Bones of the Lost by Kathy Reichs

#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with her sixteenth riveting novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan, whose examination of a young girl killed in a hit and run in North Carolina triggers an investigation into international human trafficking. #1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the Fox hit series Bones, Kathy Reichs returns with an unforgettable new novel featuring forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan, whose examination of a mysterious hit-and-run victim triggers an investigation into human trafficking. When Charlotte police discover the body of a teenage girl along a desolate stretch of two-lane highway, Temperance Brennan fears the worst. The girl's body shows signs of foul play. Inside her purse, police find an airline club card bearing the name of prominent local businessman John-Henry Story, who died in a horrific fire months earlier. How did Story and the girl know each other? Was she an illegal immigrant turning tricks? Was she murdered? Was he? Tempe must also examine a bundle of Peruvian dog mummies confiscated by U.S. Customs. A Desert Storm veteran named Dominick Rockett stands accused of smuggling the objects into the country. Could there be some connection between the trafficking of antiquities and the trafficking of humans? As the complications pile on, Tempe must also grapple with personal turmoil. Her daughter, Katy, grieving the death of her boyfriend in Afghanistan, impulsively enlists in the army. Meanwhile, Katy's father, Pete, is growing frustrated by Tempe's reluctance to finalize their divorce. As pressure mounts from all corners, Tempe soon finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that extends all the way from South America to Afghanistan and right to the center of Charlotte. A tour de force of imagination, Bones of the Lost is a roller coaster of plot twists, punctuated by Tempe's fierce wit and forensic know-how. A genius at building suspense (New York Daily News), Kathy Reichs is at her brilliant best in this sixteenth installment of the Temperance Brennan series. With the Fox series Bones in its ninth season, Kathy Reichs has reached new heights in suspenseful storytelling. Editorial Reviews From Publishers Weekly Bestseller Reichs draws on her experiences touring with the USO in Afghanistan for her captivating 16th novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (after 2012's Bones Are Forever). At home in Charlotte, N.C., the bone expert concludes that the death of an unidentified girl, 14 or 15 years old, was caused by foul play rather than a hit-and-run, as was previously suspected. The outraged Brennan urges homicide detective Erskine Skinny Slidell to investigate, knowing Slidell believes the girl to have been an undocumented immigrant, as well as possibly being a junkie and prostitute. Later in Afghanistan, Brennan oversees the exhumation of two unarmed Afghan villagers killed by a U.S. Marine to determine whether the victims were shot in the back or head-on. The two cases--and a third involving mummified dogs from Peru--give Reichs ample opportunity to provide detailed descriptions of forensic examinations, but it's Brennan's passionate and personal involvement that provides the excitement in this masterful tale. 6-city author tour. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, William Morris Endeavor. (Aug.) --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition. Review The forensic procedures take center stage, as they always do, in this cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series. (New York Times Book Review) Reichs knows what her readers like. (Associated Press) When it comes to technical detail and local color, Reichs knows her stuff. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) Reichs always delivers a pulse-pounding story. (Publishers Weekly) This is a return to form for Reichs, who keeps the story moving at a brisk clip but never forgets that, ultimately, we're here to see Dr. Brennan. (Booklist) --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition. Excerpt. ® Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Bones of the Lost PROLOGUE HEART POUNDING, I CRAWLED TOWARD the brick angling down to form the edge of the recess. Craned out. More footfalls. Then heavy boots appeared at the top of the stairs, beside them a pair of small feet, one bare, the other in a platform pump. The feet started to descend, the small ones wobbly, their owner somehow impaired. The lower legs angled oddly, suggesting the knees bore little weight. Anger burned hot in my chest. The woman was drugged. The bastard was dragging her. Four treads lower, the man and woman crossed an arrow of moonlight. Not a woman, a girl. Her hair was long, her arms and legs refugee thin. I could see a triangle of white tee below the man's chin. A pistol grip jutting from his waistband. The pair again passed into darkness. Their tightly pressed bodies formed a two-headed black silhouette. Stepping from the bottom tread, the man started muscling the girl toward the loading-dock door, pushing her, a hand clamping her neck. She stumbled. He yanked her up. Her head flopped like a Bobblehead doll's. The girl took a few more staggering steps. Then her chin lifted and her body bucked. A cry broke the stillness, animal shrill. The man's free arm shot out. The silhouette recongealed. I heard a scream of pain, then the girl pitched forward onto the concrete. The man dropped to one knee. His elbow pumped as he pummeled the inert little body. Fight me, you little bitch? The man punched and punched until