My rating:

add to my books

Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan #2)

by Kathy Reichs

3.84 · rating details · 8,630 ratings · 427 reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Who woulda thunk it.

...moreThe Barnes & Noble Review
Who woulda thunk it.

While there have been serial killer novels in various forms for at least a century, this particular type of tale didn't formalize into a subgenre until Shane Stevens, Lawrence Sanders, Thomas Harris, and Patricia Cornwell defined it as a set of conventions and story patterns. Harris and Cornwell added the forensics. Sort of what Erle Stanley Gardner did with the legal mystery back in the '30s. Because Cornwell now leads the pack, everybody who works in anything remotely like the serial killer form is compared to her. She has her fans; she has her detractors.

Kathy Reichs's first novel, Deja Dead , was so successful that the Cornwell comparison was inevitable and, in at least a few ways, fair. What impels them novels is science, forensic science, and what seems to win their readers is the particular tone the forensics lend the narrative. The knowing clinical detail seems to excite the readers as much as the human aspects of the story.

You can decide for yourself which writer you like better, Cornwell or Reichs. Hell, nothing wrong with liking them both. Comparisons and competitions get tiresome after a while.

As for my report on the new Reichs novel, Death du Jour you knew I'd get around to it eventually, didn't you? I found it a skillfully done mystery, long on mood and character. Reichs has a solid grasp of how to start and end a scene, paying it off with maximum effect so you'll be sure not to put the book down. If she hasn't studied her Ed McBain (the all-time champ of starting and ending scenes), I'd be surprised.

She is also able to juggle subplots extremely well. The A plot here concerns Temperance Brennan (a Romance novel name I'll never warm to) exhuming the remains of Sister Elisabeth Nicolet, who was buried in 1888, a nun the church may make a saint. When the bones are finally located, Brennan suspects that the nun did not die naturally. The B story line involves a nasty arson case. And story line C brings in Brennan's sister, a missing student, and...I'm getting confused just retyping my notes here. The amazing thing is, you don't see any of the seams in this book. Reichs is a first-rate plotter. She pulls off some very intricate storytelling with ease.

She's also a good writer. There's a finished, polished feel to her sentences, and a real feel for place in her descriptions. She enjoys writing and has respect for it. There's nothing slapdash here. I haven't yet read her first novel. But if it's half as good as this one, I can see what all the fuss was about.

 Ed Gorman

(less)

Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages

Published November 5th 1999 by Pocket Star (first published January 1st 1999)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Best Crime & Mystery Books

78th out of 2,513 books — 4,356 voters

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

Best Detective/Mystery Series

100th out of 525 books — 521 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 12,601)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jan 23, 2008

Robert Beveridge rated it

Shelves: finished, owned-and-gave-away

Kathy Reichs, Death du Jour (Arrow, 1999)

Death du Jour is the first book I've read in 2003 that made me want to not put it down until I had turned the final page. It's well over twice as long as most of the novels I've read over the course of this year, and yet it took me less time than many of them to get through. It does have its problems, but readability is certainly not one of them.

Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between North Carolina a...moreKathy Reichs, Death du Jour (Arrow, 1999)

Death du Jour is the first book I've read in 2003 that made me want to not put it down until I had turned the final page. It's well over twice as long as most of the novels I've read over the course of this year, and yet it took me less time than many of them to get through. It does have its problems, but readability is certainly not one of them.

Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who divides her time between North Carolina and Quebec, is in the latter province as the story opens, sifting through the supposed grave of a nun who is being proposed for beatification. Things don't go as planned. Not long after she gets home, she's called to the scene of a devastating house fire to check out a few more bodies. Things don't go as planned. She gets caught up in the twin mysteries of the nun and the house fire, and off we go.

The best thing about the book is its compelling readability. Reichs makes her work unputdownable through throwing clues, monkeywrenches, and events at the reader nonstop from the first chapter till the last. There's never a let-up, no pause for breathing. And this in a novel that tops four hundred pages; it's like making an Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick that runs six hours. Few people are going to try, fewer still will succeed. Reichs manages it well here.

The bad thing about the book, and yes, there is one, is its predictability. There are many points in the book where something happens and it's obvious to the reader how the event connects into the whole puzzle, even while it escapes the police, the main character, and everyone else in the novel. When it comes right down to it, the mystery isn't really much of a mystery; it's more a police procedural than anything else. Or it would be if it weren't trying so hard to be a mystery.

