Flash and Bones: A Novel

Written by Kathy Reichs

Narrated by Linda Emond

Kathy Reichs—#1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit Bones—returns with a riveting new novel set in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring America’s favorite forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan.

Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

A turbocharged story of secrets and murder unfolds in this, the fourteenth thrilling novel in Reichs’s “cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series” (The New York Times Book Review). With the smash hit Bones about to enter its seventh season and in full syndication—and her most recent novel, Spider Bones, an instant New York Times bestseller—Kathy Reichs is at the top of her game.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
• Release date: Aug 23, 2011
• ISBN: 9781442340527

Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead, published in 1997, won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel and was an international bestseller. Fire and Bones is Reichs’s twenty-third novel featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Reichs was also a producer of Fox Television’s longest running scripted drama, Bones, which was based on her work and her novels. One of very few forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, Reichs divides her time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. Visit her at KathyReichs.com or follow her on Twitter @KathyReichs, Instagram @KathyReichs, or Facebook @KathyReichsBooks. 

Reviews for Flash and Bones

[kp9949 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not one of my favorites of Reichs' novels; however, it was better than I anticipated. Set in the world of NASCAR, I anticipated hating it as I'm not a fan. However, the mystery itself did pique my interest and found myself liking the story in spite of myself. Temperance Brennan has always been a good read and this story was no exception.

[brookeashley-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'd complained back in my review of Devil Bones that Reichs left the readers out of a really important conversation between Tempe Brennan and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Andrew Ryan. Rather than letting the scene play out in real time, she'd related what happened after the fact. She's annoyingly using that same tactic in the newest Bones installment - and there's really no excuse, since the narrative clocks in at just 271 pages in the hardcover edition. She mentions Ryan a few times and lets us in on one small-talk conversation, but relegates the rest to a couple paragraphs of past-tense exposition. I can't figure out what editor is letting her get away with this malarkey. Additionally, there are multiple scenes with Tempe's ex-husband and his fiancee which seem to be serving as comedic relief, but the book ends without any examination or resolution of Pete's unhappiness that Tempe notices. Full conversations between Tempe and Pete about this would have been a welcomed way to beef up the page count. There's also a few paragraphs dedicated to telling the reader about some family drama with Tempe's sister and nephew, but I was at a loss for whether this has been brought up in earlier books or if it was just a random infodump of an undeveloped side plot. It seemed like meaty stuff that was deserving of a lot more narrative attention than it received.On the plus side, I felt like Flash and Bones kept the repetitive explain-y bits to a bare minimum, which should be the case when you're at book #14 in a series. But maybe this is why its page count is so anemic. While the mystery was good as always, I read this series because I like Tempe, and I really hope that Reichs decides to spend more time and attention on Tempe's personal life in the next book rather than just giving us some crumbs in between the mystery scenes.

[elizajane_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Reason for Reading: I read all the author's books. I've got myself slightly behind but will get caught up shortly.First I'll start by saying I enjoyed the book very much. It was actually quite refreshing. Reichs seems to have removed herself from the cookie cutter mold she had let herself slip into lately, not that I don't always enjoy her books to a 3 or more but they do follow a pattern. Here we have Tempe entering a new world, one she isn't familiar with, that of Nascar Racing and she has to deal with some bones found in fairly obscure condition. As often happens a past and present corpse bring ideas of a relationship to their deaths and the investigation gets underway both into the current deaths and into the John Doe case. I kind of kicked myself when the perpetrator was found as it should have been easy to solve but it didn't come to me this time. I enjoyed Reichs usual details and it ended up being a surprising and sad case.On the other side, Tempe's continual personal life is always an ongoing theme of this series and I was pleased with its direction. It was not what I had expected as Andrew Ryan does not appear in the book at all. We do hear of him, through email letters and Tempe does still care about him, Charlie Hunt(?) her other suitor has been busy on an all important case and may perhaps be finding interest somewhere else. Meanwhile Tempe meets an ex-cop whom she works with on this case who makes her heart go pitter-patter in a completely different, new and exciting way. On top of that her ex and his fiance, 24 -year-old Summer, are driving her insane.A good all around mystery with a new fascinating setting, but for some reason I felt this a very slow read. It was not hard to put down and it would take time for me to pick up again. Personally I think this was me,not the book's fault. It was just a slow reading week for me.

[Lo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The liberal feminist btching is getting a little stale. Otherwise, enjoyable.

[Chrissy Pählig · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it, filled with interesting informations about NASCAR and forensic sience

[bookconcierge · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Digital audiobook performed by Barbara RosenblatBook # 14 in the very popular Temperance Brennan mystery series, featuring the forensic anthropologist who splits her time between Quebec and North Carolina. This one is firmly rooted in the USA, and begins when a 50-gal barrel is unearthed, and a hand is noted to be sticking out of the set asphalt which fills said container. This is just prior to the big NASCAR race at the Charlotte track and there’s some urgency to solve the case. Or is there? Before Dr Brennan can get the answers to the puzzle of this old corpse, the FBI swoops in, confiscates the remains and somehow makes all the records go “poof.”Reichs is great at plotting intricate mysteries and this is no exception. There are plenty of twists and turns, old and new murders to consider, red herrings and suspects galore. Tempe is her usual self – smart, determined, able to hold her own, but also prone to walking into dangerous situations without appropriate preparation or back-up. Never fear, Reichs always provides a strong man to get Dr Brennan out of the trouble she’s gotten herself into.Barbara Rosenblat does a fine job of narrating the audio version. She sets a good pace and has clear diction, so she’s understandable even at an increased speed.

