We read (or are still reading) seven books over the course of the Fall 2001 semester:

*Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express or Murder on the Calais Coach (1933)

*Dorothy L. Sayers’s Murder Must Advertise (1933)

*P.D. James’s A Taste for Death (1986)

*Elizabeth George’s A Great Deliverance (1988)

*Patricia Cornwell’s Postmortem (1990)

*Kathy Reichs’s Death du Jour (1999)

*Albuquerque resident Judith Van Gieson’s Ditch Rider (1998)

Elizabeth George’s A Great Deliverance (1988) takes place mostly in the small village of Keldale, Yorkshire, England. The plot focuses much on the fascinating relationship of Scotland Yard Inspector Thomas Lynley, the eighth earl of Asherton, and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Havers is convinced to hate Lynley, whom she sees as a pompous pretty boy. She spends much of the story butting heads with him. The energy these characters create propels the reader deeper into the story. The supposed main focus of the story, the murder, whodunit and why, really seems to be more of a subplot. The book contains a number of characters - it gets hard to keep them all straight after a while. There are a few rather graphic revelations involving sexual abuse, but the tone is still a little lighter than the dark world of P.D. James. The ending didn’t sit right with me. It tied up a few of the subplots too nicely and left many more subplots dangling. All in all, it was an enjoyable read, but die-hard mystery fans probably won’t see this as a typical mystery.

Patricia Cornwell’s Postmortem (1990) introduces the reader to Dr. Kay Scarpetta, the chief medical examiner for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Unlike A Great Deliverance, Postmortem is more interested in the how of the crime than the why, although Cornwell does delve into the why. In 1990 psychological profiling of criminals was only starting to pick up momentum. Cornwell, through Scarpetta, discusses this (and many other scientific and technical topics) delicate science in a clear, concise manner. The suspenseful storyline follows Scarpetta as she tries to solve a string of violent murders in Richmond, Virginia. Just as interesting is the subplot of sexual tension: Scarpetta is a woman in a man’s world; there were (and still are) few women in her position around the country. This tension makes Scarpetta a suspicious and defensive woman. She has a hard time forming and keeping personal relationships. Cornwell does a great job of highlighting Scarpetta’s professional and personal plights. She creates a character who is truly compassionate and easy to identify with, although not necessarily someone I would want to be friends with.  Scarpetta is truly the “female lone ranger.”

 Kathy Reichs’s Death du Jour (1999) is a fast-paced read focusing on forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan. Brennan works as Quebec, Canada’s director of forensic anthropology and as a professor of physical anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. There is a lot of back-and-forth between the two countries. The story takes place in Montreal, Quebec and in the Southern United States (“the Land of Cotton”), and mostly in English with a tiny amount of French-Canadian.  Reichs, herself a forensic anthropologist, is a gifted writer. The pages turn fast, made possible by the smooth even flow of the words and cliffhanger endings to a number of chapters. Like Postmortem, Death du Jour (which means “death of the day”) is full of scientific and technical detail. There are rather gruesome descriptions of autopsies and graphic detail on body and bone recovery. Both Reichs and Brennan are passionate about the subject of forensics and its influence on crime. Reichs kept me on my toes by introducing a subplot and then dropping it for many chapters. The subplots are all tied together in an extremely suspenseful ending. Brennan is a much more open, easy-going person than Scarpetta. She has a strong sense of humor and is given to great one-liners throughout the book. This was a fun read, much lighter than Postmortem. Despite the seriousness of the subject matter, the sun seems to shine more often in Brennan’s world than in Scarpetta’s.    

Reviews by Elena Flores.