Kathy Reichs
Kathleen Joan Toelle Reichs (born July 7, 1948[2]) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic.[1] She is an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; as of 2016 she is on indefinite leave.[3] She is also affiliated with the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec. She is one of 100 anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology[4] and is on the Board of Directors of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. Her schedule also involves a number of speaking engagements around the world. Reichs was a producer for the TV series Bones, which is loosely based on her novels, which in turn, are inspired by her life.[1] She has two daughters, Kerry and Courtney, and one son, Brendan.[5]
Kathy Reichs | |
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Reichs in 2013 | |
Born | Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1] | July 7, 1948
Occupation | Forensic Anthropologist Novelist Professor[1] |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Crime |
Notable works | Break No Bones (2006)[1] |
Website | |
www |
Academic career
Reichs earned her Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in anthropology from American University in 1971. In 1972, she completed her Master of Arts in physical anthropology from Northwestern University, and in 1975 she completed her Ph.D. in physical anthropology from Northwestern University. Since then, Reichs has taught at Northern Illinois University, University of Pittsburgh, Concordia University, and McGill University, and is currently on leave from a position as adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In the past, Kathy Reichs has consulted for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina.[6]
Reichs has appeared in Tanzania to testify at the United Nations's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.[7] She has assisted Dr. Clyde Snow and the Foundation for Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology in an exhumation in the area of Lake Atitlan in the highlands of southwest Guatemala. She was a member of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team assigned to assist at the World Trade Center disaster.
Academic papers
- Reichs, Kathleen J. (October 1993). "Quantified comparison of frontal sinus patterns by means of computed tomography". Forensic Science International. 61 (2–3): 141–68. doi:10.1016/0379-0738(93)90222-v. PMID 8307523.
- Grynpas, Marc D.; Huckell, C.B.; Reichs, K.J.; Derousseau, C.J.; Greenwood, C.; Kessler, M.J. (August 1993). "Effect of age and osteoarthritis on bone mineral in rhesus monkey vertebrae". Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. American Society for Bone and Mineral Research. 8 (8): 909–17. doi:10.1002/jbmr.5650080803. PMID 8213253.
- Reichs, Kathleen J. (June 1992). "Forensic anthropology in the 1990s". The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. 13 (2): 146–53. doi:10.1097/00000433-199206000-00014. PMID 1510066.
- Reichs, Kathleen J. (July 1989). "Treponematosis: a possible case from the late prehistoric of North Carolina". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 79 (3): 289–303. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330790305. PMID 2669501.
- "Cranial suture eccentricities: a case in which precocious closure complicated determination of sex and commingling". Journal of Forensic Sciences. 34 (1): 263–73. January 1989.
- DeRousseau, CJ; Reichs, KJ (July 1987). "Ontogenetic plasticity in nonhuman primates: I. Secular trends in the Cayo Santiago macaques". American Journal of Physical Anthropology. 73 (3): 279–87. doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330730302. PMID 3618758.
Academic books
- Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (1st ed.). Springfield: Charles C. Thomas. 1986. ISBN 9780398068042.
- Reichs, Kathy, ed. (1983). Hominid Origins: Inquiries Past and Present. University Press of America. ISBN 9780819128645.
Fiction
In addition to technical books, as of January 2019 Reichs has written 21 novels, which have been translated into 30 languages. 20 of those novels constitute the 'Temperance Brennan' series.[8] Her first novel, Déjà Dead, won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.[9]
The fictional heroine in her novels, Temperance "Tempe" Brennan, is also a forensic anthropologist. Her lifestyle closely mimics that of her creator,[10][11] with Reichs stating that Brennan and she "have the same CV"[10] and that "Some of Tempe's personality traits are also mine",[11] but there are differences in their personal lives such as the character's alcoholism.[10] A good portion of the novels are based on real life science, and Reichs has stated that she is "fastidiously conscientious about getting the science right".[12] She has used experience from her career in her novels, and said about Déjà Dead that "Everything I describe in the book, I actually did".[11] In the novel Grave Secrets, she uses her experience from her visit to Guatemala.[12]
She has also written the young adult novels series named Virals centered on Tempe's great-niece, Tory Brennan, and a pack of her friends Ben, Hiram, Shelton, and wolfdog Cooper.
Her latest novel, Two Nights, published July 11, 2017, features Sunday Night, a tough-talking, scarred heroine.[13]
Temperance Brennan series
No. | Title | Published | ISBNs | Notes |
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1 | Déjà Dead | 1997 | Paperback: 0-09-925518-9 Audio CD: 1-449-83348-9 |
Won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel |
2 | Death du Jour | 1999 | Paperback: 0-09-925519-7 Hardcover: 0-684-84118-5 Audio CD: 0-754-05330-X |
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3 | Deadly Décisions | 2000 | Paperback: 0-09-930710-3 Hardback: 0-434-00820-6 |
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4 | Fatal Voyage | 2001 | Paperback: 0-09-930720-0 Audio CD: 1-85686-927-X |
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5 | Grave Secrets | 2002 | Paperback: 0-09-930730-8 Audio CD: 1-85686-928-8 |
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6 | Bare Bones | 2003 | Paperback: 0-09-944147-0 | |
7 | Monday Mourning | 2004 | Paperback: 0-09-944148-9 | |
8 | Cross Bones | 2005 | Paperback: 0-09-944149-7 Hardback: 0-434-01040-5 Audio CD: 1-85686-985-7 |
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9 | Break No Bones | 2006 | Hardback: 0-434-01042-1 Paperback: 0-434-01544-X |
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10 | Bones to Ashes | 2007 | Hardback: 978-0434014620 Paperback: 978-1416525653 |
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11 | Devil Bones | 2008 | Hardback: 978-0743294386 Paperback: 978-1-4391-5440-3 Audio CD: 978-1846571336 |
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12 | 206 Bones | 2009 | Hardback: 978-0743294393 Paperback: 978-0-4340-2005-8 |
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13 | Spider Bones | 2010 | Hardback: 978-1439102398 Paperback: 978-0-0995-5686-2 |
released as Mortal Remains in UK and Australia in hardback, reverted to Spider Bones for paperback release |
14 | Flash and Bones | 2011 | 978-1439102411 | |
15 | Bones are Forever | 2012 | 978-0434021130 | |
16 | Bones of the Lost | 2013 | 978-1439102459 | |
17 | Bones Never Lie | 2014 | Hardback: 978-0345544018 Paperback: 978-0804194471 |
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18 | Speaking in Bones | 2015 | Hardback: 978-0434021192 | |
19 | The Bone Collection | 2016 | Hardback: 9780606394642 Paperback: 9780399593222 |
A short story collection including First Bones (a prequel to Déjà Dead), Bones in her Pocket, Swamp Bones and Bones on Ice. These books have been numbered as 0.5, 15.5, 16.5, 17.5, respectively.[14] |
20 | A Conspiracy of Bones | 2020 | Hardback: 9781785151187 |
Stand-alone books
No. | Title | Published | ISBNs | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Two Nights | 2017 | Hardback: 978-0434021116 Paperback: 978-1524755577 |
Stand-alone, "off-series" novel with new characters.[15][16] |
Virals series
Title | Published | ISBN | Notes |
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Virals | 2010 | 978-0099543947 | |
Seizure | 2011 | 978-1595143945 | |
Code | 2013 | 978-0099543855 | |
Exposure | 2014 | 978-1595145307 | |
Terminal | 2015 | 978-1595145284 | |
Trace Evidence | 2016 | 978-1784752392 | a short story collection including Shock, Shift, Swipe and Spike (a new story set after the events of Terminal). |
Novellas
Reichs has released six downloadable short stories:
Title | Published | Notes |
---|---|---|
Shift | 2013 | Set in the Virals country, but featuring both the Virals characters and Temperance Brennan. |
Bones In Her Pocket | 2013 | A Temperance Brennan story giving details of a case briefly mentioned in Bones of the Lost. |
Swipe | 2013 | A Virals story, also featuring Temperance Brennan, set at Comic-Con in San Diego. |
Swamp Bones | 2014 | A Temperance Brennan story set in the Florida Everglades. |
Shock | 2015 | A Virals story telling how they first meet. |
Bones On Ice | 2015 | A Temperance Brennan story of how she gets wrapped up in the ultimate cold case: a death on Mount Everest. |
Television
The 2005 Fox television series Bones is inspired by Reichs' life and writing.[17] The series borrows the name of the books' heroine, Temperance "Bones" Brennan.[18] As in the books, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist; however, there are many differences: the television character is younger, more socially awkward,[18] and is based in a fictionalized version of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[18] Additionally, the TV-Brennan moonlights as an author,[17] writing about a fictional forensic anthropologist named Kathy Reichs.[19] Aside from the character name and occupation, there are few tie-ins between the TV show and the books.
