and Ms. Reichs’s line of work. This is a thoroughly enjoyable summer read and another best seller for one of my favourite authors.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

***

Devil Bones par Kathy Reichs*

Un plombier fait une découverte pour le moins dérangeante dans le sous-sol d’une maison en travaux: des ossements animaux et humains, incluant le crâne d’une jeune adolescente, des marmites de sorcières et des artefacts religieux de toutes sortes, étalés de manière terrifiante. Des corps démembrés se mettent alors à apparaître et à s’échouer, tailladés de pentagrammes et de symboles étranges. Une panique générale s’ensuit à propos des rumeurs de satanisme et de sorcellerie, le tout moussé par un politicien et leader évangélique ultra conventionnel. Pour le Dr Temperance Brennan, rien n’est clair, pas même ses propres sentiments alors qu’elle se retrouve au cœur de cette histoire et loin de son amoureux. En cherchant des réponses à ces horribles découvertes dans le sous-sol de la maison, elle trouvera finalement la vérité – plus sombre et plus effrayante que tout ce qu’elle aurait pu imaginer.

Kathy Reichs récidive avec ses descriptions vivantes de restes humains et d’événements bizarres à Charlotte en Caroline du Nord. Son sens de la répartie, son humour et sa capacité d’autodérision sont tous très présents dans ce roman alors que l’héroïne se retrouve seule après le départ du séduisant détective Ryan. Confrontée à elle-même, ses faiblesses remontent à la surface alors qu’elle tente de résoudre ce sombre mystère. La formule de ce roman est très semblable à tous ses autres romans mais j’aime bien ce style d’écriture et ce genre d’histoire. J’apprécie le côté macabre du travail du Dr Brennan et de Ms. Reichs. Ce roman est très divertissant, plein de rebondissements et une bonne lecture estivale. Un autre meilleur vendeur d’une de mes auteures préférées.

Je donne 4 étoiles sur 5 à ce livre.

*J’ignore si ce roman est traduit en français déjà.

My favourite genre of books is the Thriller, or “Murder Mystery Mayhem”, as I like to call it. This is what I read the most & I have my definite favourites, including Jeffery Deaver (the man is a genius!), Kathy Reichs & Linda Fairstein, to name but a few. Now, the reason I ask the above question is this:

I would say that 90 % of the time when I read a thriller, I start at the beginning (always a good place to start ) & read until I really get into the book, then this irresistible force seems to take me over & I have this undeniable need to read the final few chapters to see what happens! It’s an unstoppable force & when the urge surfaces, I always give in! Resistance, as they say, is futile!

I know, I know – this is sooooooooo wrong. Or, at least that is what everyone tells me (the rare few I have been brave enough to reveal my hideous secret to , at least!).  They insist that I am ruining the book, that OBVIOUSLY the idea of this particular genre especially, is to keep you in suspense, keep you guessing what is going to happen, to as close to the end of the book as possible. So, by skipping forward & reading the ending before I have read the middle, I am destroying what the author has created. But am I really?

I know that I am far from alone in this despicable habit, but I have to be honest & tell you that it is not a habit I intend to break. I love reading the beginning & the end first, then tucking into the middle (hmmmm, Mom, if you’re reading this does this remind you of anything from my childhood? Maybe my teachers were right!). To me at least, the middle of the book is the best bit. The beginning & the end are just (to compare a book to a sandwich) the bread & the middle is the lovely chicken salad filling.  The beginning & the end are almost irrelevant & to me, there is no greater feeling than knowing who the killer is, a few chapters into a book (not by figuring it out, but by reading it), then spending the rest of the book trying to guess how in heaven’s name the author is going to get you there. That’s what I love!

So, while I may be strange, I have no intention of changing & besides, who says that you lot who read a book cover to cover aren’t the strange ones? lmao!

Pasé muchas horas entretenidas leyendo estos dos libros, además me leí otro de Wendy Guerra, pero merece post aparte:

1-Frankenstein, parte I: El Hijo Pródigo, de Dean Koontz.

2-Tras la Huella de Cristo, de Kathy Reichs.

Ya.

Es todo.

No tengo nada más que decir.

Juhu, juhu! Versprechen gehalten, zweiter Juni-Buchblog geschafft (Geschafft bin auch ich, und zwar tief in meinem Inneren. Wenn ich die MA abgegeben habe, werde ich mich erstmal in einen einwöchigen Winterschlaf begeben.)