Still, that's not a reason to dismiss a book that hooks a reader this quickly and this decisively. Death du Jour is the perfect way to kill a weekend, a fast-paced, easy read that will make the hours fly by as you wander through the world of Tempe Brennan. **** (less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Mar 01, 2008

Heather rated it

***SPOILER ALERT***
This author annoys me. This story was WAY too similar to the first book. Best friend missing to sister missing...intruder in house? oh, just a cat on fire...and all that crap about some buzzing in her memory cells all the time! I also get tried of all the metaphors, but that was better in this book at least. So far I just find the writing amateurish and it feels like she's trying too hard.
I also HATED the ending. We did not get to see any of the links unfold,...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jun 23, 2008

Wendi rated it

I started watching the TV show "Bones" (on Fox) last season, but I had known that the show was based on Kathy Reichs character Temperance Brennan. That's about all the similarities that there are between the TV show and the book. You could stretch and say that Quebec Detective Ryan is Seely Booth, but that's reeealllyyy reaching it.

I like a good mystery, detective novel, and this book does not fail me! Not only is there a nice chunk of CSI thrown in there is also one of my ...more

like 4 likes

· see review

Dec 28, 2008

Lightreads rated it

Shelves: fiction, mystery

Meh. I am once again taken in by the mistaken belief that surely books this popular and well discussed must have something to them, right? People do have a modicum of taste and literary judgment, yes?

Apparently, people have a taste for plots which are entirely held together by a soupy glue of wild coincidence and random chance. A lot of criminal activities and organizations have specific ties to both Charlotte and Quebec, you know. Oh, and it is very common for the various family mem...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Dec 04, 2008

Catten rated it

I hate it when someone ruins a movie or a book for me... especially a book, because that's a bigger investment of time and imagination. So I'll tell you a little about Kathy Reichs's Death Du Jour, but I won't ruin it for you.

First, you need to know that this is her second book. Deja Dead from 1997 was a great ride, taking the reader into the world of anthropological forensics and shining a bright light on a murder investigation from a new point of view.

Tempe Brennan is the m...moreI hate it when someone ruins a movie or a book for me... especially a book, because that's a bigger investment of time and imagination. So I'll tell you a little about Kathy Reichs's Death Du Jour, but I won't ruin it for you.

First, you need to know that this is her second book. Deja Dead from 1997 was a great ride, taking the reader into the world of anthropological forensics and shining a bright light on a murder investigation from a new point of view.

Tempe Brennan is the main character in both books and she mirrors Reichs's own life in a way: Both shuttle between the US and Canada working as forensic anthropologists. The intrigue of a new angle, excellent writing, and a series of distinct voices of the characters make this a tough book to put down.

Reichs takes Tempe into the jaw-clenching cold of a Montreal winter to dig up the bones of a nun. You want to wrap your blanket a little tighter, because the descriptions of the climate and the delicate work of digging for graves is precise and puts the reader right there.

Soon, she's off to a burnt-up house to sort out the remains of the inhabitants. The descriptions are both gruesome and fascinating. She describes the process of putting the pieces together and is just clinical enough for you to feel that you've stepped away from the horror, yet you still have the sense of loss. I look at it as a good way to learn about things second-hand. Reichs is, after all, an expert and a responsible writer.

Tempe's commitments, both personal and professional, keep piling up yet she keeps her sharp sense of humor. This is why I like the character so much. She overextends herself, and then things just keep happening to add to her already full plate. She keeps going while she loses sleep over the nine thousand things going on in her life. She mentions a dream where she has to take an exam but never attended the class. I have that dream. This woman is my personal hero.

She encounters a cult and its odd members, debates with herself about the merits of having or not having a relationship with a homicide detective, and uncovers links between seemingly unrelated events. She even gets a crash course in primate behavior and the nature of insects acting on corpses.

