What happens in your worst nightmare? Are you drowning? Running from a monster? Falling into a snake-filled pit? Being buried alive? That last one's definitely in my Top 10. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan isn't too fond of the idea either - especially since she's living it. 206 Bones, the 12th installment of Kathy Reichs' popular series, opens with Tempe waking up. She's cold, confused, in pain. Obviously not in her nice, warm bed. A little wriggling around proves she's underground, in some kind of enclosed space. Fighting panic, she probes her fuzzy memory for answers - How long has she been in this predicament? Who hates her enough to bury her alive? And, most importantly, how the heck is she going to escape before she's offed by the frigid, moldy air?

While Tempe fights to stay alive, her mind travels over recent cases, probing for answers. In Charlotte, she's been looking into the death of a family friend. In Montreal, she's hunting a serial killer who preys on elderly women. In so doing, she's ticked a few people off - she's received a threatening letter, an anonymous phone call alleging incompetence, a shattered window at home, and several verbal assaults from her cat-hating neighbor. And that's not even the half of it. Her boss is angry, her assistant's chilly, and something's definitely up with the new pathologist. Maybe the real question is, who doesn't have a reason to want her dead? As the story see saws between the present and the past, it becomes clear that someone wants Tempe out of the way. Badly. It also becomes pretty clear who that person (or persons) is. Will our favorite forensic anthroplogist make it out of her hole in time to expose the evildoers? Or is this the end of the intrepid Tempe Brennan?

As much as I love Kathy Reichs, I have to say that her newest books haven't been her best. I still love her characters - Tempe's voice is always engaging and sexy Detective Ryan still sets my heart aflutter. The banter between the two of them keeps things lighthearted. Their on-again-off-again romance makes it interesting. It goes without saying that the science is always fascinating. It's just that Reichs' storylines have been getting predictable. And the subplots have been getting ... well, they haven't really been getting on at all. So, it's all a little frustrating. I'm still hanging on because I enjoy Reichs, I enjoy Brennan and I enjoy Ryan. I'm not willing to give up on any of them. I just want a little more - more mystery, more excitement, more twists and turns. Just more. And, even though I was a bit disappointed in this book, I still want more of this series. I'll be grabbing up the next installment as quickly as I snagged this one - I ain't quittin' you, Tempe Brennan. Not yet, anyway.

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for some language and murder/autopsy-related violence and gore