Review by Christine I. Speakman

DEATH DU JOUR by Kathy Reichs Pocket Books, Mass market paperback $7.99 ISBN: 0671011375

Kathy Reichs is the forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina and for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecine Legale for the province of Quebec. So is the protagonist of her books: "DEJA DEAD, and the latest DEADLY DECISIONS - Dr. Temperance Brennan. Both author and character reside between Montreal, Quebec; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

The strongest, and most believable, aspects of DEATH DU JOUR are when Dr. Temperance Brennan is working the pains staking recovery process of the dead. It is here that the character shines, showing her intellect and the precise nature her field of expertise demands. At other times, the character seems unaware of the connection between the events that are happening around her - we, the reader, can see and put the facts together pages before Dr. Brennan. I choose to see this more as an intricate look into the character's mind, like many of us she is faced with the numerous demands placed on her time, and the human failure of not being perfect. To others, this lack of connection, may be deemed a flaw in the writing.

Dr. Brennan is charged with identifying the bones of a nun, a nun who died in 1888 and who has now been proposed for beatification. She also is asked to establish the age of two babies who were brutally killed with their parents and an elderly woman. It is here that our main plot revolves, was it a cult killing, and could a nun's missing niece be involved? Now put this together with Dr. Brennan's mugging; a dead cat thrown through her kitchen window; her flighty sister, who's off on another craze; and overactive hormones when Detective Ryan is around - is it any wonder why Dr. Brennan cannot put the pieces together as fast as we can?

All right, maybe she should have been able to and yes, the saving of Dr. Brennan was a little quick. However, I still enjoyed reading DEATH DU JOUR and look forward to Kathy Reichs' next novel "Deadly Decisions".

3 BookWyrms

This review copyright 2000 E.C.McMullen Jr.

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