Kathy Reichs

Kathleen Joan Toelle Reichs
Born	July 1948 (age 65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.[1]
Occupation	Forensic Anthropologist Novelist Professor [1]
Nationality	American
Genres	Crime, since 1997
Notable work(s)	Break No Bones (2006)[1]
www.kathyreichs.com

Kathleen Joan Toelle "Kathy" Reichs (/ˈraɪks/;^[2] born July 7, 1948^[3]) is an American crime writer, forensic anthropologist and academic.^[1] She is a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; as of 2013 she is on indefinite leave.^[4] She divides her work time between the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale for the province of Quebec and her professorship at UNC Charlotte. She is one of the eighty-two forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology^[5] 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 has been a producer for the TV series Bones.^[1] She has two daughters, Kerry and Courtney, and one son, Brendan.^[6]

Academic career

Reichs earned her Bachelors 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 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.^[7]

Reichs has appeared in Tanzania to testify at the United Nations's International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda.^[8] 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

• Quantified comparison of frontal sinus patterns by means of computed tomography. Forensic Science International 1993 Oct;61(2-3):141-68.
• Effect of age and osteoarthritis on bone mineral in rhesus monkey vertebrae. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research 1993 Aug;8(8):909-17.
• Forensic anthropology in the 1990s. The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology 1992 Jun;13(2):146-53.
• Treponematosis: a possible case from the late prehistoric of North Carolina. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1989 Jul;79(3):289-303.
• Cranial suture eccentricities: a case in which precocious closure complicated determination of sex and commingling. Journal of Forensic Science 1989 Jan;34(1):263-73.
• Ontogenetic plasticity in nonhuman primates: I. Secular trends in the Cayo Santiago macaques. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1987 Jul;73(3):279-87.

Academic books

• Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains (1986)
• Hominid Origins: Inquiries Past and Present (Editor) (1983)

Novels

In addition to technical books, Reichs has written 19 novels to date, which have been translated into 30 languages.^[9] Her first novel, Déjà Dead, won the 1997 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel.^[10]

The fictional heroine in her novels, Temperance "Tempe" Brennan, is also a forensic anthropologist. Her lifestyle closely mimics that of her creator,^[11][12] with Reichs stating that Brennan and she "have the same CV"^[11] and that "Some of Tempe's personality traits are also mine",^[12] but there are differences in their personal lives such as the character's alcoholism.^[11] 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".^[13] 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".^[12] In the novel Grave Secrets, she uses her experience from her visit to Guatemala.^[13]

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.

Temperance Brennan series

Virals series

Novellas

Reichs has released three downloadable short stories -

Television

The 2005 Fox television series Bones is inspired by Reichs' life and writing.^[14] The series borrows the name of the books' heroine, Temperance "Bones" Brennan.^[15] As in the books, Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a forensic anthropologist; however, there are many differences: the television character is younger, more socially awkward,^[15] and is based in Washington, D.C.^[15] Additionally, the TV-Brennan moonlights as an author,^[14] writing about a fictional forensic anthropologist named Kathy Reichs.^[16] 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"^[15] and has appeared in the episode "Judas on a Pole" from the second season, in which she played Professor Constance Wright, a forensic anthropologist on the board conducting Zack Addy's dissertation defense.^[17] Additionally, she wrote the Season Five episode "The Witch in the Wardrobe".^[18]

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 did 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.^[19]

Notes

References

• "Reichs, Kathy", Britannica Online Encyclopedia, 2009, webpage: EBc-KReichs.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kathy Reichs.

• Official website
• Kathy Reichs at the Internet Movie Database
• Kathy Reichs on Twitter
• Kathy Reichs: Turning a lifelong career into writing success at Jarrah Loh.com
• Kathy Reichs Interview Shots Ezine October 2012