#38 Deja Dead by Kathy Reichs
I bought seasons one and two of Bones on a whim. A coworker was selling them for eight bucks each and I figured, what do I have to 
loose? The answer: all of my free time. I flew through each season with a speed impressive for someone who works full time and goes to school part time. I fell in love with the characters, as well as the idea that you can tell worlds about someone’s life and death from just their bones. So when I found the Temperance Brennan audiobooks, I thought I’d take a chance and tried the first book, Deja Dead. Sure thrillers aren’t usually my thing, but tastes can change right?
Apparently, mine have not.
From the start, I was fully aware that the Tempe Brennan books were very different from the television series. It’s more accurate to say that the television series was not based on the books, but that the books and the television series are both based on the life of author Kathy Reichs. In here, Dr. Brennan is a more mature woman (a nicer way of saying “older”), a recently-divorced, recovering alcoholic living in Montreal and working as a forensic anthologist. When she stumbles across the bones of a young woman, dismembered and stashed in trash bags, she can’t help but think about a past case. As Dr. Brennan begins to dig she discovers multiple connections between a several unsolved murders, all involving woman. Soon she begins to fear for the worse, a serial murderer.
The Tempe Brennan here is much different from her television counterpart. She’s much sassier, and has more of an emotional connection with the victim. Despite the difference in personality, I found her to be an enjoyable narrator, and the audiobook reader did a great job bringing her voice to life. Unfortunately, I connected far less with the minor characters, constantly getting the cast of tough talking cops messed up with each other. As far as the storyline goes, there’s no doubt in my mind that it was a well put together story, written solidly with plenty of twists and turns. But for whatever reason… it just didn’t suite me. I enjoyed the part where Dr. Brennan uses science to discover clues about the victims (you can tell that Kathy Reichs is speaking from experience), but had trouble connecting to the more suspenseful moments. As a result, the reading experience was rather blah.
It’s not that I felt this was a poor book. People that are more into crime/thrillers may find it more appealing. But for me… I prefer my murder mysteries to be more Agatha Christie-like. I like the quirky unlikely detective who solves the murder at the last minute more than tracking down the sexual sadist who enjoys shoving foreign objects up his victim’s vaginas. That’s all I’m saying.
Rating: Three stars
Length: the print version is 416 pages
Source: theaudiolibrary
TBR Pile: 145 books
Similar Books: Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong ( my review) also involves tracking down a serial killer. The Body of Evidence Thrillers by Christopher Golden
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds
loose? The answer: all of my free time. I flew through each season with a speed impressive for someone who works full time and goes to school part time. I fell in love with the characters, as well as the idea that you can tell worlds about someone’s life and death from just their bones. So when I found the Temperance Brennan audiobooks, I thought I’d take a chance and tried the first book, Deja Dead. Sure thrillers aren’t usually my thing, but tastes can change right?
Apparently, mine have not.
From the start, I was fully aware that the Tempe Brennan books were very different from the television series. It’s more accurate to say that the television series was not based on the books, but that the books and the television series are both based on the life of author Kathy Reichs. In here, Dr. Brennan is a more mature woman (a nicer way of saying “older”), a recently-divorced, recovering alcoholic living in Montreal and working as a forensic anthologist. When she stumbles across the bones of a young woman, dismembered and stashed in trash bags, she can’t help but think about a past case. As Dr. Brennan begins to dig she discovers multiple connections between a several unsolved murders, all involving woman. Soon she begins to fear for the worse, a serial murderer.
The Tempe Brennan here is much different from her television counterpart. She’s much sassier, and has more of an emotional connection with the victim. Despite the difference in personality, I found her to be an enjoyable narrator, and the audiobook reader did a great job bringing her voice to life. Unfortunately, I connected far less with the minor characters, constantly getting the cast of tough talking cops messed up with each other. As far as the storyline goes, there’s no doubt in my mind that it was a well put together story, written solidly with plenty of twists and turns. But for whatever reason… it just didn’t suite me. I enjoyed the part where Dr. Brennan uses science to discover clues about the victims (you can tell that Kathy Reichs is speaking from experience), but had trouble connecting to the more suspenseful moments. As a result, the reading experience was rather blah.
It’s not that I felt this was a poor book. People that are more into crime/thrillers may find it more appealing. But for me… I prefer my murder mysteries to be more Agatha Christie-like. I like the quirky unlikely detective who solves the murder at the last minute more than tracking down the sexual sadist who enjoys shoving foreign objects up his victim’s vaginas. That’s all I’m saying.
Rating: Three stars
Length: the print version is 416 pages
Source: theaudiolibrary
TBR Pile: 145 books
Similar Books: Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong ( my review) also involves tracking down a serial killer. The Body of Evidence Thrillers by Christopher Golden
Other books I've read by this author: This is my first
xposted to bookish and temporaryworlds