Richard M. (algernon99) -
Helpful Score: 2
Tempe (for Temperance) Brennan is an interesting character. In this, the first novel in the series, she is working in Montreal as a forensic anthropologist. Murder victims are found, she is caught up in the search for the killer, and circumstances get quite dicey for her.
It is well written, and this tape is well performed--all the French names and terms are interesting to hear spoken for this non-French-speaking listener.
I had a quarrel with the story, however. I know I am in the minority here--vastly in the minority, I might add. It seems that one of the main ingredients of a modern bestseller thriller novel is that the main character must be in deadly peril. The serial killer somehow becomes fixated on the detective or medical examiner or whoever is the focus of the novel. I hate that. I had to stop reading Patricia Cornwell because of it--I mean, really, how many dang serial killers can there be in Raleigh, NC? One a year it seems, which is how often a new novel came out. And what are the odds that every one of those serial killers would decide they wanted to kill the medical examiner?
So in this first novel, the killer is looking to do away with the medical examiner! Talk about deja vu!
I decided that although the book was fun to listen to, I was through with this series for the same reason I had to quit Cornwell. Then I ran across a taped version of one of the later novels in the series for a very low price when I had just run out of tapes to listen to. I bought it, and am now 3/4ths of the way through listening to it. It's good. It doesn't (exactly) involve the killer(s) trying to kill Tempe, so maybe Reichs isn't a victim of thriller-writer syndrome after all.
At any rate, this is a good story and the ones that follow seem to be even better.
It is well written, and this tape is well performed--all the French names and terms are interesting to hear spoken for this non-French-speaking listener.
I had a quarrel with the story, however. I know I am in the minority here--vastly in the minority, I might add. It seems that one of the main ingredients of a modern bestseller thriller novel is that the main character must be in deadly peril. The serial killer somehow becomes fixated on the detective or medical examiner or whoever is the focus of the novel. I hate that. I had to stop reading Patricia Cornwell because of it--I mean, really, how many dang serial killers can there be in Raleigh, NC? One a year it seems, which is how often a new novel came out. And what are the odds that every one of those serial killers would decide they wanted to kill the medical examiner?
So in this first novel, the killer is looking to do away with the medical examiner! Talk about deja vu!
I decided that although the book was fun to listen to, I was through with this series for the same reason I had to quit Cornwell. Then I ran across a taped version of one of the later novels in the series for a very low price when I had just run out of tapes to listen to. I bought it, and am now 3/4ths of the way through listening to it. It's good. It doesn't (exactly) involve the killer(s) trying to kill Tempe, so maybe Reichs isn't a victim of thriller-writer syndrome after all.
At any rate, this is a good story and the ones that follow seem to be even better.
Faith G. (faithie) reviewed Deja Dead (Temperance Brennan, Bk 1) (Audio Cassette) (Abridged) on + 16 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Good listen, went by quickly. This is the first Kathy Reichs I've listened to and I'm definately ready for some more.
Denise H. (Lazeeladee) -
Helpful Score: 1
I have read/listened to other books by this author and really liked them, but I absolutely hated this. I got through listening a little over half of this and had to quit, which is unusual for me. I usually have to get to the end even if I don't like a book, but this was one of the few exceptions. The reader for this, Amy Irving, was so bad that I'm not sure if it's her reading or the story itself that was so off-putting. She reminded me of a teacher I had in high school that that droned on and on and finally put everyone to sleep! Hopefully, Ms. Reichs won't use her to read anymore of her audio books.
