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Feb 11, 2008

Lori rated it:

I had trouble with her novels before this one. I think mainly because I was comparing her to Patricia Cornwell, and she just wasn't measuring up (in my mind). Then, I was desperate for a book to read on the bus, and this one was on the bookshelf, so I grabbed it and am happy to report, enjoyed it immensely. I have read all the books following this one and have enjoyed them all as well. (It might have something to do with the TV series BONES, which isn't anything like the books (except for the ma More...

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Nov 17, 2011

Aine rated it:

Description from Dust Flap
It was a summer morning in 1982 when soldiers ravaged the village of Chupan Ya, raping and killing women and children. Twenty-three victims are said to lie in the well where, twenty years later, Dr. Temperance Brennan and a team from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation now dig. No records were kept. To their families, the dead are "the disappeared."
Forensic anthropologist for the medical examiners in North Carolina and Montreal, Tempe is in Guatema
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Dec 04, 2008

Catten rated it:

Kathy Reichs's novel Grave Secrets opens with this dedication:

For the innocents:

Guatemala
1962-1996

New York, New York
Arlington, Virginia
Shanksville, Pennsylvania
September 11, 2001

I have touched their bones. I mourn for them.

For those not yet familiar with this ambitious author, Reichs, like the character in her books, Tempe Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist for the North Carolina medical examiner. She also wor More...

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May 17, 2011

Annette rated it:

This review applies to the audible version.

A harrowing excavation unearths a chilling tragedy never laid to rest.

They are “the disappeared,” twenty-three massacre victims buried in a well in the Guatemalan village of Chupan Ya two decades ago. Leading a team of experts on a meticulous, heartbreaking dig, Tempe Brennan pieces together the violence of the past. But a fresh wave of terror begins when the horrific sounds of a fatal attack on two colleagues come in on a blood-chil

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Nov 16, 2010

Cinzia rated it:

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Jul 14, 2010

Annii rated it:

Description from Dust Flap
It was a summer morning in 1982 when soldiers ravaged the village of Chupan Ya, raping and killing women and children. Twenty-three victims are said to lie in the well where, twenty years later, Dr. Temperance Brennan and a team from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation now dig. No records were kept. To their families, the dead are "the disappeared."
Forensic anthropologist for the medical examiners in North Carolina and Montreal, Tempe is
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Jun 09, 2010

Jlaurenmc rated it:

From 1990 until 1996, over 200,000 people disappeared or were killed in Guatemala. That thirty-plus years signified the Guatemalan Civil War between the government of Guatemala and insurgents in the country. Although the war was largely political, many innocent citizens were killed throughout the war, especially women and children.

In Kathy Reichs's fifth novel, Grave Secrets, forensic anthropologist Dr. Tempe Brennan has traveled to Guatemala as a worker for the Guatemalan Forensic A More...

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Nov 29, 2009

Bob rated it:

Tempe Brennan is in Guatemala working on finding and documenting graves of villagers killed by army and civilian auxiliaries when two of the team are ambushed on the way to the dig. Later as she is working in the headquarters of the discovery group she is contacted by the local police to help with the recovery and identification of a body found in a septic system. Besides opening up the septic tank it also opens up a political can of worms as certain members of the DAs office do not want her h More...

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Dec 29, 2009

Diane rated it:

Kathy Reichs' Grave Secrets<i/> is the 5th book in her Temperance Brennan series though my first exposure to author and her literary character. This Tempe splits her consulting time between Montreal and Virginia, is older than TV's Bones<i/>, has a college age daughter and a not-quite-ex husband.

In Grave Secrets<i/>, Tempe is working on humanitarian dig in Guatemala to exhume, record cause of death & identify victims of Guatemala's civil war, afterward returning th More...

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Feb 01, 2012

David rated it:

I picked this up at the library a few weeks ago. I rather enjoy audiobooks on the way to work in the morning. This one just didn't work for me.

One of the things I liked about this book was the science. I enjoyed learning new things, and I appreciate authors who take the time to get things right. You can tell how much Reichs cares about her profession.