Reichs is very talented. She offers up a great plot and believable characters. The writing is clean and entertaining. Think Patricia Cornwell without the know-it-allness. I mentioned in a previous review that my friend the Lieutenant dislikes Cornwell for that reason. Well, I think he'll dig this book. (less)

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 03, 2012

Pr Latta rated it

Shelves: families, mystery, police-procedural, religion, realistic-fiction, sense-of-place, series, strong-women, suspense, violent, first-person

#2 in Reichs' long running series. First person. Anthropological examination of a century old nun. Fires. Cults. Montreal weather. Monkey research colonies. Daughter Katie's college goals. Ryan...it would be a spoiler. Magill. UNC-Charlotte. Assault (that Brennan doesn't report - in making Tempe independent, Reichs has her make some stupid decisions. I didn't understand why she hid it even from ...). Sister Harry (real sister, from Texas, not a nun!). Cat Birdie. Lots and lots going on as we wat...more

· see review

Dec 21, 2011

BreAnna Long rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: own

This was a pretty fantastic read, right up with the first book. Reichs really knows how to keep up the suspense. I love how she keeps multiple story lines going and then weaves them all together in the end. It's not just about one murder; the whole world doesn't stop just because one person got killed and they have to investigate. And yet despite the mounding casework, midterm exams still need to be graded, students need help, and family problems persist. The fact that they still find new cases ...moreThis was a pretty fantastic read, right up with the first book. Reichs really knows how to keep up the suspense. I love how she keeps multiple story lines going and then weaves them all together in the end. It's not just about one murder; the whole world doesn't stop just because one person got killed and they have to investigate. And yet despite the mounding casework, midterm exams still need to be graded, students need help, and family problems persist. The fact that they still find new cases while current ones are open, as well as the fact that regular life continues outside the LML helps to put it in better perspective. People really do this.

*SPOILER ALERT*

I'm really glad she didn't kill off Harry in this one. The formula seemed very similar to her first book, so I thought that might happen. I think that was better. Maybe it would have been poetic - Brennan can figure out what happened to people, yet she can't save the living or protect her family from the carnage that surrounds her life - but if new traumatic experiences of lost loved ones continued to compound throughout the series, Brennan would become an emotional wreak, or else unbelievable as a character. I think her cat scare (which I'm SO glad was false!) and the cult encounter, along with Ryan's near-death brush was enough for this time around.

*END OF SPOILERS*

The discussion of cults really presents an opportunity for contemplation and introspection. It calls to attention the way we think and interact with the world. Are we being diluted and blinded by those around us, or are we making our own decisions? I always appreciate the opportunity for evaluation and this fit flawlessly into the plot. Very well written in that regard.

There was a bit of scandalous-ness that could have been done without. I think the attempt was to humanize Brennan more, but I think there is plenty of that. She really does ache for the victims she sees and she is not immune to fear or injury.

As far as the murders themselves, I always like seeing the description of the lab work and her interactions with the Québecois. I wish there would have been more elaboration on the reason for the disembowelment as well as the ring symbol on the skin. I also missed an explanation of where the Rohypnol came from, but I suppose those are minor details.

The imagery is superb; I love the way she uses the weather to heighten the suspense as well as to reflect the moods. Overall it was a fantastically thrilling read. I'd pick it up again anytime.(less)

· see review

Jun 15, 2011

Manugw rated it

· review of another edition

DULL

This is my second book by Kathleen Reichs after Deadly Decisions.
I could not enjoy any of them because the author cannot focus on a single subject. It is difficult to establish what she intends to do when she writes, first Temperance unearths a nun corpse while paying a service to a church, then she suddenly switches and is summoned to investigate the bodies of an old lady and two babies found murdered in a house located in a frosted area of northern Canada, then she flies dow...more

· see review

Jun 12, 2011

JayeL added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011

The Catholic location is back in this second book by Kathy Reichs as well as lots and lots of detail. Often I will skim past it, but that doesn't work with this author, because the detial is very important. The book is from 1999 and I am trying to read them in order so I can understand and experience the character development. This book gave me and interesting visit to the pre-digital camera era when Temperance uses a Polaroid for her work (pg.57). Unlike the previous book, email makes a 'matter...more

· see review

Jan 24, 2011

Goldenwattle rated it

· review of another edition

This is Kathy Reichs’ second novel, more realistic, but less engaging than her first.
In the last story she had a best friend. In this novel her sister filled the same roll. Her friend and sister had similar characters (both scatterbrained and hard to reason with) and both got into trouble. The difference was that her sister lived while her friend in the previous novel did not. The middle of the book was full of filler, lots of tedious descriptions. Although not her area, Tempe would know a...more

· see review

Nov 16, 2010

Cinzia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: novecento, gialli-thriller-e-simili

