Déjà Dead

Déjà Dead is the first novel by Kathy Reichs featuring forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan, a character who would later anchor a long series. The book was published in 1997 and won the 1998 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.

The story begins with the discovery, in the ground of an abandoned monastery in Montreal, Canada, of the meticulously dismembered body of a woman, too decomposed for a standard autopsy. An anthropologist is requested, and the case falls to Dr. Temperance Brennan, Director of Forensic Anthropology for the province of Quebec, who had been researching recent disappearances in the city. Despite the deep cynicism of Detective Claudel, who heads the investigation, Brennan is convinced that a serial killer is at work. Her forensic expertise finally convinces Claudel, but only after the body count has risen. Brennan's determined probing ends up placing those closest to her in danger.

Critics compared Reichs' work to the Kay Scarpetta novels by Patricia Cornwell, in which a forensic scientist is likewise at the center of the intrigue.