[stephanie_m-868484 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

wonderful novel about the raceway, and drivers, poisons, and a darn good read.

[angelajmaher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I haven't read one of these for a while. At first I found the clean, concise style a little too simplistic, but it works well once you get used to it. Initially, the plot also seemed too cut and dried to base a whole novel on, but then the twists started coming in. In the end I rather enjoyed it, although it's painfully obvious the author didn't know much about NASCAR before writing the book, meaning their pieces of research are way too obvious and sometimes don't fit the narrative neatly.

[kmajort · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The series is holding up pretty well, characters at least grow & change. I just don't like NASCAR. at all.

[yeremenko_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A standard mystery story, but with more colorful characters than most mystery novels.The strong use of the first person point of view, taking full advantage of am excellent lead character, raises Reichs above most other writers.

[carol420 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the TV series `Bones' which is based on her books, yet hardly anything like the characters in the books. This is a series for everyone to read and enjoy. I missed Ryan a bit in this book, he was there but not for much time. In Spider Bones he played a much larger part. If you like police procedural and mysteries you will love this author. Great writing, good flow and a mystery to keep you guessing.

[bravenewbks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Another example of what Kathy Reichs does best -- a mystery wrapped in forensic anthropology, narrated in annoyingly incomplete sentences, but nonetheless thoroughly engrossing. This was set against a NASCAR backdrop, which is really not my thing, and I didn't find the Big Reveal quite satisfying, but at the same time I could hardly put it down.

[jepeters333 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a bodies found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan's office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble's sister Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Love kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi's? Or Cale's? At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can't overlook the coincidence.

[patiencefortitude · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A Temperance Brennan mystery about NASCAR racing. Decent fun, low calorie read.

[annbury_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Tempe is just as usual in this novel, but not in her best form -- or even her tenth best. In her Temperance Brennan series, Kathy Reichs has been providing good, reliable forensic thrillers for a long time now. That's what her readers want, and it is certainly reassuring to move into Tempe's world for a while: we know the characters, we know the likely dangers, and we know that it will all be resolved in the end. But sometimes the formula doesn't work all that well, and this, for me, was one of those times. Maybe it was the setting in the world of NASCAR racing, maybe it's the fact that I like her Montreal novels better, or maybe it's the somewhat nervous-making love (or lust) interest, or maybe it's the fact that Reich's writerly mannerisms seem to be getting more marked. I certainly won't stop reading this series, but I do hope the next one is more engrossing.

[akmamma · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

TO be honest not the strongest of the Temperance series. Again, LOVE Bones but I think that writing the TV show has taken away the magic of this character for me. Bones is SO much MORE on TV then here. I like her in the books better, as a person, but it went from dated (her early novels) to a rushed presentation.

She talks about having three elements in her comments in the back but the love aspect was wishy washy at best. I kept thinking, what are you doing? Petting the cat again huh? It was another book, nothing to scream about or give a 5 star review. Glad she has her other project with the YA books because Temperance has gotten boring!

Still a fun read but just eh...

[lmhtwb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tempe Brennan is confronted with a strange find -- a dead man encased in asphalt inside a barrel. The mystery deepens when the FBI becomes involved, apparently trying to warn her off a decade old missing person case. Is there a connection? She thinks so.Kathy Reichs is back to writing her Temperance Brennan like she used -- characters are interesting and focused but with enough 'other' material to make them real, the plot moves along without dragging, the technical material is explained when needed without lecturing, and most importantly, Birdie, the cat, is in the story! (Okay, not that important to most people, but I think it shows a realistic character.) I still miss Det. Ryan, Tempe's ex-boyfriend, but the new characters were a great addition and filled the void in the story if not her love life.Overall, this was better than the previous book, Spider Bones.

[ldvoorberg · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I don't think this audiobook was abridged, though it never said "unabridged". It seems that Kathy Reichs has been listening to her fan base, though: this book moved a long better than some of the others of late, and there was almost no ridiculous soap opera relationship issues with Det Andrew. Still a lot of rhetorical questions, but more of the science and mystery that makes the books interesting. Too bad Brennan was a bit daft at figuring this one out, because the reader gets it long before she does.

[dragonflydee1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kathy Reichs gives Tempe such a great sense of humor in such creepy circumstances--this read was short and sweet!

[bksgoddess · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Typical Kathy Reichs--fast paced thriller. I've always enjoyed her books!

