Rating: 
Summary: Deadly Disappointment
Review: I have not read any of the authors other titles but I decided to try this from the good reviews. I felt that it lacked pace until the last quarter of the book and found myself skimming through pages just to find something of relevance to the plot. The technical detail was informative but didn't really add to the story. I couldn't wait to finish it and start something else. Really quite dull in my opinion.
Rating: 
Summary: Reichs-Future writer to watch for
Review: Dr. Kathy Reichs has certainly grabbed my attention with this novel and the previous "Deja Dead". In part she writes about her fascinating world of forensic anthropology. And Reichs can make it even better by telling the story of her protagonist's role and the other people she is involved with to solve these horrific murders. Last year I refused to read her books. I was too chicken to read what I thought would be a lot of blood, gore and sensationalism. Here I am this year recommending her books. There is a geographical coincidence in this story which I find hard to believe, but I enjoyed the story so much, I ignored that part. So if you like Patricia Cornwell (I don't) try Reichs anyway. Much more humanistic in many ways.
Rating:
Summary: this series has hit its stride
Review: I really enjoyed Dead du Jour. It's a classic multi-murder mystery with a smart, interesting female protagonist. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who is a professor in North Carolina and who works for the police in Canada. The setting changes between Canada and North Carolina, which gives a nice variety of outside influences on the plot (ice storms in Canada, a swampy monkey island in NC). There is a love angle between Brennan and a Canadian detective, Ryan (Will they or won't they?!) There is an interesting subplot about the bones of a nun that the Church wants Brennan to dig up and analyze. If you read the first novel in the Brennan series, you will certainly like this novel--it's even better. Brennan gets along with people better in this novel, there is the love interest with Ryan, and the annoying Claudel from the first novel is barely in this story. After reading this book, you'll want to go and get the next book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: Cracking Good Mystery Thriller
Review: It's a pleasure to read a book by an author who has talent, pace, and plot firmly in hand. I would have given this novel five stars except for one thing; the heroine's career involves examining the remains of murder victims. The results of these examinations are recited in minute detail. Though this is more than likely fascinating fare for some readers, those of us who are a bit more squeamish about putrifaction, the insects that devour a corpse, etc - could do with less emphasis on these aspects. Nevertheless - a damn good yarn by a talented author.
Rating: 
Summary: Five star start; Two star finish
Review: In the vacuum left by a diminishing Kay Scarpetta came Temperance Brennan. With "Deja Dead", I thought I'd found a replacement. Certainly "Death du Jour" began well: I enjoyed the writing--interesting characters and wonderfully evocative and detailed description. I curled up on the couch and turned myself over to a pleasurable reading experience. And it almost was...until the last quarter of the book. When Tempe's (whoever dreamed up that name?) sister becomes a part of the cult, and the unrelated threads all begin to be braided together in one unbelievable coincidence which spans Canada, the Carolina, Texas, and Belgium, and when the description of the final rescue bogged down in unnecessary detail--then I found myself dozing off and hoping that the book would be over. After all, I reasoned, I'd read 350 pages, and I could make it through another 100. But I sure was bored and fed up with the superficiality of the plot and innundated with biological and anthropological data. I'm glad the weekend is over! I can only wave two stars.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing.....
Review: Kathy Reichs' second novel featuring forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan was a bit of a disappointment. Yes, it rattles along at a fine old pace. Yes, the forensic stuff is fascinating (and probably written with the most passion). Yes, the characters are round and well constructed. But talk about convenient. Even though this novel takes place in three states of America AND Quebec, the main protagonist just happens to be where the action is at exactly the right moment. And how about this main protagonist....She is so involved in her job, that she manages to cross every professional boundary known to man. (How on earth she manages to convince the Police to let her go to every bust they go to is anybodies guess!!) Everyone who knows her should be afraid (Very afraid), after all, her best friend got it in the first book and her cat and her sister get singled out for action in this one. This novel is just a little too trite to make any literary awards. It is certainly not for the squeamish. (Two of our readers felt physically sick, and one suffered nightmares after reading this novel) However, most of us read it through to the end. The biggest question we were left with is If a forensic anthropologist suffers severe head trauma (five beltings over two novels!) how long is it before she has enough neurological deficit to interfere with her job?????
Rating:
Summary: Almost as good as 'Deja Dead'... but still amazing!
Review: If, like me, you have lived in Montreal (or maybe just visited), you will LOVE this novel - even more if you enjoy thrillers... A true page turner... Will Brennan ever have a fling with the French detective? Read to know. Again, you'll learn more about psychology and forensic anthropology than three years at the University. The reviewer, JR Geoffrion (JR@Geoffrion.com), earned his MBA from York University and completed the Wharton School Multi-National Marketing and Management Program. He also holds a Engineering degree from the University of Toronto.
Rating:
Summary: Dr. Reichs' amazing sequel
Review: Being a avid reader of Dr. Reichs, I'm in awe once again at this book. She interweaves characters and subplots into one main, terrifing account based on the real horrors of cults and religious groups in our everyday mist. She gives eerie details on people and turns your imagination into a grizzly movie theater. Her main heroine, Dr. Brennan would be an amazing, and VERY realistic character for a movie. This book is a perfect sequel and should be a bestseller as well as her other books.
Rating: 
Summary: Half way thru reading then bang! You may as well be dead.
Review: I was riveted to this book and really picking up speed until I reached about dead center of the book. Then POW! Ms. Reichs throws ridiculous, implausable coincidences to salvage her complex plot. I was really in there with her until her ridiculous plot links. This a mystery that detectives must dream of. I call it the "follow the dots" scheme that result in a staight line honing in on a places the heroine just happens to be even if they are literally a thousand miles apart. Thus I hurled the book into the air, it fell to earth I care not where!
Rating:
Summary: Reichs vs Cornwall -- No Comparison
Review: Although they cover much the same turf, it is almost not fair to compare Cornwall and Reichs, because Reichs can actually write well!!! I read two of Cornwall's books. I can't remember which because they were so forgetable. I read the first and thought so little of it, that I picked up the second just to see why Cornwall keeps scaling the best seller lists so handily. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why. Cornwall's work is leaden, heavy-handed and predictable. Unlike Cornwall, Reichs creates full-bodied characters, real live people about whom you care. Reichs is witty and scary at the same time. She creates tension and holds your interest until the last page. The locale of Montreal is fascinating. It adds an international dimension to the forensic medicine/anthropology genre. I highly recommend both of Reichs' paperbacks. You won't be able to put them down, and you'll find yourself saying "merci" at the end.
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