206 Bones

This article consists almost entirely of a plot summary. Please help improve the article by adding more real-world context. (July 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

|

2009 novel by Kathy Reichs

For the number of bones in an average adult human skeleton (206), see List of bones of the human skeleton.

206 Bones

First edition (US)

Author| Kathy Reichs
Language| English
Series| Temperance Brennan
Genre| Crime novel
Publisher| Scribner (US)
Heinemann (UK)

Publication date

| 2009
Publication place| United States
Media type| Print Hardback
Pages| 303
ISBN| 978-0-434-01468-2
OCLC| 427611057
Preceded by| Devil Bones
Followed by| Spider Bones

206 Bones is the twelfth novel by Kathy Reichs starring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.[1][2][3][4][5]

## Plot

[edit]

The book opens with Brennan imprisoned in an enclosed space, unable to remember where she is and how she got there.[6] The plot is interspersed with Brennan's account of how she escapes, culminating in the final dénouement.

The rest of the story is told in flashback. When Brennan has to recover the remains of a murdered elderly woman from a shallow grave in the midst of a freezing Quebec winter, she thinks she has the full set of 206 bones, but when she returns to her lab to analyze the remains, she discovers that certain crucial finger bones (that could confirm the identity of the victim) are not present.

Brennan soon discovers that an accusation of incompetence has been made against her: an anonymous phone call to the father of a murder victim alleges that Brennan neglected to observe trauma resulting from a bullet wound in the bones of an aging Chicago heiress that were found in the Quebec countryside some months previously. Brennan and her on-again/off-again lover Detective Andrew Ryan set out to Chicago to attempt to clear her name, where, much to Brennan's annoyance, Ryan bonds with her estranged husband's Latvian family after his flight back to Montreal is delayed by the weather.

The morale of the Montreal forensics team is poor, with the addition of a disruptive new recruit to the group, and the department head on extended sick leave. Two more elderly women are dead or missing, and Ryan suspects that the force may be dealing with a serial killer. In the process of solving the crime, Brennan also has to deal with an aggressive cat-hating neighbour and a cold case in Chicago involving a family link.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "206 Bones". Kirkus Reviews. June 15, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
2. ^ "206 Bones". Booklist. May 15, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
3. ^ "206 Bones". Booklist. December 1, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
4. ^ "206 Bones by Kathy Reichs". Publishers Weekly. June 15, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
5. ^ "206 Bones by Kathy Reichs". Publishers Weekly. October 26, 2009. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
6. ^ "206 Bones, By Kathy Reichs: Skilful anatomy of murder", The Independent, 24 August 2009. Accessed 14 March 2014

## External links

[edit]

* Kathy Reichs' site on 206 Bones

* v
* t
* e

Books by Kathy Reichs

Temperance
Brennan series|

* Déjà Dead (1997)
* Death du Jour (1999)
* Deadly Décisions (2000)
* Fatal Voyage (2001)
* Grave Secrets (2002)
* Bare Bones (2003)
* Monday Mourning (2004)
* Cross Bones (2005)
* Break No Bones (2006)
* Bones to Ashes (2007)
* Devil Bones (2008)
* 206 Bones (2009)
* Spider Bones (2010)
* Flash and Bones (2011)
* Bones Are Forever (2012)
* Bones of the Lost (2013)
* Bones Never Lie (2014)
* Speaking in Bones (2015)
* The Bone Collection (2016)
* A Conspiracy of Bones (2020)
* The Bone Code (2021)
* Cold, Cold Bones (2022)
* The Bone Hacker (2023)

Virals series|

* Virals (2010)
* Seizure (2011)
* Code (2013)
* Exposure (2014)
* Terminal (2015)
* Trace Evidence (2016)

Adaptations|

* Bones

*[OCLC]: Online Computer Library Center number
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template