Deadly Decisions (Hardcover)

The tone set by Deadly Décisions is quite different than that of its predecessors. This time Reichs is less interested in providing the viewers with hands-on academic knowledge of forensic and medical procedures instead giving us a fast-paced and action-packed mystery thriller that focuses more on its characters. The usual suspects are here; Claudel, Charbonneau and Ryan but the novel most benefits from the addition of Kit, Tempe's visiting nephew from Texas. Kit likes to indulge in the usual 19 year old pleasures like girls, drinking, partying, rock music, sony playstation, etc. but possesses a Southern charm and gentleman manners that are most endearing. It was also great to see Tempe for once finally place some of her trust in discussing her case with a personal acquaintance, and Kit being able to help due to his wealth of knowledge on motorcycles. Reich's descriptions of the structure of outlaw motorcycle clubs is highly entertaining and very well researched as she explores some of the connections between the "big four", The Hells Angels, The Outlaws, The Bandidos, The Pagans, and their many sub-clubs.

All of Deadly Décisions takes place in and around Montreal and as usual Reichs delivers a hands-on crash course of this French Canadian city's sites and culture for the unitiated. A native Montrealer, I couldn't help but marvel at the accurate portrayal of the city, especially the East-Side and Rue Hochelaga which has long been a nest of biker gangs and biker bars. However although Reichs obviously knows the city very well, it does show sometimes that she is a transplanted American and not a "pure laine" member of La Belle Province. For one, French Canadians do not say "Chien Chaud" when ordering a hot-dog. They might in France but not in Quebec. Also, any Montrealer the least bit familiar with the province's huge biker circuit will be able to tell you that there are a lot more of these clubs in neighbourhoods such as NDG or Côte-des-neiges than in St-Basile-Le-Grand. I also found it strange that Reichs failed to mention anything about Satan's Choice, who were Quebec's second largest biker gang before losing a well-publicized turf war against the Hells Angels in the later part of the 1990's.

I found Reich's third item in her series to make for truly fast and compulsive reading. I must admit to being quite surprised at the low reviewer rating this novel has and the opinion of many fans of this being the weakest entry in Reichs' series. Instead of sending the reader on a wild goose chase of improbable coincidences and links like she did in "Death Du Jour" Reichs keeps it straightforward and the results are highly entertaining.