Features Kathy Reichs

A Lifetime Dedicated to the Search for Truth

The Big Thrill Interviews #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Kathy Reichs

By R.G. Belsky

FIRE AND BONES is the 23rd book in author Kathy Reichs’ hugely popular Temperance Brennan series—but this time the dogged forensic anthropologist has to solve a very different kind of murder case (actually two very different kinds of murder cases!) than she ever has done in the past.

Brennan—always apprehensive about working fire scenes in the previous books—is unexpectedly called to Washington D.C. to do a forensic analysis of the victims from a mysterious deadly blaze at a building in a neighborhood called Foggy Bottom with a colorful and controversial history.

In addition to the fire deaths there, she shockingly discovers the body of an unidentified woman murder victim from 80 years earlier that had been secretly buried back then in the basement of the charred ruins—a long-ago murder no one ever knew about until the present-day blaze destroyed the building.

For Reichs, it’s the first time she’s ever used fire and arson forensics as a crime scene topic for one of her Temperance Brennan books. She explained to The Big Thrill why she made the decision to do so this time:

“I write good old-fashioned murder mysteries. But in each, the solution to the case is driven in part by science. I try to introduce a different aspect of forensics in each story. In past books, I have used entomology, DNA, and gunshot wound analysis, for just a few examples. I had not previously featured fire and arson analysis, so this seemed a new and fresh area of crime lab expertise.”

Drawing on some real-life history from Washington, we learn from Reichs that back in the ’30s and ’40s, the fire-destroyed building was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. Though interesting, this fact seems irrelevant—until the son of a Foggy Bottom Gang member is shot dead outside his house in an affluent part of the district.

“An arrest is finally made,” Reichs says. “But then, inexplicably, another Foggy Bottom Gang–linked property burns to the ground, claiming one more victim. Slowly, Tempe’s instincts begin pointing to the obvious. Somehow, her moves since coming to Washington have been anticipated, and every path forward seems to bring with it a lethal threat.”

While this is all happening, Brennan also becomes more and more obsessed with finding answers about the 80-year-old corpse discovered after the fire in the basement. Who was she, and what happened? “Tempe is driven by a need to find the truth. By a desire to find a name for the tiny woman buried for so long in anonymity below the old Foggy Bottom house.”

Tempe, as she is called in the books, is teamed up with a new partner in this story—a woman tele-journalist named Ivy Doyle.

“In many ways, Ivy is similar to Tempe,” Reichs says. “She is ambitious, intelligent and, at times, impulsive. Both women are principled and committed to doing their jobs well. Both feel compassion for the innocent victims of crime or unfortunate circumstances. But Ivy has a dark secret in her past. I suspect she is willing to push the ethical boundaries of her profession a bit farther than Tempe.”

Also, much different than the previous Temperance Brennan book is the location for this one. Last time, she was solving crimes on the exotic Turks and Caicos Islands. FIRE AND BONES is set in Washington, D.C. Why there? 

“My oldest daughter, Kerry, and two of my grandchildren live in Washington D.C. I graduated from American University, which is located in our nation’s capital. While attending college, I worked part-time as a tour guide pointing out highlights of the district. I like to set my stories in places I’ve visited and in places I know well. I like to incorporate real sights and smells and sounds and landmarks so my readers can immerse themselves in the locale in which the action is taking place. DC seemed a perfect choice.”

Many readers, of course, are also familiar with the Temperance Brennan character from the long-running hit TV show Bones, that was based on the books. Reichs even makes a reference to that in this book where she has a character talking about “binge-watching all the Bones shows” on television.

Has Reichs ever done that herself?

“Interestingly, I don’t. Over the twelve seasons that Bones was airing original stories, I read and edited every one of the 246 screenplays. I wrote several scripts myself. I watched the filming of many episodes. I appeared in one. I will always cherish those memories.”

Like Tempe, Kathy Reichs is a noted forensic anthropologist herself in real life. So how much of the Temperance Brennan character is based on her—and in what ways is the author much different?

“We are both forensic anthropologists, dedicated to solving crimes and uncovering the truth by studying skeletal remains. Professionally, Tempe is me.

“That said, I didn’t wish for my protagonist to be perfect. I wanted her to be approachable, to have character flaws. For example, she is a recovering alcoholic. I enjoy a glass of Pinot with dinner.

“Tempe is younger than I am, and her romantic life can be more complicated than mine.  I’m married with three children and six grandchildren.

“Tempe is more impulsive than I am. Fearless and committed, if needed she will jump into a fight with the bad guys. I do not fight bad guys.”

Also, despite her own extensive background and successes as a forensic anthropologist, Reichs says she still did “a great deal of research before beginning and while writing FIRE AND BONES.

“My pattern is to check not just the science and the forensics, but every tiny detail of every story. In this case, I investigated the history of the Foggy Bottom Gang, the current gang situation in our nation’s capital, the impact of fire on human flesh and bones, and many other subjects upon which the story touches. I spoke with firefighters. I visited Washington DC. But, full disclosure: having to spend time with my grandkids wasn’t tough duty.”

Does she think they’ll ever come a time when she stops writing Temperance Brennan books? “Eventually, there will be a last Temperance Brennan novel, but not yet. I am currently working on book 24 to be released in the summer of 2025. Tempe and I still have stories to tell.”

The Big Thrill Interviews Author Kathy Reichs