Deja Dead

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Barbara Rosenblat

Length: 16 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

It's June in Montreal, and Dr. Temperance Brennan, who has left a shaky marriage back home in North Carolina to take on the challenging assignment of Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, looks forward to a relaxing weekend in beautiful Quebec City. First, though, she must stop at a newly uncovered burial site in the heart of the city. The remains are probably old and only of archeological interest, but Tempe must make sure they're not a case for the police.

One look at the decomposed and decapitated corpse, stored neatly in plastic bags, tells her she'll spend the weekend in the crime lab. Something about the crime scene is familiar to Tempe: the stashing of the body parts; the meticulous dismemberment. As a pattern continues to emerge, Tempe calls upon all her forensic skills, including bone, tooth/dental, and bitemark analysis and x-ray microflourescence to convince the police that the cases are related and to try to stop the killer before he strikes again.

Told with lacerating authenticity and passion, Déjà Dead is both poignant and terrifying as it hurtles toward its breathtaking conclusion and instantly catapults Kathy Reich into the top ranks of crime authors.

©1997 Kathy Reichs (P)2011 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Accomplished and chilling." ( People)

"Kathy Reichs knows how to put all [of her] exotic experience into a novel....Quebec's own Southern gal give[s] Cornwell a run for the money." (Margaret Cannon, Globe and Mail)

"What makes Déjà Dead so compelling, in addition to the authoritative descriptions of how a forensic scientist 'reads' the story the bones tell, is the character of Brennan - smart, persistent, gutsy, ironic yet vulnerable." (Judy Stoffman, Toronto Star)

Not Quit What I Expected

Don't look for the Temperance Brennan character as portrayed in the television series, 'Bones'. Reichs' original version is not the slick, confident and cerebral character who works with the F.B.I., but a much more vulnerable and uncertain person. Enjoy this recording in it's own right, as I have, and root for Tempe as she works through her doubts, fears and limitations to solve a series of gruesome murders.

I just don't know why I read these books

So I went back and re-read this one because in the recent Tempe books she is started to get on my nerves. Well apparently when I was younger, her characteristics didn’t bother me but this re-read found me wanting to strangle her as much as the killer wanted to. So this will be a ramble fest – I apologize in advance.

The mystery is very intriguing and it really grips you but I found myself going “just spit it out” a lot because I felt like the characters new something but wouldn’t admit until the author was ready. Not a big problem but the author kept dropping hints and you’re like just say it.

Temperance Brennan has got to be one of the most annoying characters ever written. She really shows a lack of something as it relates to her relationship with the law enforcement side of the house. Sometimes you’re like this is completely unrealistic and put in the book to simply allow for Dr. Brennan to be put in dangerous situations. There were many times when she should have just waited for one of the police officers to call her back versus charging out there. She spends most of the book griping and bitching about and at her best friend which makes it very hard to understand her concern for Gabby’s welfare.

The other thing I noticed is that Dr. Brennan seems to be plaqued by the same things over and over in each book. A disgruntled co-worker who may or may not file a complaint against her, a complete disregard for the police’s ability to do their job because she would rather risked her own life than put them at risk, a family/friend/loved one in danger – I probably should not have read this book after reading some of the other ones.

I know you are wondering why then did I give 3 stars. Well for one the supporting characters, the mystery and the actual villain were very good and for two the narrator, Barbara Rosenblat, does do a great job for this book. I like the way she gives Dr. Brennan’s inner monologue a different tone so that you can recognize it and she does an excellent job with all the different characters and accents.

Well Deserving of its praise!

My favorite crime novel. Good writing, real science, and a thrilling plot. Definitely worth it.

I liked it

I liked this audio version of the book. I had already read it, but I wanted to read it again, but due to time I cant do it. So I decided to try the audiobook.
Surprisingly it was very well narrated. I really loved the voice of the narrator. Isn’t annoying or bad at all.

Brilliant

I really enjoyed this book! The narrator was actually pretty good, I just didn’t like that every time she breathe you could hear like phlegm or something overly raspy like she needed to clear her throat. Dr. B isn’t a smoker but the narrator made her sound like one a bit. I’m certainly going to keep listening to the books tho regardless. It wasn’t a dull reading, the nuance was captured and the descriptions of locations were great for creating visuals.

Not a bad listen

The only thing I got distracted with was extra description of things. It would start to get a bit dry. Otherwise a very good listen.

Irritating

You could here the reading swallow and smack lips at time. Too wordy and the added sounds were annoying ( the zap of electricity and clock sounds

Temperance is an idiot

The lead character is reckless and impulsive. I found her feminist attitude in conflict with her actions.

Temperance or Temperance? TV or book? That is the question!

I pulled the book because I wanted see if they were skipped or different. I think different.

Extremely Distracting

I'm not sure I can even finish this book. The constant sound of running water in the background is distracting but not so loud as to prevent listening. It's the narrator's heavy breathing that is grating on my last nerve. I just want to scream and pull my hair out. It causes such a distraction that I can't even remember what is happening in the book! I am constantly rewinding trying to find the last place where I remember what is going on and go forward from there. Listening to a book should be an enjoyment not a constant battle to concentrate so hard on what is being said as a way to try to ignore the reader's breathing.