2013 Reads: Twenty-One {Deja Dead - Kathy Reichs}

Let's be honest here for a second - I totally bought this book because I like am slightly obsessed with Bones (I may kinda have taken a break from the show since *spoiler* Brennan had her baby, because, well that all seemed way to cliché for my tastes. Shark? Jumped? I hope not...).

While this book is miles away from the TV show it inspired, it's still a great crime/mystery/thriller and I enjoyed it as such. But, seriously, I'm still trying to figure out how they got to Bones from this.

WHAT WAS WRITTEN

Temperance Brennan has left behind a crumbing marriage in North Carolina to take up a position as a forensic anthropologist in Québec. Her job is to analyze the bones of the dead (particularly those not easily identifiable) - both recent deaths and those long since passed.

When she discovers a corpse that had ben disassembled and left in trash bags, the case suddenly becomes personal for Temperance. What seems to be a single, random murder, to Tempe is just another death in a string of murders. When she seems to be headed in the right direction the investigation and the criminal inches closer to home - with threats against her, her best friend, and even her daughter.

What follows is a haunting, dangerous, and fast-paced hunt for the criminal behind these gruesome deaths. 

WHAT MY BRAIN HAS TO SAY ON THE MATTER

I'm gonna repeat myself here: how on earth did they get to Bones from this?

Really. The only thing this book and the show have in common are a woman named Temperance Brennan who is a forensic anthropologist who somehow gets swept up in fighting crime. That's it.

And even then book Brennan and TV show Brennan are worlds apart. Book Brennan is a social, average, and smart-but-not-in-your-face-smart woman. She's not a hot shot, best-selling author, or even a consultant to the FBI. TV Brennan lacks social skills, is all about intelligence, and a little awkward. They're worlds apart.

There is no Booth. There are no Squints (I mean, there are, but they're not called such and they're not even close to being a big part of the book at all). There is no Jeffersoinan Lab that Brennan is (pseudo) in charge of. There is nothing but a woman who happens to have the same name and job.

But enough about my realization that the reason I wanted to read this book was out the window. Let's actually talk about the book. Because, once I got past the initial disappointment, I realized that Kathy Reichs writes one heck of a good crime novel. And it's no secret that these sort of books are a guilty pleasure of mine (re: reading all of the Patricia Cornwell novels).

This book has everything you could hope for in a crime novel: fast paced action, kick-ass main character, enough medical jargon to make you believe it's real, a creepy serial killer (who also happens to be obsessed with getting to Brennan), and so much more.

I could praise the merits of this book for days. I was engrossed in it from the start - which, for me, is a mark of a good book. One that gets and keeps your attnetion. Isn't that why we read in the first place? To have that feeling of I'm really there and I never want to leave. 

It also has some downfalls.

There was a lot of French in it. And while I speak/read French pretty darn good, I was still annoyed that at times I couldn't make sense of what a character was saying. It usually was a comment made in jest or something like that, but still I wanted to know! So I had to stop, get out my translator app and then get back to the book. It also took me a little while to get into it and lagged in a few places that I think some more editing could have helped.

It was also weird to read a book that referenced things from 1997 as the present. As in, fashion, popular clothing/gadgets/etc, 9/11 hadn't happened yet, you name it. It was just messing with my brain here and there to take the step back into my childhood years in a different perspective.

All in all? It's a great first novel and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next in the series. I'm excited about another crime series!

THE NITTY GRITTY

Title: Deja Dead

Author: Kathy Reichs

Genre: Mystery, Crime, Murder

Medium: Paperback, 532pp

Publisher: Pocket Star Books (1 January 1997)

Date Read: 6 June 2013

Source: Purchased @ Barnes & Nobles eons ago

Recommended For: Mystery/Crime novel lovers, fans of Patricia Cornwell, Fans of Bones

Challenges: Goodreads, Off the Shelf, TBR Pile

First Line: I wasn't thinking about the man who'd blown himself up.

Favorite Line:  The workout and steam had taken their toll, and I felt as if major muscle groups had gone off duty.

Last Line: "Let's go to the beach."{whited out, for spoiler's sake}