Dem bones, dem bones
I enjoyed Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead enough that, despite its few shortcomings, I came back for seconds. I’m quite glad that I did.
The shortcomings I complained about in my earlier book report on Reichs’s first novel are still present, but in considerably shorter supply. There were only two instances of comically forced similes, and only one that really made me roll my eyes. Her characters in Death Du Jour, her sophomore effort, have more depth than in her first novel. They could still use some work, but she clearly made an effort to breathe life into the array of characters that surround Temperance Brennan. Now only the peripheral characters seem like superficial caricatures, while we get to learn a bit more about Dr Brennan and the people close to her. We’re still not treated to character-driven fiction, but as enjoyable as Reichs’s first attempt was, the second was more so for the improvement.
I’m still not a big fan of the first-person narrative, but I can see the reason for the choice. In some ways it is problematicwhen the protagonist is the narrator it can be frustrating to be misled by blind plot turns. If she were telling this story in person, it would be unfair to give us false information. It would be even worse to fall back on the old «little did I know then, that…» plot device. Still, the first person narrative does lend a sense of intimacy and emotional investment at least to Reichs’s protagonist Dr Brennan.
Reichs unfortunately relies on some of the same plot devices in this book, but she can be forgiven for this so long as she keeps on expanding her repertoire. The way she crafts her story by piecing together evidence from academic and scientific sources is compelling and engaging. Some parts of the puzzle are obvious right from the start, but others take time and disclose themselves shyly. It should be worth another look into her third novel; so far I’ve found these Temperance Brennan novels to be light, entertaining reading. An excellent diversion.
