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4th out of 112 books
—
18 voters
Déjà Dead (Temperance Brennan #1)
by
Kathy Reichs
Forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan has finally planned a weekend off to explore Montreal. But when an unidentified female corpse is discovered meticulously dismembered and stashed in garbage bags, her weekend plans--and her life--are turned upside down.
Paperback, 411 pages
Published
October 23rd 2007
by Pocket
(first published September 2nd 1997)
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Feb 08, 2012
Crystal
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of dry murder mysteries and forensic research
Shelves:
murder-mysteries
eh, it was okay. I am a huge fan of the TV series Bones, which is loosely based off Kathy Reichs' series, of which this is the first book. However, I realized exactly how LOOSELY BASED the series is after reading this book. what I love about the show is the romantic tension and sparkling humor and wit. these books are so much dryer and less fun. Even the lead character is less appealing--instead of being a gorgeous unattached doctor, she's an older alcoholic doctor, with a messy divorce and a te...more
38 likes · like · see review
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Separate the tv show and this book. You will be very disappointed if you come in thinking it'll be like the tv show. The characters, setting, and story are drastically different. However, I think this book is a lot better than the show and I liked the first seasons of Bones. The lead character is more believable. She has faults like any normal human being and doesn't always make the smart choices. She isn't a superhero on crack (she actually gets pretty banged up). The character seems more human...more
5 likes · like · see review
Honestly, I didn't like this book much during the first several chapters. It's obvious she was a novice writer and her over-use of metaphors drove me crazy! Also, not being a French speaker, all the French (slightly excessive in my opinion) annoyed me a bit.
I am a fan of the tv show 'Bones', which is based on this series of books, so I was excited to start. There are some major differences between the tv and the book versions of the main character, which was a transition for me, but I ended up l...more
I am a fan of the tv show 'Bones', which is based on this series of books, so I was excited to start. There are some major differences between the tv and the book versions of the main character, which was a transition for me, but I ended up l...more
17 likes · like · see review
i borrowed this book from my boss after he loved it - although he did warn me reichs had moments of getting a little too complex with her scientific terminology! i'm not a big lover of the crime genre, anyway, but decided to give this a go purely because of reichs' profession as a forensic anthropologist, and her influence on the tv series bones - i thought it might be interesting to have a realistic plotline, expressed by someone with experience in the field! unfortunately, however convinced i...more
1 like · like · see review
Two things first.
1. I am not a "mystery person." Therefore my review might be biased because of that.
2. This book is nothing like the TV show "Bones" unless you count the main character's name and profession.
Okay, now... This book was an okay read. I felt the only character that was complete was Tempe. I felt like the other people in the story were interesting only if Tempe paid much attention to them in her thoughts, which is how this story is filtered. I liked the plot, overall. I am a little...more
1. I am not a "mystery person." Therefore my review might be biased because of that.
2. This book is nothing like the TV show "Bones" unless you count the main character's name and profession.
Okay, now... This book was an okay read. I felt the only character that was complete was Tempe. I felt like the other people in the story were interesting only if Tempe paid much attention to them in her thoughts, which is how this story is filtered. I liked the plot, overall. I am a little...more
May 16, 2009
Mireille
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Someone who does not own a TV, & has therefore NEVER seen the series
I made it to chapter 4 of this book (pg45) but really had to stop. The book itself was good, don’t get me wrong… HOWEVER, I picked it up specifically because I totally LOVE the TV show “Bones” which is based off of this series of books. And as everyone knows, the book(s) that a TV show, mini-series, or movie is based upon are always better… boy was I wrong.
I love forensics stories with a good plot & this one has that, BUT I just can’t get involved with the book’s “Tempe” because she’s sooooo...more
I love forensics stories with a good plot & this one has that, BUT I just can’t get involved with the book’s “Tempe” because she’s sooooo...more
4 likes · like · see review
The first these books is very captivating but, it is quite predictable and little more then par for the genre. The style of writing Reminds me much of Ian Rankin and the Rebus books. However I am inclined to think that this is simply due to the immaturity of the author which should improve greatly through the rest of her books which I look forward to reading.
I liked this book, but can't help but think it could have been helped by a bit more editing and about 50 less pages. It was interesting to have descriptions of some of the details behind the "CSI"-type magic, but once or twice the descriptions seemed awkward; one scientist explaining a technology to another scientist that they would have already known.