[alicemeg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a good book overall. Like the others in the series, it was well-written and interesting. The author creates new and interesting scenarios rather than recycling the old ones. Unfortunately she has fallen into a bit of a pattern of having heroine get kidnapped and/or attacked by the villain at the end of the book. So in that sense it was a bit predictable.

[lizarees · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Temperance Brennan continues to be among the few of these long-running series that maintains a level of good writing and interest.An entertaining read, though a bit too much explanation of the NASCAR background and the scientific attributes of ricin and abrin, that could surely have emerged through the narrative without the didactic passages.Nevertheless I'm looking forward to the next volume.

[phyllis2779 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 2nd Reichs book that I've read. They are very well-written. Factual. Good dialog. Not one of those mysteries where everything is explained as the killer is just about to kill the detective who is rescued at the last moment. In this book, the police figure out the killer in the nick of time and save Brennan. I would read another one in the series if I came across it but the book wasn't so wonderful that I'm rushing out to look for the rest in the series.

[cmeilink_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I admit it...I'm a forensic science fan, and Kathy Reichs' books are always a favorite of mine. This book, Flash and Bones, does not disappoint. Set in Temperance's (Ms. Reichs') town of Charlotte, the story begins with the discovery of a body in a steel drum filled with asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. Is the body in the drum tied to the case of two teenagers that went missing years ago? Is it a man that was just recently reported missing? OR, is it someone else?With some unusual causes of death discovered and connections with a right-wing extremist group uncovered, this is one enjoyable and quick read.Recommended.

[gypsysmom_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've been reading the Temperance Brennan books since Deja Dead was published. I've noticed that I always prefer the books where Temperance is in Canada at least part of the book. In this book Tempe stays put in Charlotte which is inundated with car racing fans for the NASCAR race. A drum filled with asphalt and a body turns up just outside the race track and Tempe has to identify the body. A crew member wants to know if it could be his sister who disappeared years ago and has never been heard from since.Dr. Brennan ends up spending a lot of time at the race track and we are treated to lots of information about car racing. Maybe if I was more interested in NASCAR I would have found this riveting but it seemed like it was just added in for filler.Hopefully Tempe will be back in Montreal soon and get back in the groove with Detective Ryan.

[terran_9 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was not my favorite book by Reichs. Temperance Brennan investigates the death of a man who is found near a NASCAR race track. Does the body belong to a high school girl who disappeared with her boyfriend 12 years ago? Was a right wing hate group involved in the murder? Is the FBI involved in some kind of cover-up of the case? What is the mysterious substance found with the body? Will Tempe's ex-husband find happiness with his fiancee, Summer? Is she ever going to have a stable relationship? There is a lot of action and details, but somehow it just didn't gel for me.

[ct4bergeron · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have been reading every Kathy Reichs. For the past few years, I feel a bit disappointed as her style is always the same. Give all the "clues" and the let eveything fall into place in the last 10 pages. The story is entertaining, in this book we are completely immerse in the world of NASCAR when a body is found in a Oil drum close to the speed way. The setting of this book is completely in Charlotte and Tempe's life is again in jeopardy when she gets too close to the truth.

[kingray_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Kathy makes me glad that I live in Charlotte, NC and the heart of NASCAR country. One of her best novels.

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have been reading Temperance Brennan books since the first one came out, and I have truly enjoyed them. I did notice that the last two or so, although good, were not up to what I had come to expect from this series. This book is more like the Tempe Brennan that I have to come to love. The book is fast-paced and there are lots of twists and turns in the story. The book is set entirely in North Carolina this time, and all around NASAR racing which is huge in that state. There are lots of bodies turning up in various locations, and lots of threats and terrors for Tempe to deal with as she tries to unravel the mysteries. I love the character of Tempe Brennan and I love the forensic expertise that comes out so often in these books. Ms. Reichs is a wonderful author. True escapism for me.

[britbrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Temperance Brennan is back in full effect. When a body is found in a barrel, filled with concrete at a dump near the Charlotte Motor Speedway, our favorite forensic anthropologist is brought in to consult. Soon after the media gets wind of the story, Wayne Gamble, an employee of one of the NASCAR racing teams, visits Tempe to ask if the body found might be that of his sister, who vanished along with her white supremacist boyfriend twelve years earlier. Just as Tempe and her boss start to find answers, things start to get weird. The FBI shows up and the body disappears. Flash and Bones features the return of Officer "Skinny" Slydell and Tempe's soon-to-be-ex-husband Pete, and we finally get to meet Pete's intellectually-challenged fiancée, Summer. We're also introduced to the story behind Kathy Reichs's YA series, Virals. (I have reviewed the first book of the Virals series on my LibraryThing page as well as on my blog.)This installment of the Bones series has not been given stellar reviews. While not the best book she's ever written, I felt that it was a worthy addition to the series, and I was just as engulfed in it as I have been all of her other books. I truly enjoyed it.While the narrator did a great job, her gravelly voice, while lovely, made Tempe sound much older than I imagine her to be. I wish they would have stuck with Linda Emond, whose voice has much more of a chronological range.