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Il libro è un thriller o più precisamente un medical thriller. Tempe è un’antropologa forense che insegna all’Università del North Carolina e lavora presso il laboratorio di scienze giudiziarie e di medicina legale della provincia del Quebec. E’ divorziata con una figlia al college, ha una sorella stramba e un collega affascinante dagli occhi azzurri. Sostanzialmente nel libro Tempe fa quello che fanno gli antropologi forensi: analizza le ossa dei cadaveri. E quindi la narrazione è ricca di desc...moreIl libro è un thriller o più precisamente un medical thriller. Tempe è un’antropologa forense che insegna all’Università del North Carolina e lavora presso il laboratorio di scienze giudiziarie e di medicina legale della provincia del Quebec. E’ divorziata con una figlia al college, ha una sorella stramba e un collega affascinante dagli occhi azzurri. Sostanzialmente nel libro Tempe fa quello che fanno gli antropologi forensi: analizza le ossa dei cadaveri. E quindi la narrazione è ricca di descrizioni di traumi, fratture, incisioni, insetti e resti di tessuti molli in decomposizione. Non mancano le digressioni scientifiche sui metodi di raccolta delle informazioni e sull’analisi dei dati riscontrati, e non si tratta di tecniche fantascientifiche (come quelle che di solito si vedono nei telefilm :>), ma le azioni che compie Brennan nel suo laboratorio, sono le stesse che compie la Reichs che, prima di essere una scrittrice di successo, è un’affermata antropologa forense.
La trama è complicata e solo alla fine si ha un quadro d’insieme esaustivo, o almeno per me è stato così. Spesso l’autrice non ci comunica subito le conclusioni o le scoperte che fanno i vari personaggi, salvo poi venirne a conoscenza molti capitoli più in là, magari attraverso i resoconti che i personaggi in questione comunicano l’un l’altro. Ritengo che questo sia un espediente molto banale per tentare di far aumentare la tensione, suspense da quattro soldi, ed è una cosa che mi ha irritato molto leggendo perché a me mancava sempre un tassello per capire, mentre il personaggio aveva già ricevuto l’illuminazione. In sostanza, facendo un paragone con le avventure grafiche, è come quando raccogli un oggetto o compi un’azione senza sapere perché; a me piacciono molto di più quelle in cui i vari oggetti si sbloccano man mano che ti servono.
Per quanto mi riguarda, quindi, il libro ha prodotto tensione pressoché nulla, anche se il voler sapere come andasse a finire mi ha spinto a leggerlo con foga. Questo significa che non ritengo il libro proprio da buttare, l’averlo finito rapidamente indica che l’ho trovato interessante, a differenza di altri libri lasciati a metà per quanto fossero noiosi e insulsi. Tutto sommato è una lettura che scivola semplicemente, anche se magari l’autrice aveva altri scopi.

L’aspetto stilistico è quello che mi ha lasciato più insoddisfatta, anche se me lo aspettavo. I periodi sono semplicissimi e spesso troppo sintetici, ma se consideriamo che a scrivere è una “scienziata” risulta una cosa normale, anzi la chiarezza espositiva è senza dubbio da ammirare. Il lessico, quando non si arricchisce di termini specifici, è molto elementare. L’autrice ha la tendenza ad abbondare in descrizioni capziose e particolareggiate e questo per me è un difetto in quanto, spesso, la lettura diventa noiosa e il lettore si trova immerso in una serie di dettagli inutili. Io ritengo che non tutte le descrizioni debbano puntare sulla perfetta riproduzione dell’ambiente circostante, in certi frangenti un resoconto meno preciso ma più “sentito” è la scelta migliore. Quindi ben venga una descrizione dettagliatissima sull’arma del delitto, sulle ferite, sulla scena del crimine, ma ti prego non mi descrivere come si vestono i personaggi, a partire dalla protagonista. Chi se ne frega se indossa la tuta, i jeans o il pigiama? L’autrice si dilunga molto su questo genere di resoconti e spezza troppo spesso la narrazione, così se c’era un briciolo di tensione si esaurisce all’istante.(less)

· see review

Oct 17, 2010

Hannah Ruthie rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery, suspense, thriller

I've always enjoyed Bones on TV, so picked up a couple of Kathy Reichs books in a charity shop to see how they compare. I believe that this is book two, but having not read the first did not seem to be a problem at all.

