Book 11 of 2012: Deadly Decisions

This morning I got my time booked off work ready for my little operation (woo hoo). That means I can stop stressing about that and go back to stressing about someone's going to be cutting holes in my stomach and sticking things in them.

I do have to admit, while I was at work today I actually read that little leaflet again, the one that came with my letter. I'm quite glad that I decided to take two days off work afterwards because apparently after having had my general anaesthetic I'm not allowed to drive, operate heavy machinery, boil a kettle, or sign important legal documents. I realise that there's probably a very good reason for that, but it's still slightly amusing.

Anyway, on to the book I read. That would be Deadly Decisions by Kathy Reichs. This is the third in the series of Temperance Brennan books (and this is probably my third or fourth reread of it). My copy looks something like this:

The problem I've been finding with rereading these books is that I know what happens at the end. Normally this isn't a problem with a book. In fact, the books that I regularly reread (like Lord of the Rings, the Harry Potter books and The Time Traveler's Wife) are because I know what happens. It's like a comfort blanket, or going to visit a favourite holiday spot. You don't have to think so hard, sometimes you do spot something which you've never seen before, but mostly it's just retreading old ground.

When you're reading crime novels, mysteries, thrillers, whodunnits, whatever, for the first time, you've got all the build up to find out what the twist in the end will be. When you're rreading them, you already know what's happened. Or worse, you remember bits of what happened, you remember who did it, but not how or something like that.

I always find that rereading books like this makes me read them slower. There's not the sense of urgency to figure it out, and you know more-or-less how it's going to end. I've noticed with my reread of the Kathy Reichs books it's taken me a bit longer than it normally would (when I first got them I read one a day for three days, then went back to Waterstones to buy the next three).

With this one, I couldn't remember as much of the story, so I think that made it a little easier to read. I remembered things that would happen, but I didn't remember when or why, so that bit kind of surprised me. I couldn't remember exactly why the murders were committed, so again, that spurred me on. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series a bit more now because I was worried that I wasn't enjoying them as much as I did in past.

I do have to admit that I do find myself skim reading some sections, the bits which detail things like blood spatter analysis (which having read this book once, and watched numerous episodes of CSI and the like, I pretty much get when they start talking about it). I'm sure that's just me, I like that I can read it, without having to read it really really closely, so I get the jist of what's being said there. Kathy Reichs has a habit of going into massive detail on things, which probably could have been more glossed over without spoiling the story at all.

The book did have some good, funny little one liners as well. That's something which Kathy Reichs does well, little comments which Tempe is thinking to herself and things. They're usually similar to the sorts of things I think myself, so I guess I can relate there.

"Cars and vans lined the highway, and reporters assaulted us in English and French. Ignoring them in both languages, we rolled past the cameras and mikes, identified ourselves to the officer on guard, and slipped through the gates."

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