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Publisher: Random House |
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This time, Tempe is sent to Guatemala to recover the bodies of the dead, massacred during the country's vile civil war. The people known in Guatemala as "the disappeareds". It is in the village of Chupan Ya that she uncovers 28 dead bodies, and on the way to the site, two other forensic scientists are attacked on the road, shot, and left for dead. It is the beginning of an investigation which will haunt Tempe in the coming weeks.
Shortly after, her help is sought by the local police. Four teenage girls have gone missing in Guatemala City, and one of them is the daughter of the Canadian Ambassador. Is there a serial killer at work? Soon after, a decomposing body is found in a septic tank of a local hotel, and the investigating begins in earnest.
Reichs' writing is sharp, the plotting tight and complex. Her characters are well drawn with a few choice words, and her descriptions of the dead are brilliant.
Tempe's relationship with Ryan develops, and complicates, with this book, when she also finds herself attracted to a Guatemalan police officer, who once knew Ryan. Tempe's conflict is well handled, and only serves to bolster the roundness of her character.
The tense and atmospheric conclusion is chilling, and brings the book to a satisfying close.
