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KATHY REICHS
I have placed "sizzler
ratings" next to books read, even if the review
hasn't been added at this time.
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FATAL
VOYAGE (2001) |
Sub-category: Murder/detective
The plot: On her way to
give a lecture, forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan is called
to apply her talents to plane crash in the high Appalachians
of the North Carolina. It's a sickening task and she immerses
herself in finding identities for the mysterious explosion
that abruptly ended so many lives. Yet, as she ventures around
the crash site, a chance encounter sees a lone foot fall into
her possession. Initially it is just bit of a mystery as it
doesn't seem to come from the flight list of victims, but
suddenly, she is the target of smear campaign and her life
is threatened as a result of finding the lone foot
Comment: Although never
quite achieving the gritty depths of her first book, Reichs
seems to graduate to a new and riveting level of story-telling
in Fatal Voyage. Unlike Cornwell
whose heroine seems to have been stuck in an emotional rut
for the last decade, Brennan continues to grow, drawing you
more irresistibly into the tale that Brennan is telling in
her earnest pursuit to find who the victims are. I just hope
the ending doesn't mean Reichs is going to abandon her heroine
just as she gets interesting! Just one or two more books please,
Ms Reichs!
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DEADLY
DECISIONS (2000) |
Sub-category: Murder/detective
The plot: Dr. Temperance
Brennan is called back to Quebec slightly ahead of schedule
as it looks like a biker war is about to break out in Montreal.
An innocent girl is killed in crossfire between two biker
gangs. However, as they are investigating her death, more
bodies turn up. Alarmingly, Tempe's young nephew comes to
stay, and it looks like his love of Harley motorbikes is going
to suck him into the gang war. It becomes a race against time
for Tempe to solve the mysterious death of some bones found
in a biker gang home and protect her nephew from the killer...
Comment: Again, Reichs
isn't as gritty as her first novel, Déja Dead,
but she nonetheless delivers a satisfying murder/crime novel
with Tempe as the lead character. Poor Tempe is as besieged
as Patricia Cornwall's character,
Kay Scarpetta, but the sheer detail about the forensic process
is as fascinating as ever. If you are into the crime novels
with tormented lead female physicians, then better continue
reading this series!
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DEATH
DU JOUR (1999) |
Sub-category: Murder/detective
The plot: Dr. Temperance
Brennan, a Forensic Anthropologist who spreads her time between
teaching in North Carolina and working for the Laboratoire
de Médecine Légale in Montreal, is called out in bitterly
cold weather to investigate the remains of a fierce fire in
a remote area near Montreal. Once there, she finds the intent
to murder several people including an elderly lady and two
babies. Teaching obligations calls her back to Charlotte,
North Carolina but the the mystery follows her back and places
those around in battle for their lives
Comment: Not quite as gritty
as her debut novel, Déja Dead, this novel
is nontheless quite gripping and mind blowing as Brennan finds
herself being sucked into a web of intrigue where she has
to battle the bitter elements of winter and the twisted intent
of religious murderer to save those closest to her.
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DÉJÀ
DEAD (1998) |
Sub-category: Murder/detective
The plot: Forensic Anthropologist,
Dr. Temperance Brennan's, examines dismembered bones that
a couple of boys found abandoned in plastic bags in Montreal.
The inspection triggers an old memory within Tempe of an
analysis of another body of a woman who had been cut up
a 2 years before. Details between the actual state of each
victim differ slightly, throwing the police off from making
the connection. Detective Claudel to is not convinced of
a connection - or sure of Tempe. It becomes a race against
time as Tempe tries to find enough proof for both herself
and the police - and the body count in increasing...
Comment: There are obvious
comparison's between the successful style of Patricia Cornwell's,
Dr. Scarpetta of Virginia and Dr. Brennan of Montreal -
both dealing in forensic's, both middle age women who have
been divorced, both have problems with discrimination, both
a little headstrong... However, Kathy Reichs novel stands
up well on its own and is quite gripping, and the ending
is more breathtaking, reducing one to a state of compulsive
pageturning than most (but not all) of Cornwall's stories.
The atmosphere of the novel is also somehow different, more
seedier in the streets of Montreal than in the sterile environs
of Virginia.
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An absolute sizzler of a movie - A must
see! |
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A scorcher of a good movie; still capable
of riveting you to your seat |
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Low flame burner; a pleasant piece of mindless
brain candy |
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A fizzler of a movie which will have you
counting zzzzzz's... |
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