Kathy Reichs

"Death in anonymity is the ultimate insult to human dignity."

Kathy Reichs’s first novel Déjà Dead catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her other Temperance Brennan novels include Death du Jour, Deadly Décisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, and 206 Bones, Spider Bones (August, 2010). Dr. Reichs is a producer of the hit Fox TV series, Bones, which is based on her work and her novels.

From teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, to separating and identifying commingled body parts in her Montreal lab, as a forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs has brought her own dramatic work experience to her mesmerizing forensic thrillers. For years she consulted to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina, and continues to do so for the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has travelled to Rwanda to testify at the UN Tribunal on Genocide, and helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. As part of her work at JPAC (Formerly CILHI) she aided in the identification of war dead from World War II, Korea, and Southeast Asia. Dr. Reichs also assisted with identifying remains found at ground zero of the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Dr. Reichs is one of only eighty-two forensic anthropologists ever certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. She served on the Board of Directors and as Vice President of both the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and is currently a member of the National Police Services Advisory Council in Canada. She is a Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte.

Dr. Reichs is a native of Chicago, where she received her Ph.D. at Northwestern. She now divides her time between Charlotte, NC and Montreal, Québec.

BOOKTOPIA INTERVIEW: KATHY REICHS ANSWERS BOOKTOPIA'S TEN TERRIFYING QUESTIONS - CLICK HERE

What genre does Kathy Reichs write in?

She writes forensic crime fiction and procedural thrillers that emphasize forensic anthropology and criminal investigation. She also has young adult works tied to the Virals and Tory Brennan books.

Which series is she best known for and what is the reading order?

She is best known for the Temperance Brennan series. The series begins with Deja Dead (Book 1), followed by Death du Jour (2), Deadly Decisions (3), Fatal Voyage (4), Grave Secrets (5) and continues in publication order through later titles such as Bones to Ashes and Bones Never Lie.

Where should I start if I am new to her work?

For adult readers start with Deja Dead, the first Temperance Brennan novel. Younger readers or those who prefer YA can begin with the Virals or Tory Brennan books and related short stories.

How does her professional background influence the books?

Reichs is a practicing forensic anthropologist who has consulted for medical examiner offices, taught investigators, worked on mass grave exhumations and identifications, and used those real-world experiences to give her novels technical authenticity.

Has she received notable awards or adaptations?

Her debut novel Deja Dead won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Her Temperance Brennan books inspired the TV series Bones, for which she served as a producer, and she holds professional certifications and academic positions in forensic anthropology.