Mortal Remains by Kathy Reichs

Dr Temperance Brennan spends her life working amongst the decomposed, the mutilated and the skeletal. So the two-days-dead body she is called to examine holds little to surprise her. Until she discovers that the man is John Lowery, an ex-soldier who was apparently killed in Vietnam in 1968. So who is buried in Lowery's grave. The case takes Tempe to the heart of the American military, where she must examine the remains of anyone who may have had a connection to the drowned man. It's a harrowing task, but it pays off when she finds Lowery's dog tags amongst the bones of a long-dead soldier. As Tempe unravels the tangled threads of the soldiers' lives and deaths, she realises there are some who would rather the past stayed dead and buried. And when she proves difficult to frighten, they turn their attention to the one person she would give her life to protect. 

I do love a good Kathy Reichs novel. Clearly evident by the fact that I read this one in about 3 or 4 days?  And I did enjoy this one ... although some things fell flat for me. Perhaps it's because I haven't read one of hers in a while, but I didn't remember her having a daughter. I think it's probably because I watch more Bones than read Kathy Reichs. And that left me feeling a different sort of disappointment. I like the Bones character of Temperance Brennan better than the one in the novels now.

Anyway, that aside I really did enjoy the book. I especially liked that it had elements from the Vietnam War ... since I'll be there in less than 3 weeks! After reading this I went and wikipedia-ed some more info on the war. It was complicated stuff, over a very long period, so I won't say I know much more but hopefully enough to make a little sense of some of the things we'll be seeing over there (like the Cu Chi Tunnels and maybe Ho Chi Min's Mausoleum ... but somehow I don't see The Trucker being up for that one! Haha, plus I don't think it'll work out time-wise ... much like my attempt at Mao).

This book also had me wikipedia-ing a medical condition ... so all in all that made it a very good book from my perspective (it made me learn something new and was also twisty fiction :) ). I recommend it.