Dr. Temperance Brennan, director of forensic anthropology for the province of Quebec is looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Instead, she is called to stop at an uncovered burial site and one look at the decapitated and dismembered body tells her she'll spend the weekend in the crime lab. To catch the killer, Brennan has to identify the victimsomeone with reddish hair and a small bone structure. And as the evidences fall into place, Tempe links this case to another onethe murder and dismemberment of sixteen-year-old Chantale. Hot on the killer's trail, Tempe realizes that the next victim could be her daughter, her friend or even herself.
From Library Journal
Actress Amy Irving's low-key approach fits first novelist Reichs's on-the-edge-of- your-seat thriller (LJ 8/97) perfectly. Montreal forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan is called upon when seemingly old bones are unearthed. She unwittingly stumbles upon a headless?and fresh?corpse. Research into other murders convinces her that a pattern is emerging and perhaps a serial killer is on the loose. Reluctant to agree, the police do not offer much assistance, and Tempy embarks upon detailed and sometimes grisly detective work, which makes her the killer's target. Immediately grabbing the listener's attention, this sophisticated work is stocked with well-developed and believable characters. The frequent French place names and phrases?handled eloquently by Irving?add an authentic and exotic flavor. One hopes that this will be just the beginning of a series of Temperance Brennan mysteries.?Susan McCaffrey, Sturgis Middle Sch., Mich.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From
Temperance Brennan may not be competition for Kay Scarpetta, Patricia Cornwell's medical examiner, in the romance department, but she's just as stubborn and almost as astute when it comes to sleuthing. While investigating a grisly discovery for the Montreal coroner's office, Tempe finds herself remembering a similar investigation she conducted on the remains of a woman who was savagely dismembered and stuffed in garbage bags. When Tempe's concerns about a serial killer are dismissed by the police, she decides to pursue the matter herself--a course of action that both puts her career on the line and so effectively upsets the murderer's plan that he sets his sights on her. Montreal, with its French culture, is an enticing setting for Reichs' first mystery, and as a forensic anthropologist who spends part of her time working for the Province of Quebec, Reich knows the city well. She also contributes a wealth of authentic medical detail as she follows Tempe on her gripping, convoluted quest to catch a psychotic killer. A high-voltage thriller that readers won't want to put down. Reichs' novel generated great interest at the Frankfurt Book Fair and prompted a big-numbers rights auction. Stephanie Zvirin