Mortal Remains

I've read Mortal Remains by Kathy Reichs which I didn't like very much. The author writes with authority as a forensic anthropologist. The main character, Tempe Brennan, tells the story in the first person and I find her very irritating. This book centers on the work of JPAC, the Joint Pow/MIA Accounting Command whose job is to locate American POWs and to recover remains of those who died in past conflicts. The reader learns more about this work at the end of the book. It was interesting that 78,000 Americans remain missing from WWII. Reichs should be commended for raising awareness of this work. The story begins with the strange death of a man who is identified as someone already dead (in Vietnam) and buried (back in USA) 40 years before. Brennan investigates this anomaly and discovers more misidentifications that have occurred with the same incident. She and her "friend" Ryan take their respective daughters to Hawaii to continue the investigation and have some down time. It gets more complicated before the truth emerges. JPAC's motto is "Until They Are Home" and their work will probably never be completed. 3/5