The good looking, sexy Detective Andrew Ryan needs Tempe's help in investigating a series of murders...three dead girls, and four missing. The New Brunswick bones might be related to those cases. There are strange, inexplicable lesions on the bones, perhaps disease related. Brennan finds that she still has feelings for Ryan. Even though he has become involved with his ex-wife in order to help his daughter, he is still very attractive to her. Tempe's sister, Harry, newly divorced again, shows up and tries to help with the investigation but only manages to get herself into trouble. When they do find Evangeline's younger sister, Obeline, who is married to a suspect in the abduction / pornography investigation, they only find more unanswered questions.

Reichs is a master at creating compelling characters and multi level plots, and this latest novel is a painful and emotional tale of child abuse, pornography, abduction and murder, with a serial predator who must be brought to justice. While the Fox TV series Bones is inspired by the Kathy Reichs novels, it really doesn't compare to the Temperance Brennan books. Bones to Ashes is the tenth Temperance Brennan novel, and while I have been a bit disappointed in a couple, this was definitely a "can't-put-down" book that kept me glued to the pages. Reichs is unquestionably at the top of her form. She draws on the latest advances in forensic anthropology to give us realistic, graphic forensic detail, and the level of psychological suspense is superb; the ending is surprising and satisfying.