Aside from Patricia Cornwell, there is no writer working today who produces better forensic thrillers than Kathy Reichs. Her long-running series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is always cutting-edge and full of excitement. FIRE AND BONES is no exception.

At the start of the book, Reichs illustrates one of the most tragic ways that a person can die --- being burned to death in a fire. It is heart-wrenching to see a young woman dial 911 while her room is in flames, and the fact that she doesn’t even know the address only slows down rescue attempts. It turns out to be an old building in the Foggy Bottom section of Washington, D.C. and may have been used as an illegal Airbnb…or worse.

"This is by far the most dangerous case yet for Tempe --- full of intrigue and secrets from both the past and the present --- and shows once again why Reichs has penned one of the best forensic thriller series ever conceived."

Tempe is looking forward to a brief getaway with her husband and colleague, Andrew Ryan, when she gets a phone call from their daughter, Katy. Ivy Doyle, Katy’s friend from her time in the military to whom she owes her life, could use Tempe’s help. She works on a popular true crime podcast and is making a name for herself as an on-air journalist in D.C. She needs to tap into Tempe’s expertise with processing fire scenes involving dead people, which will put her firmly in the middle of the Foggy Bottom blaze.

A second call comes from Jada Thacker, who Tempe briefly met some years earlier and is now the interim medical examiner in D.C. She and Ivy pay for Tempe to come to the nation’s capital and work with them. Initially, Tempe does not get a warm and fuzzy reception from the D.C. police or fire department investigators, but she remains professional and dedicates herself to identifying the deceased and notifying their families.

It turns out that the building also may have been used as a meth lab. Its location has an infamous history that harks back to the days of Prohibition and involves illegal alcohol and gambling. Once the four bodies are found and accounted for, Tempe is shocked to find an apparent fifth victim. However, this woman did not perish in the fire but was stuck in a burlap sack that dates back to the 1940s.

For whatever reason, it is this discovery that really gets to Tempe in ways she cannot describe. It puts her on a course to see the entire case through, which will take some cooperation from law enforcement. Also needed is a step back into the past to identify the nameless, perhaps innocent, individual who could have been killed by ancestors of current Foggy Bottom residents who are not happy about her digging up old crimes.

This is by far the most dangerous case yet for Tempe --- full of intrigue and secrets from both the past and the present --- and shows once again why Reichs has penned one of the best forensic thriller series ever conceived.