Tapping out of the Bones series after 23 books

A little bit of background📃

I've been a longtime fan of the Bones series, following Dr Tempe Brennan and her forensic anthropology work through all kinds of cases. The books inspired the long-running TV series, Bones, starring Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz. I have read 23 of the books and have been I've been fascinated by the science and the crimes that Tempe and her police colleagues have investigated.

Tempe is a forensic anthropologist who works out of both Montreal and North Carolina for their respective Chief Medical Examiner bureaus. Like Jonathan Kellerman's child psychology background, Kathy Reich's expertise shines through in the novels. Dr Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the CME bureaus featured in the books, and one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She sits on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina and continues to be called as an expert witness in criminal cases.

The books used to be interesting and thought-provoking, but after 23 novels, I am sad to say that I'm tapping out. Here is my review of Books 22 and 23 that explains my decision.

The bone hacker | Published August 2023 | Read October 2023

The story📖

The book starts off in Montreal where Tempe is called in to examine a victim of a lightning strike. Her expertise is then required elsewhere, and Tempe travels to the Turks and Caicos islands to assist a local detective. There is a grisly case to investigate involving the serial killing of young men whose left hands have been cut off by the perpetrator.

My thoughts on the book💭

The bone hacker is only interesting for the forensic science and the new location. Reichs usually sets the Tempe stories in Montreal and the Carolinas but sometimes has Tempe travel to other locations to assist. I liked the Turks and Caicos location and the cast of new criminal investigators with whom Tempe collaborated. Of course, you do have to park reality at the door as Tempe gets involved in more of the investigation than I would assume a forensic anthropologist would in real life. At least in The bone hacker she stayed out of any real action.

The quality is dropping off after 22 books. I feel the same way about the Reacher series but I think that is due to the Lee Child's collaboration with his brother. Reichs has the expertise and currency in the field to keep it going. What excuse does she have then for the change in standard? Robert Crais is still writing high-quality stories after the same number of books.

The plot of The bone hacker is thin. The absence, or at least fleeting presence, of the cast of usual supporting characters is felt. The supporting players in the Turks and Caicos islands are not well fleshed out. I was a bit taken aback at the cultural and religious characterisations, too, in relation to the POC and Jewish islanders featured in the novel.

The book is short enough as it is, but I read it quickly, as most of it is fill. There are pages of one-line sentences showing Tempe's thoughts. This seems like lazy writing to me especially when Tempe's thoughts aren't very interesting or insightful in this book. I haven't noticed it before, but the book also feels super dumbed down, not with respect to the science, but to what I would call everyday things. Lots of concepts - VPN and POI are two examples - were spelled out as if the audience is a bit dim or has been living on another planet for the past 10 years. I found it all quite insulting. Tempe herself sounds a bit dim in this one as she was continually pointing out the obvious. I was also left feeling like there should have been more science to the story. There usually is, but this time the book is left wanting on that aspect.

I've always struggled with the Bones series as it's the science that pulls me in but I am not keen on Reich's writing. I have always vacillated between admiring Tempe's smarts and not liking her personality. I've seen other reviews where the readers feel the same. These reviewers wonder, like I have been doing lately, why they continue to read the books. Reich's writing is not great and it seems to be getting worse. I don't need long, convoluted sentences, but Reich's habit of writing staccato-style in grammatically-incomplete sentences is starting to annoy me.

Tempe has always been a bit snarky but Reich's latest attempts at humour fall flat, I think. They border on the cheesy and cringey at times. Reichs may be aiming for clever sarcasm, but she's missing the mark these days. Tempe now sounds flippant and unprofessional. Perhaps my perspective is an Australian-British one, though. Dry, clever humour is more my jam.

One of my pet peeves is how characters are described in the books. I believe it takes a lot of skill and sensitivity to describe the physical appearance of fictional characters without sounding judgemental. I imagine it's nice for authors to have their readers form a mental picture of their characters to create a connection between reader and 'character unseen'. Some authors go overboard with descriptions of physical features and clothing. I can see that it could be hard to get the balance right. All that said, I find Reich's descriptions of people's physical appearances jarring at best, fatphobic at worst. Tempe is now coming off sounding privileged, patronising, and insensitive. I don't feel like she started out that way, or at least not so much that it bothered me. Is Kathy Reich's Tempe Brennan the fictional version of herself? Does this mean that Reichs has an aversion to people who live in larger bodies? Whatever is going on, it really bothered me in The bone hacker.

In sum📝

Dr Reich's pedigree is unquestionable. Her insights and experiences translated into the fictional stories have been the best thing about the Bones series. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning about forensic anthropology and the science behind investigations across the 22 books to date. The bones information is written in a way that laypeople can understand and it is expertly attached to whatever case Tempe is working on.

Rating: ⭐⭐[The stars are for the forensic anthropology only.]

Fire and bones | Published August 2024 | Read October 2024

The story📖

Fire and bones sees Tempe called to Washington to analyse the victims of an arson attack in Foggy Bottom, a neighbourhood with a colourful history. The property's ownership and past dealings with bootlegging and racketeering lead to further murders and arson attacks. Once again, Tempe crosses professional boundaries and inserts herself into the investigation.

Why I'm tapping out😕

While Tempe teams up with TV journalist, Ivy Doyle, in Fire and bones, I felt the absence of the usual cast of characters with whom Tempe has worked in past books in both her Charlotte and Montreal labs. I would have to say that the quality of the books has dropped off since those characters started to take a back seat. I've noticed that the forensic science has also taken a back seat in the last few novels. There is now precious little of the interesting bones stuff that I've come to expect - and love - in the series.

Another of the reasons why I am tapping out is that I can no longer tolerate Tempe herself. She's become completely unlikeable and...well...boring. As a fan of British and Scandinavian writing, I love quirky and left-of-centre characters whose personalities add an interesting dimension to the story. Dry wit I can do, snarky unkind sarcasm I cannot. Tempe's always been a bit abrasive and snappish, but now she's downright rude. Is Reichs trying to make Tempe sound hip and contemporary now that she is older? To inject humour into her books? Whatever it is, it's falling seriously flat. Tempe does not come across as witty or clever. Her unpleasant internal and verbalised thoughts are unwarranted and unwelcomed.

I have some serious problems with Fire and bones with Tempe's insults and nicknames (e.g., Baboon Lips) and her comments on people's bodies. (I have similar criticisms of the last book.) It's clear to me that Tempe, standing in for Reichs, has a disdain for people who occupy larger bodies and aren't objectively beautiful. Nope. Just nope.

Tempe's character does not seem to have evolved in a positive way over the past few books. She now comes across as patronising and a grouchy know-it-all. She seems genuinely surprised when someone other than her is right. I used to admire her wicked smarts, now I'm disappointed that she doesn't seem to be putting them to good use.

Like the previous novel in the series, neither the crime nor the way case unfolds is particularly compelling or suspenseful. The book feels flat, as if Reichs has run out of ideas. Again, there is so much filler in an already-short novel that it hardly feels like a Bones book at all. There is more detail about Tempe's personal belongings and what she eats for dinner than the actual story.

Fire and bones is generally uninspiring and formulaic. The writing is also horrible. All those short, staccato (not) sentences charting Tempe's thoughts are hyperbolic nonsense and cringey. The constant inner dialogue is unnecessary, and adds nothing to the story.

OK, rant over! Farewell, Tempe, I am sorry to say that I am breaking up with you. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but you've lost me as a once-loyal reader. Laterz!

Rating: ⭐