Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs is an American forensic anthropologist and novelist whose Temperance Brennan series -- beginning with Deja Dead in 1997 -- draws directly on her own casework identifying remains for the Montreal medico-legal lab and testifying at the UN tribunal on the Rwandan genocide. Brennan, a forensic anthropologist who splits her time between Montreal and North Carolina, solves cases through bone evidence and lab science rather than typical detective legwork, giving the series a procedural authenticity few crime writers can match, because Reichs has done the actual job herself.

Reichs holds a PhD in anthropology and is one of a small number of forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology; that professional standing underpins the entire series rather than being a research exercise. The novels loosely inspired the long-running Fox television series Bones (2005-2017), starring Emily Deschanel as a character based on Brennan, though the show diverged substantially from the books' tone and plots as it progressed.

A new reader should start with Deja Dead, the Edgar Award-winning debut that establishes Brennan's voice and the lab-driven case structure. Readers who know the TV show should expect a considerably darker, more procedural read on the page.