Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)
by Kathy Reichs

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Book Reviews of Monday Mourning: A Tempe Brennan Novel (Temperance Brennan Novels)

Book Review: Monday Mourning, Kathy Reichs
Summary: 5 Stars

If you've read and liked any of her other Tempe Brennan thrillers you won't be at all disappointed with this one. The standard Reichs ingredients are all here: bones, mystery, the contentious detective Luc Claudel, relationship troubles with other detective Andrew Ryan. Add to the pot, simmer gently whilst stirring occasionally. She doesn't break any moulds, not even her own, but she doesn't try so at least she doesn't fail. Instead, a reader knows exactly where there are here; exactly what they're in for.

Monday Mourning - oh for the days of first two books when her titles were gloriously bilingual, not these bad puns of late (I'm aware that decisions, voyage and grave are all of French origin, but they're such pathetic attempts they don't even register) - kicks off when three bodies are found buried in the basement of a pizza parlor. Montreal detective Luc Claudel, ever-antagonistic toward Brennan, assumes they're old and begins to write them off. Big mistake, of course; after all, if it weren't there'd be no plot. Some 19th century buttons found near the bodies strengthen Claudel's assumption. Brennan, though, is certain they're recent, and some diligent investigation (alright, well, sending some samples off to another lab) proves her right.

Primarily, congratulations Ms Reichs: you have graduated top of the class from the Jonathan Kellerman school of one-sentence paragraphs. At times, I like the device; it's chatty and invigorating, and the structure has a nice way of tumbling you through the narrative. At others, it can annoy me intensely; not least because it acts as a barrier to the story achieving much depth, but also because it doesn't lend itself to the explanation of what's been going on, as it allows only a very simplistic extension of ideas. This becomes a problem when Reichs throws multiple plots together and it all gets a little convoluted, and the result is a potentially unfathomable situation. Thankfully, here that doesn't become a problem as she keeps very sensibly to a single main plot: the bones, who they were and how they got there.

Once again, it's all satisfyingly forensic. However, it must be said that she doesn't do her science explanations as brilliantly as Cornwell. With Reichs, you often get the impression she's lecturing at you like a class of students. There's a formal structure to her elaborations on things, but at least it gets the job done. At one point she has Brennan explain the salient points of carbon dating to her own boss, who I'm sure should really know, making it clear that it's just an excuse to talk at the reader.

Although sometimes I think I shouldn't, I really like Reichs' books, and this is one of the most pleasing so far. Thrilling, clever, with an annually warm and human heroine in its protagonist Brennan (who only occasionally gets a little too "Bridget Jones - Anthropologist" for my tastes), Monday Mourning is going to be another Reichs success.

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