Death Du Jour

Reichs's second novel (after 1997's DÄJA DEAD) finds forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan looking into a Quebec arson case that might be connected to a strange North Carolina commune. Borowitz's performance gets off to a shaky start--she sounds a tad bored--but once she gets into the meat of the story, she livens up. The story's packed with the kind of realism and detail that fans of Patricia Cornwell or the television series "Quincy" will enjoy. A first-rate mystery with a sneak-up-and-grab-you performance: a perfect combination. D.L.P. (c) AudioFile, Portland, Maine

May 3, 1999
Forensic anthropologist Temperance "Tempe" Brennan of the Laboratoire de M dicine L gale in Montreal makes a triumphant second appearance in Reichs's powerful followup to her bestselling debut, D j Dead. The novel opens atmospherically in a frigid church graveyard as Tempe labors to exhume the century-old remains of a nun so that the Church can posthumously declare her a saint. But the bones aren't where they're supposed to be according to the graveyard map, and there's something suspicious about them when they do turn up. Tempe's caseload multiplies as a house fire proves to be a horrific instance of arson and a university teaching assistant who's recently joined a cult goes missing. The three seemingly individual events begin to braid together, as the doings with the doomsday cult draw Tempe to North Carolina. As in D j Dead, Reichs--herself a forensic anthropologist--renders comprehensively and believably the cool, tense intelligence of her heroine. A North Carolina native who consults in Montreal only a few months of the year, Tempe still hasn't acclimated to the bone-chilling Northern cold, and if she's come to expect the misogynist attitudes of some of the Canadian officials, she still bristles at them. Also well presented are Tempe's refreshing compassion in the face of relentless autopsies, her ability to describe a corpse with judiciously graphic detail and her penchant for revealing the art behind the science on such matters as the preservation of a corpse's teeth. Reichs's first novel, which won the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel of 1997, was compared justifiably to the Kay Scarpetta novels of Patricia Cornwell. Soon, Cornwell's novels may be compared to Reichs's. Agent, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh. Major ad/promo; author tour.

A brutal baby massacre in Quebec, a grizzly girl gutted in North Carolina: Could they be related? Forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan must find the answers and catch the killers. Bonnie Hurren obviously enjoys performing this international thriller. Her greatest talent lies in her expertise with dialects. Subtle North Carolina sweetness gives way to a Tennessee drawl in an instant, followed by an amazing ability to portray Canadian French. She even captures Nova Scotia's regionalisms to perfection. Her Texan accent comes across a little harsh, but in tone rather than dialect. And she really should have learned how to pronounce "Memphremagog," but only listeners from northern Vermont/southern Quebec will pick up on it. Hurren's performance is a real treasure. R.P.L. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine