206 Bones has a tense beginning with Tempe in dire circumstances.  She regains consciousness as the story opens, finding herself bound hand and foot, and in a small, dark, enclosed space that is also very damp and cold. As she tries to figure out how to free herself, she mentally tries to reconstruct what has happened. Brennan has made an enemy, but who? And why?  And where is she?

Tempe and the gorgeous Andrew Ryan of the Surete du Quebec accompany the remains of a missing heiress from Montreal to the Chicago morgue, where Tempe is accused of botching the autopsy, but the accuser is unknown. Tempe's investigation links the lady's death to the brutal murders of other elderly women, and now Tempe's reputation is on the line.

206 Bones has parallel story lines in a complicated plot. The story takes us between Tempe's present captivity and flashbacks as she tries to figure out who is behind it and how she can free herself.

The TV show Bones, while based on Kathy Reichs’ work as a forensic pathologist, really doesn't compare with the Temperance Brennan books.  I am a serious fan of Reichs, who is at the peak of her ability, and have read all her books. A few of them have been a bit disappointing,  but this was definitely a riveting story that kept me glued to the pages.  She draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to give us realistic, graphic forensic detail, and the level of psychological suspense is superb, with an ending that I didn't see coming.