Rating: 
Summary: Violence Bonjour?
Review: How many graphically described violently mutilated corpses do they think it takes to sell a book? Having rather enjoyed Deja Dead (the genre of lady pathologists seems to be the flavour of the month), I just couldn't finish Death du Jour. I found it a rehash of the other with more blood and gore added and even some sex - wowee! It made me long for a good old romantic historical novel - where have they gone?
Rating: 
Summary: To much going on.....
Review: After a year of false starts, I finally read "Death du Jour." I found myself a bit disappointed. Kathy Reichs has been compared to Patricia Cornwell, but Kathy Reichs is no Patricia Cornwall. For one thing, Ms Cornwall writes exceedingly well. She was a journalist covering the police beat in Richmond before she began writing crime novels. Her books in some sense are extensions of these stories. Cornwall's writing is exceedingly original and based on real events according to our local papers. Although I liked Ms. Reich's first book "Deja Death" -- mainly because it took place in Montreal and had an exotic setting -- certain aspects of it bothered me. I found myself very irritated with Ms. Reich's second book. Ms Reichs books seem to consist of warmed over material from other books. While Reichs books may be based on real events, and I am sure she is a good nonfiction writer, she does not write fiction very well. For one thing, "Death du Jour" is far too busy. There are too many characters and not enough character development, too many plot twists and subplots and not enough development of the central plot. For me, one of the great attactions of Poirot, Morse, or Kay Scarpetta is the mental game. 'Du jour' is loaded with action but don't expect much of a mental game. Sure, I know police work is different from detection, but Cornwall does both--that's what makes her stories so strong. Also, I like a lead character I can identify with on some level. One appealing characteristic of Kay Scarpetta is her ability to reflect. All through her novels Ms. Cornwall has Scarpetta pull back and reflect. Often she does it over a meal she has prepared for her sidekick detective. Ms. Reichs character Tempe Brennan attempts to do this but even when she sits in front of her fire place she's nervous and twitchy and something is always happening, from break-ins to fires. Tempe Brennan is very nearly perfect, and she is far to active and she needs to cut back on the diet coke. Oh somewhere, someone might try to do everything Tempe does, but I seriously doubt they could do any of it very well. My willing suspension of disbelief gets pretty stretched with Tempe. How many times is she going to be beaten, mugged, burgled, and held prisoner. This is only book two and she's been pretty battered already. And, she's a fool at times. She deals with the worst sort of killer, and refuses to carry a weapon--give me a break. In "Death du Jour", over a three week period, Tempe Brennan becomes involved in some facet or other of investigations into at least ten suspicious deaths. These bodies scattered from Canada to Beaufort SC. And Brennan is teaching a graduate course at UNC, writing papers for a professional conferences, investigating the bones of a supposed RC saint, and taking time out for a weekend getogether with her college age daughter. I was exhausted by the middle of the book. (And she jogs regularly!)
Rating: 
Summary: Death du Jour
Review: Dr. Tempe Brennen is back again. This time there are two stories blended into one, and the transition is easy to follow. The bones of Sister Elisabeth Nicolet who has been dead for over a century, have been moved and tampered with, and a deadly house fire, which is suspected as arson, and a university teaching assistant who disappears after joining a cult. Homicide Detective Andrew Ryan, whom Tempe has had a combustive relationship with, in the past, joins her in the investigation. I enjoyed this book as much as I did Deja Dead. Tempe is an amazing heroine. the medical details are exact and accurate, the plot is exciting and has lots of twists and turns. This book really grabbed me from the very first page and held me on the end of my seat, and what a wonderful ride it was. I cannot wait for the next installment of Tempe, which will be Death Decisions. To entice us, Dr. Reichs gave a sampling of the new book in the back of Death DeJour.
Rating: 
Summary: A pyramid of coincidences
Review: There is a rule of thumb that no novel should have more than one significant coincidence, and it's a shame Kathy Reichs never heard of that principle. In this novel, the protagonist just happens to be personally affected by seemingly unrelated events in South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas, and Quebec, and it just so happens that each of these subplots tie in to each other culminating in the grand climax. After the first couple chapters, it was painfully obvious how the author had structured the plot. In any mystery where the protagonist is not a law enforcement officer, there is dilemma in plot construction of how the protagonist gets his or her information. It is at this point that Reichs has dropped the ball: Coincidences spanning three states and one Canadian province are not a solid foundation for a compelling novel. Reich's previous novel had appeal because of the Montreal setting, and because the specialty of 'forensic anthropologist' provides an interesting vehicle for a murder mystery. Those types of 'hooks' may succeed with a writer's first novel, but are not enough to sustain a second novel, especially when compounded by such difficulties of plot construction.
