First Published - July 17th 2001
Publisher - Arrow Books
Format - Paperback
Synopsis - When a plane crashes
high in the mountains of North Carolina, Dr. Temperence Brennan is first
on the scene. As a forensic anthropologist for the state, she serves on
the disaster response team. The task that cofronts her is a sad and
sickening one. A chance discovery concerns Tempe: a severed
foor, away from the main crash site. A deserted house is buried so deep
in the woods that locals know nothing of its existence. And her
investigation throws up more questions than answers. Before she
can make any progress Tempe's profesiional standing is threatened. But
she fears that, air tragedy aside, another corpse lies in the woods.
Pitting herself against a conspiracy of silence, Tempe vows to bring
justice for her mystery victim
As you might remember from my last Tempe Brennan review I
was really mad at the way it ended, so it should come as a surprise that I went
out and bought the next book as soon as possible.
Tempe is driving back to Quebec when a plane crashes in
North Carolina as a member of DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Response Ream) and she is
redirected to the site of the crash to help with the identification process. This
book however is not really about the identification of the victims of the crash.
While at the crash site, she uncovers a much more disturbing mystery than how
the plane came down (and that really says something for how disturbing it is!).
In short I enjoyed reading Fatal Voyage, as again with the previous books, it gives the scientific explanations for some of the techniques and evidence. They are still a little long winded for me in places but I like them. I like knowing these things and why this tiny patch in that soil sample is important. I have a small problem with Kathy Reich’s writing style though. I know this has taken until the fourth book to mention but it is only now that I’m sure it’s the books and not me, and that is sometimes in dialogue it’s a little difficult to work out who is talking and who said what. Eventually I work it out but sometimes it takes rereading the conversation a few times which really slows down the reading process. The questions of Tempe's integrity make her consider why she is in such a morbid career which she has already answered in previous books but without specifically saying "this is why I do it", so it's nice to be definitely told.
In short I enjoyed reading Fatal Voyage, as again with the previous books, it gives the scientific explanations for some of the techniques and evidence. They are still a little long winded for me in places but I like them. I like knowing these things and why this tiny patch in that soil sample is important. I have a small problem with Kathy Reich’s writing style though. I know this has taken until the fourth book to mention but it is only now that I’m sure it’s the books and not me, and that is sometimes in dialogue it’s a little difficult to work out who is talking and who said what. Eventually I work it out but sometimes it takes rereading the conversation a few times which really slows down the reading process. The questions of Tempe's integrity make her consider why she is in such a morbid career which she has already answered in previous books but without specifically saying "this is why I do it", so it's nice to be definitely told.
Apologies for the constant referral to past reviews but this
is a kind of series so suck it up. For the past 3 books I’ve been saying that I
think Tempe is too short/mean/ horrible to Ryan. Well this book tipped that on its
head a little. Ryan reappears in this book (and I may have squealed slightly –
thankfully I was at home and not in public) after his partial disappearance from
the last book and you will also remember that I wanted more answers to what
was going on. Well he comes back and doesn’t say a word about it. Not only that
but he acts like a complete ass with Tempe and this time he deserves the way
she has previously treated him, although this time she is actually nicer to
him. It is somewhat understandable given the whole Bertrand situation but I don’t
think it is excusable.
The Bertrand situation is something about this book that I
really like (not the situation itself - I’m not that evil). But the fact that it
has carried part of a past case into the current book I like that touch of
continuity. I guess it's what makes a series a series because I always have
difficulty with how to classify these kinds of books with a recurring main
character but entirely separate cases because they are the kind of book that
you could read entirely independent of the rest of the series and you wouldn't
really miss out on too much - except character development and history. But once
you start dragging old cases into it no matter how minor a part or detail it
makes it a more coherent series.
Kathy Reichs teases us at the start with the suggestion that
yet another member of Tempe’s family is involved or in danger in this book,
thankfully they are not, but someone Tempe knows is… seriously people, avoid her like the plague! Tempe could also
use some lessons in common sense as yet again she rushes herself off into
danger, and as per every other book she has friends who are police, this time
she even tries to phone some of them, gets halfway through dialling Ryan’s
number before deciding not to, maybe she
actually has a death wish.
In summary I did really enjoy this book, it felt comfortable
to read, and there were the times when I really didn’t want to put it down. I’m
resigned to Tempe having no sense of self preservation and to always being
frustrated about everything to do with Ryan… I still need that explanation for the drugs thing and is it all over now? So although I still rant about them I don’t
think they take anything away from the books (although an explanation about
Ryan might add a couple of pages… just saying.) I of course plan on reading the
next one, but I don’t yet own it and I’m not in any rush right now.
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