I find myself wishing I could give this more than three stars but just can't bring myself to do it. Perhaps it's a case of "it's not you, it's me" and I'm just a different type of reader these days. Kathy Reichs always writes very clearly and concisely, always detailed, well-planned and executed. I don't mind that Tempe's personal life is so rarely the focus. In fact, I appreciate this series for the science and the procedural plots. I feel like Reichs never underestimates my intelligence. It's refreshing. So, what is my problem? I feel like each book in the series follows an all-too similar outline. Tempe always gets buried or trapped somewhere dark. She always goes off-grid alone and gets hurt. The list goes on. The only thing missing from this installment that has so consistently occurred before is that Tempe wasn't kidnapped.
My other issue is that I wasn't feeling any suspense until the last few chapters. Nothing prior raised my pulse or made me want to peek ahead and find out how things were going to resolve. I missed that during the first 80-90% of the book and therefore had a hard time motivating myself to keep reading.
I liked the story and the writing (why can't more authors have so few typos and errors?!). I will definitely read the next installment but perhaps with less enthusiasm than I'd like.
