Monday Mourning : A Tempe Brennan Novel

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly Reichs
Review: I have been a fan of Kathy Reichs since I read her first book, Deja Dead in 1997. Her stories have gotten better in the intervening years....more depth to her characters, including Tempe, more depth to her stories, great plot lines, and a steady pace that keeps the reader hanging on. I agree with other reviewers that Monday Mourning is her strongest work yet....but all of her books are worth reading.

Tempe is in Montreal to testify in a murder case (what else). While she is there, she is called to investigate three skeletons discovered in the basement of a small pizza parlor. Upon first impressions there is some thought that the bodies are "historical", and this is supported when 19th century evidence is discovered near the remains. However, Tempe isn't convinced. She carbon dates the remains and discovers that they day to the 1980's confirming her fears.

As background we discover that Tempe's love life isn't going well. Her significant other isn't giving her the attention she needs. Further, her male co-workers continue to take her and her contributions to police work lightly.

Suffice it to say that the reader is in store for another wonderful ride through fictional police work. A tight story with great characters, Monday Mourning is sure to make you a Reichs fan if you're not already there.

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected, Better!
Review: This is my First Reichs novel, I typically don't care for female authors (don't ask why I guess I'm just a Macho kind of guy) but this is a gripping story from Ms. Reichs, plenty of twists in the tale! and the paceing is perfect, leading the reader steadily onwards, but never at the cost of those all-important passages or chapters which show the struggle to get to grips with the problems faced by Tempe Brennan, the Forensic Anthropologist for the province of Quebec. Explanations of the more complex scientific examinations are neatly woven into the on-going story, and Ms Reichs pays the reader the compliment of not feeling duty bound to lead them by the hand. Now I'll have to go back and read the others in the series! I do have to recommend one other book: "A TOURIST IN THE YUCATAN" By Brumfield, Some rough edges but overall a great thriller!

Rating:
Summary: an absorbing read
Review: While not quite as well executed (I thought) as "Grave Secrets," "Monday Mourning" was, nevertheless, an absorbing read; and once the pace picked up, about a third way into the book, an absolutely riveting read.

Initially forensic anthropologist, Temperance Brennan, thought that the only big thing she would have to do this trip back to Montreal would be to testify at the trial of a murderer. But that was before she got involved with the grizzly finds in the basement of a pizza parlour. The skeletal remains of three young girls have been found, and the questions are: how old are these remains, and how did they end up in the cellar? The detective in charge of the investigation, Luc Claudel, believes that because the building is quite old, that the remains are probably from the early part of the twentieth century, and as such a problem for archaeologists and historians. But Tempe disagrees: instinct (plus a feeling of antipathy for Claudel and his quick rush to judgement, together with the deep belief that proper examinations on the skeletons should be carried out before any quick decisions are made) tells her that the remains are not all that old. And then she receives a mysterious 'phone call from an old woman who claims to know something about the skeletons. Unfortunately, a bad connection prevents Tempe from learning anything concrete from this mysterious caller. Was the call a prank, or did the woman really have valueable information? Frustrated by the lack of police interest, and prodded on by her visiting friend, Anne, Tempe begins to do some investigating of her own and finds herself face to face with evil that she's never quite experienced before...

The story was an interesting and riveting one, and I did feel compelled to finish the book in one sitting. Fortunately the prose style was smooth, if a little spartan (and if I found the lecturer-like tones whenever Tempe or another one of the forensic team was explaining some procedure a little grating, that was just me); so that in spite of the fact that I found the whole subplot involving Tempe's friend, Anne, a bit distracting (ditto the entire subplot involving Andrew Ryan), "Monday Mourning" was still an absorbing read. I did however find that some things were tied up a little too neatly and not very credibly for me anyway -- why the murderer moved one set of remains for example, and why Tempe, not the police, was perceived of as an important threat from the very beginning. But perhaps this last "niggle" has more to do with fact that I'm not all that familiar with the series, and perhaps it is a well known fact that Tempe, not the police, is a force to be reckoned with? Whatever the case, if you're looking for a somewhat swiftly paced and interesting read, than "Monday Mourning" will definitely do. It may not be the best Tempe Brennan book, but it is up that with the better installments in the series.