Deja Dead

By: Kathy Reichs

Narrated by: Amy Irving

It's June in Montreal, and Dr. Temperance Brennan, who has left a shaky marriage back home in North Carolina to take on the challenging assignment of Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, looks forward to a relaxing weekend in beautiful Quebec City. First, though, she must stop at a newly uncovered burial site in the heart of the city. The remains are probably old and only of archeological interest, but Tempe must make sure they're not a case for the police.

One look at the decomposed and decapitated corpse, stored neatly in plastic bags, tells her she'll spend the weekend in the crime lab. Something about the crime scene is familiar to Tempe: the stashing of the body parts; the meticulous dismemberment. As a pattern continues to emerge, Tempe calls upon all her forensic skills, including bone, tooth/dental, and bite mark analysis and x-ray microflourescence to convince the police that the cases are related and to try to stop the killer before he strikes again.

Told with lacerating authenticity and passion, Déjà Dead is both poignant and terrifying as it hurtles toward its breathtaking conclusion. It instantly catapulted Kathy Reich into the top ranks of crime authors.

©1997 Kathy Reichs (P)2014 Simon & Schuster

Well edited to make a fast moving story

Would you listen to Deja Dead again? Why?

I don't listen to mysteries twice

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

This was well edited to really keep the tension going. Several times it gave me the heeby jeebies!

Which character – as performed by Amy Irving – was your favorite?

Tempy, I like her determination.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The climax was quite thrilling and scary.

Any additional comments?

The unabridged had many bad reviews, so I decided to give this version a chance. The narrator did a great job, handled all the french words with ease. Pleasant voice and good with multiple characters. I really felt like this was a tight, thrilling mystery. Not for the squeamish as some of the autopsy details are gorey.

Abridged

I would have preferred if Amy Irving had narrated the unabridged version. Enjoyed her narration. I wish she had recorded all of the “Tempe” series books.

good book

good book but very slow to hook me in and the narrator was almost too soft spoken listened to speaking in bones before this one and the narrator in that was very enthusiastic voiced the character perfectly.

Patrick

I have been a fan of Kathy Reichs since 1997, when Deja Dead was published. It was her first novel, and my favorite of the series. I never watched the Bones TV series, but have read all of her Tempe Brennan novels and really enjoy them. This is because of Kathy Reichs Tempe is a likeable character. A scientist, a mother, a professor, a recovering alcholic, newly estranged from her husband, and a caring fellow human being. Believable, multifaceted characters...fascinating science... down -to- earth yet intelligent,elegant, suspenseful prose balanced with compassion, displaying tbe best and worst of what human beings are capable of... and a street wise, "tell it like it is," honest smart ass sense of humor similar to mine, and snappy dialogue between characters to lighten the fear, sadness, growing dread,grief,disturbing themes of murder, torture, right and wrong, good and evil. Her similes and metaphors are a bit overdone at times, as is the feminist male-bashing at times. But they are sometimes very funny. I speak, understand, read, and write speak French and Spanish fluently,so her use of French, for a novel set in Montreal, is wonderful and adds another layer. As a critical care and emergency
room registered nurse in New York for 25 + years, I am not bothered by her visceral descriptions of autopsies, mutilated bodies, the awful things that people do to each other. I understand because we both use our knowledge,education, and our need to help others human beings in our repective professions. We do the work most folks have a morbid curiosity about, but that very few could do or want to do. Dr. Reichs's experiences and knowledge embody Tempe. Amy Irving does a great job narrating, a calm, elegant, voice whose tone changes appropriately wirh different characters. This abridged version cuts right to the chase. The unabridged version is also worth listening to and Barbara Rosenblat does an equally great job narrating, though iher style is different,and also has the entire novel to tell the tale, word for word. Its a long book, but each do a great job of telling this terrifying and disturbing tale of serial murder, its depravity, and the heartache for those loved ones left behind. This cimbination has made for a literary goldmine for Kathy Reichs.

Good Listening

Would have preferred hearing the entire.book and willing to have paid more for unabridged.
Little like tv series but glad the series and friend invited me to listen.

dont buy, abridged.

i already owned unabridged, it disappeared. i would not buy abridged, cheated. this sucks and i want refund.
i have bought enough i should get refund. i own book and kindle edition, already. audible needs way to return purchase

Didn’t realize it was abridged.

I wouldn’t have purchased had I realized it was abridged. I will not bother with another. Disappointing.