I haven't been to Montreal, but the descriptions seemed nicely atmospheric. Lots of descriptions of the dead bodies and what was done to them, so...more
I haven't been to Montreal, but the descriptions seemed nicely atmospheric. Lots of descriptions of the dead bodies and what was done to them, so...more
This was the first book I have read of Kathy Reichs. I like the forensic science but sometimes I think she gets almost too detailed. I get lost in the science and lose the story. But I have to say that Temperance Brennan is a fun, intersting, likeable character. I am also infatuated with Andrew Ryan the hot detective from Montreal. It moves fast and is interesting. The minuses are that I think Tempe sometimes over-reacts and doesn't use her brain. Plunging herself head first into danger. But hav...more
Iniziamo dal pregio di questo libro: ho trovato interessante che l'autrice fosse davvero un'antropologa forense e che trasferisse la sua competenza ed il suo originale punto di osservazione in questo thriller. A tratti ho inoltre trovato la storia davvero avvincente.
Ci�� che non mi ha convinto �� che i personaggi (compresa la protagonista) non brillano in astuzia, non hanno trovate geniali e ispirazioni che ti aspetti nei protagonisti di un thriller. Da brava telespettatrice di CSI & co. si...more
Ci�� che non mi ha convinto �� che i personaggi (compresa la protagonista) non brillano in astuzia, non hanno trovate geniali e ispirazioni che ti aspetti nei protagonisti di un thriller. Da brava telespettatrice di CSI & co. si...more
I love Bones, so I thought that reading the series that launched the show would be a good supplement while the show was on break. I don't think it was the worst idea, but I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the series.
The plot deals with a serial murderer--and having interned with a mystery editor that didn't really like serial murders, I kind of have that distaste for these plots too. That it is more likely that it's someone that the victim knew and has a real motive to kill that person...more
The plot deals with a serial murderer--and having interned with a mystery editor that didn't really like serial murders, I kind of have that distaste for these plots too. That it is more likely that it's someone that the victim knew and has a real motive to kill that person...more
This is the first of the Temeperance Brennan books. If you are looking for the Bones version of Temperance Brenna, this is not it. Think of this as the original and the Bones version as being the modified version designed to be appealing to a wide television audience.
In many ways Kathy Reich's books remind me of Patricia Cornwell's. Or perhaps I should say Patricia Cornwell's remind me of Kathy Reich's, seeing as KR first began writing in the forensic's genre before PC did, add to that a the fac...more
In many ways Kathy Reich's books remind me of Patricia Cornwell's. Or perhaps I should say Patricia Cornwell's remind me of Kathy Reich's, seeing as KR first began writing in the forensic's genre before PC did, add to that a the fac...more
As with the Bourne Trilogy, the writers of the television series Bones basically took the name and job of the main character and created a totally different character and story line. While this seems to upset a lot of reviewers, it doesn't bother me. I enjoy watching Bones and I'm enjoying reading the Tempe Brennan series, and I'm perfectly okay with their dissimilarities.
Honestly, the characters in the book are much more real and interesting. I've learned some things about Montreal, picked up...more
Honestly, the characters in the book are much more real and interesting. I've learned some things about Montreal, picked up...more
I worked at a library when this book came out and customers raved about it all the time. I wasn't sure I'd want to read something about bones and murders, so I didn't pick it up until now, but then I read all 400+ pages in two days. It's a great read and a fantastic crime novel. As a warning - the main character is a forensic anthropologist and she gets called in to investigate murder cases with very decomposed human remains, which makes the book fascinating, but it means that some scenes are ex...more
I read the first 3 Brennan books basically when they were published and really liked them. I can't even say why I stopped reading more of them, partly because after university I didn't read as much anymore, partly because I found other authors and lost track with Reichs.
Now I procured the Brennan novels as e-books because I remembered that I liked them and hence was all "ok, gimme all of 'em, they're good".
But reading this *now* is very disappointing. I could ignore the lengthy travel guide part...more
Now I procured the Brennan novels as e-books because I remembered that I liked them and hence was all "ok, gimme all of 'em, they're good".
But reading this *now* is very disappointing. I could ignore the lengthy travel guide part...more
Kathy Reich's Tempe is far superior to Bones of the serial. Bones is a man in a woman's body, whereas Tempe is moody, struggles with weight issues, is a recovering alcoholic and a brilliant forensic anthropologist who forays into the dark and dangerous and solves gruesome crimes.
The novel is peppered with expletives in both English and French and paints a far different picture of Quebec to that which one imagines-this is no genteel Canada.
Unlike the slick techno detection work of the serial, t...more
The novel is peppered with expletives in both English and French and paints a far different picture of Quebec to that which one imagines-this is no genteel Canada.
Unlike the slick techno detection work of the serial, t...more
I read the anniversary edition of Reichs' first ever Temperance Brennan novel and was shocked to discover that the only real similarity between the hero of the novels and that of the "Bones" TV series is her name! In the novel she is clearly much older and even has a teenage daughter. Her personality defect in the novel is alcoholism whereas the TV character has instead a borderline Aspergers autism personality. You can understand why this was changed for the TV series: alcoholism would undoubte...more
Inhalt:
Die Arbeit eines forensischen Anthropologen richtet sich nicht nach Bürozeiten. Mitten in den Vorbereitungen zu einem Kurzurlaub wird Temperance Brennan in Montreal zu einer Baustelle gerufen. Dort wurden in einem Gestrüpp Knochen gefunden. Was zunächst nach den Resten eines aufgelassenen Friedhofs klingt, entpuppt sich als grauenvoll zugerichtete Leiche einer jungen Frau. Während der Untersuchung erinnert sich Tempe an einen weiteren Fall, bei dem ein Jahr zuvor ähnliche Verstümmelungen...more
Die Arbeit eines forensischen Anthropologen richtet sich nicht nach Bürozeiten. Mitten in den Vorbereitungen zu einem Kurzurlaub wird Temperance Brennan in Montreal zu einer Baustelle gerufen. Dort wurden in einem Gestrüpp Knochen gefunden. Was zunächst nach den Resten eines aufgelassenen Friedhofs klingt, entpuppt sich als grauenvoll zugerichtete Leiche einer jungen Frau. Während der Untersuchung erinnert sich Tempe an einen weiteren Fall, bei dem ein Jahr zuvor ähnliche Verstümmelungen...more
This book has been coming up on my on my amazon recommendation list for quite some time so I finally decided to give it a shot.
I'll admit it took me a while to get into this one. Not because it started off slow and surely not because I didn't like the main character. It just happened that the more I read and the more the personality of Tempe Brennan came to light over the course of the book the more I enjoyed it.
This is a good solid mystery. I enjoy forensic types of books. I'm a fan of Robin Co...more
I'll admit it took me a while to get into this one. Not because it started off slow and surely not because I didn't like the main character. It just happened that the more I read and the more the personality of Tempe Brennan came to light over the course of the book the more I enjoyed it.
This is a good solid mystery. I enjoy forensic types of books. I'm a fan of Robin Co...more
Oct 26, 2012
Rosario (http://rosario.blogspot.com/)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Déjà Dead starts the well-known series focused on forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. It's especially well-known, I guess, because the TV series Bones is based on it (from all reports, however, the books and TV series are quite different). Anyway, I read books 4, 5 and 6 some years ago. I liked book 4, but then things started going a bit downhill with the rest, and I got a bit tired of them. I did, however, always have a vague intention to go back to book 1. And then I started listen...more
I picked up "Deja Dead" at the local secondhand bookstore, thinking that a crime novel set in Montreal would make for good local reading. Since I had no idea of Ms. Reichs writing and television fame as a consequences of its publication I read it for what was on the page. What I found was a promising heroine drowned by overwritten and overwrought descriptions that repeated themselves to the point that if I were Temperance I would have given up and never gotten out of bed in the morning. The repe...more
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"i was killed by curiosity like a finely tuned cat."
that was not, actually, one of the many similes this book is drowning in, but it may as well have been. some real examples:
"In my mind’s eye I could see her standing at a pay phone, scanning her surroundings, her eyes never resting, broadcasting fear like Radio Free Europe."
or
"She was thin as soup in a homeless shelter"
or
"For the third time in as many days I saw daybreak, an event I embrace as eagerly as Joe Montana welcomes an all-out blitz."
i...more
that was not, actually, one of the many similes this book is drowning in, but it may as well have been. some real examples:
"In my mind’s eye I could see her standing at a pay phone, scanning her surroundings, her eyes never resting, broadcasting fear like Radio Free Europe."
or
"She was thin as soup in a homeless shelter"
or
"For the third time in as many days I saw daybreak, an event I embrace as eagerly as Joe Montana welcomes an all-out blitz."
i...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The jacket cover and all that I read prior to picking up this book compares this writer to Patricia Cornwell. Well, it got my attention and since I had read all of Cornwell's books up to this point, I was happy to give this one a try. The main character, Temperance Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist working as a non-native in the province of Quebec, Canada. Kathy Reichs is herself a forensic anthropologist who works part time in Quebec (and part time in North Carolina). As they say, write wha...more
Déjà Dead – Kathy Reich.
