Average Rating
It was a summer morning in 1982 when soldiers ravaged the village of Chupan Ya, raping and killing women and children. Twenty-three victims are said to lie in the well when Dr. Temperance Brennan and the team from the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation now dig. No records were kept. To their families, the dead are "the disappeared."
The team is packing up for the day when an urgent satellite call comes in. Two colleagues are under attack. Shots ring out, and Tempe listens in horror to a woman's sreams. Then there is silence. Dead silence.
With this new violence, Tempe is asked by the Guatemalan police for her expertise on another case. Four privlidged young women have vanished from Guatemala City in recent months. One is the Canadian's ambassador's daughter. Some remains have turned up in the septic tank. Unfortunately, Tempe knows septic tanks.
Teaming with Special Crimes Investigator Bartolomé Galiano, and with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan, Tempe soon finds herself in a dangerous web that streches far beyond Guatemala's borders. As power, money, greed, and science converge, Tempe must make life-altering choices.
Grave Secrets is powerful entertainment from a crime fiction superstar who combines riveting authenticity with witty, elegant prose.
Fiction
Mystery, Thriller
People who listened to this Audio Book also listened to...
Most recent 5 reviews out of 9
Submitted by Kathy
This book is quick paced plot and an interesting read. The author did an excellent job describing more than I needed to know about a septic tank. Reichs is an author that I look for when I want a good read.
Submitted by K Griffin
This was the first novel by Kathy Reichs that I have "read". It was kind of slow at first, but about half-way through it became much more interesting. I think that there might have been a few too many threads going on at the same time, with what seemed like a rushed tie-up on some of them. I am definitely going to give some of her other books a try.
Submitted by Howeln in Alpine,
I liked this book, and the first one I have listened too/read by Reichs, which I only did because of the TV show Bones. The writing is very descriptive but well balanced. I'm not the best person to judge mysteries, but I did think it was well done.
Submitted by June Frost
A typical entertaining Reichs read/listen. I am a Reichs fan, so my review is biased. Good descriptive writing, with believable dialogue. Temperance, the main character, is a strong, well educated, smart woman who knows what she wants (most of the time) and is unafraid to show her independence, even when her beliefs are different from the crowd. Good woman's book for motivation, and my husband liked it too.
Submitted by Bonnie Enzian
This was a great story. There were many different plots going on and lots of interesting characters. The explosive civil turbulence that took place in Guatemala for 30 years was fascinating to learn about and of course, disturbing at the same time. The forensic anthropology lessons were also very interesting and made the murder investigations personal-waiting to hear how the cat hairs found on the victim, or the tiny bones wrapped up in a shirt sleeve would help find the killer(s).
I thought this book was narrated very well and it definitely kept me interested all the way through. This was the first Kathy Reichs book I've listened to and I will do be renting another one of her titles soon.
Genres 
Biographies
