We return to Temperance Brennan with book five, Grave Secrets, by Kathy Reichs. This time around we see Temperance Brennan in Guatemala as she works on finding and identifying the remains of people killed during the civil war a few decades prior. After an attack that led to several colleagues being heavily injured and in the hospital the remains are successfully retrieved. When starting the identification process Brennan is called away by local police to help investigate a body found in a septic tank due to her own familiarity with the phenomenon. However, upon retrieving the body from the tank the local DA immediately bars her from further investigating for unknown reasons. The detective on the case asks her for further help anyway as he thinks the body may be related to a string of missing teenage girls, one of whom is the daughter of the Canadian Ambassador to Guatemala. Together, they must find out who the body is, what might have happened to the missing girls and if they are related, and perhaps even what this may have to do with the attack on Brennan’s injured colleagues.
This book is slightly odd in comparison to the previous ones as it is the first book that seems to heavily feature forensic anthropology in a different context, in this case identifying victims of war crimes, instead of the typical police cases that we have seen so far. It also shows a departure from the earlier books in a second way with the main location being Guatemala instead of the United States though there are still sections that take place in Canada. While it follows the pattern of country hopping one of the two countries in question is different which helps to create a bit of a different feel to the book overall. In terms of the plot it is just as complex and convoluted as any of the previous ones with its multiple seemingly interconnected or seemingly not interconnected plotlines all of which still miraculously end up resolved by the end of the book. Honestly, when it comes to crime novels I feel like this series is one of the more complex and multi-layered ones out there which seems to make for a more engrossing read. However, one of the things that I am coming to like best about this series is just how human the main character is. Temperance Brennan is as human as any of the rest of us with her flaws and foibles which are readily apparent every time you turn a page. It makes me feel just a little bit better to see that she is as messed up and chaotic as anybody else that I know even if she tries to hide it. Definitely one of my favorite elements to the series so far. A great addition to the ongoing story of Temperance Brennan and it gets four out of five stars from me.
I would consider this a pretty good example of the crime or mystery genre though it does focus pretty heavily on the forensic side of things so it would probably hold the most appeal for readers who already enjoy that type of work. This is not the first book in the series but you can mostly read them as stand-alones without any major problem though reading the earlier books will provide better background on the character. I will warn you that while not extremely graphic it does tend to be occasionally graphic due to the thematic content. While I don’t think this would be a problem I would still recommend being careful if you think it would be. There is however very minimal violence considering the genre. I would have no problem recommending this book to any adult reader who would enjoy it or to slightly younger readers as well though probably not anyone younger than about fifteen or sixteen. If it still sounds interesting consider giving it a try and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.