Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan Novels)

The raves are in -- from Edgar-winning authors and internationally acclaimed forensic experts: Kathy Reichs and Déjà Dead are something special.Rarely has a debut crime novel inspired such widespread excitement. A born storyteller, Dr. Kathy Reichs walks in the steps of her heroine, Dr. Temperance Brennan. She spends her days in the autopsy suite, the courtroom, the crime lab, with cops, and at exhumation sites. Often her long days turn into harrowing nights.

It's June in Montreal, and Tempe, who has left a shaky marriage back home in North Carolina to take on the challenging assignment of director of forensic anthropology for the province of Quebec, looks forward to a relaxing weekend.

First, though, she must stop at a newly uncovered burial site in the heart of the city. One look at the decomposed and decapitated corpse, stored neatly in plastic bags, tells her she'll spend the weekend in the crime lab. This is homicide of the worst kind. To begin to find some answers, Tempe must first identify the victim. Who is this person with the reddish hair and a small bone structure?

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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Move over Patricia Cornwell you have been replaced by Dr.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.

76 of 84 found the following review helpful:

Astonishing DebutNov 21, 2001
By Wendy Kaplan
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.

34 of 36 found the following review helpful:

Tempe Brennan is a refreshing entry into forensic mysteriesSep 15, 2002
By Silver Springer "mary1anne2"
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.

15 of 15 found the following review helpful:

An intriguing look at forensic anthropologyJan 08, 1998
By Deb Orah J. Hurst
Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs deals with the work and life of Temperance "Tempe" Brennan, a transplanted southerner who works as a forensic anthropologist for the Laboratorie de Medicine Legale in Montreal. Her job entails the identification of remains and partial remains of bodies found by the authorities. It provides an intriguing look into this profession and is described in excellent detail. This book initially focuses on a number of seemingly unrelated murders where mutilated bodies are found in various locations around the city. Tempe works continually to find some connection between these and a number of unsolved murders which results in the investigation of a serial murderer who eventually focuses on Tempe. In her pursuit of this investigation, she is confronted by a male dominated organization and at times makes progress through sheer perseverance. I found the location a fresh departure from some of the more " standard locations" used in many mysteries. Some have compared Tempe Brennan to Kay Scarpetta and while there are similarities there are also enough differences to make this an unfair comparison. While there are many positives about this book, I found her continual battle with her inner demon of alcohol overdone and at time tedious which tended to interrupt the flow of the plot line. I also found some of the secondary plot lines such as her relationship with Gabby confusing since she seemed to drop in and out of the plot. Finally additional details about Temperance Brennan would have been welcome since they would have provided another dimension to this character. Overall I found the book to be well work reading and I look for more of Temperance Brennan

27 of 31 found the following review helpful:

Can't explain the 5-star ratingsMar 02, 2002
By Maria from London
Why I didn't like this book (& why I can't explain its bestseller status):

1) Yes, this may be Kathy Reichs' first novel...but still, one can't get past the BAD WRITING, especially when it comes to the lack of character development. All main characters come out flat (especially Tempe, the forensic anthropologist who is the main character).

2) Something else about the bad writing: what annoyed me especially was the constant use of flowery comparisons. Also, the extremely long-winded descriptions of actions & places, which made me skip whole paragraphs at a time.

3) OK, if we get past the lack of characterization issue & the bad writing, we get to the actual plot, which of course is essential in a crime novel: "Deja Dead" has a plot that makes you want to scream "I've read this book before- many many times!" It's a book that's far from original, especially the cliche of the main heroine getting in harm's way.

4)Again, concerning the plot: there are lots of holes in the plot, such as the monkey & the biologist (I kept turning back to see if maybe I'd missed crucial points). There are also loads of characters who keep appearing & disappearing, with no apparent reason--for example, Tempe's daughter, Katy, whose existence serves no other purpose than simply for the main character to...have a daughter!

5) Tempe Brennan oversteps the limits / boundaries of her job description all the time, during the investigation described in this novel. She is a forensic anthropologist, & yet acts as a detective, showing a disturbing lack of common sense: for example, she keeps going to dangerous places alone (always at night!) & then is surprised & annoyed when the detectives whose job description says they have to solve this case are angry at her! There's no background as to why Claudel dislikes her, some reader mentioned: but how can he NOT dislike her, when she keeps stealing his job from under his nose? It's such a cliche when all the detectives are stupid & our heroine is the only intelligent one...

6) French is thrown in casually from time to time. This I didn't mind. What I did mind was that it was apparent that this was done simply to show that Montreal is where the story takes place. No other descriptions of Montreal exist, no "feeling" of Quebec comes out of this story.

7) Another point that many readers have mentioned is that the book is FULL OF technical details. These are interesting, but tend to be far too many. 5 or 6 pages full of descriptions of how saws work? Please!!

8) Tempe's relationship with Gabby is inexplicable & annoying. The crazy scenes that take place between them (especially the ones where Gabby appears in the middle of the night, out of nowhere) are hard to understand, & are never properly explained.

9) Last point: Of course "Deja Dead" is being constantly compared to Patricia Cornwell's books. Even though the Scarpetta novels keep getting worse & worse, I still find them far more original & fast paced.

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