From the New York Times bestselling author of Speaking in Bones , the first Temperance Brennan novel in the "cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series" ( The New York Times Book Review ). Her life is devoted to justice—even for those she never knew. In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Temperance detects an alarming pattern—and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her—her best friend and her own daughter—in mortal danger... "A genius at building suspense" ( Daily News , New York), Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan books are ripe with intricate settings and memorable characters" ( Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ).