Kathy Reichs Books

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Author Kathy Reichs is a New York Times bestselling mystery author, professor of anthropology at University of North Carolina- Charlotte, and is one of only 82 people Forensic Anthropologists board certified in North America. She is a busy woman, there is no doubt about it. Reichs graduated from American University with a Bachelors in anthropology in 1971. The next year, she got her Masters in physical anthropology and got her PhD in physical anthropology in 1975, both from Northwestern University. She also shows FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains, and is able to identify and separate commingled remains. She also served as an expert witness for the defense in Casey Anthony’s murder trial, and in Rwanda for the United Nations Tribunal on Genocide. Reichs has helped exhume a mass grave in Guatemala. She was born in Chicago in July of 1948. She has three kids (two daughters one son) Kerry, Courtney, and Brendan. Reichs lives in North Carolina, and Montreal.

Kathy Reichs was born on July 7th 1948 in the city of Chicago, Illinois. While she has become a well-known name in the field of crime fiction, that was not the first love of Reichs. Instead, Kathy Reichs started out by pursuing her love of anthropology, studying the subject at American University and graduating in 1971. After graduation, Reichs moved on to Northwestern University, where she gained her MA in physical anthropology in 1972. Her time at Northwestern was completed in 1975, when she gained her PhD in the same subject. With her various qualifications in the subject, it made sense of Kathy Reichs to move into teaching, and she has taught anthropology at several universities, most recently at the University of North Carolina. She has also been called upon, due to her vast qualifications and experience to work for various government organisations, and she spends some of her time working for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecine Legale in Quebec.

However, even though it appears that Kathy Reichs’ plate is completely full with her anthropology work, she also found time to turn her hand to writing. Her first book, Deja Dead, was published in 1997, and won Reichs the Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel that same year. It introduced the world to the now famous Temperance Brennan character, whose life is, for the most part, based on that of the author. There are various character traits that are dissimilar between the two, such as Temperance’s alcoholism, but their working lives are very similar, as Temperance Brennan also splits her professional life between the University of North Carolina and the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Medecine Legale in Quebec. The most important part about the Temperance Brennan series of books is that Reichs draws upon her own experiences and her own knowledge. This means that the majority of the science used in the series of real, and Reichs has first hand experience of it. The Temperance Brennan character was also used in the television series Bones, which draws upon the series of books as inspiration, and Kathy Reichs also serves as a producer on the series, lending her knowledge and experience to the production.

As well as the Temperance Brennan series of books, Reichs has created a spin-off of that series for young adults called Virals. The leader character in the Virals series is Tory Brennan, the great-niece of Temperance. Along with her group of friends, Tory Brennan sets out to investigate crimes and solve mysteries. The Virals series, while a spin-off from Reichs’ adult series of books, is a departure from her usual style, as it is more of a science-fiction series. The Virals, as Tory and her friends become known, become infected with an experimental virus, which gives them special powers such as super speed, and super strength. Reichs co-authors the Virals series with her son, Brendan. The first book in the Virals series, Virals, was published in 2010.

She is known for writing the “Bones” series that stars Temperance Brennan (forensic anthropologist) who investigates cases that involve human remains too badly degraded for a coroner to get evidence from. Brennan is one of only fifty people that is board certified to be a forensic anthropologist in North America. The series is based off of Reichs’s own life, but there are some differences between the two (Brennan is an alcoholic). She says that the things Brennan does in the first book of the series (“Deja Dead”), she did herself, and she incorporated what she experienced in Guatemala, exhuming the mass grave, into one of her novels (book five, “Grave Secrets”). The “Bones” novels have been translated into thirty languages. She has also written the “Virals” series (for young adults) with her son Brendan Reichs, and the series stars Tory Brennan who is the great-niece of Temperance. There are novellas as well, that feature either Temperance and Tory or just one of the characters. Reichs has also penned some technical books.

KATHY REICHS AWARDS

She has won Ellis Award for Best First Novel for “Deja Dead” in 1997.

KATHY REICHS BOOKS INTO MOVIES

In 2005, Reich’s “Bones” novels was adapted into a television series on Fox. It follows her work loosely, as there are very little similarities between the two. She serves as producer of the show (to keep the science honest) and has written three episodes.

BEST KATHY REICHS BOOKS:

This section will go over some books that Reichs has written. It will talk about the novels: “Deja Dead”, “Death du Jour”, and “Deadly Decisions”.

Deja Dead: This is the first novel in the “Bones” series released in 1997. Temperance Brennan has devoted her life to justice, even for people that she did not know. A year ago, she left behind a bad marriage in North Carolina, and her work has made it hard for her to get to know the town of Quebec. A female corpse has been found dismembered in a meticulous way and stored in trash bags. She goes in search for a killer, after she sees a horrifying pattern involved. Her daughter and her best friend are put in danger because of her search.

Death du Jour: This is the second novel in the “Bones” series released in 1999. It is a cold winter in Quebec and Temperance Brennan has gone digging for bones, this time for Sister Elisabeth, who is a candidate for sainthood as she has been dead for over a hundred years. She digs where her grave is supposed to be. Brennan finds an odd small coffin in a decaying church. It provides a nice distraction from what she is supposed to be doing; looking at and identifying burnt, twisted bodies from a chalet that burnt. Brennan is supposed to investigate, and to help her is Andrew Ryan, a homicide detective that does not get along with Brennan.

Deadly Decisions: This is the third novel in the “Bones” series that was released in 2000. In Montreal, a nine year old female named Emily Toussaint is shot and killed on the street. A teenager’s remains are found hundreds of miles from the home in North Carolina that she ran away from. These deaths make Brennan investigate things and push her into the culture of outlaw biker gangs. A world that could lead to disaster not just for her, if she steps wrong even a little bit.

Kathy Reichs FAQs

Q: What nationality is the author Kathy Reichs?

A: The author Kathy Reichs is American, and was born in Chicago, Illinois on July 7th, 1948.

Q: What is the title of Kathy Reichs’ first book?

A: The first book by Kathy Reichs is Deja Dead, which is also the first book in the Temperance Brennan Series. Deja Dead was published in 1997.

When Does The Next Kathy Reichs book come out?

Kathy Reichs doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Fire and Bones and was released on August, 6th 2024. It is the newest book in the Temperance Brennan Series.

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