Death Du Jour - Kathy Reichs

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.

Déjà Dead - Kathy Reichs

I am a big fan of Karin Slaughter's Grant County series and am having serious withdrawals while I am waiting for her to release the next book. There is nothing like a good crime fiction series! It's exciting, scary and thrilling! So I was looking for something similar to sink my teeth into. I have heard a lot about the Bones series, especially with the TV show becoming so popular (no, I've never watched it) so I decided to give the first book in this series (Deja Dead) a go!

Genre: Fiction, Crime, Detective
Publisher: Pocket Star Books
Year: 1997
Rating: 3/5

In the year since Temperance Brennan left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. When a female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in trash bags, Tempe detects an alarming pattern - and she plunges into a harrowing search for a killer. But her investigation is about to place those closest to her - her best friend and her own daughter - in mortal danger.. 

This book had all the elements needed to make a good crime thriller. It was chilling, the mystery kept me guessing and it was realistic enough to totally creep me out because it could happen.

Since Kathy Reichs actually was a forensic anthropologist, she not only knows all the terminology and procedures in an autopsy, but she describes these is such detail that it was kind of gross. Yes I am aware you just found a rotting corpse, yes it probably is good you can tell me exactly how and why a corpse breaks down but do you really need to do it in so much detail? yuk!

I feel a lot more educated than I did before I picked up this book, but I am still a bit disturbed. Even though the characters are fictional, I still can't help but feel that, that is someone's mum, or sister, or wife... autopsy is not something I enjoy thinking about. This could be because I have a weak stomach and a very visual mind. When I read a book, I can see everything in great detail, so in this case parts of this book were very unpleasant. 

One thing I loved about this book was how well fleshed out Tempe was. Reichs did a great job in bringing the anthropologist to life. She seemed like a very natural, normal person with hopes, fears, bad habits, stresses and needs. I enjoyed her as a character a lot. Besides one detail... 

It annoyed the hell out of me that Tempe kept taking off, by herself, to hunt this killer! I mean, come on! What sort of woman would go out at night, alone, to hunt a serial killer that dismembers women??!! THAT'S INSANE. I understand she is supposed to be strong willed, tough and really wants to bring this man to justice, but really, is personal safety not important too? Or the safety of those around you? It just irritated me.

That said, I enjoyed this book. It was a fun (yet disturbing) read. I liked it enough that I have bookmooched the second book in this series and I look forward to reading that soon. If you like crime fiction with a strong female lead, you will like this series.