Death Du Jour

Death Du Jour (1999) Kathy Reichs

At the start of Death Du Jour Tempe Brennan finds herself searching for the dirt floor of a church for the bones of a woman who may or may not be a saint. She’s enjoying the historical archeology as a change from the murders, suicides and accidental deaths she normally sees over the course of her work on Montreal.

Unfortunately for Tempe, that welcome distraction is soon interrupted by the search of the scene of a brutal house fire. The intensity of the fire made it likely that anyone left alive inside would need to be recognized by their bones. Add to that a surprise visit from her flighty sister, and Tempe’s week in Montreal becomes far more complicated than she had expected.

There are many things I liked about Death Du Jour, and a couple things I took issue with. As with the previous book, this second book had good writing, strong characters, and good storytelling. All three made Death Du Jour a fast an enjoyable read.

One thing, however, particularly bothered me.

SPOILER (rot 13)

“Vg’f na nznmvat pbvapvqrapr, vfa’g vg?”

Lrf, lrf vg jnf. Naq V jnf engure obgurerq ol gur furre nzbhag bs pbvapvqrapr.

V qba’g qvfpbhag ure vagrerfg naq vaibyirzrag va gur pnfrf, ohg orgjrra gur AP naq Zbagerny pbaarpgvba NAQ Grzcr’f fvfgref vaibyirzrag, V jnf fgnegvat gb unir gebhoyr fhfcraqvat oryvrs. Ohg V jrag jvgu vg, orpnhfr gur fgbel jnf tbbq, naq fbzrgvzrf–whfg bppnfvbanyyl–guvatf gung fgenatr ernyyl qb unccra. Ohg V’q ungr sbe gur nhgube gb znxr n unovg bs vg.

V nyfb pbhyq unir qbar jvgubhg gur qenzngvp raqvat. Vg’f rkpvgvat naq nyy, ohg znxrf gur fgbel srry yrff oryvrinoyr gb zr.

END SPOILER

Despite those that weakness, however, I really did enjoy the story, and look forward to the next story.

OH. There were some boink-like descriptions. Just so you know.
Rating: 7/10

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