Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs
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Book Reviews of Cross Bones
Book Review: Gee Where Have We Seen This Plot Before?
Summary: 3 Stars
Cross Bones by Kathy Reichs seems like nothing more than an ill-conceived attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the DaVinci Code, excerpt her version is much shorter-- too short as between all the different numbered and labeled skeletons, I got hopelessly confused. I also get terribly annoyed at Reich's propensity for not giving us the entire story-- she'll drop hints such as "What I saw in the crevice took my breath away!" but we don't find out until twenty chapters later what she saw in the crevice.
It starts when the body of a Jewish dealer in antiquities is found in a closet, seemingly a suicide but after Tempe Brennan is called in to the case, she determines he was murdered. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, she obtains a skeleton linked to the deceased that was discovered at a burial site in the Masada in the 1960's.
There's a lot of claptrap about rumors that the crucifixion of Jesus was faked and that he and his family actually died and were buried in the family tomb at the Masada. There's also a lot of claptrap about how this skeleton might actually be the skeleton of Jesus, and a lot more claptrap about Temp exploring the family tomb of Jesus and finding another mysteriously shrouded body.
Reichs also brings in the so-called James Brother of Jesus Ossuary and gives all kind of lame reasons why the experts are wrong when they say that it is a fake. She also starts out the novel with a set of facts designed to support the suppositions in the novel.
Of course, the possibility that Jesus survived the cross is terribly threatening to the Jewish orthodoxy and so Temp has a bunch of baddies chasing after her. Substitute Opus Dei for Jewish Orthodoxy and you have The DaVinci Code.
If the DaVinci Code is too long for you, then go ahead and read Cross Bones as it reads like a Reader's Digest Condensed version of Code. But if you've read Code, don't bother with Cross Bones. You already know the story.
Book Review: Get Away From the TV Show
Summary: 4 Stars
I read all of Kathy Reich's books. This one is a little below her normal stuff. I think it's because she's been working so much on Bones, her TV show. There are some holes in the plot and she doesn't go into her normal detail about some things, but then again other things she goes on and on and on about. Just different than her normal book. This one has her going to Israel with Ryan which I found weird. To see her out of her normal element. She's not a detective or the international police. I enjoy her when she's being what she is and also giving Ryan a nudge in the right direction not when she's playing action hero. It's still a good book better than most in this genre I've read.Book Review: This more History than Science
Summary: 4 Stars
I have read all of Kathy's book they all tell you something.This was by no means my favorite.But there was good stuff in it.There are lot of material on this subject in print.I've read some of it.On a personal note I like a straight-forward murder any day.I hope she moves Tempe & Ryan's together for good they make an excellent couple.And tell us what Tempe status is with her marriage.I went to Montreal last summer and went to all places in the books. Great fun, very cool city.Book Review: boring bones
Summary: 1 Stars
This was one of the most insipid "mysteries" I ever read. Concocted only to show off the author's knowledge of forensic archeology, it starts with a most interesting premise and spins into a cotton candy piece of nonsense with a protagonist who is beyond clueless, and rapidly becomes annoyingly stupid displaying more interest in her own sexual attraction than in solving the so-called mystery. A total waste of time.Book Review: I am SO disappointed
Summary: 2 Stars
In CROSS BONES, forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs' eighth novel featuring Dr. Temperance Brennan, our heroine is called in to determine if the death of Avram Ferris, an Orthodox Jewish man in Quebec, was murder or suicide. Her examination seems to indicate that Ferris was murdered. Her conclusion is confirmed when an acquaintance of Ferris's hands Tempe a black and white photograph of a skeleton, taken in Jerusalem in 1963, and tells her its subject is the reason Ferris was murdered.
Tempe discovers that the photo was taken during an archaeological dig of Masada, the long-ago site of the Jews' last stand against the Romans. Along with her lover Detective Andrew Ryan, who is investigating Ferris's murder, and biblical archaeologist Jake Drum, Tempe travels to Israel to investigate the origins of the photographed skeleton (which they crudely nickname "Masada Max"), and to explore ancient burial caves in and around Jerusalem. While in the city, she makes a startling discovery that could raise radical questions about the beliefs of millions of people around the world. Is it possible that Jesus survived his crucifixion on the cross and, rather than being resurrected as Christians believe, lived to the ripe old age of 80, and was buried with the rest of his family in a tomb deep in the Hinnon Valley? In CROSS BONES, Tempe takes on the most controversial and dangerous case of her career--and the stakes have never been higher.
Kudos to Reichs for being brave enough to write such a controversial book. But that's about all she gets kudos for with this one. Shame on you, Kathy, for feeling like you needed to buy into the "DAVINCI CODE knockoff" trend. And yes, I'm going to compare the two: If Reichs is going to mention that novel in CROSS BONES (which she does, more than once), you can be sure I'm going to make the comparison. The premise of CROSS BONES is the same: The main character discovers a secret that could have earth-shattering results for Christianity. You're better than that, Dr. Reichs, as your previous seven books have proven.
And while I can put up with the fact that the plot is similar to THE DAVINCI CODE, what I can't accept is that the writing is so similar. I mean, I love Dan Brown as much as the next person, but c'mon, folks, he's not the best writer, is he? Sadly, Reichs' writing also suffers greatly in this book. Her sentences are short and choppy, her dialogue is stilted, her prose is juvenile, her humor falls flat. And I've had just about enough of those heavy-handed cliffhangers at the end of every chapter. And don't you think she's told us enough that Ryan's eyes are blue? Sapphire blue, Viking blue, ocean blue, baby blue...it's all blue, Kathy, we get it.
I have read all of the Tempe Brennan novels, and I've loved them all--that is, until I read CROSS BONES. I found absolutely nothing redeeming in this novel. All of the forensic science I've always found so interesting in Reichs' novels is dry and textbook-boring in this offering. Her character development is nonexistent in CROSS BONES; she focuses totally on the plot rather than on the characters involved. While her descriptions of Montreal and North Carolina in previous novels have been vivid, her portrait of Israel is dry and detached. Although she mentions in her Epilogue that she flew to Jerusalem to do research for this novel, her depiction of the city is lifeless, and it reads as though she picked her descriptions of Israel straight from a travelogue.
Perhaps one of the reasons I had such a strong negative reaction to this novel is that its subject made me very uncomfortable. I am a Christian myself, and even reading this novel made me feel sacreligious. I think what bothered me was Reichs' flippant writing; Tempe, Jake, and Ryan, are constantly making some snide, sarcastic comment about the life of Jesus. I think Reichs could have taken more care not to be offensive. Yes, THE DAVINCI CODE tackled similar subject matter, but at least Dan Brown wrote with a little more respect. Aside from that, it is clear Reichs has disdain for organized religion of all kinds. In CROSS BONES, Christians are fanatics, Jews are radicals, Muslims are fundamentalists. You'll never hear any of them referred to in the pages of this novel without those tags.
But despite all this, I stuck with the novel, hoping for one of those trademark cleverly-crafted Reichs endings. Sadly, even in this I was disappointed. The ending is totally anticlimactic. Reichs takes the easy way out and gives her readers no answers, no explanations, not even some hypotheses to chew on. Just a rehashing of all the historical facts and some more not-so-witty-banter between Tempe and Ryan.
As a Reichs fan, I just can't tell you how disappointed I was with CROSS BONES. In fact, I'm not sure I'll be reading Tempe's ninth adventure--not unless Reichs steps back into the formula that's been working so well for her so far.
So I guess there's one major difference between THE DAVINCI CODE and CROSS BONES, after all: Brown, at least, tackled his biblical enigma with successful results.