Books: So make mine a stiff one; Kathy Reichs talks about the events that inspired her fourth forensic thriller, which is a cracking return to form.

Byline: Andrea Henry

Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs (Heinemann, pounds 16.99)

For a while, Canadian forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs threatened to snatch Patricia Cornwell's "queen of the forensic thriller" crown. Move over Kay Scarpetta, Temperance Brennan has arrived. Or so it seemed. But after the success of her first two novels - Deja Dead and Death Du Jour - Reichs's last, Deadly Decisions, was a big disappointment. It was slab-like in its scientific detail with characters as flaky as an ageing corpse.

Thankfully, her new novel, Fatal Voyage, is a return to form. It opens with Tempe Brennan picking through the gruesome aftermath of a plane disaster. As a forensic anthropologist she investigates violent death - and that means autopsies, exhumations and mass fatalities galore. Nice. It's not a job for the faint-hearted, but fortunately Tempe is one of the toughest, most no-nonsense people you're ever likely to meet.

"Professionally, Tempe is very autobiographical," says Kathy Reichs. "She is a forensic anthropologist, as am I. She works for the medical examiners in North Carolina and Quebec, as do I. I am told that her sense of humour is directly from my brain. Birdie the cat and Boyd the dog are really mine. But as for Tempe's alcoholism and family problems - she is her own person!"

All Tempe's steely resolve is needed when she finds a decomposing foot near the scattered wreckage and deduces that its owner wasn't a passenger. Her investigations into who it belongs to plunge her into the dark activities of a demonic gentleman's club where the menu's a little more adventurous than the port and cigars.

"The book was inspired by my professional activities," says Reichs. "I am a member of the US region four DMORT (Disaster Mortuary Operational Recovery Teams) team. These teams are deployed to help with incidents of mass fatality, such as the Oklahoma bombing, or an aviation disaster. I drew on my knowledge of recovery protocol in Fatal Voyage.

"Two years ago, in Montreal, I received a foot at my lab. An isolated left foot, found on a skating rink. That got me thinking. What if a body part showed up where it shouldn't be?

"I got into forensic work indirectly. I studied skeletal biology intending to analyse archaeological remains. I was doing just that when police started bringing me cases. Finding the medical examiner work with the recent dead much more compelling than the analysis of the ancient dead, I retrained - and never looked back. I like the feeling that I am making a contribution, as when I testify in court, or that I'm bringing closure to a family. I find the relevance of my work very rewarding."

Reichs started writing to help put her kids through college. Finding the story ideas isn't difficult as her work throws up interesting cases all the time - it's finding the time. Her novels demand a lot of Reichs and a lot of the reader.

"I write for those who like science-driven mysteries, and, being a scientist, I insist that my detail be accurate," she says. "When I read I like to learn something, and I believe my readers feel the same.

"My books are not for the light of heart - or stomach. I put in enough detail to give the feel of an autopsy, or a body recovery, or a house fire, but try never to include anything purely for grisly sensationalism. My emphases are forensics and setting, more so than character, but Tempe is a very private person. We learn a little more about her and her relationships in each book."

As far as the comparisons with Cornwell go, Reichs isn't unhappy.

"Patricia Cornwell originated the genre of forensic thriller with a medico-legal twist," she says. "Since my heroine also works at a medico-legal lab there are bound to be comparisons, and I don't mind at all. It's flattering. But our heroines are very different. And because I write about what I do, rather than researching the field, it gives my books greater authenticity."

More Tempe Brennan novels are on the way. It seems Reichs's outspoken heroine still has a lot more to say.

[e-mail]

CAPTION(S):

REICHS STUFF: Autopsy expert Kathy