I am slowly making my way through Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan series and this time I read Deadly Decisions, book nº 3.The book starts with a young girl being murdered amidst a bike gang war. Brennan finds herself very affected by it and she soon starts investigating, not only this death but others related to the bikers as she becomes a part of the task force involved with biker gang crime. When asked to dig an old crime scene she finds not only the bones of two bikers as expected but also those of a young girl that goes on to try to identify. Reich’s books are filled with forensic explanations and this one is no different. I really like her attention to detail although sometimes it makes for a very dry read.Besides the case she is working on Brennan also has to deal with her nephew who has come to visit and, being fascinated with bikes, can't stay away from some of the bikers that may well be the bad guys in Brennan's case. Now, I like to think I'm pretty tolerant and understanding, but I have to confess that I really disliked Kit and several times thought why Temperance didn't buy him a ticket home and be done with it. Some things are just too serious to let happen and while Kit was fairly immature but thought himself a responsible adult that knew the limits, the fact is that he didn't know where was getting into and Temperance wasn't honest with him from the beginning (I mean you could see right away that the reporter was bad news...).Another development was Brennan's relationship with Andrew Ryan. Early in the story he is accused of being one of the bad guys and he doesn't appear for most of it. When he does Brennan is made aware of what really is going on and it seems they will have to go their different ways for a while. I have to say that although I did like the story I think Brennan's life apart from the job could use with another direction. I didn't particularly like the nephew or the sister and I was reminded that in Cornwell's Scarpetta books there is also a sister and a niece (instead of the nephew). I would like to see more interaction with the daughter and with Ryan.The mystery itself was more or less predictable and after so much time spent thinking about the bones of the teenage girl I was expecting another kind of resolution. The way it was it seemed too neat and quickly solved. Still Reichs makes for an interesting read when you want a forensic thriller and I already have book 4 to start one of these days.Grade: 4/5
Overall I liked the premise of this book. A biker club gang war is in full effect in Canada and a series of deaths pulls Tempe right into the middle of the danger, not the least of which is collateral damage in the form of a 9 year old girl who was caught in the crossfire. Tempe gets involved with the police and vows to take down the bikers responsible for this meaningless loss of innocence.Normally that makes for a pretty good Tempe Brennan book. But I did have a few issues with this one. In death Du Jour we had crimes that were tied in between Tempe's place of Birth in the Carolinas and her summer home away from home in Canada. We get a very similar thing going on in this book. When it happens once then I can buy it. When it happens again and suspension of belief is hard to come by and I have a hard time buying it.Also, Tempe's penchant for getting mugged and/or beaten as well as having various dead things placed on her person or property as a means of the bad guys warning her to back off of her investigation and her NOT TELLING THE AUTHORITIES about it is also difficult to believe. In Du Jour it was a mugging that she never told Ryan or anybody else about, in this book it was a little 'gift' that was left on her car that she refused to tell anybody about.Another thing is people she's close to getting sucked into these dangerous situations along with her. In the last book it was her sister and in this one it's her sister's kid.Those three things make it seem a little formulaic and kind of took me out of the experience because I felt like I just read it not that long ago in the previous book.There's also alot of characters to keep track of in this one and many of them have biker nicknames and various biker affiliations. While the biker war and their politics was interesting to read about, it became a little hard to keep track of who owed loyalties to whom.All the forensics is there in spades as with the previous two books and it can be very interesting. This time we get explanation of blood spatter. Anybody who's a fan of the great show Dexter will enjoy that aspect of the book!So while it was a solid read, the issues I had with the book kept it from getting a higher rating than the previous two. I still look forward to see how Tempe's character progresses so I'm still going to be sticking with the series.
Every time I read one of these books, I am reminded how overwhelmingly stupid and obtuse she makes Brennan sometimes and I have to take a break before I feel up to the next one. I want to like these books and I have a feeling that they could be really entertaining, but she just needs an editor that points out the obvious lack of common sense. She works with the police, yet someone leaves a human eyeball on her car and she doesn't even file a police report‽ She is investigating dangerous motorcycle clubs, yet decides to go to a biker bar completely alone‽ Give me a break! As a fan of the Virals series, I was initially excited to see Kit make an appearance in this one, but he quickly proved that Brennan Brainfarts is a genetic condition that seems to plague their whole family and he actually became pretty snotty and obnoxious. I will continue with the series because I feel that she must grow out of these terrible cliches, but I will need to cleanse my pallet with a few unrelated books first.
—Chelsea
Tempe Brennan is back for her third adventure in Montreal, Quebec, as she is confronted with the violence surviving the biker gang underground. It all start with a shootout between two rival gangs. Not only do gang members get hit, but a poor nine-year-old girl also falls victim. As the gang war becomes more intense, Brennan finds herself being drawn deeper and deeper into the history of biker gangs, linking murders back decades and across both Canada and the United States.Brennan is also being visited by her 19-year-old nephew Kit, the son of her wild sister Harry. He is looking to get a break from his two divorced parents, who live in Texas. He seems like a nice kid, but things starts to go wrong as he further explores his interest in motorcycles. Something that is particularly concerning to Brennan, considering her current case.Brennan also finds herself without the support of one of the most important people in her life. Sometimes partner and burgeoning boyfriend Detective Andrew Ryan ends up being arrested and charged with dealing drugs. She starts to question what she saw in him while also missing him terribly.This is another quick-paced and interesting read. Reichs does a great job of not only exploring forensics, but also the biker gang lifestyle, providing strong background information as part of the narrative so the reader can better understand what is going on. The great thing is she does this in a way that is not boring or overly descriptive. In fact, she usually does it through conversations between Brennan and characters who are specialists in the particular field.The one thing I am noticing about the series is that it doesn't pay to be a friend or relative visiting Brennan because you are bound to be caught up in her case, and it doesn't usually go particularly well. So far, Brennan's guests are 3 for 3 in this.I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.
—Aaron
This book explored the issues involved with motorcycle groups across the continent, and gave information about the different groups, relationships, and status rankings within groups. It touched on the activities those groups do, and in general served as a warning to the populace.It may not be completely accurate, especially as it is now almost 2 decades old. However, in general the warnings hold true - be careful what you get involved in, and scope it out ahead of time.I did like the exploration of the areas, but again had to wonder at a case that involved both Montreal and the Carolinas. I also liked that in this series, Brennan makes mistakes, sometimes deadly ones, but rarely takes what might be characterized as foolish actions (such as walking into a dark room where someone was just screaming). (view spoiler)[Although I do have to say that Brennan walking into a known motorcycle club bar, after dark, by herself, was about as foolish as possible. (hide spoiler)]
—Doris
