Rating: 
Summary: Sadly - Another me-too book ....
Review: I have really enjoyed reading Reichs' books, so I was disappointed in this one. The storyline shows wonderful promise, but then Ms Reichs loses her talent for originality and uses hackneyed subplots: everyone is out to get her - she must courageously find the killer on her own to clear her name - the killers are a cult whose membership just happens to be composed of high-up government officials - the dog just happens to be sprung on her and then (of course) saves her life - her best friend, Anne, just happens to go to England and see a courtyard just like Tempe has seen, but she doesn't connect it? If she is as smart as Reichs wants us to believe, she would have clued into that one right away!
The characters in the book are undeveloped for the most part. Anne's appearances in the book are very choppy, there is no real integration of her character in the book, so that you get the sense that she only exists to provide Tempe with clues. Lucy Crow, the Sheriff, and Tempe's ex-husband could have become really great characters, but they only seemed to float out there in the background. And, I could't have cared less whether she ended up with Ryan, who appeared to be more of a plot filler than her potential love interest. The only character I ended up feeling anything for was Boyd, the dog!
Im sorry, but this one just simply fell far short of her talent. It reminds me of the way that Patricia Cornwell's novels took a nosedive after her first books - she seemed to run out of time, talent or ideas, no one is sure which. Before her next book, I am hopeful that Ms Reichs will step back, take stock of her career and begin working on a new book that has originality and sparkle, something worthy of her talent!
Rating: 
Summary: Don't miss this thriller!
Review: Who is the stalker, and why is he after Tempe? This is the first Kathy Reichs book I have read. I must admit, I was a bit intimidated by the author's technical knowledge and had to skip over parts of it. But, the story line really drew my attention. I was interested in the air crash plot in a sort of macabre way, along with the other plot involving the foot that did not match any of the crash victims. The politics of the coverup that Tempe was thrust in the middle of sure seemed realistic. No wonder this book is headed for the top!
Rating:
Summary: Patricia Cornwell Meets Nancy Drew
Review: (Mini-spoilers in this review) This book starts out with great promise -- a truly gripping opening. But it quickly degenerates into formulaic, young-adult level plotting: our heroine is nearly run down by a shady figure driving a dark car . . . her room is ransacked . . . her superiors conspire against her. Clearly the author knows her stuff regarding forensic anthropology. But instead of weaving technical details into her story in an interesting manner, she tends to recite them (as if from a textbook) for paragraphs on end. The reader almost never gets into the protagonist's head -- and when we do, the character is neither complex nor particularly interesting. Some of the supporting characters might be appealing but are not well enough developed. The ending is certainly unexpected but seemed included primarily for its shock value. Getting to the climax was more tedious than exciting. I found myself finishing the book only because I'd already invested a few hours in reading it, not because I actually cared how it ended. Overall, the book is OK but not at the level of the better Cornwell novels and not as well presented as the CSI television program which deals with similar issues.
Rating: 
Summary: Details to Get Lost In
Review: Fatal Voyage is a suspenseful plot but it takes a long time to get to the point and then to the conclusion. There is more forensic detail than story line. All the agencies with all the initials arrive on the scene of an air crash and nothing fits together. I'm in the minority, but it was not a book I "couldn't put down." My advice is to skip this one in spite of great reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: Tempe strikes again
Review: I have read the three previous three novels by Kathleen Reichs. All were wonderful reads, with plots that did more than just turn and twist. The fourth "Tempe" novel is just as exciting as the other stories. There are two mysteries that need solving, the first is the cause of an airline disaster which claimed a number of lives. For a few exciting pages we are afraid that Tempe's daughter might be one of the victims. The second mystery involving a number of "unrelated" disappearances over the last 70 years requires a talented investigator, again Tempe proves her skill in reasearch is equal to her forensic and pathology skills. A potential love interest, the Canadian Detective Ryan is also present and helps to illuminate the human side of Tempe. A good read.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Writing, Gripping Plot
Review: This was the first Kathy Reichs novel I'd read ... and I promptly went out and bought all the rest. The night the book arrived, I stayed up until 12:15 AM finishing it - I literally could not put it down.Like the author herself, Reich's protagonist (Tempe Brennan) is a forensic anthropologist. As this is my major, that was the first thing that was what attracted me to purchase the book in the first place. The book starts off with a bang - Brennan is investigating an airplane crash ... and finds a body part that doesn't match up with anyone on the flight's manifest. This discovery leads her into some very complex situations, many of them life-threatening. It's been *years* since I stayed up to finish a book the same day I obtained it ... and even more since I enjoyed an author's work so much that I went out and obtained the rest of his or her catalogue the next day. If you enjoy investigation/police procedure books, mysteries and the like, Reichs' work is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Scarpetta
Review: I have read all of Kathy Reichs' books, and all of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta books, and I really enjoy Reichs much more. I was afraid that we were going down the Scarpetta road of raging paranoia in this one with the conspiracy by high-ranking government officials to get Tempe off the job, but it fit in the story rather than being the story. Four stars instead of five because the lodge plot seemed rather far-fetched. I liked her historical tie-ins, though. Tempe's experiences are never simply clinical, but Reichs never induces the psychological traumas that have turned Kay Scarpetta from a strong investigator to a miserable shell of a woman. I wait anxiously for every new Reichs book, while a new Cornwell elicits both anticipation and dread.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!!
Review: Thoroughly enjoyed this book!! After Reichs last novel shich I found way too technical (I felt I could build a mototcycle after slogging through all the mechanical stuff) I was unsure about trying another of her books. But this one was good. IT is full of action and mystery and falls together well. The premise is a little gross but the way Reichs tells the tale it works!
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good story, though not her best
Review: I don't think this was her best book but it was a pretty good tale. Kathy needs to do less lecturing to the reader in her lengthy explanations. I find myself skipping these paragraphs to get on with the relevant story line.
Rating:
Summary: hoc est corpus meum
Review: with kathy reichs, you are definitely in situ. this time, it's an intelligently delivered crash course on airplane disasters. a grizzly parallel storyline adds gratuitous gore, an almost omnipresent ingredient in contemporary fiction. with so many characters, mostly of the mortuaried majority, this work nearly requires an index of names, a passenger list of sorts for the voyage.
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