Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs (‘Temperance Brennan’ series Book #4)

Format: Mass Market Paperbound - Published: April 26, 2005 - 448 Pages - ISBN: 1416510567 - Published By: Simon & Schuster

 

Fatal Voyage

by Kathy Reichs

‘Temperance Brennan’ series Book #4

Temperance Brennan hears the news on her car radio. An Air TransSouth flight has gone down in the mountains of western North Carolina, taking with it eighty-eight passengers and crew. As a forensic anthropologist and a member of the regional DMORT team, Tempe rushes to the scene to assist in body recovery and identification. Tempe has seen death many times, working with the medical examiners in North Carolina and Montreal, but never has tragedy struck with such devastation. She finds a field of carnage: torsos in trees, limbs strewn among bursting suitcases and smoldering debris. Many of the dead are members of a university soccer team. Is Tempe’s daughter, Katy, among them? Frantic with worry, Tempe joins colleagues from the FBI, the NTSB, and other agencies to search for explanations. Was the plane brought down by a bomb, an insurance plot, a political assassination, or simple mechanical failure?And what about the prisoner on the plane who was being extradited to Canada? Did someone want him silenced forever? Even more puzzling for Tempe is a disembodied foot found near the debris field. Tempe’s microscopic analysis suggests it could not have belonged to any passenger. Whose foot is it, and where is the rest of the body? And what about the disturbing evidence Tempe discovers in the soil outside a remote mountain enclave? What secrets lie hidden there, and why are certain people eager to stop Tempe’s investigation? Is she learning too much? Coming too close? With help from Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, who has his own sad reason for being at the crash, and from a very special dog named Boyd, Tempe calls upon deep reserves of courage and upon her forensic skill to uncover a shocking, multilayered tale of deceit and depravity.

Review: Finished August 8th, 2006. This series just keeps getting better and better. Reichs truly knows how to write a novel that keeps you trapped and glued to each page. Tempe is a very down-to-earth character that is relentless at finding out what happened. You literally feel all her emotions. No matter how bad things seem, no matter how much it looks like anyone would give up, Tempe clamps down as hard as a pitbull’s jaws and doesn’t let go. And even though no one can figure out how Tempe “gets herself into these situations,” she always, always, manages to find out what’s going on and getting herself out of it. Too bad she’s a funny character; she’s someone I’d like to aspire to become. She’s smart, funny, loyal to her family, her friends, her co-workers, almost to a fault, and unbelievably tenacious. I adore her.  I was glad to see Ryan was back, I got truly pissed at those who tried to keep her at bay and bash her down… all the little and big things are tied together perfectly at the end, and another breathtaking climax… I couldn’t ask for a better novel!

Rating: