As I mentioned in the Christmas post I received almost all of the books by author Kathy Reichs. If you watch the show “Bones” her name should sound familiar. The show and the books are based on her life as a Forensic Anthropologist. Don’t get confused though, the books & the show are two different things and aren’t based on each other. The only thing the two have in common is the name Temperance Brennan.

Anyway, since I was missing the first few books I went ahead and ordered them from Amazon and I haven’t been able to put them down since they arrived. I’ve already finished the first three books and I’m working on a fourth at the moment. I did end up reading one of the books out of order though but I didn’t find myself confused. I did question a few things that were mentioned but once I realized what I did, it was cleared up. I guess that means I finished the first two books and the fourth and I’m now working on the third in the series. That’s not confusing right? I actually finished the three books in about two days. I kept telling myself I’d take a break but it never happened. I think I might be a compulsive reader. Once I start a book I need to finish it. It’s very hard for me to stop and step away from what I’m reading.

As many of you know, I mostly read True Crime. That’s just how I roll and what I enjoy. Since these books are about crime, murder & mayhem I figured it would be pretty easy for me to read them and to enjoy them and I was 100% right. I think it helps knowing that some of the cases while not real cases, were loosely based on various crimes that Reichs did work on. As far as the writing goes, the books are very easy to read and in my opinion well written. Her first book actually won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel and after reading it I can see why.

Here’s a list of her works:

•Déjà Dead (1997)
•Death du Jour (1999)
•Deadly Decisions (2000)
•Fatal Voyage (2001)
•Grave Secrets (2002)
•Bare Bones (2003)
•Monday Mourning (2004)
•Cross Bones (2005)
•Break No Bones (2006)
•Bones to Ashes (2007)
•Devil Bones (2008)
•206 Bones (2009)

If you enjoy crime related fiction then I highly suggest these books. They’ve been compared to the books by Patricia Cornwell that features Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a medical examiner. I’ve actually tired to read some of those books though and just couldn’t get into them. Besides, there are only about 77 Forensic Anthropologists and how many medical examiners? Exactly. Dr. Brennan receives extra points just for that alone.

If you’re interested in checking out her books here is the link to her Amazon author page. Most of her books are either $7.99 or $9.99 expect for a few like the 10th Anniversary edition of “Deja Dead” and her newest “206 Bones” which I think is only out in hardback at the moment.

If you’re looking for something new to read I highly suggest these books but I also suggest that you do read them in order.