I don’t watch the television show ‘Bones’ but had been told that I would enjoy it by a couple of people. A mixture of mystery and interesting main characters and some autopsy thrown in for laughs. So this week I picked up one of Kathy Reichs’ books. After just one chapter I knew she had to be at least a coroner or medical examiner. It turns out this lady is brillianto! Fast moving, interesting stories as well as great character development and all that almost immediately. Hmmm. Seriously though, Reichs is not only an MD but also a PhD and really knows her stuff – i.e. forensic anthropology. I am sure she bases some of her stores on real life drama but no way real life moves this fast.

This book starts with what seems a domestic case but quickly accelerates into maybe a drug smuggling operation. People are disappearing left and right, especially those our ME wants to speak with. Our heroine, Temperance Brennan, is knows to all as Tempe. She is mother to an adult daughter and separated but not divorced from her husband. They all have seemingly good relationships and she socializes with her daughter quite frequently. Tempe’s romantic life is also highlighted in this story. The man in question travels between the US and Canada as does Tempe and on this visit she realizes she is serious about him. Her daughter invites them to a picnic where they fall upon yet another case which thwarts their plans to get away on holiday.

Her husband’s dog, which she is looking after for a few days, digs up some old bones at the aforementioned picnic. Kids are suitably traumatized and Tempe is back on the job. There is also the call from law enforcement about a small plane that went down in the middle of nowhere with at least two victims on board. The people are burned and unrecognizable but again Tempe is called in to do the forensics. A federal employee joins the scene and all of a sudden we have about three stories going at once. This seems like it would be hard to keep track but it really isn’t. This is written in a way that you don’t want to stop reading. Personally I liked the way her private life was woven in to the main themes as well.

I haven’t seen these books on the best seller list but that may just be an oversight on my part. These are well written and fun books. Tempe is very likeable and I definitely want to get more of these books and find out more. I may actually have to go and get the first season of Bones too.

The year is 998 BC and we are travelling to the ancient Middle East. This is a fictional account of a few verses from the Old Testament in the Bible. The whole Lion of War series focuses on King David and his men but this first book not only centres on him but on other warriors too. This story is a relatively brutal account of the weeks leading up to when David takes over power as the King of Judah. The opening pages delve straight in and we meet a man loyal to David who is named Benaiah. Benaiah has been away from his wife and family for many years and has endured many battles. We learn about the relationships between the men who fight not only on David’s side but also those who stay with King Saul, and his son Jonathan, who just happens to be David’s best friend.

The descriptions of the battle scenes and the emotions Graham conjours up are amazing. A lot of the reviews at the beginning of the book use the word gritty and for a good reason. The details are gritty, he doesn’t pull any punches and you can certainly imagine yourself right there.

The reigning King, Saul, is at war against the Philistines. He is becoming more scared by the day and more fearful of David and his men who he believes are fighting with the enemy. He is also fearful as it has been prophesied that David will take over the throne from Saul and not his son Jonathan as would be the custom. Saul has been told by the prophet Samuel that he is no longer an effective leader and who has his own selfish interests above his people. Instead of trying to make things right with the people and David, he instead hunts him down and continues to glorify his own name.

The Hebrews are renowned men who fight against extraordinary odds and yet many don’t even believe or know the reasons they are at war. There are even mercenaries who fight for those who offer the highest wage.

Some of the best parts in this book, for me, are when the author writes about the women. Most men at that time thought women to be quite useless and stupid but Graham gives them a voice. Women were definitely considered chattel; they are just possessions who produce heirs, cook and clean. Graham has created women who are strong, try to get out of impossible situations and think! What a concept huh.

Apparently this book has already been bought for film rights and I imagine it to be R rated for the violence, not unjustly, in the war scenes. As you read it you can see how this will be a great movie; it will be full of frustration, despair but also desire and hope. An excellent book.