The Bone Code (Temperance Brennan #20) by Kathy Reichs

 Another extremely interesting installment in a long running book series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. 

If you enjoy extremely detailed medical and scientific thrillers featuring a strong, intelligent female protagonist, this is the series for you. The synopsis describes the pertinent details of the case and involves Tempe investigating a current case in Charleston and reopening an old case in Canada. Because of the dual nature of her job, she spends time in both geographic locations. Aided by her longtime partner, Andrew Ryan (former homicide cop for the SQ in Quebec), the duo share details about their activities and work together in unique ways to find the answers they need. Although the genetics and other technical descriptions are really very complex, the writing is such that the lay person can understand the crux of the situation. At first I wondered how it would all come together, but it did in a most satisfying way.

Although I’ve read several other books in this series, I’ve not been overwhelmed or felt like I missed something important by skipping some because the relevant information is presented in the narrative. I love the writing style and really want to get back to earlier books in the series as I love a good and realistic medical thriller. Coming on the heels of COVID pandemic with a vaccine now available and being widely administered, this was really timely and super scary though I hope it doesn’t fuel the conspiracy theorists any further :) 

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This is #20 in a series but I have not read all the previous titles and still found it easy to follow.

Genre - medical thriller, forensics, science, gene manipulation, vaccines

The Lords of Time (#3 White City Trilogy) by Eva Garcia Saenz

 An excellent conclusion to a wonderful crime thriller series!

In this last book of the White City Trilogy, the characters known and loved from the previous stories reunite to solve a complicated case that has roots in an alternate timeline. The writing is excellent and the settings in both present day and in 1192 are vividly described. 

Unusual murders in Vitoria seem to mimic deaths in a novel that is being widely read in the city. The author’s identity is unknown, and Kraken begins his hunt for the killer who is using ancient methods to commit them. The investigation takes him on a journey that reveals truths about his family tree. 

Although not as gripping or as interesting as the previous two installments, I did enjoy the book. I really like the main characters and their relationships. Definitely sorry to see the series come to an end, but will look for another by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Vintage Crime/Black Lizard for this e-book ARC to read, review, and recommend.

This is the third book in a series that needs to be read in order.

Genre - crime thriller, set in Spain

Falling by TJ Newman

 Pure escapist entertainment perfect for a summer beach read! 

A plane is enroute to JKF but there is more going on than an everyday flight. The pilot’s family has been taken hostage and Captain Bill Hoffman is given the choice of whether his family dies, or he crashes the plane. The 3 flight attendants rally to the cause of protecting the 149 souls on board. The threat is real and the hijackers have not yet made their last stand.

I’ve read two other airline disaster books recently and this was definitely the best of the lot. It was a  fast and fun and, though the ending was not unexpected, I enjoyed the ride. The author is a former airline flight attendant and does write with an insider’s viewpoint which made the story a bit more believable. The characters are really well drawn and I enjoyed how even the more minor ones really got fair play in the narrative. What I did not particularly enjoy, however, is the political message in the subtext, but I decided to raise this rating despite that and wonder why authors keep doing this.

Predictable but highly engaging, I think readers will enjoy reading this book though may have a few qualms about any next flights they have lined up.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avid Reader Press for the e-book ARC to read and review. 

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.

Genre - action packed suspense thriller