I found this a fascinating read. It includes a myriad of detail about science, anthropology and other interesting input. I wouldn't describe her as a particularly descriptive author (ie, flowing poetic language) but the constant gush of minute trivia keeps the reader e...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 09, 2010

Denise rated it

3.0 out of 5 stars this woman is superhuman!, July 25, 2008

This review is from: Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan Novels) (Mass Market Paperback)

I really wanted to like this series and this second one has left me still uncertain as to whether or not I care to continue discovering more about this character. There is just too much going on. I must say, I would rate these higher if the woman, Tempe, was even halfway close to human. The things she does and survives are inc...more

· see review

Apr 07, 2010

Fen rated it

What a disappointment. The first book wasn't fantastic, by any stretch, but it was so much better than this. I guessed every single plot point along the way, except for the ones where information was deliberately kept from the reader. Which brings me to one of my major complaints about this book... it used a lazy writer trick that happens to be a big pet peeve of mine: the character knows information but doesn't share it with the reader. It's something that a writer can sort of get away with...more

· see review

Aug 04, 2009

Starling rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mystery

This is an early Kathy Reichs novel about Temperance Brennan. And it turns out that in addition to the name of the main character, and what she does for a living, there is one more thing the Brennan in the book has in common with Bones in the TV show. And it isn't her nickname. In both cases Brennan shares her cases with a specific policeman who she is also romantically and sexually involved with.

This book takes place in both Quebec and North Carolina, because the mystery is happeni...more

· see review

Oct 15, 2011

Jennifer rated it

Shelves: audiobooks, mystery, strongfemalecharacters, 2011reads

I decided to try this series because I love the Bones TV series that is based off of it. While I enjoyed the book, the only thing it really has in common with the TV series is that the main character shares the same name and a similar profession - nothing else is the same. I started with this second book because our library system only has the first audio book on cassette. Bonnie Hurren narrates and did a fine job although I thought the accents and voices were a little hit or miss in places. I ...more

· see review

Aug 08, 2011

Emma rated it

I enjoyed this novel more than the first. Maybe it was partly due to the fact that I now know the set up and am not expecting the books to be remotely like Bones, the tv series, they are a very different plot line. I felt this novel moved more quickly than the first, especially the second half. I preferred the story line, based around a "cult" group. I would prefer if a close friend or relative of Tempe's was not in mortal danger in every novel - although am willing to give the ben...more

· see review

Jul 02, 2009

Ellen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, reviewed, read-2009, mystery

Mmm, forensic anthropology.

Death du Jour was much better than Déjà Dead, which was a first novel anyway; I was pleasantly surprised. It does fall victim to that classic murder mystery flaw, i.e. the convenient coincidence (murders in three different locations the protagonist happens to be in of course turn out to be related!).

Reichs also favors a writing technique that bugs the hell out of me, frequently practiced by Guy Gavriel Kay: revealing that something has happened ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 04, 2009

Katie rated it

Shelves: awesomeauthors, mystery-horror

After becoming a fan of the tv show Bones about a year ago, I was excited to start reading the books that inspired the series. Don't read these books expecting to find anything from the show, other than Tempe, but even then, the character is vastly differently imagined on tv. However, that's not a bad thing for either medium. The show was inspired by, not based on, the books. A lot of the ideas are the same, and there is a Booth-like character named Detective Ryan. But here we're set in Montreal...moreAfter becoming a fan of the tv show Bones about a year ago, I was excited to start reading the books that inspired the series. Don't read these books expecting to find anything from the show, other than Tempe, but even then, the character is vastly differently imagined on tv. However, that's not a bad thing for either medium. The show was inspired by, not based on, the books. A lot of the ideas are the same, and there is a Booth-like character named Detective Ryan. But here we're set in Montreal and the Tempe in the books actually understands cultural references.

Death du Jour starts out with Tempe investigating the burial of a nun from 100 years ago, to help the sisters prove a case for sainthood to the Pope. Soon she is called in to help investigate on a house fire, in which the bodies of an old woman, two babies, and a couple are found.

Tempe's sister, Harry, shows up, flirting with Ryan and wreaking havoc on Tempe's life, and when Tempe returns to her home in South Caroline, more bodies turn up that she is pulled in to examine. As with any good mystery novel, you know all the deaths, no matter how spread apart in location and seeming relevance, must be related somehow, but I was kept guessing right along with Tempe -- I had no effing idea how they could possibly have anything in common.

