The medical examiner has also asked Tempe to examine a bundle of Peruvian dog mummies confiscated by U.S. Customs. A Desert Storm veteran named Dominick Rockett stands accused of smuggling the objects into the country. Could there be some connection between the trafficking of antiquities and the trafficking of humans?
As the case deepens, Tempe must also grapple with personal turmoil. Her daughter Katy, grieving the death of her boyfriend in Afghanistan, impulsively enlists in the Army. Meanwhile, Katy’s father Pete is frustrated by Tempe’s reluctance to finalize their divorce. As pressure mounts from all corners, Tempe soon finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that extends all the way from South America, to Afghanistan, and right to the center of Charlotte.
This time, Tempe has three cases on her plate. First is a hit-and-run case where the body of a girl found on a deserted stretch of the highway. The second case is that of mummified dogs [no you didn’t read that wrong] that were being smuggled into the country. And the third case takes her all the way to Afghanistan where a US Marine has been accused of murdering two locals. At the same time her personal life is in a turmoil too. Her daughter had enlisted in the army and is stationed at Afghanistan. Her ex-husband is pushing her for a divorce so that he can marry again. And to top things off, her boyfriend Ryan, has gone off the radar too. With pressure mounting her from all directions and the personal connection that she feels in the first and the third case – Tempe has to pull all stops to solve the cases.
All of Kathy Reichs’ books have two things in common – great technical details and well researched subjects. This book was no exception. And of course her narration style remains the same – fluid and natural. This time she has managed to build up great tension in the plot, however the ending was not even close to what it was being built up to. I cannot help but feel a bit disappointed with the ending. Also, I am kind of getting tired of Tempe’s all-rounder and better than the specialists image. She is always so hell bent on doing everything on her own, which previously meant predictable actions in climax scenes, now seems to have turned to a one woman show. I mean, even super heroes need help from time to time – like Batman has Alfred & the commissioner in the least to back him up. But Tempe never needs anybody!
Irrespective of my misgivings, I cannot deny the fact that this book is an entertaining one. Kathy Reichs is after all an expert storyteller.
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