Christian Kracht – Ich werde hier sein im Sonnenschein und im Schatten
Ich gebe es zu: Bücher, die mit Geschichte oder Politik zu tun haben, interessieren mich in den meisten Fällen (Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel!) überhaupt nicht. Nichtsdestotrotz habe ich mir dieses Buch ausgeliehen und… weiß nicht, was ich von ihm halten soll.

Die Geschichte spielt in einem alternativen Universum, in welchem.. nun, der Krieg irgendwie anders verlaufen ist, als es wirklich der Fall war. (Nein, ich tue gar nicht erst so, als könnte ich mich erinnern. Irgendwas war da mit Lenin. Ich glaube, der ist in der Schweiz geblieben.) Erzählt wird aus der Sicht eines Offiziers in der Schweiz, der irgendeinen Kerl sucht, den er dann auch irgendwo in den Alpen trifft und der eine nonverbale Sprache erforscht oder erfindet.
Spätestens hier ist mir das alles auch eine Spur zu abstrus geworden.
Irgendwie hat das Szenario der Welt, in der das Buch spielt, auch einen sehr dystopischen, unangenehmen Eindruck auf mich gemacht; die Identifikation mit dem Protagonisten war alles andere als leicht. (Was aber vermutlich auch so beabsichtigt war.)

Das Buch war einfach extrem merkwürdig und ich habe es etwas gespalten aufgenommen. Auf der einen Seite fand ich den Schreibstil wundervoll und interessant, auf der anderen Seite war die Story irgendwann so Banane, dass ich mich am Stil nicht mehr erfreuen konnte; was genau der Autor mir mit diesem Werk sagen wollte, weiß ich nicht. Ich hätte allerdings gerne einen mich ansprechenderen Roman in exakt diesem Stil. Vielleicht sollte ich mal die anderen Werke Krachts unter die Lupe nehmen…
(5 von 10 – aber nur für den Stil.)

Kathy Reichs – Der Tod kommt wie gerufen
Der bereits elfte Band aus der Reihe um Dr. Temperance Brennan. Schockierend, aber wahr – ich habe sie alle gelesen! Und ich finde die Diskrepanzen zwischen der Literatur- und TV-Version von Brennan immer noch faszinierend. Aber genug davon.

Die Story, kurz und knapp: Die forensische Anthropologin findet auf Hinweis eines Klempners in einem Keller einen Batzen menschlicher Knochen in Kombination mit einem toten Huhn in einem Kessel. Natürlich kommt sofort die Vermutung auf, dass das mit bösen, bösen Satanisten oder ähnlichem zu tun hat. Kurz darauf wird außerdem der Torso eines Jungen in einem See entdeckt, in dessen Körper ebenfalls “satanistische” Symbole eingeritzt wurden. Dies nimmt ein Prediger (oder eher: eine Medienhure) zum Anlass, mächtig Stress im Kaff zu veranstalten und die Lynchjustiz nimmt freudig ihren Lauf.
Oder so.

Das Buch war okay, aber vermutlich auch nur deshalb, weil ich die Figur der Tempe sehr gerne mag. Allerdings muss ich ganz ehrlich sagen, dass es streckenweise enorm langweilig war (z.B. die Erläuterungen der Geschichte verschiedener Ortschaften, von denen ich vorher nie gehört und die ich sogleich wieder vergessen habe; auch die Infos über die Sekten waren nicht besonders spannend) und mir dieses hin und her mit Ryan auf den Keks geht. (Und jetzt ist auch noch ein neuer Stecher im Spiel, my oh my.)
Positiv: Endlich wurde mal wieder ihr Alkoholismus thematisiert und – darauf warte ich seit langem – sie ist rückfällig geworden. Das wurde interessant gestaltet, aber später dann auch wieder fallen gelassen. Und das Klischee, dass der Ex-Mann eine viel jüngere Neue hat, die sie nicht leiden kann… innovativ. *gähn* Tochter Katie ist aber immer noch cool.

Vielleicht sollte Frau Reichs sich überlegen, die Serie endlich zu einem Abschluss zu bringen.
(6 von 10 – Kater Birdie ist immer noch der Beste!)

