Death Du Jours - A Fairly Average Book With Great Background Knowledge (Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs)

Member Name: GramiWay

Product:	Death du Jour - Kathy Reichs
Date:	23/04/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Strong background knowledge, brilliant plot line

Disadvantages: Dull characters, conclusion feels too rushed

*Be aware this review does contain minor spoilers*

Well I'm still working out the kinks in writing reviews of books but as I've started to read a lot more recently I thought I'd give it a whirl. My other half is a huge fan of crime novels so I borrowed 'Death Du Jour' written by Kathy Reichs for some bedtime reading and I must say whilst I found the plotline to be fascinating and brilliantly weaved together the overall result was very dull.

Kathy Reichs is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic of the aforementioned subject and has written a string of books most of them which are loosely based on the hit tv show 'Bones' which she has also worked as a producer for.

It's easy to see that the main character in 'Death Du Jour' is based more or less on the author herself. Dr Temperance Brennan is also a forensic anthropologist and also teaches the subject at university level. She is the major heroine and character throughout all of Reich's books and in this particular story finds herself investigating the exhumed body of a nun, a murder on a desert island and a horrific arson concering twin babies and everything seems to revolve around a mysterious cult who will stop at nothing to escape the supposed coming armagedon. The basic plotline behind the story is not apparent at first as the writing seems very scattered with the protagonist jetting all over the country and moving back and forth between three different cases. However, it soon becomes clear that all the murders she is investigating are linked.

Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed all the information about cults and marvelled at how the story was bought together and all the crimes seemed to link to one person, I did find that a lot of the book was pointless filler as Reichs attempts to allow the audience to connect with her main character. Through introducing Detective Ryan [a possible love interest], Brennan's teenage daughter Katy and various other people in her life. I don't really feel anything towards the characters at all though the burning curiousity to see how the pieces of the puzzle will slide together is definately the main reason why I kept turning each page.

Reichs is at her strongest when she is describing autopsies and various proceedures used to discover a corpse's identity and such. When it comes to characterisation the novel isn't very gripping and even the climax at the end doesn't generate any responsoe of fear for the characters in danger. In her defense, Reichs manages to create blinding imagery that can be often quite repulsive such as a step by step discussion on how insects feed on a dead corpse and lay their larvae amongst others.

Reich's background in forensic anthropology is apparent throughout the book and becomes the main focus of the story. Some parts of the plot are easier to connect than others with the instance of Tempe's younger sister being drawn into the offending cult apparent for at least three chapters before the author makes the big reveal whilst the conclusion of the book seems far too rushed to really build any suspense. However, there are still a lot of surprises that make this novel a pretty decent read and will definately get your brain ticking over.

If you like hard and gritty crime novels with a tangled web of deceit and clues that unravel on the final pages then this book is definately for you. If like me you need some sort of strong character to relate to then you won't find that in this book as even the author's attempts at romance don't spark much interest.

Kathy Reichs is an exceptional talent at her chosen field of work but it just doesn't seem to transfer well onto the written page.

Summary: A 1999 novel by Kathy Reichs