‘Break No Bones’ is the latest novel featuring Dr Temperance Brennan, forensic anthropologist! (I had to prowl the library for a month before the book became available and all those who’d reserved it had their turns!) This time round the story focuses on her stint at South Carolina, in a sleepy town of beaches… An articulated skeleton was found amongst ancient burial remains with an interesting groove along the inner left surface of the 6th cervical vertebrae, as well as other nicks along the inner side of the lumbar vertebrae… Initially, flumoxed, the doctor grew increasingly worried as more remains turned up, with similar nicks along the vertebrae…

Anyway, now for the spoilers… heh heh heh…

The book focusses on an illegal trade of organs… more like robbings actually, organs were taken from street people ie. the homeless who were drugged and killed at one of the free clinics established just for them; then their organs were flown over to Mexico side and sold at exorbitant prices to those who could afford the ’specially tailored therapy’ at a ’spa’… And the weird consistent nick along the side of the 6th vertebrae? And always on the left? It was created by the murderer (crooked doctor) who would use a loop of wire to garrot the victims, and he was left-handed (actually I can’t really figure out how that explained it, shouldn’t it be R sided nicks then? anyway…) And the other tiny nicks, were actually made by scapel, as they removed the victims’ kidneys… (retroperitoneal mah)