I haven’t read ALL of the 21 books in Kathy Reichs’s series featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance (“Tempe” Brennan, but I have most, and always enjoyed them. So I was happy to receive a copy of Cold, Cold Bones from Scribner and NetGalley. Tempe divides her time between North Carolina and Canada, and in this one, it is Winter in North Carolina and, wiwork schedule, Tempe Brennan is content tth a cold weather reprieve on her workload, Tempe plans to spend lots of time with her daughter Katy, recently returned from serving in the Army.  Returning home one night, they find a box on the back porch and, when they open it, they find an eyeball (EEWW).Human! 

There are GPS coordinates etched into the eyeball and Tempe follows them to a Benedictine monastery, then things take off. There is a mummified corpse, then subsequent murders. Tempe starts suffering from anxiety as she begins to unravel the mystery. .

Retired detective Erskine “Skinny” Slidell has  retired but is still volunteering with the CMPD cold case unit. His classic dark humor is on full display and we also get more or  Andrew Ryan, Tempe’s Montreal-based lover, who is now a private detective. Then Katy disappears and things get even more interesting. Lots of scary stuff, some humor, revenge, romance, details on the forensic anthropology aspects of her work – this one has it all. I am glad to rejoin Tempe’s world, at least for a while. And in print. Five stars.