Declan Hughes – Ein Ring aus Blut
Ein Buch, das ich als Weihnachtsgeschenk erhalten habe. Ein Mängelexemplar. Nun habe ich kein Problem mit Mängelexemplaren; im Gegenteil, ich freue mich immer, wenn Bücher mit kleinen (oder manchmal auch gar keinen) Schäden für 2 Euro das Stück verrammscht werden und habe da schon den einen oder anderen Glücksgriff gelandet. Aber ich wäre nie auf die Idee gekommen, so etwas zu verschenken. Soll mir das vielleicht etwas sagen…? Nunja.

Erzählt wird die Geschichte aus der Sicht des Privatdetektivs Ed, der von einem Zahnarzt den Auftrag bekommt, die vermeintlich entführte Tochter Emily wiederzufinden. Die findet Ed auch bald – beim Pornodreh mit ihrem Cousin. Und dann wird plötzlich die Mutter von Emily tot aufgefunden. Anschließend gibt es mehr und mehr Familiendrama, und noch mehr Pornos, und Erpressung, und Ed vögelt Emilys Tante spontan auf einer Treppe, und sowieso haben alle dauernd Sex oder bringen sich gegenseitig um oder drohen zumindest damit und haben einen enormen Dachschaden.

Viel Porno, viel Sex (hängt ja nicht immer zusammen), viel Inzest, (Familien-)Drama, Blut, Mord und Totschlag. Ja, das sind die Dinge, die mein literarisches Herz höher schlagen lassen. Wieso hat mir das Buch trotzdem nicht so gefallen? Nun: Es war nicht besonders gut geschrieben. Der plot war wirklich abstrus und außerdem habe ich irgendwann bei diesen merkwürdigen Familienkonstellationen absolut den Überblick verloren. Der Protagonist (Ich-Erzähler) war okay, recht sympathisch, aber nie wirklich greifbar und seine Handlungen nicht immer plausibel. Alle anderen Figuren waren auch irgendwie merkwürdig und.. ach, es hat mir einfach insgesamt nicht besonders gut gefallen.
Und wenn es nicht irgendwann nach 100 oder 200 Seiten erwähnt worden wäre, wäre die Tatsache, dass das alles in Irland spielt, auch völlig an mir vorüber gegangen.
(4 von 10 – für gelegentlich aufflammende Spannung.)

Tomo Takabayashi & Temari Matsumoto – Ab sofort Dämonenkönig! Band 6
Band 6 der Light Novel Reihe, über die ich vor kurzem bereits geschrieben habe. (Kurz zur allgemeinen Story siehe “Bücher im April 2009 – Part I”.)

Hier wurde nun wieder die “Hauptstory” weiter erzählt; Yuri befindet sich in ’seiner’ Welt und arbeitet für einen Ferienjob gemeinsam mit seinem Mitschüler Murata am Strand. Als er das Bikini-Oberteil eines Mädchens aus dem Meer fischen will, wird er aber – natürlich! – mal wieder in die Welt der Dämonen gezogen. Da passiert dann auch einiges und nach (oder während?) einem Kampf wird Yuri wieder irgendwohin teleportiert (ähm, mir fällt gerade kein besseres Wort ein). Entgegen der Erwartung, wieder in Japan zu sein, wacht er jedoch in einer ihm unbekannten Stadt auf – und noch dazu ist Murata bei ihm…

Tja, viel mehr gibt es nicht zu sagen. Der Band kam mir mit seinen bloß 160 Seiten extrem kurz vor und abgesehen davon, dass Sara erwähnt wurde (den ich in der Anime-Adaption übrigens furchtbar finde…), ist irgendwie nichts Spektakuläres erwähnt. Naja, okay, eigentlich ist ganz schön viel passiert, aber da ich die Story schon kenne, hat es mich nicht wirklich umgehauen, da ich z.B. weiß, dass die “verschwundenen” Personen nicht tot sind. Die teilweise von den fansubs der Serie stark
abweichenden Namen (von Personen und Städten) irritieren mich an mancher Stelle. Ich frage mich, ob hier die “Fans” oder die professionellen Übersetzer weniger Ahnung hatten. :/

(… das alles hier ergibt vermutlich für jemanden, der die Reihe oder Serie nicht kennt, gar keinen Sinn. EGAL.)
(5 von 10 – zu wenig Seiten, zu wenig Wolfram.)

