The queen of forensic fiction is back!
This week on Here’s What We Know, New York Times bestselling author and forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs is back to celebrate the release of Evil Bones, her 24th Temperance Brennan novel. From balancing grim mysteries with witty moments to revealing how real-life quirks inspired Tempe’s world, Kathy shares stories that remind us why readers keep coming back. You’ll also hear how she keeps up with forensic science, her favorite character dialogue, what sets the books apart from the Bones TV series, and why Birdie the cat will never die.
This episode is sponsored by:
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In This Episode:
- The delicate art of using humor to illuminate dark subjects
- How Kathy’s writing process keeps Tempe Brennan evolving
- The science and heart behind Evil Bones
- Why readers forgive a character’s death, but never a pet’s
Evil Bones out November 18th! Pre-order now!
Quotations:
” What’s gonna be funny for some people is not going to be funny for other people. And that’s just the way it is.” ~ Kathy Reichs
“I think Skinny Slidel is my favorite character. He’s certainly my favorite character to write. I love to write Skinny dialogue.” ~ Kathy Reichs
“I usually start thinking about it before I’ve finished the previous book. You know, it kind of begins intruding on the next storyline. By the time I do a little bit of outlining, not a whole lot of outlining. So I really just kind of jump into it, and I maybe outline six or eight chapters. And then I just jump into it and start writing.” ~ Kathy Reichs
“People will let you kill off you, a character, but don’t kill off an ant. Don’t kill the dog. They’ll be very unforgiving if you kill the dog.” ~ Kathy Reichs
Bio:
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 books include Death du Jour, Deadly Decisions, Fatal Voyage, Grave Secrets, Bare Bones, Monday Mourning, Cross Bones, Break No Bones, Bones to Ashes, Devil Bones, 206 Bones, Spider Bones, Flash and Bones, Bones Are Forever, Bones of the Lost, Bones Never Lie, Speaking in Bones and the Temperance Brennan short story collection, The Bone Collection. In addition, Kathy co-authored the Virals young adult series with her son, Brendan Reichs. The best-selling titles are: Virals, Seizure, Code, Exposure, Terminal, and the novella collection Trace Evidence. The series follows the adventures of Temperance Brennan’s great niece, Tory Brennan. Dr. Reichs’ latest novel, Two Nights, was released July 11 and features Sunday Night, a tough-talking, scarred heroine. Dr. Reichs was also 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 to the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Québec. Dr. Reichs has traveled 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 in the recovery of remains at the World Trade Center following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Dr. Reichs is one of only 100 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.
Guest Contact Info:
Website: https://kathyreichs.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathyreichs/
