Customer Reviews

Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel

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Tempe Brennan has left the sunny, warm clime of the Carolines for the freezing sleet and snow of Montreal. She has been called back to Montreal to testify in a trial. Tempe is a forensic anthropologist and has license to work in the US and Montreal. She speaks French fluently and has a CV to be admired. She is an enigma: an intelligent, professional woman who wears a surgeon's suit and robe while completing her delicate work in a morgue, and then a warm, womanly persona, dressed in the latest fashion with scent to match, cooking a gourmet meal for the man she loves. She is my kind of woman!

Kathy Reich's, the author is also a forensic anthropologist and works for the US and Canada. She knows of what she speaks, and she has a marvelous eye for detail and an explicit imagination.

Tempe Brennan is reading her notes for the trial when she is called by, Luc Claudel, Chief of Montreal Detectives in Homicide to a murder scene in a basement of a pizza parlor. Luc Claudel, I believe is very attracted to Tempe, and to hide his rude and crude behavior towards her tends to turn her off and get her blood boiling! At the scene Tempe ropes off the area, digs patiently and after many hours finds the skeletons of what she believes are young woman- three in fact. Because an old button found at the scene Luc Claudel believes that this is a murder scene from the early 1900's. Tempe is certain that this murder scene is from the 1980's So, begins the battle for what is correct and true. Tempe is drawn into this murder scene, her life is threatened, and she must work diligently for what she believes is right.

Tempe has had an off and on romance with Andy Ryan, a Montreal detective in the Homicide Division. She and Andy became closer when he visited her in the Carolinas, but since she has arrived in Montreal something is off. He has distanced himself and is called away frequently without any explanation. Tempe is concerned and hurt. How will this romance survive, if they cannot discuss what is going on?

Kathy Reich's book "Mourning" is a page turner. She is able to introduce the human element so well that we care about her characters. We want them to be happy, to win their cases, to battle for justice and above all for truth and love. Tempe Brennan fulfills the role of a modern, professional woman- brilliant in her job and warm and caring as a woman in love. She will outwit Luc Claudel in the coming series, I predict, and she will win him over. After all, she is my kind of woman! prisrob

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.

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.

This seventh entry in the Temperance Brennan series is just as good as expected. I won't give anything away, but this case quite made my heart pound as it somewhat resembled a true case which happened very close to where I live and that very same case was even mentioned in the text! Truly gruesome and page-turning, especially the last 50 pages, just as I expect when I read Kathy Reichs.

I admit that I have struggled with Kathy Reichs in the past. I know others have rated her highly and compared her to Patricia Cornwell, but I failed to see any comparison.
Reichs' failings, I felt, lay in her plotting and dialogue. Her characters always seemed very one-dimensional and uninviting, even though she had come up with some promising storylines. Reichs' previous efforts have, to me at least, been very artificial and amateur, clunky and awkward.

However, with Monday Mourning Reichs has transformed herself. Her characters suddenly have depth and believability; better, their dialogue has become life-like as the author has discovered (or uncovered) her ability to write funny, sardonic, sarcastic and sometimes ironic lines for her characters to deliver. Suddenly, I found that I laughed out loud at odd points when reading. Not real belly laughs as you get with Tom Sharrpe, but nonetheless some very witty moments to be enjoyed.

The plot is good. It is almost beleivable (I'm still not totally convinced about forensic anthropologists being called in so early in investigations) and we can see why the heroine, Brennan, has been involved. We see her struggle with the sheer evil that confronts her in this book. Indeed, the evil that is the main story in the book will take your breath away when it's uncovered.

So, all in all, a much improved writer showing some real skill at last.

I love a mystery, especially when they feature characters capable of intelligent sleuthing, not coincidents, luck, or witnesses to solve the crime for the good guys. Reichs reminds me of Sue Grafton, with a little of Hannibal Lector thrown in. She writes in vivid detail and offers a precise insight into the forensic crime solving method.

