Rating: 
Summary: grisly politics, fine forensic anthropology
Review: In her fifth outing, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, who ordinarily divides her professional time between Montreal and North Carolina, is in Guatemala excavating a 1982 massacre site. As the book opens, two of her co-workers have been ambushed; one is dead, the other is in a coma. Authorities are calling it a robbery but Tempe knows their work is dangerous - many of those responsible for "disappeareds" are still in power.Then Tempe's work is interrupted by a request to recover a girl's decomposed body found in a seedy motel septic tank. Four teenage girls - one of them the Canadian ambassador's daughter - are missing and Detective Bartolomé Galiano fears a serial killer. The plot lines cross and re-cross. Tempe's new investigation is disrupted by a sinister official who confiscates the body. Parental secrets and the vagaries of teenage behavior complicate matters and the demands of the massacre site are heavy. Meanwhile Tempe's conflicted relationship with Montreal detective Andrew Ryan takes another hit from her growing attraction to Galiano. Intricate, finely detailed scenes of forensic examination (particularly the septic tank recovery and study of skeleton detail) fuel the story, counterbalancing Tempe's sometimes mystifying penchant for thin-skinned irritability. The plot is almost confusingly complex, but Reichs (herself a forensic anthropologist) wraps it up nicely leaving a little teaser for her next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, but steady
Review: I really did enjoy Grave Secrets and it did keep me reading as I read in a weekend, however I agree that was not really a thriller. The action occurred at a sedate pace and I often wondered why Tempe kept up with the case once her part of the investigation was completed. The end was too fast and didn't connect all the dots that were left behind. The Guatemalan aspect of the book was very interesting as being an Australian we don't hear much news from South America.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: This novel was a disappointment.
The story starts out well but the ending is just ridiculous.
Also too farfetched is the plot device that brings Ryan into the story again.
All in all I would have to say that this book is by far the weakest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: good book, but not her best.
Review: I've enjoyed Dr. Reichs previous works more. Deja Dead is my favorite. I still can't believe that one hasn't turned into a movie. the book ends too quickly, you really don't have time to try and figure out who the bad guy is. and it's simply not as much of a "thriller" as i'd hoped. but still, it's an interesting book and well worth the $15.00.
Rating:
Summary: Tempe Brennan investigates horrors in Guatemala.
Review: Kathy Reichs's latest novel, "Grave Secrets," has Tempe Brennan visiting Guatemala to help the Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Foundation. Tempe is a highly skilled forensic anthropologist (like the author herself) who is helping to uncover the remains from a massacre that occurred twenty years ago in a village called Chupan Ya. At that time, Guatemalan soldiers raped and murdered the defenseless women and children who lived there. No records of the massacre were kept and the perpetrators were never brought to justice. Tempe and the rest of the team want to prove that the massacre occurred and they are also attempting to identify any remains that they find. This is by far the strongest and most poignant part of "Grave Secrets." Tempe's work in Guatemala is heartbreaking, and in light of the massacres that have occurred in so many places, all too realistic. Suddenly, two members of Tempe's team are ambushed and shot, for unknown reasons. In addition, Tempe is asked to help investigators on another case in Guatemala. It seems that four privileged young women have mysteriously vanished. One set of remains is found in a septic tank, and Tempe's expertise is called upon to dig out the remains and identify them. She runs into hostility and anger from a Guatemalan District Attorney, who is angry at her "interference." Reichs writes with tremendous authority about every aspect of forensic anthropology and the first half of the book is fascinating and gripping. The second half of the book is weaker for several reasons. Reichs cooks up a budding romance between Tempe and a Guatemalan Special Investigator named Galiano. Galiano happens to know Andrew Ryan, Tempe's love interest in Montreal, where she works part time. Which man will win Tempe's heart? This aspect of the book is cutesy and unsatisfying. Tempe acts more like a schoolgirl than a grown woman when she is around these two men. Worse, however, is the ending of the book. After a series of red herrings, the truth is revealed about the missing girls and the present day violence in Guatemala. The solution to the mystery is completely out of left field and extremely far-fetched. This is a shame, since Tempe is a great character, compassionate as well as strong and self-confident (except when she is around attractive men). I cannot wholeheartedly recommend "Grave Secrets," since the beginning of the novel is so much stronger than its conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A good read
Review: I stumbled on Kathy Reichs' Fatal Voyage a few months back and was so impressed I read all of her previous works. Grave Secrets is not her best but it is still very good. Although it bothers me that Tempe and Ryan are still in limbo.
Rating: 
Summary: Write a decent review
Review: I am still in the middle of reading this book and it's great so far. I just wish reviewers would stick with what they did or did not like about the book instead of rewriting the book in their review.
Rating:
Summary: GRAVE SECRETS
Review: ALTHUGH I ENJOYED THIS BOOK I DON'T THINK IT WAS THE BEST THE AUTHOR HAS WROTE. FOR ME THE STORY JUMPED AROUND TOO MUCH AND WAS VERY CONFUSING.
Rating:
Summary: Should I compare thee!
Review: I think it is about time the publishers of Ms Reichs books dropped the" better than Cornwall "tag in their marketing. Why you may ask? To my mind set it is a bit like saying Shakespeare is better than a Mills & Boon , they clearly are not in the same league, therefore comparison is not relevant. Grave Secrets is a ripping yarn, fast moving, witty, sexy and intricately laced. If that wasn't enough it is also very well researched, Kathy Reichs knows her stuff, and is exceptional at making it readable
Rating:
Summary: Not Cornwell, thank Heavens
Review: Comparing Kathy Reichs to Cornwell is like comparing real roses to plastic ones; it doesn't do Reichs any favors with those of us who find Cornwell's books tedious, cartoonish, and stupid. No question, Reichs is getting better. Complaints about "intricate plotting" hint at that. Here, she weaves together four disappearances that appear to be related, and an apparently unrelated murder, then resolves all the strands quickly with only one convenient accident. And the last four sentences of the book made me laugh out loud. Some fun. Reichs' forensics are rock solid and fascinating. More to the point, her characters are not cardboard grotesques, and her heroine's values extend beyond the brandname of her stemware. There is none of Cornwell's thinly veiled contempt for people who don't covet Jaguars. The appearance of Tempe Brennan in a Guatemalan village was a bit of a shock, but within a few pages, it makes sense and, for its humanizing and realistic focus on one person trying to make a difference in a real political tragedy, it is a major attraction of the book. Brennan isn't out to save the world from face-peeling supervillains; she's slogging in a septic tank to protect real people from real evil. Can't wait for more.
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