Kathy Reichs’s eleventh forensic mystery thriller, in which Temperance Brennan heads to Charlotte, North Carolina to solve a demonic plot involving ritual sacrifice before the town’s vengeful citizens take matters into their own hands.

In a house under renovation, a plumber uncovers a cellar no one knew about and makes a grisly discovery: a decapitated chicken, animal bones, and cauldrons containing beads, feathers, and other relics of religious ceremonies. In the center of the shrine rests the skull of a teenage girl. Meanwhile, on a nearby lakeshore, the headless body of a teenage boy is found by a man walking his dog.

Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is called in to investigate, and a complex and gripping tale unfolds. Nothing is clear—neither when the deaths occurred, nor where. Was the skull brought to the cellar or was the girl murdered there? Why is the boy's body remarkably well preserved? Led by a preacher turned politician, citizen vigilantes blame devil worshippers and Wiccans, and Temperance will need all of her expertise to get to the real culprit first.

About The Author

Photograph © Marie-Reine Mattera

Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. To date, she has written twenty-two novels featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Kathy was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama, Bones, which was based on her work and her novels. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Kathy divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Montreal, Québec. Visit her at KathyReichs.com or follow her on Twitter @KathyReichs, Instagram @KathyReichs, or Facebook @KathyReichsBooks.

Product Details

Publisher: Pocket Star (June 23, 2009)
Length: 416 pages
ISBN13: 9781416525660

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Raves and Reviews

"Loved it! I'm amazed by how seamlessly Reichs makes the transition from forensic jargon to snappy, funny dialogue -- scientist to great storyteller. What's not to admire and envy?" -- Sandra Brown, author of Play Dirty

"Reichs is a standout...[with] a formidable way of incorporating science with character and plot.... Her expertise is snappily and entertainingly delivered." -- Booklist

"Fascinating." -- Entertainment Weekly

"The lab lady most likely to dethrone Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta." -- USA Today

"Reichs keeps the roller coaster on track and speeding along, page after page." -- Jeffery Deaver

"Her expertise is snappily and entertainingly delivered." -- Booklist