When Avram Ferris, a
Jewish trader, is shot in Montreal, forensic anthropologist
Temperance Brennan is given a photograph by a mysterious man who
claims it holds the key to the murder. The photo is of a skeleton,
and as Brennan searches for its identity, she fears she might stumble
on a millenium-old secret that could cause worldwide chaos.
First things first, the
story's not as melodramatic as I just made it sound. One of the most
entertaining things about this story was thinking it was going down
the Dan Brown route, only to wrongfoot the reader completely. Cross
Bones is pretty innovative in that regard - “brave” is
probably too strong a word, as it's not that the book really does
anything to subvert expectations, rather it doesn't do a certain
thing.
It teases that it's going
to feature sinister, ancient conspiracies, with Jewish, Christian and
Muslim groups all having a moment in the dark spotlight. Two iconic
moments from Christian and Jewish heritage – Christ's crucifixion
and the siege of Masada – play a central role in Brennan's
investigations, implying that they're going to be central to the
story's resolution. Before the story begins, Reichs gives us a
detailed timeline of a real Israeli archaeological dig that happened
in the 1960s, and the weird aftermath that would have any conspiracy
nut in a lather. I won't say how the novel deals with all this, but I
imagine some readers will be impressed by the unexpected turn, while
others will be sorely disappointed.
But enough about
intrigue, let's talk about the more concrete details. First of all, I
really liked Reichs's prose. It's very efficient, with no time for
purple prose, which is a big turn-off for me. In fact, there are
times when the wording feels a little too clipped. Reichs also loves
giving single sentences their own line, as if to show that they're
really significant.
But she does this so much
it loses its effect quickly.
It starts to look a bit
melodramatic after a while.
She also loves to end
chapters with thunderingly unsubtle teasers for the next chapter.
Typically, someone will be explaining something to Brennan, and the
chapter will end on something like “What he said next made my jaw
drop” or words to that effect. Not only does this get excessive,
but it comes off as really unnecessary given we can just turn the
page to find out what exactly was said. It's not like we're getting
each chapter in weekly installments and are being forced to wait in
suspense for the next one.
All these are minor
gripes thought. Honestly, I do love the writing in this book. Reichs
has a very easy-going style and humour that made up for the slightly
convoluted plot. There are number of skeletons involved in the story,
and it can get a little confusing trying to remember who's who. At
points, she loves to go into excruciating detail about how a skeleton
is examined. This isn't surprising given how Reichs is basing this on
her own work, but it made me skip over a few pages as I went.
Fortunately, Reichs's
characterisation makes up for these dry moments. Brennan gives the
profession a very human quality, and her frequent quips stop the book
from taking itself too seriously, while also avoiding coming off as
obnoxious. We find out a lot about Brennan's life and backstory
through occasional tidbits, so she feels well-rounded without having
to bury the reader under a tonne of exposition. I also liked her
tongue-in-cheek relationship with Andrew Ryan. It's nice to read a
crime novel where the protagonist's romance is playful instead of
angsty.
Jake Drum was a bit of
weak character in my opinion. He spends a lot of time grumbling and
holding things back from Brennan, which starts to get a bit
repetitive. That was one of my biggest gripes with the book and made
the second half a bit of a slog as he features more prominently
there.
That said, I still liked
Cross Bones over all. It's fun and it has some great
character-work, which is always good in a book, and it. I say pick up
a copy if you get the chance.
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