Monday Mourning - Kathy Reichs

Monday mourning is the seventh novel featuring Temperance Brennan, a Forensic Anthropologist who works for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciares et de Medecine Legale for the province of Quebec, Canada. If you haven’t read any of the previous novels featuring the character, please do not dismiss this book solely for that reason. I started my fixation on Reich’s character on the sixth book in the series – Bare Bones, and waited in anticipation for this book. I am now eagerly devouring the other five novels which I have missed. Temperance Brennan is a forty something Forensic Anthropologist who ... more

I've read and reviewed my fair share of Reichs' novels now to consider myself a fan. Monday Mourning keeps to her unique style and didn't leave me disappointed in terms of it being a gripping read. The front cover tells us this is 'The New Tempe Brennan Bestseller', so this should hold appeal for those familiar with Reichs' work and protagonist. Monday Mourning introduces us to a cold December day in Montreal when skeletal remains are found in the cellar of a pizza-by-the-slice parlour. Enter Temperance Brennan, a forensic anthropologist. She seems to busy herself with several jobs for several ... more

Temperance Brennan, lovingly known as Tempe, is a Forensic Anthropologist who splits her time between cold Montreal and warm Charlotte, North Carolina. In early December, she is called to Montreal to testify as an expert in a trial. When she is casually asked to a freezing pizza parlour basement to have a quick look at some human remains, she has little idea that this assignment will take over her life and mind for quite some time. As she discovers that the remains belong to three young girls, she is faced with the mystery of whom they belong to. But life is not made easy for Tempe. Working in ... more

Kathy Reichs has been described as "another Patricia Cornwall." This is unfair on Kathy Reichs because, unlike Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs is a real forensic scientist. Because, after all, Patricia Cornwall only ever typed up the notes of a forensic scientist, whilst working as a secretary in a pathology laboratory. In Monday Mourning the skeletons of three young girls are found in the basement of an old building that is currently a pizza parlour. Yet a mysterious 'phone call from an old lady soon tells Tempe Brennan (the forensic anthropologist heroine of Kathy Reich's novels) that the ... more

you meet up with old and new characters. written in the same style as Reichs' other books but not as gripping. the details reichs goes into set the scene greatly - obviously taken from her personal experiences. i didn't find it that hard to put down, but once i'd began reading again i didn't need to think too hard to remember where i was in the story. there are a few suprises in store for tempe in the form of a long kept secret from detective andrew ryan (i won't tell you i'll let yo read it). Tempe does the usual and gets herself on the killers 'hitlist' suffering the predictable scratches ... more