Thank you Scribner Books #partner, for the finished copy of Evil Bones in exchange for my honest review. I borrowed the audiobook from the library.
Publisher: Scribner Books / Simon and Schuster Audio
Published: November 18, 2025
Summary:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs returns with a twisty, unputdownable thriller featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who finds herself enmeshed in a series of grisly animal killings that turn into something far more sinister.
Small creatures—a rat, a rabbit, a squirrel—have been turning up throughout Charlotte, North Carolina, mutilated and displayed in the same bizarre manner. But one day, as Tempe is relaxing at home alongside her aimless, moody great-niece Tory, she’s diverted by a disturbing call. Now, it seems, the perp is upping the ante. This find is larger. Could the remains be human?
Tempe visits the scene and discovers that the victim is a dog. Someone’s pet. As one who has always found animal cruelty deeply abhorrent, Tempe vows to help apprehend the person responsible for the killings, and due to Tory’s especially layered knowledge of animal behavior, the young woman turns out to be a valuable ally in the hunt for answers. Oddly, Tempe discovers that semi-retired homicide detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell is equally outraged and committed. Needing a better understanding of possible motives, Tempe and Skinny seek input from a forensic psychologist. The doctor has no definitive answer but offers several possibilities, warning that the escalating pattern of aggression suggests even more macabre discoveries—and that the perp’s focus may soon shift to humans.
And then it happens. A woman is found disfigured and posed in a manner that mimics the earlier killings.
As Tempe and Slidell follow the horrifying clues to a shocking conclusion, they’re forced to confront an increasingly terrifying question: “What is pure evil?”
My thoughts:
Caveat: while there is animal violence, it ALL happens off the page–Tempe only has to deal with the aftermath. It’s gruesome, but it serves its purpose and is not done in a gratuitous manner.
It’s hard to believe this is the 24th book in the series! I love that Kathy Reichs takes inspiration from her own background for these stories, though if something like what happened in this book actually occurred in real life…OMG! This book really got under my skin, especially as we see our killer become more unhinged, the killings become bigger!
While I was bummed that Ryan didn’t play as big a role as he has in the past, I did like that we see Tempe spending time with her daughter and niece, who just might have a connection to the case.
As usual, we have a fast-paced book, aided by the short chapters, most of which end in mini-cliffhangers, which just beg you to keep going. But the twists this time kept me guessing and I was quite shocked when the killer was revealed!
For as long as this series has gone on, I love that each book is unique and different. It’s never the same old case over and over again. I can’t wait for more and, even more exciting is that I’ll have the chance to meet Kathy Reichs next October in Calgary at Bouchercon…yay!!
Audio thoughts:
Another fantastic narration by Linda Emonds. She has narrated many of the books in this series and her consistency with the voices is amazing…it’s like meeting up with friends – you know the voices already!
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