Why I didn't like this book (& why I can't explain its bestseller status):

1) Yes, this may be Kathy Reichs' first novel...but still, one can't get past the BAD WRITING, especially when it comes to the lack of character development. All main characters come out flat (especially Tempe, the forensic anthropologist who is the main character).

2) Something else about the bad writing: what annoyed me especially was the constant use of flowery comparisons. Also, the extremely long-winded descriptions of actions & places, which made me skip whole paragraphs at a time.

3) OK, if we get past the lack of characterization issue & the bad writing, we get to the actual plot, which of course is essential in a crime novel: "Deja Dead" has a plot that makes you want to scream "I've read this book before- many many times!" It's a book that's far from original, especially the cliche of the main heroine getting in harm's way.

4)Again, concerning the plot: there are lots of holes in the plot, such as the monkey & the biologist (I kept turning back to see if maybe I'd missed crucial points). There are also loads of characters who keep appearing & disappearing, with no apparent reason--for example, Tempe's daughter, Katy, whose existence serves no other purpose than simply for the main character to...have a daughter!

5) Tempe Brennan oversteps the limits / boundaries of her job description all the time, during the investigation described in this novel. She is a forensic anthropologist, & yet acts as a detective, showing a disturbing lack of common sense: for example, she keeps going to dangerous places alone (always at night!) & then is surprised & annoyed when the detectives whose job description says they have to solve this case are angry at her! There's no background as to why Claudel dislikes her, some reader mentioned: but how can he NOT dislike her, when she keeps stealing his job from under his nose? It's such a cliche when all the detectives are stupid & our heroine is the only intelligent one...

6) French is thrown in casually from time to time. This I didn't mind. What I did mind was that it was apparent that this was done simply to show that Montreal is where the story takes place. No other descriptions of Montreal exist, no "feeling" of Quebec comes out of this story.

7) Another point that many readers have mentioned is that the book is FULL OF technical details. These are interesting, but tend to be far too many. 5 or 6 pages full of descriptions of how saws work? Please!!

8) Tempe's relationship with Gabby is inexplicable & annoying. The crazy scenes that take place between them (especially the ones where Gabby appears in the middle of the night, out of nowhere) are hard to understand, & are never properly explained.

9) Last point: Of course "Deja Dead" is being constantly compared to Patricia Cornwell's books. Even though the Scarpetta novels keep getting worse & worse, I still find them far more original & fast paced. ( )

I first became acquainted with Kathy Reichs's fictional heroine, Temperance Brennan, through the television series Bones. I'm just now getting around to reading the first of the books in the series on which the TV show is based. The Temperance of the novel is quite different from the TV Temperance, and so far I'd have to say that I like the TV Temperance better. The Temperance of the novel is much more impulsive than the TV Temperance, and she seems to be a maverick rather than a team player.

There are a few chronological problems in the narration. The descriptions of time passing weren't always consistent with the specific times referenced in the book. Once I became aware of it, it was a source of distraction through the rest of the novel.

More than anything else, I enjoyed the book's Montreal setting. I can't remember reading any other books set there. I remembered enough of my high school French to translate most of the French words and phrases scattered throughout the book (although the meaning was usually apparent from the context of the passages).

I'll certainly give Kathy Reichs another try, but at this point I prefer Aaron Elkins's Gideon Oliver to her Temperance Brennan. ( )

Despite the well crafted plot, meticulous detail, vivid imagery, and superb prose, I struggled to enjoy this book. Partly, this was because it was so well written. There was a lot of detail, too much perhaps. The main character's psychological underpinnings were drawn out well, perhaps too well. The language was engaging, to the point where I often stopped to admire it instead of remaining immersed in the story.

No, none of that was truly the problem. I brought my own barrier to this novel, as I came to it after falling in love with the Bones television series. I wanted this book to be about the romance between Seeley and Booth, but it's not that at all. Although the main character's name and profession is the same, there is almost no other resemblance.

Deja Dead is a well written book, a thriller with substance, that should be judged on its own merits. I can't do it justice; however, with my Bones mindset. ( )

I watch "Bones" on TV, so of course, I like this type of book. Some of the medical detail was over my head, but the story was good. I enjoyed the book. ( )

A long slow read, but not the fault of the book - when I did have a chance to read at night I found myself turning the light out faaar later than I intended. Great to go back to the very beginning. ( )