Under the microscope the outer bone surface is a moonscape of craters.

Preliminary diagnosis Deformity of the bone.

Maybe.

Cortical destruction on a metacarpal.

Maybe.

Localised infection Systemic disease process Postmortem destruction either purposeful or natural A combination of the above I dont have a diagnosis.

The skeleton is that of a young girl no more than fourteen years old and forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan is struggling to keep her emotions in check.

Coroner Jean Bradette is being evasive insisting the bones are ancient and of no interest.

But it doesnt quite add up and a frustrated Tempe is convinced that Bradette is hiding something.

Its not Tempes case shes overwhelmed with more urgent work in the lab.

But the nagging in her subconscious wont let up.

A memory triggered deep in her hindbrain the disappearance of a childhood friend no warning no explanation.

Detective Andrew Ryan is working a series of parallel cases and requires Tempes forensic expertise.

Three missing persons three unidentified bodies all female all early to midteens.

.

.

Could there be a serial killer at work Was Bradettes skeleton another in this tragic line of young victims Or is Tempe overreacting making connections where none exist Can she and Ryan put their personal tensions aside and stop the killer before another young girl falls prey Working on instinct Tempe takes matters into her own hands.

But she couldnt have predicted where this case would lead or the horrors it would eventually uncover.

Can Tempe maintain a professional distance as the past catches up with her in this her most deeply personal case yet Product Details Paperback Book Author Kathy Reichs Genre Crime Fiction Publisher Random House ISBN 9780434014644