Bones to Ashes reaches back to roots in Longfellow's poem, Evangeline, and Dr. Temperance Brennan's childhood to solve an old mystery, whatever happened to Tempe's missing Acadian friends, Evangeline and Obeline. To do so, literary analysis, forensic anthropology, breaking encryptions, and diatomic sampling will be required. As the book opens, you are carried back to Tempe's youth and her friendship with Evangeline and Obeline. Quickly, the book returns to the present as Tempe returns to work in Montreal to find a backlog of bones to examine. At that, Hippolyte Gallant who works on cold cases persuades her to look at one more set: some bones sitting in a police station that don't interest the local coroner. That set fascinates Tempe because it seems to be from a girl about Evangeline's age when she disappeared. Could this be Evangeline? That concern leads Tempe to investigate with her sister Harry's help into what happened to Evangeline. Meanwhile, Andrew Ryan, Tempe's estranged lover, is working on a floater who may be linked to three missing persons and two unidentified bodies. Could there be a serial killer involved? Bit by bit, Tempe and Ryan connect the dots in unexpected ways. Will they reconnect personally? Ryan is pretty busy taking care of his junkie daughter and is put off by having seen Tempe's husband put his arms around Tempe. But at least they still share a cockatiel, Charlie, who provides some of the humor in the story. As usual, the science is wonderful and five star in this book. As occurred with Break No Bones, the story and the rest of the writing creak in several ways that are hard to discuss without giving away the plot. The main weaknesses show up in these areas: 1. The Tempe-Ryan relationship seemed artificial and didn't ring true to me. 2. Harry's behavior and language were way over the top for me. Once again, it didn't ring true in several places. 3. The solution to Evangeline's disappearance is tied in part to a way of thinking that seems more than a little unlikely. I didn't buy it. 4. Basic facts about the suspects are poorly investigated. It seemed uncharacteristically sloppy for these characters. The ties to Acadia are poetic and appropriate. That part of the story worked well. If you are a big fan of the series, you'll probably think this is not one of the strongest stories. But you'll be glad you read it. Learning more about Tempe's childhood makes the story memorable for fans of Dr. Reichs' writing.