Death du Jour

A Temperance Brennan Novel, Book 2

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Bonnie Hurren

Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

Assaulted by the bitter cold of a Montreal winter, the American-born Dr. Temperance Brennan, Forensic Anthropologist for the Province of Quebec, digs for a corpse where Sister Elisabeth Nicolet, dead for over a century and now a candidate for sainthood, should be lying in her grave. A strange, small coffin, buried in the recesses of a decaying church, holds the first clue to the cloistered nun's fate.

The puzzle surrounding Sister Elisabeth Nicolet's life and death provides a welcome contrast to discoveries at a burning chalet, where scorched and twisted bodies await Tempe's professional expertise. Who were these people? What brought them to this gruesome fate? And where are the children?

Homicide Detective Andrew Ryan, with whom Tempe has a combustive history, joins her in the arson investigation. From the fire scene they are drawn into the worlds of an enigmatic and controversial sociologist, a mysterious commune, and a primate colony on a Carolina island.

Featuring the kind of forensic detail that only Kathy Reichs can provide - from skeletal reconstruction to insect analysis - Death du Jour takes the listener on a riveting journey from the morgue to the lab to the crime scene, from the warmth of a barrier island to the frigid cold of a deadly ice storm. With this poignant and powerful work, Kathy Reichs confirms her status as a brilliant new crime-writing star.

©1999 Kathy Reichs (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Atmospheric, suspensefully paced.... a delectable tale of corpus delicti... bone-chilling prime crime." ( People)

Good, but too many "du jours"

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, I did enjoy listening to this book, but there were too many murders actually. A couple would have sufficed since two of the story lines had real possibilities. I would have liked them to have been further explored.

If you’ve listened to books by Kathy Reichs before, how does this one compare?

I like listening to Kathy Reichs's stories. For her, I think this is closer to a B- than an A+, but I still liked it.

What does Bonnie Hurren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She's a good reader. I appreciate her work.

Could you see Death du Jour being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Yes, I could see it being a movie.

Any additional comments?

I recommend it for Kathy Reichs fans. I think they will enjoy it.

Enjoyed

I enjoyed this book. Will be listening to it again in the future. Well done.

Too many conicidences!

I really like Kathy Reichs' work but this tale had too many coincidences for me. I liked the premise but I figured it out way too soon!

Good but not "Deja Dead" good

worth listening to/reading. just not quite as spectacular as the previous novel. still worth it.

Entertaining but not mind-blowing

Narrator horribly mispronounces several words ("marcaber" for macabre), protagonist has NO common sense, loose conclusion.

Great Story

I loved the story, but wasn't crazy about the narrator. I had a hard time differentiating between characters, based on her voices. I can't be certain, but I felt like her choices weren't necessarily consistent either.

Another great Kathy Reichs book

Great book with a lot of Quebec, Ryan, and Harry. Tempe Brennan at her finest, with work, sleuthing, terror, mystery, and several new mysterious characters thrown in. As usual, the very sarcastic and witty humor is thrown in to counteract the gruesome nature of Twmpe's work. Great example of a strong, smart, independent woman who does not ignore her instincts and gut, even when it sometimes leads to more than she bargained for. Love the suspense and the witty dialogue, Tempe's first person narration, and the subtle references to current times.

Riveting and addicting!!!

An amazing story written weaves together perfectly so that it all comes to a climactic end

Excellent Story, Great Descriptions

Where does Death du Jour rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Usually my sister picks the audio books to listen to on our way up to Door County, Wisconsin. I'm picking ones I want to listen to while I'm working, switching between books and music and TV programs. I'm a big Bones fan, and I noticed that many of the other Kathy Reichs fans are as well. I really enjoyed this book and the other one (206 Bones) and will continue to listen to them, regardless of who is narrating them.

What did you like best about this story?

This was a different narrator than the first Temperance Brennan book I read and it was easier to listen to her. Her French was excellent and her voice and the tonal quality of the descriptive language of various locations was excellent. When the book required her narration to be suspenseful, she definitely was.

Have you listened to any of Bonnie Hurren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this was my first.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When she became emotional to the college professor about the murders (and means of murder) of infants and such, and at the time, she felt (Daisy Gannett (sp?) was responsible) which was how the crime part of the book actually started.

Slow build up but a good story, bad narration

The accents done by the narrator were awful. The story itself was a slow build, but overall was good.