Product Description

Kathy Reichs blasts into Patricia Cornwell territory -- and onto the New York Times bestseller list -- with this critically acclaimed debut novel inspired by Reichs' own career. Dr. Temperance Brennan, the wry, impassioned director of forensic anthropology for the province of Quebec, is driven to unravel shocking acts of violence by reading the bones of the dead.

In the year since Tempe left behind a shaky marriage in North Carolina, work has often preempted her weekend plans to explore Quebec. But when an unidentified female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in garbage bags, Tempe detects an alarming pattern within the grisly handiwork -- and her professional detachment gives way to a harrowing search for a killer in the city's winding streets. With little help from the police, Tempe calls on her expertise, honed in the isolated intensity of the autopsy suite, to investigate on her own. But her determined chase is about to place those closest to her -- her best friend and her daughter -- in mortal danger....

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18616 in Books
• Published on: 1998-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 560 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780671011369
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Library Journal
Actress Amy Irving's low-key approach fits first novelist Reichs's on-the-edge-of- your-seat thriller (LJ 8/97) perfectly. Montreal forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is called upon when seemingly old bones are unearthed. She unwittingly stumbles upon a headless?and fresh?corpse. Research into other murders convinces her that a pattern is emerging and perhaps a serial killer is on the loose. Reluctant to agree, the police do not offer much assistance, and Tempy embarks upon detailed and sometimes grisly detective work, which makes her the killer's target. Immediately grabbing the listener's attention, this sophisticated work is stocked with well-developed and believable characters. The frequent French place names and phrases?handled eloquently by Irving?add an authentic and exotic flavor. One hopes that this will be just the beginning of a series of Temperance Brennan mysteries.?Susan McCaffrey, Sturgis Middle Sch., Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Temperance Brennan may not be competition for Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell's medical examiner, in the romance department, but she's just as stubborn and almost as astute when it comes to sleuthing. While investigating a grisly discovery for the Montreal coroner's office, Tempe finds herself remembering a similar investigation she conducted on the remains of a woman who was savagely dismembered and stuffed in garbage bags. When Tempe's concerns about a serial killer are dismissed by the police, she decides to pursue the matter herself--a course of action that both puts her career on the line and so effectively upsets the murderer's plan that he sets his sights on her. Montreal, with its French culture, is an enticing setting for Reichs' first mystery, and as a forensic anthropologist who spends part of her time working for the Province of Quebec, Reich knows the city well. She also contributes a wealth of authentic medical detail as she follows Tempe on her gripping, convoluted quest to catch a psychotic killer. A high-voltage thriller that readers won't want to put down. Reichs' novel generated great interest at the Frankfurt Book Fair and prompted a big-numbers rights auction. Stephanie Zvirin

From Kirkus Reviews
Dr. Temperance Brennan, the forensic anthropologist transplanted from North Carolina to Montreal, hopes the bones found at Le Grand S‚minaire are too ancient to fall within her purview. No such luck. Not only has Isabelle Gagnon been recently and horribly killed, but Tempe's memory of another grisly discovery in a bunch of trash bags marks this death as the work of a sadistic serial killer who's far from finished. To catch this monster, Tempe and her colleagues at the Laboratoire de M‚dicine L‚gale take a long look at several sets of teeth, compare the traces left on human bone by different kinds of saws, and consider exactly what it means to find a bathroom plunger, or a statue of the Virgin Mary, inside a rotting rib cage. As a break from her exhaustive lab sessions, Tempe spars with Sgt. Luc Claudel, the homicide cop who has a problem with interfering women, and hangs out with her grad school friend Gabby Macaulay, whose study of the mating habits of prostitutes is bound to be more closely connected to Tempe's case than she realizes. Tempe is an appealing new heroine, and the forensic detail is gripping, but because Reichs--whose r‚sum‚ sounds a lot like her heroine's- -lacks the whiplash control of Patricia Cornwell at her best, the story seems overlong, overpeopled (more lifeless walk-ons than the phone book), and overwrought. (The hysterical scenes between Tempe and Gabby, who keeps babbling about the unspeakable secrets she just can't share with her old friend, are especially annoying.) But readers ravenous for ghoulish detail and hints of unfathomable evil, spruced up by the modishly effective Quebec setting, will gobble this first course greedily and expect better-balanced nutrition next time. (Book-of-the-Month Club main selection; author tour; radio satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Deja Dead
Dr. Temperance Brennen, (Tempe for short) moves from North Carolina, leaving behind a shaky marriage and bad memories for Quebec to be the Director of Forensic Anthropology. When an unidentified female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in plastic trash bags, Tempe remembers a case that was very much like this one in North Carolina, but she cannot convince the police department so she must investigate on her own, which puts her life and some of her loved ones in danger, Can she solve the case before this happens?