Reichs works as a producer on the show to "keep the science honest".[18] She appeared in the second season episode "Judas on a Pole", playing Professor Constance Wright, a forensic anthropologist on the board conducting Zack Addy's dissertation defense.[20] She wrote the Season Five episode "The Witch in the Wardrobe"[21] and the Season Nine episode "The Dude in the Dam" and the Season Eleven episode "The Stiff in the Cliff" with her daughter Kerry.[22]
Casey Anthony murder trial
In 2011, Reichs was an expert witness in the Casey Anthony murder trial. After initially refusing to be a part of Anthony's defense, she cited biased media coverage as the reason she changed her mind. "Initially, I said no, and then I started seeing media coverage and it made me angry. This woman needed to be tried in court, not in the press."
Reichs performed a full skeletal analysis of Anthony's daughter, Caylee, but could not determine a cause of death. She concluded that there was no evidence of abuse and that the child appeared to be well-nourished.[23]
Notes
- "Reichs, Kathy", Britannica Online (see below: References).
- "Kathleen J. Reichs Biography". notablebiographies.com.
- "Reichs among '30 Most Innovative Women Professors'". UNC Charlotte. February 1, 2016. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
- "ABFA - American Board of Forensic Anthropology". theabfa.org. Archived from the original on 2011-10-07.
- Reichs, Kathy (2002). Grave Secrets: A Novel. Simon & Schuster, Inc. pp. XII. ISBN 978-0-671-02838-1.
- "Kathy Reichs - About Kathy". kathyreichs.com.
- "History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places - Smithsonian". smithsonianmagazine.com.
- Kathy Reichs book suppliers Archived 2007-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. Personal website. Retrieved 1/11/09.
- Arthur Ellis Award - list of past winners Archived 2008-09-28 at the Wayback Machine. Crime Writers of Canada. Retrieved 1/11/09.
- "This much I know:Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist and writer, 60, London". Tom Templeton. The Guardian. 2008-10-26.
- Mudge, Alden (September 1997). "Meet this season's best discovery: Kathy Reichs". Bookpage. Archived from the original on 2008-06-23. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- "Kathy Reichs: The ice queen of crime". Peter Stanford. The Independent. 2006-07-21.
- Kathy, Reichs (2017-07-11). Two nights. Toronto. ISBN 9781476726458. OCLC 960987420.
- GoodReads. GoodReads. Retrieved 2016/12/23.
- Twitter. Twitter. Retrieved 2016/12/23.
- Website. Website. Retrieved 2016/12/23.
- Bones Show Info Archived 2007-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- "Kathy Reichs: 20 Things You Need to Know". Yahoo!. Yahoo! Pty Limited. Archived from the original on 2008-07-28. Retrieved 2008-11-16.
- "Bodies in the Book". Bones. Season 2. Episode 15. 2007-10-14.
- Bones episode Judas on a Pole at IMDb.com
- Full credits for Bones episode "The Witch in the Wardrobe" at IMDb.com
- "BONES Recap: 'The Dude in the Dam'". givememyremote.com.
- "Reichs Examines Murder Victim Caylee Anthony". USA Today. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013.
References
- "Reichs, Kathy", Britannica Online Encyclopedia, 2009, webpage: EBc-KReichs.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kathy Reichs. |
- Official website
- Kathy Reichs on IMDb
- Kathy Reichs: Turning a lifelong career into writing success at Jarrah Loh.com
- Kathy Reichs Interview Shots Ezine October 2012