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Description edit
"Fans of TV's C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation should be in heaven" ( People ) stepping into the world of forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan, star of Kathy Reichs' electrifyingly authentic bestsellers. She works with the dead but she works for the living. "Down time" is... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
"Down time" is not a phrase in Tempe Brennan's vocabulary: in the midst of a sizzling North Carolina summer, a string of disturbing cases puts her vacation plans on hold. A fiery plane crash, a newborn's remains, a mysterious cache unearthed on a remote farm...all hide secrets that Tempe must... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Temperance 'Tempe' Brennan: Forensic anthropologist.
- Andrew Ryan: Lieutenant-détective, Section de Crimes contre la Personne, Sûreté du Québec.
- Boyd: Pete's 70 lb. Chow that Tempe becomes attached to.
- Tim Larabee: The Mecklenburg County medical examiner.
- Eddie Rinaldi: Detective, Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD Felony Investigative Bureau/Homicide Unit. Slidell's partner.
- Darryl Tyree: Missing girl's boyfriend.
- Joe Hawkins: MCME death investigator.
- Walter 'Wally' Cagle: Forensic anthropologist in Columbia, North Carolina.
- Katy Peterson: Temperance Brennan's daughter.
- Ricky Don Dorton: Owner of airplane that crashed. Owner of two strip clubs.
- Terry Woolsey: Investigating officer, Lancaster County Sheriff's Department.
- Rachel Mendelson: One of the foremost ornithologists in the country. At UNCC (University of North Carolina at Charlotte)
- Harvey Edward Pearce: Victim.
- Palmer Cousins: Katy's boyfriend of the week.
- Foote: Property owner's name of place near air plane crash. Refers to several people in family.
- Pete Peterson: Brennan's estranged husband.
- Jason Jack Wyatt: Missing person. Ricky Don Dorton's cousin.
- Brian Aiker: Missing FWS agent.
- Harry: Brennan's sister.
- James Park: Coroner, Lancaster County.
- Charlie Junior: Charlotte Grant Cobb' son.
- Dolores: Cagle's secretary.
- Mccranie: Where picnic is held.
- Brian Aiker: FWS Agent
- Illiger: Add a description of this character.
- Anne Turnip: Brennan's friend in Charlotte.
- Gideon Banks: Victims grandfather.
- Tamela Banks: Victims mother. Gideon's daughter.
- Erskine 'Skinny' Slidell: Detective, Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD Felony Investigative Bureau/Homicide Unit. Rinaldi's partner.
- Geneva Banks: Tamela's sister.
- Harrison “Sonny” Pounder: A street-corner dopeman.
- Lija: Katy’s best friend since the fourth grade.
- Wade Gullet: A Davidson police officer.
- Sheila Jansen: Air safety investigator.
- Opal Dorton Cumbo: Wyatt's grandmother.
- Pierre LaManche: The chef de service for the medicolegal section at the crime lab in Montreal.
- Kit: Harry's son. Brennan's nephew.
- Murray P. Snow: Former Lancaster county coroner.
- Danielle: Ryan's niece.
- Hershey Zamzow: Resident agent in charge of FWS field office in Raleigh.
- Charlotte Grant Cobb: Missing FWS agent.
- Gene Rudin: Dr. Cagle's graduate student.
- Lawrence Looper: Dr. Cagle's roommate.
- Roe: Chief Deputy, Lancaster County Sheriff's Department.
- Hal Cobber: Former Sheriff, Lancaster County.
- Ted Springer: Brennan's contact at South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
- Mrs. Cobb: Charlotte Grant Cobb's mother.
Quotes edit
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“The decorating was nouveau Wal-Mart. Linoleum. Vinyl recliner. Oak-laminate coffee and end tables. Plastic palms.”
Brennan describing Gidon Banks home. -
“To say she looked tense would be like saying Enron’s accountants did some rounding up.”
Brennan referring to Lija's frustration over burned food.
- Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers
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“Greed and callousness are winning out, Ryan. Love and kindness and human compassion are becoming just a few more entries on the list of endangered species.”
Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers -
If annoying tasks are avoidable, I am a world-class procrastinator. I advance mail from pile to pile, then chuck it when the deadline or opportunity has passed. I wait out snow until it melts. I coexist with dandelions and weeds. My garden relies on rain.
Highlighted by 10 Kindle customers -
“Refresh me on Melungeons.” “They’re fairly dark-skinned people with European-looking features. Some have an Asian eye fold.”
Highlighted by 9 Kindle customers -
“CYANOPSITTA SPIXII.”
Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers -
“KS men tend to be tall, with disproportionately long legs and little body or facial hair. Some are pear-shaped. Some exhibit breast development.”
Highlighted by 8 Kindle customers -
“KS individuals have a high incidence of learning disabilities, sometimes decreased verbal IQ, but usually normal intelligence. Some studies report increased levels of aggression or antisocial behavior.”
Highlighted by 6 Kindle customers -
CHARLOTTE HAS MANY INSTITUTIONS DEVOTED TO THE PRESERVATION and veneration of beauty. The Mint Museum of Art. Spirit Square. The McGill Rose Garden. Hooters.
Highlighted by 5 Kindle customers -
Boyd was less enthused about the raw power of nature. He lay at my side, head thrust into the triangle of space below my crooked knees. It was a tactic on which Birdie often relied. If I can’t see you, you can’t see me. Ergo, I am safe.
Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers -
“Fifty thousand plants and animals become extinct each year, Ryan. Within half a century one-quarter of the world’s species could be gone.” I flapped a hand at the ocean. “And it’s not just over there. One-third of all U.S. plants and animals are at risk of extinction.”
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers -
“Any chance Dorton’s a Melungeon?”
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
- Geneva
- China
- Cessna
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
- Columbia
- Montreal
- Tennessee
- Raleigh
- Sneedville
- Quebec
- Doc
- Tempe
- Asia
- United States
- Guatemala
- Beaufort
- Spix
- Texas
- Myers Park: Neighborhood where Brennan lives in southeast Charlotte.
- Charlotte, North Carolina: Where Brennan lives and works while not in Canada.
- Sullivan's Island: Where Brennan's close friend Anne Turnip lives.
- MCME: The Mecklenburg County medical examiner's department.
- Nova Scotia: Where Ryan is from.
- Dublin, Ireland: Where Ryan's parents were from.
- London, England: Where Ryan's parents studied medicine.
Organizations edit
First Sentence edit
AS I WAS PACKAGING WHAT REMAINED OF THE DEAD BABY, THE man I would kill was burning pavement north toward Charlotte.
Table of Contents edit
Chapters 1-36
Series & Lists edit
This is book 6 of 15 in Temperance Brennan Novels. (standard series)
Preceded by Grave Secrets, and followed by Monday Mourning.
Authors & Contributors edit
- Kathy Reichs (Author)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: William Heinemann
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2003
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 400
Publisher: William Heinemann
Country: Add the country of publication.
Publication Date: 2003
ISBN: Add the ISBN.
Page Count: 400
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813.54
Subjects edit
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