Sadly, I felt the plot aspect of the book was rather lacking. I don't mean to say its non-existent. There is plot h More...

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Apr 05, 2009

Luann rated it:

This is my second Kathy Reichs mystery. I did like this more than my first one, although not enough to rush out and read them all right now. I really liked the Guatemalan setting and Sergeant-Detective Galiano. I was immediately drawn into the story, although many of the details were very gruesome. Don't read this while you're eating! Also, the solution was a bit complicated.

And you should really try to NOT compare these books to the TV show "Bones." I still have a har More...

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Nov 15, 2010

Giulietta rated it:

E un altro suo libro è andato... ormai sono una tossica! Come farò quando finirò gli *ultimi* 5 libri che mi mancano?!
Questo libro si distingue dai precedenti per il terreno delle indagini primarie, il Guatemala (nello specifico l'identificazione delle vittime della guerra civile), ma l'azione si sposta poi fino in Canada, giusto per far entrare in buon vecchio Andrew Ryan nella storia. Come in ogni libro della Reichs, largo spazio alle analisi ossee, ma anche alle teorie investigative, e alla * More...

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Oct 17, 2011

Sebrina rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Jul 28, 2011

JoJo rated it:

Not my favorite so far, though I thought it would be because of the subject material, which is very interesting. I would have liked her to examine the corruption of the government during the time of the massacres and genocides more. She left the end realistically, without all of the loose ends being tied up and without every evil-doer being proportionately punished. A bit frustrating at first, but when you think about it, a realistic ending is better than a "alls-well-that-ends-well" e More...

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Feb 04, 2011

Frank Jude rated it:

I read this entry in the Temperance Brennan series by forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs while on several flights taking me from Tucson to Ilheus, Brazil. It kept me engaged -- as did the other two novels. The plot itself centers around the real travesty of the 'disappeared' in Guatemala (Reichs herself has volunteered in similar forensic work). This is the fifth in the series; I've read the first and one that comes after, and I can see that her writing has gotten stronger over time. In her e More...

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Sep 07, 2009

Sherrie rated it:

"Grave Secrets" by Kathy Reichs
(from inside flap)
It was a summer morning in 1982 when soldiers ravaged the village of Chupan Ya, Raping and killing women and children. Twenty-three victims are said to lie in the well where, twenty years later, Dr. Temperance Brennan and a team from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation now dig. No records were kept. To their families, there dead are the "the disappeared." Forensic anthropologist for the medical exami

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Jan 06, 2010

Chana rated it:

Pretty good fast-reading mystery/thriller as long as you don't expect too much in the way of it really making sense. Kathy Reichs writes good scenes, it is the motives of the characters, all the "or maybe's" in the extensive explanations at the end of the book that made a good book into one that bordered on mediocrity. She tries to link the story to the massacres that occurred in Guatemala between 1962 and 1996 but what happens is that the murder mystery and the true history run concur More...

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Aug 09, 2011

Emma rated it:

This is the fourth in the series, and I had a bit of a break before I read this one as there is a certain similarity in the tone of the books. With the break behind me I really enjoyed reading this one. Tempe is in Guatemala this time around helping to indentify victims of past autrocities committed by the army in the 1980s. I like this historical context and seeing another side to the character's skills that is not contemporary crime solving. I also knew some of the locations, which was an More...

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Jul 23, 2010

Jerry rated it:

Interesting, but not as solid as first four Tempe stories...

We eagerly dived into this fifth book about forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, having thoroughly enjoyed the earlier four stories about her crime solving from a rather different perspective. From the study of bones, sometimes long buried skeletons, Tempe, as in real life does author Dr. Kathy Reichs, is usually able to determine age, race, and gender of the victim; often the means and manner of death; and someti More...

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Aug 06, 2009

Kris rated it:

I read this one on a Sony eBook reader. I prefer a paper book, but I've got to say that the convenience of having 25 books in a unit the size of a slim hardcover is a good thing.

I enjoyed this installment of the Temperance Brennan books. I'm reading them out of order, which for the most part is not a problem, but occasionally the author makes reference to events in previous books which I haven't read. In this book, Tempe is in Guatemala looking for remains of women and children ki More...

