Cross Bones [Hardcover]

'The queen of slice 'em and dice 'em fiction... Terrific'

'The queen of slice 'em and dice 'em fiction... Terrific' --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Bestselling author Kathy Reichs' eighth novel featuring Tempe Brennan, reissued with a stunning new cover --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

'Death by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head' is the on-scene assessment, but the victim's relatives are adamant in their rejection of suicide as an explanation. Discovered in a closet, a full week after death, the body is barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and Dr Temperance Brennan's forensic expertise is required. Advanced putrefaction has made it virtually impossible to determine the trajectory of the bullet. But just as Tempe is attempting to make sense of the fracture patterning, an unknown man slips her a photograph of a skeleton, telling her it holds the answer to the victim's death...Detective Andrew Ryan is also on the case and, as his relationship with Tempe heats up, together they follow the trail of clues all the way to Israel. In the Holy Land, with the help of Jacob Drum, a biblical archaeologist and old friend, Tempe becomes involved in an international mystery as old as Jesus, a mystery that could rewrite 2000 years of religious history. Could one of the tombs really be Christ's last resting place? And are the bones in the ancient ossuary the last remnants of James, the brother of Jesus, as its inscription claims? But the further Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...

The latest gripping thriller from world-class forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs, bestselling author of Bare Bones and Monday Mourning

An orthodox Jew is found shot dead in Montreal. His mutilated body is barely recognisable.

Extreme heat has accelerated decompostion and made it virtually impossible to determine the trajectory of the bullet. As forensic anthropolgist, Dr Tempe Brennan attempts to make sense of the mystery, a stranger slips her a photograph of a skeleton, claiming it holds the key to the victim's death.

The trail of clues leads all the way to the Holy Land where, together with detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe makes a startling discovery - but the more Tempe probes into the identity of the ancient skeleton, the more she seems to be putting herself in danger...

'Brilliant' Jeffery Deaver

'A rattling good read' Kate Mosse

'Reichs is on top form' Sunday Times

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Kathy Reichs is forensic anthropologist for the Offices of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratorie de Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecine Legale for the province of Quebec. A professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she divides her time between Charlotte and Montreal and is a frequent expert witness in criminal trials.