Kathy Reichs is one of only 77 certified forensic anthropologists in the U.S.
Of the 80 authors appearing at WordFest 2009, only one has testified at the UN’s Genocide Tribunal in Rwanda and has been called to New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks to identify bodies at Ground Zero.
Born in Chicago in 1950, Kathy Reichs is known around the world as the author of 12 crime novels starring forensic anthropologist Temperance “Tempe” Brennan and as the inspiration for the television series Bones. But if her novels have a ring of truth, it’s because Reichs is a professor of anthropology and one of only 77 forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology.
What’s a forensic anthropologist, anyway? They work in a legal setting to identify bodies that are decomposed, burned, mutilated or otherwise unrecognizable, by studying the skeletal remains. Reichs had been working in the field for over 20 years before she tackled the world of crime fiction.
“Back in 1994, after I worked on a murder case and had just become a full professor, I thought it would be fun to try writing a novel,” says Reichs. “I looked for blocks of available time to write. I had to get up before dawn on days before classes, but eventually I finished the book.”
Reichs’s first book, Déjà Dead, received the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel, which was only the first of many “Holy-crap!” moments to follow. “It was pretty incredible,” she says. “Not only did a publisher pick it up, but people actually read it? It’s been the same feeling for every book and for the TV series, too. Will we get picked up for a pilot? Will it get on the air? Against all odds, we’re now in season five!”
In her writing practice, Reichs is aware that the story must be a priority — readers want to be entertained — but she also sees her books as a forum to raise awareness. Each of her novels is centred on a real-world problem: Bare Bones dealt with the trafficking of endangered species, Bones to Ashes was written after she learned about the problem of child pornography on the internet and Grave Secrets was based on Guatemalan genocide.
206 Bones, which Reichs brings to this year’s WordFest, is no exception, drawings its inspiration from a recent phenomenon in forensic anthropology that sees under-qualified scientists working in the field. “Forensic anthropologists are really hot right now for some reason,” says Reichs. “People are crossing the lines: If they’ve had a course in chemistry, all of a sudden they’re a forensic chemist. In this book, and in the profession, it’s a big question: How do you regulate incompetent or rogue forensic scientists?”
Ironically, between the millions of people who read her books and the millions more who watch Bones, Reichs has certainly contributed to the “sexiness” of forensic anthropology. In her defense, however, she is fastidious about being scientifically accurate in her books and, in her role as producer, does the same for the TV series.
“I’m fortunate because I work in the field, so I can just pop a question off to the people at the military lab or the lab in Quebec,” says Reichs. “I’m very picky about getting everything absolutely correct. A lot of people read these and part of it is for the fun of the story, but part of it is about learning.”
Finding a balance between scientific accuracy and accessibility to readers is a constant challenge. “You’ve got to keep the science short, entertaining and absolutely jargon-free,” she says. “Otherwise, readers will just skip over those parts. That’s the skill that a lot of academics and scientists don’t master when they try to move over to fiction.”
You would think that, between book tours, television producing and continuing work in forensics, Reichs would be busy enough, but she’s currently tackling a new challenge: writing a screenplay for an upcoming episode of Bones. “When I agreed to do that, I thought it would be just like writing a novel: I’ll sit in my study, write a script and submit it,” she laughs. “It’s nothing like that — it’s completely interactive and collaborative. I sit in a room with nine other writers to hash out the finished product.”
In her few remaining minutes of daily spare time, Reichs is hard at work on her 13th novel, which deals with the military war dead from Korea, Southeast Asia and the Second World War. But despite her hectic schedule, she doesn’t forget some basic practical considerations.
“How cold does it get in Calgary?” she asks. “Right now, I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Should I dig out my winter jacket?”
Probably a good idea.
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