I was introduced to the Bones series by Amanda. Knowing that I love a good crime fiction novel, Amanda suggested that I give Kathy Reichs a try. I was not disappointed. Although I really enjoyed Déjà Dead, I enjoyed this novel, Death Du Jour, even more. It was also the perfect book to read while I was suffering from a reading slump.
Genre: Fiction, Crime, Detective, Mystery
Publisher: Random House
Year: 1999
Rating: 4/5
March in Montreal: It is a bitterly cold night and in the grounds of an old church forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan digs carefully. She is there to exhume the remains of a nun proposed for sainthood. But the body has been moved to an unmarked grave in a far corner of the cemetery. What will Tempe discover when the frozen ground finally yields to her tools?Just hours later, Tempe is called to the scene of an horrific arson. A young family has perished, and there seems to be no witness, no motive, no explanation.From the charred remains of the arson, to a trail of sinister cult activity and a terrifying showdown during an ice storm, Tempe gathers her evidence and confronts the terror of a killer out of control.
This novel has a lot going on. We begin with Tempe unearthing the remains of a nun that has been recommended for sainthood. When she does her analysis she finds an unexpected surprise which leads her to research the nuns birth.
At the same time, she is called into help out with an arson investigation. Seven people are found dead in very strange and brutal circumstances.
Tempe also has to deal with her sister showing up unexpectedly. Harry is on some new spiritual path, taking a course on inner power and taking control of your life, but is the course really taking control of her?
While all this is happening, a nun from the church where Tempe had been working calls her worried about her niece's disappearance. Can Tempe help find her?
Lastly, in an effort to help investigate the arson case and take a short holiday, Tempe travels with her daughter. Before she needs to help agent Ryan track down some family members of the dead, who could help with the investigation, Tempe takes her daughter to a monkey Island run by an old friend. But of course, the trip doesn't go as planned and Tempe finds herself once again digging up corpses and baffled by the mystery of how they got there.
Oh and how could I forget... the ever growing sexual tension between Ryan and Tempe. Will they or won't they?
Phew! See what I mean, a LOT is going on in these 436 pages. At times I found it a little hard to follow. Almost as much as I found the neat way in which all of these cases were linked together, hard to swallow.
'Another day. Another death. Death du Jour. My God, how many such days would there be?'That sums up this work nicely... There is so much death that you do begin to wonder how MUCH MORE can Reichs possibly fit in this novel.
But, putting that aside.. this was a very enjoyable book. It was easy to read, interesting, fun, scary, creepy and it kept me guessing. All of these are elements that I enjoy in a crime fiction novel so it made for a great read.
Highly recommended if you like intelligent crime fiction that is full of twists, turns and suspense.