Reichs writing style is also a pleasure to read. It's not flowery, but the scientific jargon makes up for that. Technical terms aside, it's written with an intelligent voice, and this lifted it from the realms of a drug-store paperback to me. She has an irritating, if intentional, way of not telling the reader something when her characters discover it -- we're told there was an earth-shattering discovery, then the chapter ends, and suddenly it's the next day. It kept me reading long past bedtime.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys Bones, or who is looking for a good murder novel to read. However, as I said before, don't go into it waiting to find the characters of Angela and Hodgins and Booth -- not there. But the spirit remains the same. (less)

· see review

Jan 16, 2011

Theresa rated it

This was a great follow up to the first book. The writing was better and the storyline intriguing. I'm so looking forward to more. Love the characters.

· see review

Sep 27, 2011

Elizabeth Noah rated it

· review of another edition

This is much written much better than her first book. It did not take me that long to be interested in it.

Though there are similarities between book 1 and 2...her best friend goes missing, and apartment is broken into, in the other, her sister goes missing, and again the apartment is broken into. I think she needs a better security system for her Canadian apartment.

This story starts in Canada with the death of 2 infants, and 4 adults. Then Brennan goes back to NC to fini...more

· see review

Oct 10, 2011

Dianna Richards rated it

This is another great read from Kathy Reichs! There is just a wealth of information in here on cults, as well as several other interesting topics.

The story starts out with Brennan digging for some bones of an old nun who is up for beatification, the first step toward sainthood. Brennan is being asked to authenticate the bones.

But when she returns from her dig she is spirited away to look at crime scene that included arson. Clues in the arson case lead Brennan back to...more

· see review

Jun 24, 2010

MontiLee Stormer rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio

My first Tempe Brennan book and while it was a departure from the series (Bones) as I knew it, it was still very enjoyable. Sure there's a lot of medical jargon and it can be very explanatory in spots, but it was an evenly paced story with rich characters and the kind of action you would expect an inquisitive, educated woman like Tempe to become embroiled in. I'll probably go back and read the first book "Deja Dead" as it was referenced in this story.

I would consider this a ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 27, 2010

Jlaurenmc rated it

Bones has been on television for five years now. Kathy Reichs's Tempe Brennan series began thirteen years ago. We therefore agree that I'm a little behind on this series. However, being behind is a good thing in my opinion. I have plenty of upcoming books to read, and I don't have to wait on anything to be published to find out what happens next with the main character. Well, you now. Until I'm done.

I read the first novel in the Tempe series in February, and now I'm continuing my que...moreBones has been on television for five years now. Kathy Reichs's Tempe Brennan series began thirteen years ago. We therefore agree that I'm a little behind on this series. However, being behind is a good thing in my opinion. I have plenty of upcoming books to read, and I don't have to wait on anything to be published to find out what happens next with the main character. Well, you now. Until I'm done.

I read the first novel in the Tempe series in February, and now I'm continuing my quest to read them all. I finished the second book this week, Death du Jour, and it is just as fantastic as Reichs's debut novel. The novel begins as forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan embarks on a request by the Catholic church in Montreal. She conducts a dig in their old burial grounds while her students at the University of North Carolina frolic on beaches for spring break. Before Tempe can finish and return following the break, another crime occurs and she is forced to travel several hours away and collect bones from a recent house fire.

After Tempe returns to Charlotte for the continuation of her spring semester, crimes occurring there begin to show ties to crimes in Montreal. As Tempe is pulled into the midst of an ever-reaching chain of events, her family is affected and things become a bit personal. This novel explores the ritual side of religion, as well as so-called religion at its worst, in the form of cults.

I read into the night several times this week; I just needed to know what happened next in this novel. It was just as scary as Reichs's first foray into the writing world. These books definitely aren't for the faint-of-heart or the easily-scared. My single issue with Death du Jour was its over-the-top plot connections. I mean, what are the chances that a case that a forensic anthropologist who works in Montreal and in Charlotte is investigating has ties to both cities? I would say very slim, if at all.