This is one of the most gripping thrillers that I have ever read. I was always a big Patricia Cornwell fan, but Kathy Reichs' heroine, Dr. Tempe Brennen, has more depth and personality to her than Dr. Kay Scarpetta. When Kathy Reichs describes scenes, they are amazing in detail, especially in the forensic anthropology area. There are many surprising twists and turn throughout the book, and the ending is the real shocker.

Move over Patricia Cornwell you have been replaced by Dr. Kathy Reichs as far as I am concerned.

Astonishing Debut
No wonder people have been urging me to read Kathleen Reichs! I finally caved in, began with "Deja Dead," her debut novel, and was swept away by her incredible brilliance.

This is a book that simply cannot be put down. I read it before work, I read it on the train, I snuck it in between tasks at work, I read it at lunch, I read it far into the night when my eyes were hanging on stalks. And still I had to race to the finish.

Temperance Brennan is a fortyish American forensic anthropologist from the South, who is working in French-speaking Montreal. A recovering alcoholic, she is divorced, mother of a college-age daughter, troubled--and incredibly good at what she does. In a tight story heavily interspersed with fascinating scenarios of Montreal, Temperance (called "Tempe") is called upon to autopsy a young female victim of a pathologically gruesome murder. This leads to a foray into the Dark Side as Tempe, convinced that she has seen the work of a vicious serial killer, sets out to prove it to her skeptical (and often chauvinistic) male colleagues.

The exquisitely insane nature of the killer, made all too clear by the havoc he wreaks on his victims, forces Tempe to face her own demons and she tries to stop one from real life. But he may be impossible to stop.

Perhaps "Deja Dead" is to brilliant because in real life, Reichs IS a forensic anthropologist who has lived and worked in the South and in Montreal. Whatever the cause, it is obvious that she is a born writer. I gave this book five stars because it is impossible to give ten. Needless to say, I am already on Book Two of the Temperance Brennan series, and won't be able to stop until I have read them all.

Tempe Brennan is a refreshing entry into forensic mysteries
In this debut novel, the heroine, Tempe Brennan, a forensic anthropologist originally from North Carolina is working in the bilingual Montreal coroner's office. Tempe is a fictional version of the author herself who has exactly the same experience base. A forensic anthropologist is called upon to answer many questions regarding bones/corpses that arise--are the bones human, what can be said about the age, sex etc of the person... This sets up nicely the possibilities of a good murder mystery/police procedural and Reichs does a nice job here. The first case involves the discovery of a trashbag with human remains but goes on to identify 5 women whose murders follows a pattern of mutilation and control by a serial murderer with a sado-sexist bent. Tempe uncovers possible connections between the 5 women who se murders dont follow a strict MO but do have similarities. The threat comes close to home as Tempe's best friend is missing and the next potential victim and the murderer taunts her by placing evidence in her yard and threatening her and her daughter.

Tempe herself is a likable character--a divorced mother (19year old daughter lives with father) who is somewhat of a loner and a workaholic. She is not at all perfect--a struggling alcoholic who makes the decision each day not to drink and a rather pushy woman who often steps on the toes of the police investigating the murders. But she has a nice personality and her character is drawn with realistic strokes. I also enjoyed the descriptions of Montreal and the peppering of the dialogues with French phrases (always translated for non-French speakers).

I did find the novel at 532 pages for the paperback version a bit too long. I also agree with other reviewers that it seemed at time Tempe had a death wish--going out on her own to investigate clues when she knew she was a target for the murderer.

That aside, I found Reichs a refreshing and interesting author in the forensic investigation/murder mystery genre.