his breath grew ragged. Rage flamed white-hot in my brain, overriding any instinct for personal safety. I scuttled over and grabbed the Beretta. Checked the safety, thankful for the practice I'd put in at the range. Satisfied with the gun, I reached for my phone. It wasn't with the flashlight. I searched my other pocket. No phone. Had I dropped it? In my frenzied dash, had I left it at home? The panic was almost overwhelming. I was off the grid. What to do? A tiny voice advised caution. Remain hidden. Wait. Slidell knows where you are. You are so dead. The voice boomed, cruel and malicious. I whipped around. The man was wrenching the girl up by her hair. Holding the Beretta two-handed in front of me, I darted from the alcove. The man froze at the sound of movement. I stopped five yards from him. Using a pillar for cover, I spread my feet and leveled the barrel. Let her go. My shout reverberated off brick and concrete. The man maintained his grasp on the girl's hair. His back was to me. Hands up. He let go and straightened. His palms slowly rose to the level of his ears. Turn around. As the man rotated, another fragment of light caught him. For a second I saw his face with total clarity. On spotting his foe, the man's hands dipped slightly. Sensing he could see me better than I could see him, I squeezed further behind the pillar. The fucking slut lives. You'll die, too, fucking slut. Takes balls to send threats by e-mail. My voice sounded much more confident than I felt. To bully defenseless little girls. Debt to pay? You know the rules. Your debt-collecting days are over, you sick sonofabitch. Says who? Says a dozen cops racing here now. The man cupped an upraised hand to one ear. I don't hear no sirens. Move away from the girl, I ordered. He took a token step. Move, I snarled. The guy's fuck-you attitude was making me want to smash the Beretta across his skull. Or what? You're gonna shoot me? Yeah. Cold steel. I'm gonna shoot you. Would I? I'd never fired at a human being. Where the hell was Slidell? I knew my bluff was being sustained by coffee and adrenaline. Knew both would eventually wear off. The girl groaned. In that split second I lost the advantage that might have allowed him to live. I looked down. He lunged. Fresh adrenaline blasted through me. I raised the gun. He closed in. I sighted on the white triangle. Fired. The explosion echoed brutally loud. The concussion knocked my hands up, but I held position. The man dropped. In the murky gloom I saw the triangle go dark. Knew crimson was spreading across it. A perfect hit. The Triangle of Death. Silence, but for my own rasping breath. Then my higher centers caught up with my brain stem. I'd killed a man. My hands shook. Bile filled my throat. I swallowed. Steadied the gun and stole forward. The girl lay motionless. I crouched and placed trembling fingers on her throat. Felt a pulse, faint but steady. I swiveled. Gazed at the man's mute, malevolent eyes. Suddenly I was exhausted. Revolted by what I'd just done. I wondered. In my state, could I make good decisions? Carry through? My phone was back at the house. I wanted to sit, hold my head in my hands, and let the tears flow. Instead I drew a few steadying breaths, rose, and crossed what seemed a thousand miles of darkness. Climbed the stairs on rubbery legs. A single passage cut right at the top. I followed it to the only closed door. Gun tight in one clammy hand, I reached out and turned the knob with the other. The door swung in. I stared into pure horror. --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition. About the Author Kathy Reichs is the author of eighteen New York Times bestselling novels and the coauthor, with her son, Brendan Reichs, of six novels for young adults. Like the protagonist of her Temperance Brennan series, Reichs is a forensic anthropologist--one of fewer than one hundred and fifteen ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. A professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she is a former vice president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and serves on the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. Reichs's own life, as much as her novels, is the basis for the TV show Bones, one of the longest-running series in the history of the Fox network. --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition. From Booklist As usual, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is juggling several cases, including some mummified dog remains that could lead to a human-trafficking ring and a murdered teenage girl who was, mysteriously, carrying the ID of a prominent businessman who died five months earlier. She's also juggling some personal issues: her daughter, grieving over the death of her boyfriend, has enlisted in the army, and Pete, the girl's father, is pressing Tempe to sign their divorce papers. After the rather lethargic Bones Are Forever (2012), this is a return to form for Reichs, who keeps the story moving at a brisk clip but never forgets that, ultimately, we're here to see Dr. Brennan, and she needs to slow down frequently enough for us to spend some quality time with Tempe. This is one of those megasuccessful, long-running series that has undergone distinct ups and downs over the years. Series devotees, of whom there are many, will be well pleased to ride this upward trend. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: There's nothing like a hit TV show to help promote your new book, and there will be plenty of back-and-forthing going on between Reichs' latest and Bones, the popular Fox series. --David Pitt --This text refers to an alternate paperback edition.