This is the series which was the inspiration for the Bones television show. The books are very different, instead of a single super intelligent person who is socially awkward, the book has a mom who is divorced and actually uses her ability to read people to figure out the case. She has to call experts to get information about the bones. It was a good book, probably will not read the rest only because I am not a fan of the main character being stalked while the people she...more
This is the series which was the inspiration for the Bones television show. The books are very different, instead of a single super intelligent person who is socially awkward, the book has a mom who is divorced and actually uses her ability to read people to figure out the case. She has to call experts to get information about the bones. It was a good book, probably will not read the rest only because I am not a fan of the main character being stalked while the people she...more
1 like · like · see review
This book is not for the faint of heart, but rather for those that love the details of forensic investigation down to the nitty gritty of the fluids released by a decomposed body. If you want to learn how bones can speak about and for their victims than this is the book for you! Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs. The main character Dr. Temperance Brennan is a forensic anthropologist, who after separating from her husband relocates to Quebec to become the bone expert at Laboratoire de Me’decine Le’gale....more
After hearing a lot of hype about Kathy Reichs I decided to give her books a go. Luckily her first 10 books were going cheap from The Book People in paperback form so I bought them and settled in to see what all the fuss was about. For this first book I have to say for me it didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was a solid start and while it felt sort of jerky and rough in a way I felt it was a good effort to say the least. Essentially what I'm trying to say is, don't give up on her books if...more
I'm a big fan of the Bones TV show, and while watching the rerun of the Valentine Day episode this year, there was a line where Tempe is fielding calls and Booth says something like "He wants you to come up to Montreal this weekend?" That got me thinking about Kathy Reichs books.
Now, I'd already been poking around her website, so I knew that there was a difference between the show and the books. She even says she thinks of them as TV Tempe and Book Tempe. What I was surprised by the was the ext...more
Now, I'd already been poking around her website, so I knew that there was a difference between the show and the books. She even says she thinks of them as TV Tempe and Book Tempe. What I was surprised by the was the ext...more
There were parts of this that were slow moving and I thought just get on with it, but the last eighth of the book got the tension up enough that I can say I liked the book. I really thought that I would be more into this book than I was. I could definitely say that this was not a book that pulled me in.
Granted, I like the TV show Bones so I kind of expected the book to be like the show. I really did like the science/anatomy parts of the story because it was a way that made science more interesti...more
Granted, I like the TV show Bones so I kind of expected the book to be like the show. I really did like the science/anatomy parts of the story because it was a way that made science more interesti...more
This book is the basis for the tv show Bones. Besides the lead character and her career being the same it stops about there. Tempe in the book, is a divorced, has a college-age daughter, and is a recovering alcoholic who for a while was splitting her time between NC, and Quebec. There is no Sealy-or Sealy like in the book. I think the closest was Ryan and the way he filled out his jeans and his eyes.
When I first started reading this book, I did not like it at all. It was really hard for me to wa...more
When I first started reading this book, I did not like it at all. It was really hard for me to wa...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To read or not to read | 9 | 57 | Apr 04, 2013 09:34am | |
| Deja Dead | 20 | 75 | Feb 13, 2013 08:54pm | |
| Nothing but Readi...: Déjà Dead (Temperance Brennan, #1), by Kathy Reichs - Start Date February 2nd | 122 | 86 | Feb 11, 2013 10:53pm | |
| The Women's Myste...: Deja Dead (#1) | 30 | 48 | Jan 16, 2013 11:27am | |
| Aussie Lovers of...: Bones | 11 | 31 | Sep 24, 2012 03:04am | |
| South African Boo...: Déjà Dead (No spoilers) | 12 | 16 | Mar 24, 2012 05:27am | |
| South African Boo...: Déjà Dead (Spoilers) | 1 | 8 | Feb 22, 2012 09:05am |
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
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