Always apprehensive about working fire scenes, Tempe is called to Washington, DC, to analyze the victims of a deadly blaze and sees her misgivings justified. The devastated building is in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful past and present, and Tempe becomes suspicious about the property’s ownership when she delves into its history.
The pieces start falling into place strangely and quickly, and, sensing a good story, Tempe teams with a new ally, telejournalist Ivy Doyle. Soon the duo learns that back in the thirties and forties the home was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom gang member is shot dead at his home in an affluent part of the district. Coincidence? Targeted attacks? So many questions.
As Tempe and Ivy dig deeper, an arrest is finally made. Then another Foggy Bottom Gang-linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious: somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.
Kathy Reichs and Temperance Brennan has always been one of my favourite series. The series is always strong in regard to forensic anthropology and police procedure. I enjoy the fact that Kathy Reichs is also a forensic anthropologist, as it gives the series a feeling of authenticity.
There are only 3 downsides to the series. Why, oh why, can’t Tempe get her personal life together after so money years? Ryan loves her, she loves him, and both want to do good and bring justice to victims. So why, oh why, do they seem to have more arguments about work than anything else?
Finally, why are all of the officers that Tempe works with jerks? I get that they have hard personalities, but the males all seem to be crude and/or borderline nasty. Andrew Ryan was a decent cop who flirted with Tempe, but at least he had manners. Claudel is rude, Skinny is crude, and many inbetween are just “get out of my way, lady.” That rudeness seems to make Tempe investigate on her own, and then she gets in trouble. You would think after “years” of doing this that Tempe would have GROWN.
Overall, I rate this novel 4 out of 5 stars.
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