Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner
Death du Jour
Amazon US PB Amazon US HC Amazon UK PB Amazon Canada PB Amazon Canada HC
Kathy Reichs
Class/Genre: Mystery Forensics Woman Main Character
Series: Dr. Temperance Brennan # 2
Scribner, Jun 1999, $25.00, 381 pp.
In a church graveyard, Montreal forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan diligently digs up the remains of a nun, who died in 1888. The church plans to bestow sainthood on Sister Elisabeth Nicolet. However, the marked site fails to contain the sister's bones as for some mysterious reason they were moved to another locale. When she finds the remains, Tempe begins to feel that the good nun succumbed to foul play.
At the same time, modern deaths due to arson and a teaching assistant disappearance has Tempe overworked. Still, the Tarheel native plows ahead to solve the century old mystery of Sister Elisabeth while helping with the current case load even as it draws her back to Beaufort, North Carolina.
DEATH DU JOUR, the second Tempe tale, is as terrific as the award winning debut novel (see DEJA DEAD). Tempe remains a serene, warm (in spite of her always being cold) character and the support cast adds Canadian and Carolinian depths to the crisp story line. The subplots cleverly merge together, but it is Kathy Reichs' ability to describe in depth forensic tools and results (autopsies, etc.) without goring the reader with plot drifting that makes this work a winner. Instead, these graphic passages augment the entertaining tale with a ring of authenticity. Sub-genre fans will demand more Tempe tales.
Harriet Klausner
Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner
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