Rating:
Summary: Turgid, nay, tedious
Review: Oh dear. Another person steeped in his art/job/hobby writes a book so as to be able to brain-dump his hard-earned skill in the guise of literature on the hapless reader. This is a very poor novel. It is peppered with irritating coincidences and has long turgid passages that require teeth-gritting determination to wade through. In my opinion the heroine is unlikable and her angst fabricated in an attempt to give her some depth ... a device which to my mind fails. This is an attempt to out Cornwell Cornwell. Trouble is that Cornwell got there first and in the process exhausted the genre so that most people I know who were fans are now equally fed-up with her output. Perhaps it is a little unfair to denigrate Reichs because Cornwell's mother-lode is exhausted but even so, Reichs just don't cut it for me.
Rating: 
Summary: Most enjoyable entertainment
Review: Quite often a second book after a very succesful first one is a dissapointment. This one isn't! Ms Reichs turns out to be a real good writer. Even though the plot is by far not as strong and tight as her first novel, the writing is good enough to keep you on the edge of your seat; by times witty, by times reflecting and a good solid portion of well written thrilling scenes. I am as a reader quite happy to share the feelings Temperance has but I am also glad that we are not taken on the long soul searching journeys that her literary rival, Kay Scarpetta, takes us all the time. I hope the third novel is just as good and highly recommend this one for a quiet weekend.
Rating:
Summary: A Reader
Review: This was my first Reichs novel and I have never read Cornwell. I thought the story rivetting. I was late for work because I couldn't put it down, and was first to leave so I could get home and get stuck in. I have recommended it to everyone. I plan to read 'Deja Dead' and cant wait for 'Death Decisions' (nice touch to entice us with a few chapters at the end of 'du Jour'!) Tempe is an amazing heroine, the twist and turns of the plot exciting, the medical detail fascinating. The final chapter just ties the loose ends.Brilliant! Well done Dr Reichs! More please.
Rating:
Summary: I was on the edge of my seat.
Review: This book really gripped me. I was on the edge of my seat, biting my nails (as she picked at her's). This offering is one that I could not wait to finish and it left me anxiously awaiting her next book. Much better than anything Cromwell has done so far.
Rating:
Summary: waiting for the next one...
Review: Bought myself a Christmass gift... What a great gift it was! I truly know my taste... If you loved Déjà dead, you'll love Death du jour. Same style, another great story with Tempe Brennan. These books are not to become classics of course but they are great as evening or weekend relax reading session... Dr. Reichs always grabs me with her descriptions of forensic work. You see a professionnal describing her job. She shares through Brennan her love/hate of that difficult task. I loved that story. I'm from Montreal, one of the city where she works and reading these storys put me right inside them. Wonder if I didn't see Brennan and Ryan fighting to make it through the bad weather while I was working during the ice storm... Of course beeing from Montreal, or Charlotte for that matter, you cannot but be pulled into the story in a way no other people can. But if you live outside those cities, I still recommend Death du jour. Good plot, very well witten with just enough suspense and insight to make this book another page turner. I read it in two days. That is bad. Now I'm waiting for the next one...
Rating:
Summary: Too many coincidences
Review: As I think has been pretty adequately stated in the other reviews, this book has a really annoying trend of making every character who walks across the page end up being involved in the crime. That suspension bridge of disbelief shook and crashed about the time that we figure out that her relative from another state is also involved. I think that this device was meant to highlight the frightening nature of cults, but instead it just makes the reader think that Reichs doesn't know how to write a plot. On the other hand, she clearly knows forensic medicine, and is a good enough writer to bring forward information about that career in a way that interests the reader. I also think that if you gave Temperance a halfway decent plot, I might even like her as a character. The trouble is that when everything around her is so contrived, it's hard to care about her as a person. I hope in her next book she takes some of her obvious talent and aims it at the plot.
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