In Fire and Bones, the 23rd book in Kathy Reichs’ hugely popular Temperance Brennan series, the dogged forensic anthropologist has to solve a very different kind of murder case (actually two very different kinds of murder cases!) than she has done before.

Brennan is called to Washington D.C. to do a forensic analysis of the victims from a mysterious deadly blaze at a building in Foggy Bottom, a neighborhood with a colorful and controversial history.

In addition to the fire deaths, she discovers the body of an unidentified woman who was buried in the basement of the charred ruins—a long-ago murder that remained secret until the present-day blaze destroyed the building.

It’s the first time Reichs has used fire and arson forensics as a crime scene topic. “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.”

Reichs also drew on some of Foggy Bottom’s true crime history from the 1930s and ’40s: the building destroyed in the fire was the hangout of a group of bootleggers and racketeers known as the Foggy Bottom Gang. In Fire and Bones, 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.”

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

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