Kathy Reichs Books In Order – Complete List
Forensic anthropologist and New York Times bestselling author Kathy Reichs is best known for her popular Temperance Brennan forensic crime mystery series which was also made into the beloved Bones TV series, and her off-shot Virals, aka Torry Brennan series.
Here are the Kathy Reichs books in order of publication for both series as well as her standalone novels and short stories.
New Kathy Reichs Books

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Temperance Brennan Books In Publication Order
- Deja Dead, 1997
- Death Du Jour, 1999
- Deadly Decisions, 2000
- Fatal Voyage, 2001
- Grave Secrets, 2002
- Bare Bones, 2003
- Monday Mourning, 2004
- Cross Bones, 2005
- Break No Bones, 2006
- Bones to Ashes, 2007
- Devil Bones, 2008
- 206 Bones, 2009
- Spider Bones, 2010 (aka Mortal Remains)
- Flash and Bones, 2011
- Bones Are Forever, 2012
- Bones of the Lost, 2013
- Bones Never Lie, 2014
- Speaking in Bones), 2015
- A Conspiracy of Bones, 2020
- The Bone Code, 2021
- Cold, Cold Bones, 2022
- The Bone Hacker, 2023
- Fire and Bones, 2024
Temperance Brennan Short Stories in Publication Order
- Bones In Her Pocket (#15.5), 2013
- Swamp Bones (#16.5), 2014
- Bones on Ice (#17.5), 2015
Other Temperance Brennan Books
- Bones: Buried Deep, 2006 (with Max Allan Collins)
- The Bone Collection, 2016 (short story collection)
Virals / Tory Brennan Books In Publication Order
with Brendan Reichs
- Virals, 2010
- Seizure, 2011
- Shift (#2.5), 2013
- Code, 2013
- Swipe (#3.5), 2013
- Exposure, 2014
- Terminal, 2015
- Shock, 2015 (#0.5)
- Spike (#5.5), 2016
Virals Short Story Collection
- Trace Evidence, 2016
Standalone Novels in Publication Order
- I’d Kill For That, 2004
- No Rest For the Dead, 2011 (with others)
- Two Nights, 2017
Anthologies in Publication Order
- Suspense Magazine November 2011, 2011
- The Killer Cookbook, 2012
- The Dark Side of Mysteries & Thrillers, 2014
- MatchUp, 2017 (edited by Lee Child)
- Birds of Prey: The Harlan Coben Challenge, 2022 (edited by Harlan Coben)
Non-Fiction Books
- Forensic Osteology: Advances in the Identification of Human Remains, 1998 (written as Kathleen J. Reichs)
Kathy Reichs Biography
Kathy Reichs was born in 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. She studied anthropology at American University, following which she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology in 1971. She studied for her Master’s and eventually earned her Ph.D in Forensic Anthropology in 1971 from Northwestern University.
Next, she continued her studies and got her M.A. in 1972, followed by her Ph.D. degree in physical anthropology, which she got at Northwestern University.
For four years, between 1974 and 1978, she worked as an assistant professor at Northern Illinois University, and then she moved to work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
In the 1980s she started consulting the office of the chief medical examiner in North Carolina. Over the years, she was also a professor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, VA, while she also worked for a bit each year at the Laboratoire de Sciences Judiciaires et de Médecine Légale in Quebec.
During her long-time career, Kathy Reichs has been involved in various important activities. For example, she helped identify the remains of many victims after the 9/11 attack, she testified that human rights violations happened during a certain event at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal Rwanda. In Guatemala, she worked with Dr. Clyde Snow at the Lake Atitlan burial site for the Foundation for Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology.
She wrote numerous scholar papers in her field, and edited three non-fiction books related to the fields of physical and forensic anthropology, followed by her popular Temperance Brennen series and her newer Virals series.
In her books, Kathy Reichs draws from experience, being a well known forensic anthropologist in Montreal. As part of her job she has taught FBI agents on the art of finding and recovering human remains has traveled to far away countries like Rwanda and Guatemala and she has helped identify WWII, Korea and Southern Asia victims remains.
