Skin and bones

KF: What kinds of science get used to solve the mysteries in your books?

KR: The base science is forensic anthropology, which is what I do. But otherwise, I try in all of the stories to bring in a different type of science. I've used chemistry via toxicology; I've used physics via blood-splatter-pattern analysis; I've used microbiology via DNA analysis. The only common denominator is that there's a forensic application.

KF: You mentioned DNA analysis. Can you talk a little about how that technique is transforming forensic science?

KR: Until very recently, DNA was only used in a comparative sense, where you have a sample and you see whether it matches another sample. But there are some techniques now developing where it can actually be predictive. You have a sample from a crime scene of blood or another bodily fluid, and it can identify the person as being of a very broad geographic population. The field is moving towards that direction, but it's all quite new.

KF: If you found just a two-inch fragment of bone, what are some of the things it could tell you about the person it came from?

KR: Two inches is actually a pretty big chunk. I've worked with a lot less! First, if you can extract DNA from it, you can of course compare it to other samples and either rule out or confirm an identity. If you have no idea who the person is, you could determine the sex from the DNA, and you could also do microscope analysis of the bone at the histological level to determine the age of the individual. That's assuming you had a chunk of bone with no anatomical landmarks. If you had some anatomical landmarks, you might even be able to go a bit further.

KF: Could you get essentially the same kinds of information from a small scrap of skin?

KR: Yes, if you're talking about extracting DNA. And you might be able to get race from skin if you're looking at pigmentation distribution and hair follicles. But age could be tough.

KF: How do you research the science in your books that is out of your own field of experience?

KR: One of the big advantages I have as a practicing forensic scientist is that I have colleagues I can go to, and that helps tremendously. I'm constantly sending e-mails asking questions, or just walking across the corridor to ask questions.

KF: Do you aim for total scientific accuracy, or do you let yourself fudge sometimes for the sake of the story?

KR: No, there's no fudging. Well, there's a little fudging on the TV show, but in the books, there's no fudging. And all of the science on the TV show does exist, but some of the applications are pushing the edges.

KF: I assume the TV scripts are written by a team of writers, and they're not scientists?

KR: Exactly. But in my role as a producer, I work with them on a regular basis. I read every script and give input, particularly on the science. And we do try to keep it honest.

KF: Do the inaccuracies in other TV crime lab shows irk you?

KR: They worry me a little bit. It's mostly a concern that people's expectations are being raised unrealistically, because every crime doesn't get solved. You don't always find that one flake of skin in an acre of grass.

KF: Do any of the same things that make you a good scientist make you a good writer?

KR: Being observant. And creativity is a good thing for a scientist, because it's sometimes good to think outside the box. Of course, in science, you've then got to go on and test those ideas and throw them out if they aren't supported by the data.

KF: Your books have been wildly successful. Do you ever think about giving up the science to write fulltime?

KR: I've given up a lot of what I used to be involved in. I'm not working for the military anymore, and I'm not working for the United Nations. But I pretty much still do all the case work in Quebec, and I don't want to give that up, because it keeps my stories fresh, and I think it's what gives my books a certain authenticity that might be lacking in other books that use forensic science, where the person is not intimately in contact with the field.

Kathy Reichs is a forensic anthropologist for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina, and for the Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de M￩decine L￩gale for the province of Quebec. Her novels include D￩j￠ Dead, Death du Jour, Deadly Decisions and Grave Secrets, all of which are published in hardcover by Scribner and in paperback by Pocket Books.

Kate Fodor
kfodor@the-scientist

Links within the article:

Kathy Reichs books
http://literati.net/Reichs/ReichsBooks.htm

"DNA Databases: The New Dragnet," The Scientist, April 11, 2005
http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/15404

Bones television series
http://www.fox.com/bones

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, State of North Carolina
http://www.ocme.unc.edu/

Laboratoire des Sciences Judiciaires et de M￩decine L￩gale

http://www.msp.gouv.qc.ca/labo