I quite liked Kathy Reichs' other books--the plots are usually nicely complex, and she is absolutely at her best when she has Tempe unravel the mysteries using forensic anthropology. This time, things have really gone downhill:

(1) The characterization is just silly--the mysterious goings-on of Andrew Ryan puzzle, anger and hurt Tempe, but this highly intelligent woman doesn't simply ASK him what's going on? Are we supposed to believe that suddenly she has the self-confidence and/or petulance of an infatuated early teenager? And someone of her intelligence is supposed to go charging ALONE, of her own volition, into...well, you can read this part for yourself. But I warn you, it's utterly implausible.

(2) We know that short sentence fragments and lots of brief dialogue can quicken the pace of a story, but Reichs WAY overuses this device--it goes on for pages and pages, numerous times in the book. The result looks as though she published her notes for the novel instead of finishing the novel itself.

(3) About the use of French for "local colour": I'm a bilingual anglophone originally from Montreal, and I was actually offended at the number of misspellings and syntactical errors that were not proofread out. Gille? Contra? Did someone say Reichs is fluent in French? Not on your life. If you're going to sprinkle the book with French phrases, PLEASE do it right--at the very least, get a proofreader to help you.

I would like to think that it's deadline pressure from the publisher, rather than Reichs herself, that is responsible for this piece of sloppy workmanship. I MUCH prefer Patricia Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta books these days--fascinating forensic medicine and FAR better and more subtle characterization, dialogue, and plotting. I'm eagerly awaiting the next Kathy Reichs book and hoping it will be done with more time, effort and attention to detail--like her other books.

I enjoyed this book very much AND I found it frustrating. Note: There are some slight spoilers in this review - so you've been cautioned).

Parts of the book really bothered me. This seems to be a trend where our heroine gets herself beat up and/or captured walking into very obvious dangerous situations and always alone.

Tempe's apartment is constantly under survellience by bad guys or broken into. She also always rushes off alone at the end and gets into trouble. What detective wouldn't call someone? In reality I would think she'd be severely disciplined by her bosses for risking her life and others so frequently. And most cops would probably shut her down for going too far beyond her job description.

How many times does Tempe have to get a best friend practically murdered before she realizes that friends belong at home? Just think of the implications to her employer re liability on that issue.)

What didn't jive within the suspended reality of this fiction is the true to life forensics and intelligent detecting mixed in with the irrational behaviour and stuipidly of going alone, taking a friend who is not a cop, not asking a simple question of Ryan such as "Who was that girl you were with"?

Any person who'd had their throat slit by a serial killer (Deja Dead--which is a great book) would have the most state of the art security system--especially if they continued to work with such people. I'm really tired with the usual MO where Tempe's apartment is broken into and then later she gets beat up. At least this time we didn't have as much of the calling on the cell phone and no one answers, another typical scene used over and over.

But, I did keep reading because I wanted to know who the bad guy was and it wasn't who I thought - so good job for keeping the reveal hidden well.

I got the impression that maybe the author lacked the time to come up with a better plot to move the scenes along and so resorted to the usual tried and true mix as mentioned above. There are so many other things that could have been used, some even simple such as she calls the cops and they're stuck in traffic. (That's probably so frequent and realistic to be true).

Despite my frustrations, I don't regret reading this book and I'll certainly read her other books. The actual crime information is very interesting and the forensics are top notch as always.

I was intrigued when I read the reviews for this title. Not normally one to take on a "murder myster" I dove right in.

Tempe Brennan is a forensic scientist in Montreal, called to a decades-old murder scene. Right up front the author throws us several angles. First, there's the chauvinistic theme of the book, coupled with and/or enhanced by the fact that our heroine is a woman. All this just adds to the complexity of Reich's novel and you'll be pulled right in from the start.

Also, Reich has a knack for detail and atmosphere and some of the descriptions make you feel as though you're "right there."

Would also recommend another book, though it is entirely different from this one: BARK OF THE DOGWOOD--very unusual and probably illegal in some states.

I love the Tempe Brennan series and this one did not dissapoint. This is an interesting and fast paced book packed with forensics and tension. I cannot wait for the next installment! I deeply admire Dr. Reichs for her many talents, not the least of which is writting. BRAVA! Don't take my word for it, look at this amazing woman's professional and academic credentials [...] Write on Dr. Reichs!