Death du Jour by
Kathy Reichs
hbk out June 99
Published by Heinemann
at £10
Tempe Brennan reads the dead like most of us read the newspaper. And in Kathy Reich's second novel to feature the forensic anthropologist, she takes us deep inside that secret world as Brennan investigates mysteries as diverse as the missing body of a candidate for sainthood and the cremated remains of the victims of a house fire.
From the Arctic winter of Quebec to the steamy heat of the Carolinas, death pursues Brennan like a demented stalker, leaving her in fear of her life and her sanity. For the secrets she uncovers cause more problems to the living than she could ever have imagined, bringing her in head-to-head conflict with a bizarre religious cult.
I confess that I wasn't impressed with Reich's debut, Deja Dead, but with her second novel, she demonstrates that she has a real gift for the page-turning nail-biter of a thriller. In spite of two hefty coincidences that tie the plot together, she draws the reader into Brennan's world, creating atmospheric set pieces that drive the book to an entirely satisfying climax.
(
Val McDermid
- Gold Dagger winner & creator of Lindsay Gordon, Kate Brannigan & Tony Hill)
Death du Jour by
Kathy Reichs