BOOK BITES | Kathy Reichs, Alice Robb, Sarah Vaughan

Published in the Sunday Times (12/07/2020)

A Conspiracy of Bones ***
Kathy Reichs
Simon & Schuster, R3`15

You always know that Temperance Brennan will get into trouble. The forensic anthropologist will set aside the old bones, pursue a complex murder investigation, and get attacked. All this while clashing with her ex-detective colleague and ethically challenging others (in this case her new boss). But the occasional formulaic moment is easily forgiven because Tempe's unlikely adventures are bestowed with an odd authenticity as the author is the character - and both are impressive. Like Tempe, Reichs is a respected forensic anthropologist who divides her time between Charlotte in North Carolina and Montreal in Canada. In A Conspiracy of Bones, Tempe is recovering from neurosurgery when anonymously sent a pathology report on a faceless corpse whose death is considered suicide. She disagrees and can't let the case go, eventually connecting the death to an old missing-child case and a murky underworld of criminals, extremists
and conspiracy theorists. William Saunderson-Meyer @TheJaundicedEye

Why We Dream: The Transformative Power of Our Nightly Journey ****
Alice Robb
Picador, R310

Robb bypasses the New Age theories and takes dreaming to the scientists. How we dream and what we dream can make an impact on our daily lives. For example, those who focus on dreaming about a new language, or a difficult maths problem, will do better than those who only study. The book explores both the theories and the research, and provides suggestions on how to get more out of your dreams. A fascinating read. Tiah Beautement @ms_tiahmarie

Little Disasters ****
Sarah Vaughan
Simon & Schuster, R315

Domestic noir involving the mistreatment of babies will always be extremely chilling and Vaughan takes it to a new level of compelling read. One needs to know what happened to little Betsey. How was her skull fractured? Was it her mom, Jess? Paediatric doctor Liz doesn't know what to believe - she thinks she knows that her friend Jess is a good mother. Is she? Vaughan is excellent at building the tension and at looking at the minutiae of trying to be a perfect parent. Precovid, of course. Jennifer Platt @Jenniferdplatt