''Monday Mourning'' is the seventh novel by

Kathy Reichs Dr. Kathleen Joan Reichs (PhD) (née Toelle, born July 7, 1948) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic. She is a professor emerita of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She is well known ...

starring

forensic Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

Temperance Brennan Temperance Daessee Brennan is a fictional character created by author Kathy Reichs, and is the hero of her crime novel series (which are usually referred to as the Temperance Brennan novels). She was introduced in Reichs' first novel, '' Déjà D ...

. Kathy Reichs herself is a forensic anthropologist who works for Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

Plot

The plot of the story revolves around Brennan trying to decipher the clues left behind by the

skeletons A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fram ...

of three girls found in a pizza parlor basement in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada, which has a colourful history. Brennan's forensic expertise tells her that the people were buried after 1955, but

homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

detective Luc Claudel is convinced the bones are pre-1955, and dismisses the case. Brennan's frustration at Claudel for not investigating the case grows and she decides to take it on herself. From simply the remains of the three girls, she follows the clues which include a frightened old lady, a crazed man with a S&M fetish, and finally a girl who has been subjected to so much sexual torture, she develops a taste for it herself.

Inspiration

At the end of the book, Reichs writes that her inspiration for the plot was three skeletons she was sent to investigate that were found in a pizza parlor basement. The girls' bones showed that they had died before 1955 so there was no police investigation into the deaths. Reichs writes she has always wondered who the girls were and how they came to be buried under the parlor. The other inspiration the story is based upon is revealed in-story in chapters 29 & 30, where the

Kidnapping of Colleen Stan Colleen Stan (born December 31, 1956) is an American woman who was kidnapped and held as a sex slave by Cameron and Janice Hooker in their Red Bluff, California, home for over seven years, between 1977 and 1984. At Cameron's trial, Stan's experie ...

is recounted and later discovered as the inspiration of antagonist Menard (

copycat crime A copycat crime is a criminal act that is modeled after or inspired by a previous crime. It notably occurs after exposure to media content depicting said crimes, and/or a live criminal model. According to a study, copycat crime is a social phen ...

Dedication

The dedication at the start of the book reads; "To Deborah Minor and my baby sister Harry". Deborah Minor is Reichs' publisher and Harry is her younger sister, upon whom a character in the book, Brennan's sister Harry, is based.

External links

About.com review

Kathy Reichs' official website summary
{{Kathy Reichs 2004 American novels Novels by Kathy Reichs Novels set in North Carolina Heinemann (publisher) books Charles Scribner's Sons books