Case study: Kathy Reichs

Why does she do it? Why does Kathy Reichs – so comfortably at the top of the tree in the crime-writing stakes – put herself through the punishing publicity grind for each new book? Surely, at this stage of her career, she can afford to put her feet up and let the inevitable healthy sales follow? It's a question I put it to her in her bijou London hotel on a gloomy Monday morning.

She sighs – and smiles. "Actually, to be frank, I still quite enjoy the whole publicity process – whenever I'm in a given city talking about my books, I'm fine – it’s fun. It's just getting there; it’s the travelling which is such a drudge. If there were some way I could circumvent that boring bit of the process, then everything would be absolutely perfect."

Kathy Reichs has a full CV; she is vice-president of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, a member of the RCMP National Police Services Advisory Council; forensic anthropologist to the province of Quebec; and a professor of anthropology at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte. She is also a frequent expert witness in criminal trials. In 2001 she was called in to join the National Disaster Recovery team after the Twin Towers terror attack on New York. She worked around the clock for two weeks – sifting through the rubble for traces of human remains and packing it up for medical analysis. She has also testified at the United Nations tribunal on the Rwandan genocide and helped to identify people buried in mass graves in Guatemala.

Her first book, Déjà Dead, quickly became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. All 14 of her Temperance Brennan novels have been Sunday Times No 1 bestsellers. Reichs – no underachiever – is also a consultant on the TV series Bones, which features Temperance Brennan. She is also the author of a new forensic series aimed at young adults, including Virals and Seizure.

Does she plan to take things easier at some point?

"I'm more than happy keeping busy – ultra-busy – with all my various activities," she replies, "including the forensic consultancy work. And I have one thing that keeps the latter stimulating for me – I can, in fact, pick and choose the cases that I want to work on. If I feel a particular case is not for me, I can refer it onwards. So I'm always working on a case that has a particular interest or fascination for me."

Déjà Dead established Reichs’ reputation in 1998, and Temperance Brennan made an immediate mark as a solid and reliable heroine. By the time of Death du Jour, Reichs had begun to consolidate and refine elements present in the early book, and clearly established herself as a truly impressive writer, decisively moving out of the shadow of Patricia Cornwell. With Deadly Decisions (2000), the consolidation process continued – with frequent festival invitations. I ask her how her recent appearance at the Cheltenham Literature Festival had gone.

"Oh I really enjoyed it," she replies, "Despite the rain (and even the hail) which I managed to miss. I had a very lively panel with Val McDermid"

The mention of McDermid prompt mentions of a familiar issue (one which now bores the Scottish Crime Queen): did the usual "violence and female crime writers" question come up?

"It usually does, but I think I'm pretty safe territory," Reichs replies. "Actually, I never use gratuitous gore in my work. I tell the reader the truth – unsparingly -- about what happens to the human body, but to some degree I think that is my duty as a writer."

The London sun has finally appeared through the grey clouds. Where is she off to next?

"I'm travelling to some interesting territory -- including Poland which I've never been to before." Does she have a following there? She smiles. "I'm about to find out!"

Seizure by Kathy Reichs is published by Random House; Barry Forshaw’s latest book is British Crime Film (published by Palgrave Macmillan)