I didn’t know that before, but it seems that there are only 100 US forensic anthropologists officially certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, and Kathy Reichs is among them! So when you read her novels, you know that she writes from a point of authority, even though most of her books are fictional.. She also previously served as vice president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
The first book I’ve read by Kathy Reichs was incidentally her first Temperance Brennan novel called Deja Dead. If I am not mistaken, it was that very book that sparked my interest in forensic crime fiction – way before the CSI TV series became popular. I’ve read since many other books in this genre, but Kathy Reichs is for me the authority on the subject, no questions asked.
Currently, there are two main series written by Kathy Reichs: the Temperance Brennan series (which prompted the creation of the Bones TV series), and Virals, a Young Adult series co-written with her son Brendan Reichs. There is also Sunday Night, a series that started in 2017, however, as it only has one book so far, it is listed as a standalone novel.
In Virals, the main character is Tory Brennan, the great-niece of Temperance Brennan.
With over 20 novels written mostly inspired by her work as a forensic anthropologist, Kathy Reichs has long become the queen of the forensic fiction genre.
Currently, she spends her time either at her South Carolina coastal retreat or her home in Charlotte, N.C
Kathy Reichs Books Adaptations
The Temperance Brennan series has been adapted into the successful Bones series featuring Emily Deschanel as Tempe Brennan and David Boreanaz as FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. The series ran for 12 seasons for a total of 246 episodes between 2005 and 2017.
The series received two Emmy nominations, won two Genesis Awards for two awareness episodes, and Emily Deschanel was nominated for a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2006.
Kathy Reichs Awards and Nominations
- Deja Dead won the Ellis Award for Best First Novel in 1997
- Deja Dead was nominated for the Dilys Award for Best Book in 1998
- Virals was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult Fiction in 2010
- Spider Bones was nominated for the CrimeFest: Sounds of Crime Award in 2011
- Kathy Reichs received the 2023 Alumnae Award of Northwestern University
Should We Read the Kathy Reichs Books in Order?
I have read all her novels and while it is nice to read them in order (that’s how I’ve usually read most of the crime series I pick up), it’s not an absolute must.
Each book stands on its own with its own case for Tempe (or Tory & gang) to solve. However, there are some recurring themes (relationships at work and overall character development, as well as the basics of her life) that are nice to follow the way they occur.
So should you read the Kathy Reichs books in chronological order? Yes if you like reading your series in order of how things develop, but no if you came across a book in the series and want to start with it, without having to go back to the previous ones. You won’t lose much.
Hi Kathy and fans,
Glad to see this article as our family was recommended watching the series. Don’t know if I’ll have access in any order from library but good to have this as a reference.
BTW my 17yo has Arthrogryposis which is a musculoskeletal condition. More specifically amyoplasia. Dr. Riechs ever study or at least encounter a person with this? Would be interesting to look into it.
I am also trying to find out why Two Nights is not available as an ebook. Will it ever be released as an ebook?
Is there a reason Two Nights is not available on Kindle?
Hi Miss Reichs, I’m sorry but I haven’t read any of ur books I’ve been watching bones for years and I just found out what ur name really is sorry I just didn’t have a computer but now I know and I’m going to try and see if they have any of ur books at the library I’m really looking forward to read one I just don’t have the money but I just wanted to tell u how much I really love the show bones and I’m so great full u have inspired so many people with ur work and books thank u so much
Dear Kathy,
I have just started reading your Temperance Brennan books in order I’m quite confused going from “Ashes to Bones ” to “Break No Bones”. Leaving “Asher to Bones” Brennan was left with Ryan returning to the Mother of his daughter. Pete was engaged. When starting Break No Bones, it appears to have no story line containing those events.
What happened?
~Deirdre Morrison~
Thank you for responding to my request.
Dear Kathy
i watched Bones all the way thru, and the books are also great;
i would like to see you write a series about cowboys or something leaning toward the westerns sort of mix.
to dig up a Doc Holiday or a Sun Dance Kid, a wagon train series from James Town; or an Iron Horse series.
Have a great new year.
Papa Gonzo
Dear Kathy,
I have read all of your books. Did you write a book with ice in the name. you only have it in ebooks.
My name is Judith Anderson, my address in Australia is 12 Locksley Road, Rye. 3941 Victoria
I have had cancer 3 years ago and I am now on remission. I do a lot of sitting down and love your books.
Hi Judith I quite agree with you Kathy’s books are quite riviting, I all so throughly enjoy the series & will be sorry to see it end. Virals is an excellent spin off which I hope run for a long time.