Kathy Reichs

Déjà Dead

Sarah Sammis

** spoiler alert **
            Back in December 2007, I received Cross Bones, the second in the Temperance Brennan series. Déjá Dead (1997) is the book that started it.

Déjá Dead is a pun on déja mort (already dead), a term that comes up in one of the autopsies of bodies found dismembered and stuffed in garbage bags. To Tempe the recent murders look oddly familiar, giving her an unsettling feeling of déjá vu.

Like the Cross Bones, the book suffers from being too long. A little bit of Quebecois culture would suffice in setting the stage and showing that Tempe isn't a native of Montreal. After a while, though, the plot gets bogged down with Tempe's endless asides on the cultural quirks and her own troubles with Québec's dialect of French.

The other main weakness which is supposed to be a feature of the novel is Tempe's personal life. Unfortunately, like so many mystery-thrillers, all that personal life padding is a big red flashing sign saying that Tempe and / or her loved ones will be targets of the yet to be discovered killer. It's so painfully obvious by about page 50, that when these events do finally played out, it's a relief to have them over.

Whether in the book as an older, wiser character living in Montreal or as the younger and almost completely socially inept television version, Tempe's personal life is still a boring distraction from the mysteries.

Frederik Creemers

It's a great read. Temperance's mood swings seem extreme from time to time, but that doesn't bother me that much.

Briar's Reviews

Kathy Reichs can do no wrong! I adore her writing, and the legitimacy of her words. As someone who took some anthro, anatomy and physiology classes, I can say that this book is very smart (and this forensic anthropologist knows her stuff!). I love how Kathy Reichs makes her novels seem real, and like the reader is actually part of the story while following Temperance Brennan! 

The first novel of Kathy Reichs's series follows Temperance deciding to go on a little vacation, but finding out that a corpse discovered is not from an old burial site but instead a dismembered female in trash bags. 

This investigation proves to be very troublesome when threats are delivered to Tempe and eventually to her daughter and her best friend. Tempe must crack the case and find out who killed this poor female before it is too late!

The story itself was very smart, and I didn't see the ending coming. Very rarely can I find a book where I don't guess the stereotypical ending, so this novel was a real gem! The realistic descriptions and the information I gained from this book were excellent as well! This book was well planned and thought out! 

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in crime dramas, mystery, want a good read that will also teach you something new or just want a good read in general!

Five out of five stars! I love Kathy Reichs and her Temperance Brennan series!

Scott Wilson

This was an amazing storyline and was a complete thriller all the way until the end!! Nice that the author knows Montréal really well and it shows in the story with the various neighborhoods and their essence showing. Also quite detailed was the medical information regarding how investigators use the remains to tell the brutal stories of how the people passed and the age and gender of the victims.

I’m definitely reading the next book in the series and I know I have found my next favourite new author!!

Liv Strefford

Started off a little slow, as expected with a first book in a series as you have to learn all the new characters and settings. At the start, the French put me off a little but I quickly got used to it. The plot was really interesting, lots of twists and really disturbing and gruesome murders. The ending was good, though I didn’t feel like it entirely wrapped up all the loose threads, maybe some will be explained in the sequels. Really enjoyable crime thriller!

A killer in Montreal is murdering and dismembering women, and police are getting nowhere. Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, a middle-aged lady from North Carolina, goes after him herself. 

Her life is devoted to justice; for those she never even knew. 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, Temperance 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...