Grave Secrets

Grave Secrets, published in 2002, is the fifth novel in Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan series. The series follows forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan and began with Déjà Dead in 1997. Reichs, herself a forensic anthropologist, has continued the series well beyond the fifth installment.

The novel moves between Guatemala, where Temperance Brennan is exhuming bodies from clandestine mass graves dating to the Guatemalan Civil War, and Montreal, where a series of murders appear connected to the Guatemalan investigation. These two settings reflect Brennan's dual professional life, which is a recurring element in the series. The Guatemalan sections deal directly with the legacy of political violence in Central America.

The Bones television series, which ran from 2005 to 2017, was inspired by Kathy Reichs's Temperance Brennan novels but generally did not directly adapt specific books into individual episodes. The show's Temperance Brennan differs significantly from the novels' version in backstory and personality. Grave Secrets contributed to the broader world and character template that the show drew from, but it is not a one-to-one source for any single episode.

Brennan uncovers links between clandestine mass graves from the Guatemalan Civil War and a series of murders in Montreal. The investigation forces her to navigate dangerous political terrain in Guatemala while also pursuing forensic leads in Canada. The case involves decomposed remains and forensic anthropology techniques central to Reichs's own professional expertise.