Discussion Questions
Use our LitLovers Book Club Resources; they can help with discussions for any book:
• How to Discuss a Book (helpful discussion tips)
• Generic Discussion Questions—Fiction and Nonfiction
• Read-Think-Talk (a guided reading chart)
Also consider these LitLovers talking points to help get a discussion started for Deja Death:
1. Talk about Temperance Brennan. What kind of character is she? Which of her personality traits do you admire...or dislike? Does Reichs do a good job of fleshing (pun?) her out?
2. How has Tempe's struggle with alcohol affected her life and career? How does she cope with her addiction? What are the demons she has to face? Has Reichs painted a realistic picture of a recovering alcoholic? Does this dark side of Tempe add to...or detract from...the plot?
3. What is a forensic anthropologist? In what ways is it different from a forensic pathologist?
4. What convinces Tempe that the five murdered women are connected? Why don't her colleagues buy her theory? Consider the differences between intuitive vs. empirical approaches to solving crimes?
5. Does Claudel have a legitimate reason to dislike Tempe? Is it fair of Tempe to overstep the boundaries of her job (putting herself—and her daughter—in jeopardy in doing so)? Or is she right in following up her hunches when the detectives dismiss her theories?
6. How does Reich depict the difficulties Tempe faces as a female in two professions ( homicide work and forensics medicine) typically dominated by men?
7. Do the lengthy technical descriptions of Tempe's work enhance the novel...or do you find them distracting, off-putting, or overly detailed? (Opinions only...no one point of view is right.)
8. What about the secondary characters: Gabby; Detective Ryan; Tempe's daughter Katy? Talk about each one in turn ... and the role each plays in the story?
9. Were you thrown off track by the red-herring Reichs put in your way—the connection between Gabby's work on prostitution and the Tempe's search for the serial killer?
10. Does this mystery thriller deliver in terms of suspense and surprise? Or is it the storyline and the ending predictable?
11. Kathy Reich has been compared to Patricia Cornwell and her heroine, Dr. Kay Scarpetta. If you've read Cornwell's books, how do the two writers (and their heroines) compare? Do you plan on reading other installments in Reich's series?
12. Have you watched any of the TV episodes of Bones, which are based on Reich's books? How does the series stack up to the book (or books)?
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online or off, with attribution. Thanks.)
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