No one speaks the language of suspense more brilliantly than Kathy Reichs, author of the acclaimed Temperance Brennan series. In Speaking in Bones, the forensic anthropologist finds herself drawn into a world of dark secrets and dangerous beliefs, where good and evil blur.
Professionally, Temperance Brennan knows exactly what to doβtest, analyze, identify. Her personal life is another story. Sheβs at a loss, wondering how to answer police detective Andrew Ryanβs marriage proposal. But the matter of matrimony takes a backseat when murder rears its head.
Hazel βLuckyβ Strikeβa strident amateur detective who mines the Internet for cold casesβcomes to Brennan with a tape recording of an unknown girl being held prisoner and terrorized. Strike is convinced the voice is that of eighteen-year-old Cora Teague, who went missing more than three years earlier. Strike is also certain that the teenagerβs remains are gathering dust in Temperance Brennanβs lab.
Brennan has doubts about working with a self-styled websleuth. But when the evidence seems to add up, Brennanβs next stop is the treacherous backwoods where the chilling recording (and maybe Cora Teagueβs bones) were discovered. Her forensic field trip only turns up more disturbing questionsβalong with gruesome proof of more untimely deaths.
While local legends of eerie nocturnal phenomena and sinister satanic cults abound, itβs a zealous and secretive religious sect that has Brennan spooked and struggling to separate the saints from the sinners. But thereβs nothing, including fire and brimstone, that can distract her from digging up the truth and taking down a killerβeven as Brennan finds herself in a place where angels fear to tread, devils demand their due, and she may be damned no matter what.
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