The book opens with a somewhat confusing description of bodies scattered through a forest. At first I thought it was a dream sequence of some sort, it was so weird. Then the situation became clearer and we find forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan on the horrific scene of a downed plane. Part of the story is about the investigation of the crash. Part of it is about the recovery effort – collecting and identifying the victims. I was privileged enough to attend a conference a couple of years ago in which we were treated to a grim presentation on the recovery and identification operation for SwissAir Flight 800 in Nova Scotia. To say it was disturbing and sad is a tremendous understatement. (I can’t even imagine what the volunteers in New York must be going through right now.) Reichs gives it to us straight and in living color.
As far as I can tell, she’s right on with her details, describing the agencies involved in mass disaster recovery efforts: The Office of Emergency Preparedness runs the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which provides medical aid and services. Under the NDMS are the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) and Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team (DMORT). As Reichs puts it, DMAT looks after the needs of the living, DMORT takes care of the dead.
I appreciate this author’s approach to a story. Not only is there enough to keep a forensics junkie interested, she also complicates Tempe’s situation with the love interest, agent Andrew Ryan (don’t roll your eyes, this is not a romance by any stretch of the imagination), her ex-husband, with whom she gets along well and trades pet-sitting duty, and a supervisor who acts on suspicious directions from above and kicks her off of the investigative team. To clear her name and preserve her reputation, Tempe strikes out on her own. This is Nancy Drew meets Kay Scarpetta – minus the SuperQuincy element. Tempe sometimes makes mistakes and stays human.
If you like Cornwell and/or Reichs’ other books, this is a definite must-read. If you dig forensics fiction, grab a copy. And if graphic descriptions of crime scenes make you queasy, pass this one up.
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