"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.

"Shall we make a new rule ...from tonight: always try to be a little kinder than is necessary." John Matthew Barrie

Investigator Wayne Weston is found dead, an apparent suicide. His wife and daughter are missing. Officials believe that it is a case of murder - suicide. Wayne's father, a gutsy WWII vet, hires Lincoln Perry and his partner, Joe Pritchard, to investigate.

Michael Koryta takes the reader on the trail as the investigators accept the case and are surprised that Weston doesn't seem to have any current cases. He does seem to have been working for wealthy Jeremiah Hubbard. However, when they visit with Hubbard, Hubbard doesn't admit anything and immediately offers them a bribe to drop the case.

This makes the investigators more suspicious and intent to find out what was going on.

This is Michael Koryta's first novel and a well done job. He uses dialogue to get to know the characters and the reader becomes almost an interested participant as the case develops. Koryta gives the reader a number of surprises and keeps the action going throughout the story.

"I decided that once and for all I was going to make it or die trying." John Johnson

Jack Reacher is walking down a city street when he sees a woman with a cane, struggling with her dry cleaning. As he attempts to assist her, three men approach her with weapons drawn and abduct her, bringing Reacher along also. The men are part of a separatist group who bring the prisoners to their enclave in Yorke, Montana. They are holding the woman, FBI agent Holly Johnson as a bargaining tool for a plan they have in motion, against the government.

Reacher shows the reader his many talents in the story. We see him as the lone man against seemingly insurmountable odds. He's highly analytical, and possesses keen intelligence. He's able to rationalize what the captors are planning and figure out a possible escape. He also shows that he is very human and develops feeling for this young woman. His compassion and strength are two of the reasons readers enjoy Reacher as a character and are able to sympathise with him.

The plot is original and logically laid out. It proceeds nicely towards the confrontation that readers expect.

Child's theme seems to be that when oppressed, do not give in and with Reacher as the author's voice, it tells that even one person can do great things against impossible odds.

"The deplorable mania of doubt exhausts me. I doubt...everything, even my doubts." Flaubert

Nick Wilder is a crime scene photographer. His older brother Sam is the success of the family and Nick resents this, even when Sam offers him money, Nick has an attitude about it. Then, one night while walking together, a man dressed in rags, runs from the shadows, kills Sam and runs away. Nick is left with blood on his clothes and not much memory of what happened.

The reader views the past, by flashbacks, to the time before the killing and we learn that Nick was at a coffee shop, looking at the photos of one of his crime scenes, when Sara Garland approaches him, begins a conversation and suggests that Nick take her out. Sara seems starstruck with Nick but why this is, is a mystery. However, Nick and Sara begin a relationship.

Nick isn't a very interesting character. The reader sees the nightmares Nick has about his past and learns that homeless men have killed two other people in other cities and Nick wonders what is behind it all. At this time, Nick is a suspect because of Sam's blood on his clothes and other things.

This lengthy novel was hard to finish. There were some surprises and interesting segments but as a whole, with no characters that the reader could care for, the conclusion didn't matter and was predictable.

However, the author does show talent. With a more concise story and characters with whom the reader can sympathise with, this writer may be more successful in the future.

"Fire is a good servant but a bad master." English 17th Century

Det. Lena Gambrel is given the lead investigator responsibility on a case of a young woman who was murdered. The victim's body was left in a position that looked like it was a stage prop.

The victim had recently had sex and DNA showed that it wasn't with her husband. Wanting to show initiative, Lena finds information in the home with the number 7. This makes her look into similar cases and she finds the DNA matches two other murders where other men were convicted.


The author does an excellent job of letting us know about Lena's background and see her personality, such as the way she does crossword puzzles in ink, and the part of her history when she lived at the home of her brother, David, who was murdered. This lets the reader understand Lena's actions and her relentless pursuit of the killer.

The writing captivates the reader's attention and holds it throughout the heart pounding story as Lena discovers the killer and resolves the case.

In addition, the author provided a plot twist as things were winding down, this change in direction of the plot was outstanding and totally unexpected. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

Highly recommended.

"Truth often suffers more from the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers." Wm Penn

Georgia Parish is in Nulgarra, Australia for her grandfather's funeral.

She meets two people who get stuck in a river while driving to the airport. They are on the same plane to Carins when the plane crashes. It turns out to be sabotaged. Who was the target? Could it be Ronnie Chen who never showed up for the flight and was later found dead, murdered?

Another man on the plane was Lee Denham, supposedly, a person who smuggled Chinese people into Australia. Lee is a former police officer who is searching for Jon Ming, a scientist who left China with a valuable formula, and entered Australia illegally. In addition, other members of the Chen family want Jon, in order to take him, and his formula back to China.

Georgia is a character who is fun to read. The action never stops and Georgia is in the middle of everything. Some detail is a bit hard to believe. At one point Georgia's finger is chopped off in order to get information from her. She is still able to use her hand and attempts to fight with her hand wrapped up in a bandage.

The setting is well done. The reader feels the stark Australian bleakness and gets to know the feelings of the people. We also learn of the many Chinese who have been smuggled into the country and the consequences these people face if they are found and returned to China.

The plot develops in a logical manner and we share with Georgia, the search for Jon Ming and the attempted evasion of the Chen's. However, when the author provides one plot twist, I felt that it was not logical and made the reading of the story in disbelief.

Some good parts, a nice leading character and support by one secondary character but disappointment in the story's conclusion.

Mysteries and My Musings: Dec Mystery/Crime Fiction Blog Carnival

Mysteries and My Musings: Dec Mystery/Crime Fiction Blog Carnival

An excellent blog that enables readers to view various blogs in mystery, suspense, cozy and thriller genres.