Ja, diese Bücher waren alle nicht so der Bringer. Der Juli wird wieder besser, das kann ich bereits jetzt verkünden.

Why, this isn’t like the TV show at all!

Page count: 304
Page total: 20,102

Fun question from Booking Through Thursday:
What niche books do you read? Asking about the esoteric or off the wall knowledge bases represented on the bookshelf.  Although it’s a question about niches, I’ve got a lengthy answer:

• Books about writing poetry. I love guides to forms like villanelles and sestinas.
• Books about exercise, from a personal training perspective. Certification guides and other technical info.  The course on how to teach yoga taught me a lot about communicating in general.
• Guides to fashion, from the business/entrepreneur side- thanks to a writing gig I just started.

Also, I don’t think it’s too off base to say that I have a niche for mysteries.  I love smart, funny mysteries starring medical anthropologists.  Kathy Reichs and Aaron Elkins cannot possibly write and publish fast enough to satisfy me.

• I don’t think it’s too

Kathy Reichs, Duecentosei ossa, RIZZOLI

in uscita in giugno

Il ritorno della regina del thriller: suspense e colpi di scenaAnteprima nella nuova, tesissima inchiesta di Tempe Brennan.
Tempe sta seguendo il caso di un’ereditiera assassinata, quando si risveglia prigioniera in una cella buia. Chi ce l’ha rinchiusa, e perché?
Tempe Brennan si risveglia in uno spazio molto angusto, molto freddo, molto buio. Ha le mani legate ai piedi, e sente un forte dolore a una caviglia. Lentamente comincia a ricordare. Insieme al tenente Ryan aveva scortato da Montreal a Chicago i resti di un’ereditiera scomparsa da oltre un anno. Ma giunta a destinazione si era vista rivolgere l’accusa di aver mal condotto l’autopsia, e di aver così stravolto l’intero caso. A scatenare la bufera erano state le rivelazioni telefoniche di un testimone. Ma l’unica persona che conosceva l’identità del chiamante è morta, e ora Tempe si ritrova prigioniera nel buio. Chi la vuole morta, o comunque fuori gioco? Nel suo dodicesimo thriller, Kathy Reichs ci regala una continua serie di brividi, e una tensione quasi insostenibile dalla prima all’ultima pagina.
Kathy Reichs è nata a Chicago e lavora come antropologa forense nel North Carolina e nella provincia canadese del Québec. Dei suoi undici libri precedenti, tutti pubblicati da Rizzoli e tradotti in oltre 20 lingue, ricordiamo Carne e ossa (2006), Skeleton (2007) e Le ossa del diavolo (2008).

Synopsis from Amazon:

Under the microscope, the outer bone surface is a moonscape of craters…

The skeleton is that of a young girl, no more than fourteen years old – and forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan is struggling to keep her emotions in check.

A nagging in her subconscious won’t let up. A memory triggered, deep in her hindbrain – the disappearance of a childhood friend; no warning, no explanation…

Detective Andrew Ryan is working a series of parallel cases, and requires Tempe’s forensic expertise. Three missing persons, three unidentified bodies – all female, all early-to-mid teens… Could Tempe’s skeleton be yet another in this tragic line of young victims? Or is she over-reacting, making connections where none exist?

Working on instinct, Tempe takes matters into her own hands. But she couldn’t have predicted where this investigation would lead, or the horrors it would eventually uncover… Can Tempe maintain a professional distance as the past catches up with her in this, her most deeply personal case yet?

I have only just started reading crime novels and this is the first Kathy Reich’s book I have read – and it certainly encourages me to read more of this genre and more of her work.

In this novel, Tempe is working with several skeletons – most of them from Ryan’s missing girls and cold cases. Except, it all gets a little personal. When a young girl her friend disappeared without a trace, and Tempe worries that one of the skeletons is her friend. With this in mind, she and her sister start their own investigation, which leads them into danger….

This was an exciting book with plenty of turns and twists and I didn’t work out the ending. It seemed very realistic – full of scientific knowledge and crime knowledge. Reich’s writing is engaging and gripping. She writes about more than just the crimes, there is love and friendship and family explored too, adding depth to an already good book. Through these she is able to explore the characters more fully.

My only complaints were lots of the conversation was in French, which then had to be translated, and there was so much science I didn’t understand! Other than that, this was a good book and well worth reading.

8/10