Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs

Kathy Reichs (Kathleen Joan Toelle) was born on July 7th, 1948 and is currently 78 years old. Kathy Reichs was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Reichs attended American University where she received a B.A. Anthropology, Northwestern University where she received an M.A. Anthropology and Northwestern University where she received a Ph.D Anthropology.

Kathy Reichs is known for writing in the Mystery and Young Adult Fiction genres.

Kathy Reichs is the author of the Temperance Brennan series which currently consists of 27 novels. The Temperance Brennan series started in 1997 with the novel Déjà Dead. The most recently released novel in the Temperance Brennan series was Evil Bones which was released in 2025. There are no upcoming novels for the Temperance Brennan series.

Kathy Reichs has also written the Tory Brennan (Virals) series which has 10 books including Shock and Virals.

Kathy Reichs has a son who is also an author, Brendan Reichs. Kathy Reichs has co-authored 8 novels with Brendan Reichs they are: Shock, Shift, Code, Swipe, Exposure, Terminal, Spike and Trace Evidence.

The protagonist in the Temperance Brennan series is a forensic anthropologist. Kathy draws inspiration from her own work as an anthropologist, and she is a certified anthropologist by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology.

Along with being an award winning book, Déjà Dead was a starred review in the 1987 Kirkus Review, Library Journal, and Publishers Weekly.

Kathy is the spokesperson for the Know My Bones Campaign, part of the National Osteoporosis Foundation.

Kathy Reichs: Awards & Accolades

Kathy Reichs won the International Thriller Writers Award, Silver Bullet Award, in 2015.

Reichs' books have also won multiple awards, Déjà Dead won the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, Best First Crime Novel, in 1998. Flash and Bones won the Crime Thriller Awards, The Bestseller Dagger, in 2012.

Kathy Reichs books have also been nominated for multiple awards, Déjà Dead was nominated for the Dilys Award, Best Mystery Novel, in 1998. Grave Secrets was nominated for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, Best Crime Novel, in 2003. Break No Bones was nominated for the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence, Best Crime Novel, in 2007. Virals was nominated for the Agatha Award, Best Children’s/Young Adult, in 2010. Spider Bones / Mortal Remains was nominated for the CrimeFest, Sounds of Crime Award, in 2011. No Rest for the Dead was nominated for the Suspense Magazine Awards, Best Anthology, in 2011. Bones Are Forever was nominated for The Dead Good Reader Award, The Val McDermid Award for Fiendish Forensics, in 2015.

Kathy Reichs: Lists & Other Mentions

• A Conspiracy of Bones was a Richard & Judy Book Club 2020 Christmas Picks.

Kathy Reichs: TV/Movies Based on Books

The television show Bones, which was produced by Fox, is based on the Temperance Brennan series of novels. Bones started airing in September 2005, and concluded in March 2017 after 12 seasons and 246 episode.

The series is more based on the characters than the books themselves, and Kathy was also a producer on the show. As a fun sidenote - the character, Dr. Temperance Brennan, is also a fiction author. Her series features the character Kathy Reichs.

Emily Deschanel was the star of the show and played Temperance "Bones" Brennan. Other actors in the main cast include David Boreanaz and Michela Conlin.

Related Authors

Fans of Kathy Reichs also enjoy these authors:

1. Adrian McKinty, author of the Detective Sean Duffy Series.
2. Jane Casey, author of the Maeve Kerrigan Series.
3. Karin Slaughter, author of the Will Trent Series.
4. Jeffery Deaver, author of the Lincoln Rhyme Series.
5. Alex Kava, author of the Ryder Creed Series.
6. Andrew Mayne, author of The Naturalist Series.
7. Archer Mayor, author of the Joe Gunther Series.
8. Isabella Maldonado, author of the Nina Guerrera Series.
9. Angela Marsons, author of the D.I. Kim Stone Series.
10. Ramona Emerson, author of the Rita Todacheene Series.

Kathy Reichs: F.A.Q