"With God, what is terrible is that one never knows whether it's not a trick of the devil.' Jean Anouith

This is the 11Th book featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. We learn of a plumber uncovering a secret room in a home he was remodeling. He finds bones, feathers and signs of what might be devil worship. The skull of what turns out to be a teenage girl is found at the center of this shrine.

Temperance is called in to see if the skull is from a murder victim. While working on this case, with detective Erskine, "Skinny" Slidell, she is also investigating the circumstances around the headless body of a teenage boy found by a man walking his dog. This body is marked with satanic symbols.

Kathy Reichs takes her reader on an adventure where we learn of devil worship, meet a Wiccan and learn how this is different from a witch and read of the superstitions in the black community and their practice of Voodoo medicine.

Reichs provides plenty of action in the story, it is fast paced and Temperance is an interesting character about whom we learn of her love life and the politics of her job. Very entertaining.