In the middle of examining the body of an eight hundred year old Native American, Temperance Brennan was less than impressed when Agent Booth has her brought in to examine a skeleton left on the steps of a Federal building. But as she looks at the remains in more detail Tempe makes a shocking discovery – although the bits may seem to be from one body the skeleton has actually been assembled from a number of different people.

Although a suspect is arrested quite quickly Tempe starts to feel that there is more to the case than meets the eye so when similar gruesome discoveries are made she finds herself brought into the middle of something much more sinister. As links to one of Chicago's most infamous killers start to appear the trail starts to lead towards the Mafia and Tempe comes under threat. It is upto Tempe to discover the truth about the bodies in order to save her own life.

I have read other Temperance Brennan books previously but this is the first novel to be based on the TV characters rather than the Kathy Reichs originals. This makes the style of the novel more of a TV tie-in and will appeal to fans of the series more than the other Kathy Reichs stories. In this book we join familiar characters as they investigate a strange skeleton comprised of the bones of a number of different victims and it is this familiarity that will appeal to fans of the TV Tempe and Booth.

I am always a bit apprehensive when I first pick up a novel based on a TV series that I have enjoyed as I have read books in the past where it is clear that the author has been given a synopsis of the main characters but hasn't really watched the programme – they seem to miss the true essence of the characters they are writing about and the story feels a little disjointed.

This is not the case with Buried Deep. Collins has written characters that will be immediately familiar to anyone who has watched the show and the book has the atmosphere of a good episode. All in all this makes for a thoroughly enjoyable read and I am looking forward to the next book in the Bones series.

Synopsis
Dr. Temperance Brennan, a highly skilled forensic anthropologist who works at the Jeffersonian Institution and writes novels as a sideline, has an uncanny ability to read clues left behind in a victim's bones. Law enforcement calls upon her to assist with murder investigations when the standard methods of identifying a body are useless. Brennan often finds herself partnered with special investigator Seeley Booth of the FBI's Homicide Investigation Unit. Booth, a former Army sniper who mistrusts science and scientists, believes the key to solving crimes lies in discovering the truth from good old-fashioned detective work. Brennan's equally brilliant colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab include: earthy and bawdy Angela Montenegro, who's created a unique way to render an original crime scene in a 3-D computer image; Brennan's assistant, Zack Addy, a young prodigy whose genius IQ actually gets in the way of finishing any of the several doctorates he's begun; "the bug guy" Dr. Jack Hodgins, who's an expert on insects, spores and minerals, but conspiracy is his hobby; and Brennan's boss, the imposing lab director Dr. Daniel Goodman. "We hope my readers will realize that it's another manifestation of Tempe, and that they are in on this inside joke" says the real Reichs.