Also, while the presence of cults is a reality in our world, I have recently read and heard much about the exaggeration of their activities. Satanic sacrifice is a phenomenon which gained publicity in the 1980s, but there is little record of actual occurrences. Rather, it seems to have been a media-induced panic which resulted in public service announcements and school programs, but had little substantiated evidence to prove or disprove it. So the inclusion of cult-based killings is sensational and fiction-worthy, but not based in reality.

Watch Bones on Fox on Thursdays at 8/7 central. (less)

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 31, 2010

Roni rated it

A professional sleuth who is a female portrays forensic anthropologist for the State of North Carolina. Her name is Dr. Temperance Brennan known as Tempe. She is a professor at the University of North Carolina. She also works for the Province of Quebec. Tempe is divorced, has a 'free-spirit' sister and a grown-up daughter. As challenge to be a female member of the police department, some of her co-workers hate her and a male detective who irritates and attracts her. throughout the plot, th...more

· see review

Oct 05, 2010

Cupcakencorset rated it

I really enjoyed this second Temperance Brennan novel, especially since I was able to stop comparing the details of the main character’s life with those of the TV-show character based on her. (You may recall that I had a problem with that when I read the first of Reich’s novels.) Actually the most distracting thing for me was that I have a habit, when reading a book in English that’s set in a French-speaking venue, of trying to figure out what parts the characters were saying in English and what...more

· see review

Aug 29, 2010

Writerlibrarian rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, re-read, readbefore2005, read2010, august-pile

Readers who are hoping for the TV characters will be disappointed. The TV show and the books have little in common.

This novel major appeal for me is the setting. Reichs knows Montreal and it shows. It's the little things that makes me go, oh my, yeah. I can understand readers finding the setting either boring, exotic or spot on. I'm on the the spot on team.

The plot seems far fetched but... Reichs is using the Order of the Solar Temple suicides/murders/suicides that were d...more

· see review

Mar 24, 2009

Toni Osborne rated it

Temperance Brenna, book 2

This talented author offers a great plot and a rich cast of characters. Her entertaining and fascinating writing is peppered with enough clinical expertise to pique ones interest without overstocking the imagination. The kind of forensic detail that only Kathy Reichs can provide...

Once again, we are taken into intriguing murder investigations by Tempe, a guru, in anthropological forensics

"Death du Jour", involves multiple cas...more

· see review

Jan 15, 2012

Tracie rated it

· review of another edition

This 2nd installment in the Temperance Brennan series neither disappointed nor amazed me. There are far fewer terrible similes, to say I was cold would be like saying Lady Godiva was undressed, , but the plot was far too coincidental to be believable. Once again the novel concludes with a Scooby Doo summary, but the crime procedurals are accessible and interesting and the characters likeable. Sometimes. Perhaps that is why I am enjoying Reichs Tempe Brennan series. The lead character is so belie...more

· see review

Oct 23, 2010

Garrett rated it

I got this book from my Grandmother quite awhile ago (along with many other books). So, I didn't have the first book in the series. It was interesting to read this story without having read the first book.

It is a typical murder mystery book, though, and so the characters don't really grow or change much. Mainly, I missed out on her adventures (I have hints of them because of some flashbacks).

Setting: The author did a good job of contrasting the feeling of being in Canada and ...more

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 420 421 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (42)

More editions...

Genres

Mystery

367 users

Mystery > Crime

129 users

Thriller

43 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

35 users

Suspense

31 users

Mystery > Murder Mystery

10 users

Cultural > Canada

10 users

Adult

9 users

Anthropology

6 users

Adult Fiction

6 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of only fifty forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. A ...more

More about Kathy Reichs...

Books by Kathy Reichs

Bones to Ashes (Temperance Brennan, #10)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Death du Jour

1 trivia question

More quizzes & trivia...

Groups That Shelved Death du Jour

Romance Readers Reading C...

4389 members

last activity 1 hour, 16 min ago

shelf: read

Kathy Reichs Fan Club

73 members

last activity Jan 21, 2012 01:16pm

shelf: read

Words, Wit and Wisdom

32 members

last activity Dec 23, 2011 12:59pm

shelf: read

title link	preview: Death du Jour
avg rating	preview: Death du Jour Goodreads rating: 3.84 (8630 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128756.Death_du_Jour?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171968161m/128756.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/128756.Death_du_Jour?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs[/url]

Death du Jour (Temperance Brennan #2)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website