Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs (1999)

This first book in the series is well-written. It quickly gives you a sense of Tempe, the world she inhabits and the challenges she's dealing with. As is typical, this Temperance Brennan is much different than the Temperance Brennan on the TV show. I'm not sure how I feel about her. I may have really liked her if I hadn't watched (and loved) the series, but I kept thinking 'that's not how Tempe would act' and I kept wondering when when Booth was going to show up.

If I was in a different headspace, I probably would have finished it, but it was just too gruesome for me. (I normally have a pretty high tolerance and will skip the descriptions if it's too gross.) I got as far as the woman who was cleaved basically in two up to the sternum (body #5?) and then called it a day. 

It's a little disappointing because I'd been wanting to read the books since the second season of 'Bones,' when I realized that the series is based on the books. I may pick it back up in the future, since normally, gruesomeness doesn't get to me. But for now, it's a DNF.

I've giving this a 4/5 stars.