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Jul 11, 2010

Adrienne rated it:

Yes, I took the plunge. My love for the Bones television show gave me no choice. I had to try one of Kathy Reichs’ Tempe Brennan novels. The fact that it qualified for the library’s summer reading program twas only a thin veil to disguise my already piqued interest. I was to find that the characters between the show and the books are not one and the same. However, I was really just looking for the same thrill ride, and personality differences are allowed. Only her writing style truly irked me. O More...

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Jun 22, 2010

Kathy rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Aug 28, 2010

Megan rated it:

I found that enjoyed this book though I am not sure how quick I will be to read another one by this author (especially when I already have so many books on my "to read" list).

It got a little dense for me at time, especially with the scientific information but overall a good story. I think one of the problems I had was that I expected the main character to be different.

The main character in this book is the inspiration for the tv show "Bones". But the T More...

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Jul 29, 2009

Deborah rated it:

I will never understand how Brennan gets herself into so many unusual situations. But considering she is an forensic anthropologist I guess it comes with the territory. In Book 5 Brennan is down in Guatemala City helping to uncover the remains, and identify those in a mass grave from decades earlier. While on her mission she is faced with the unexpected death of a colleague and being pulled in every direction. When she is pulled from her excavation to assist in a murder investigation things go f More...

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Mar 13, 2009

Patricia rated it:

When ever my life gets out-of-control busy, I turn to reading mysteries for bed time escape. My method of mystery reading involves finding a writer I enjoy and reading all of her/his books from the first published. This is the 5th in Reichs' Temperance Brennan series. Admittedly, I'm getting pretty familiar with her plot pattern, but the books still do the trick as escape reading. She usually employs some effective social/political focal point around which to construct the plot, in this case May More...

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Dec 27, 2010

Keilani rated it:

If you like the Bones tv series, this is nothing like it. Ok, so the tv series is based off of this author's books, but Temperance Brennen is nothing in the book like she is on the show. However that being said, while I'm a huge fan of the show, I also like the books. Basically, you have the anthropologist figuring out who the body is and who dun it, and throw in a little of her personal life and drama. They are engaging and enjoyable. Warning - she has no issue with swear words. This one More...

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Mar 29, 2010

Jolene rated it:

This was your basic crime/murder mystery novel. It wasn't stellar, the plot didn't really surprise me all that much - even with its twists and turns. The writing didn't seem all that exceptional either - though my opinion of this may have been influenced by the fact that I was listening to it on CD. As a fan of the show, Bones, I really wanted to check out this series and see how it compares. I can't decide which Temperance Brennan I like better. I think the redeeming qualities for me were More...

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Jul 20, 2009

Linda rated it:

I was determined to not like this book. I like my mysteries cozy and this is NOT a cozy series! I do like the TV show originated from this series, "Bones", and rarely ever miss the show. However, I needed something to read and was visiting my son & family and my daughter-in-law had this book lying around. Anyway, I almost gave up reading it when Tempe was sloshing around in a septic tank looking for parts of a murder victim but I hung in there and I was glad I did. While not wildly ent More...

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Mar 14, 2011

Tara rated it:

Of all the Tempe Brennan books I've read so far, I enjoyed this one the most. It felt the most like the TV show, Brennan did the least amount of stupid things, and the banter from Ryan and Gailino (I think that's how you spell his name) was the most like Booth in the TV show. The story works best when Brennan is bouncing her sarcasm off other people (generally Ryan) and this was the major fault in Fatal Voyage (ie. Brennan was on her own for ages). In this one, Brennan is almost always surrounde More...

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Jan 06, 2012

Bonnie rated it:

It took me to this book to rally like these books. Bones is my favorite show, mainly because of the personality of the character of Temperance Brennan. So i started these books a few years back with the thought that the Brennan in the books would be like the Brennan in the show. That's absolutely not the case. I read the first 4 books, then put the series away for a couple of years. I came back to it this fall, reread #4 with only the expectation that it woudl not be like the series, that th More...

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