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(Note:  Although this review will not contain spoilers for Bones Never Lie, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from earlier Tempe Brennan adventures.  As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.)    

With a vicious cold wreaking havoc on her nose and throat, the last thing Tempe Brennan wants to do is head to work.  But, unidentified corpses in need of her particular skill set to wrangle out their mysteries wait for no man—or woman.  Souped up on Sudafed, the forensic anthropologist reports to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, perplexed by the summons to powwow over a case long grown cold.  What she discovers chills her blood.  A sadistic female serial killer, whom Tempe has helped investigate in the past (Monday Mourning, 2003) is at it again.  Anique Pomerleau is Tempe's one-that-got-away.  This time, Tempe's not about to let her go.  She'll do anything she can to find the sick woman and see that she pays—once and for all—for her crimes.

Unfortunately, "anything" involves not just finding her longtime colleague (and on again/off again boyfriend), who flew off the grid after his daughter's death two months ago, but also convincing him to help her track down Pomerleau.  Tempe has personal reasons for wanting to see Andrew Ryan, the man who still makes her girl parts sing, but they're trumped by her professional need to catch the killer.  She knows the Brennan/Ryan team can nail this one.  But bringing a changed Ryan on the case leads to its own complications.

As Tempe and Ryan chase dead end after dead end, Pomerleau's victim count increases.  More young girls will die if they don't stop her soon.  Can they nab Anique before it's too late?  Or will she remain the one who got away—again?

Anyone who reads this blog knows I'm a huge Kathy Reichs fan.  More specifically, a huge Tempe Brennan fan.  I love the sassy, indefatigable scientist—her down-to-earth personality, her sense of humor, her passion for her work, everything.  She's the kind of vivid, complex character that I would follow anywhere.  Although Bones Never Lie (available September 23, 2014) disturbed me more than other of her adventures (something about a woman preying on young girls ... just ick), I still devoured the novel.  As with other Tempe books, this one offers a compelling mystery peppered with fascinating forensic detail explained in terms the average person can (pretty much) understand; exciting, didn't-see-that-one-coming plot twists; and, of course, the friction and sizzle that always accompanies Tempe's interactions with people like "Skinny" Slidell and Andrew Ryan.  Oh, and let's talk about the ending of Bones Never Lie for a minute—gave me all the feels, people, all the feels!  Love, love, love.  So, yeah, enjoyed the book, still adore the series.  Amen.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of other books in the Tempe Brennan series by Kathy Reichs [Deja Dead; Death Du Jour; Deadly Decisions; Fatal Voyage; Grave Secrets; Bare Bones; Monday Mourning; Cross Bones; Break No Bones; Bones to Ashes; Devil Bones; 206 Bones; Spider Bones; Flash and Bones; Bones Are Forever; Bones in Her Pocket; Bones of the Lost; Swamp Bones])

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To the FTC, with love:  I received an e-ARC of Bones Never Lie from the generous folks at Random House via those at NetGalley.  

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Cassie Madison never planned to stay in her backwards little hometown.  At twenty, she shook the Georgia clay off her shoes for good and headed for the bright lights of New York City.  Fifteen years later, she's pleased with the life she's managed to create for herself.  From her Upper East Side apartment to the successful ad agency she helps run to her polished fiancé—it would be obvious to anyone that Cassie's living the good life.  She's attained the existence she always wanted for herself, a glamorous life far, far away from the tiny hick town where she was reared.

A late-night phone call shatters Cassie's carefully-constructed life in the Big Apple.  It's from Harriet Warner, her estranged younger sister.  Cassie's barely spoken to Harriet since she stole the boy Cassie loved since she was twelve years old—and married him.  After almost two decades of silence between the sisters, Harriet's calling with tragic news: their father is dying.  Nothing else could force Cassie into returning to Walton.  Going "home" to say goodbye is hard enough, but Cassie can't stand the thought of seeing her sister enjoying the perfect family life that should have been her own.  Along with the pain, though, Cassie's stunned to realize that there are some things she still loves about little ole Walton, Georgia—things that might just convince her to stay.  

Torn between her old life and her new one, her family and her fiancé, her heart and her mind, Cassie must decide who she really is, what she really wants, and how to heal her aching heart, once and for all.

As much as I enjoy Karen White's novels, I have to say that Falling Home is not one of my favorites.  Although it's written with White's trademark warmth and sincerity, it becomes awfully cliché awfully quick.  Which isn't to say I didn't enjoy it—I did—I just would have liked some surprises here and there.  Overall, I found Falling Home engaging, but not all that original or impressive.  I liked it, didn't love it.        

(Readalikes:  Other books by Karen White, especially A Long Time Gone)

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