Hardcover Mysteries Kathy Reichs: The Case That Inspired Dèja Dead

Investigation Discovery: Hardcover MysteriesInvestigation Discovery recently launched a new series called Hardcover Mysteries, in which top fiction crime writers share stories of real-life cases that inspired them to write, or captured their fascination.

The episode debuting tomorrow night (Monday, Nov. 22 at 9PM ET) features New York Times bestselling author and creator of Temperance “Bones” Brennan, Kathy Reichs.

In the episode, Reichs recounts her real-life involvement as a forensic anthropologist in one of the most sensational homicide investigations in Canadian history and how the case inspired elements in her first novel, Dèja Dead.

Discovery Investigation was kind enough to let me pre-screen the episode, and I assure you it’s a gripping case:

Louise Ellis, a 46-year-old journalist from Ottawa, Canada, was on her way to visit friends in the Gatineau Hills, but never arrived. When a friend finds her car parked on a roadside with her belongings inside, authorities begin to suspect foul play. Detectives narrow in on two suspects – her new husband and her ex-boyfriend – but they can’t find Ellis’s body.

Reichs, who was writing her first book at the time she was called in to work on the Louis Ellis case, recounts how she felt a very personal connection with Ellis. They were both writers, strong willed, independent and, at times, argumentative. Reichs also notes that the case contained many of the same elements that make a good fiction thriller: twists and turns, as well as several false leads.

Unlike the villains in her novels however, which she prefers to keep in the “deep background” until unveiled, the villain in the Ellis case ended up being right under the investigators’ noses from the very beginning. To find out who it was, and hear Reichs talk about how the case “stayed with her,” tune in to Hardcover Mysteries on Monday, November 22, 2010 at 9PM.

– CONTEST: Win an Autographed Copy of Spider Bones –

Investigation Discovery has generously provided an autographed copy of Kathy Reichs’ new Temperance Brennan novel, Spider Bones, for one of my readers. To be entered for a chance to win, just leave a comment below. Be sure to include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you’re the lucky winner! Contest open to U.S. addresses only, and runs through midnight on November 27, 2010.

*** The contest is now closed.***

You can learn more about Investigation Discovery and the Hardcover Mysteries series by visiting the Investigation Discovery website. You can also find Investigation Discovery on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.

Kathy Reichs, like her character Temperance Brennan, is a forensic anthropologist, formerly for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in North Carolina and currently for the Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale for the province of Quebec. A professor in the department of anthropology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, she is one of only eighty-five forensic anthropologists certified by the American Board of Forensic Anthropology, is past Vice President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and serves on the National Police Services Advisory Board in Canada. Reichs’s first book, Déja Dead, catapulted her to fame when it became a New York Times bestseller and won the 1997 Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Spider Bones is her thirteenth novel. To learn more about Kathy, visit her website.

– Hardcover Mysteries: Kathy Reichs –

60 Comments

  • Lucy Schwartz

    November 27, 2010 - 10:40 PM

    Kathy Reichs is one of my favorite authors. It would be such a joy to have her autographed book.

  • AEKZ2

    November 27, 2010 - 9:34 PM

    I’d love to win anything from Kathy Reichs. I love her books and show.

    annettekz2@yahoo.com

  • Chritsy Schultz

    November 27, 2010 - 7:54 PM

    I love “Bones” and would be really interested in reading this book.

  • susanmeep

    November 27, 2010 - 7:28 PM

    Bones is a great show I would love to read this. suelee1998 @ gmail.com

  • Becky S.

    November 27, 2010 - 5:03 PM

    Wow, this looks great, thanks!!
    beckytag618 at gmail dot com

  • Julie Donahue

    November 27, 2010 - 2:31 PM

    We love Bones. I would love to read the books!
    juliesweeps@hotmail.com

  • Crystal F

    November 27, 2010 - 1:41 PM

    I would love to read this. Thank you!

  • Diane Baum

    November 27, 2010 - 1:32 PM

    I love reading crime stories
    Thank you

  • Sarah

    November 27, 2010 - 10:29 AM

    I’m totally ready for a new book from Ms. Reichs!

  • McDroll

    November 27, 2010 - 10:15 AM

    OK so I know I’m the wrong side of the Atlantic..but if I win, you can post the book to @jcharbonneau ….. she has a spider’s web of connections to move contraband around our little planet;)

    • Elizabeth A. White

      November 28, 2010 - 3:25 PM

      Heh heh, she does have “connections” don’t she? 😉

  • Miranda Ward

    November 27, 2010 - 12:25 AM

    Awesome looking book

    freebiegoddess03@aol.com

  • Daniel M

    November 26, 2010 - 1:28 AM

    love bones, great show

  • Sue Farre;;

    November 25, 2010 - 6:23 PM

    I truly enjoy Bones on TV so please sign me up for this contest.

  • Vicky

    November 24, 2010 - 7:31 PM

    Like reading true crime stories. They always bring another perspective to what was played out in the news.

  • Karen M

    November 24, 2010 - 6:40 PM

    We love watching Bones and I’ve heard Kathy Reichs books are awesome. Thanks.

  • Siobhan

    November 24, 2010 - 10:47 AM

    Reading these novels is one of the things my mother-in-law and I have in common!

  • Kathleen A. Ryan

    November 24, 2010 - 10:47 AM

    Excellent review, Elizabeth. I’ve just gotten into Hardcover Mysteries and am very impressed with the job they are doing.
    Would love to be in the running for a signed copy of Spider Bones ~ how awesome!
    Thanks!

  • Bacallsmom

    November 23, 2010 - 10:57 PM

    I love these Kathy Reichs books. I watch Bones on TV, but the books are a whole ‘nother matter, and much better than the TV show, IMHO!

  • Cynthia C

    November 23, 2010 - 7:22 AM

    I’ve been a fan for a long time. I’d love to be the lucky winner!

  • Monika Zoglmann

    November 23, 2010 - 3:44 AM

    I love her books and winning this would make my day

  • Patty Mathews

    November 23, 2010 - 12:17 AM

    Watching Hardcover Mysteries as I type this!!

  • Michelle Bright

    November 22, 2010 - 11:51 PM

    I just love Temperance. These novels are all very intriguing.

  • Darla LaRoche

    November 22, 2010 - 10:55 PM

    Thank you for the opportunity to win the new Kathy Reichs book, Spider Bones. I love her books and the tv show based on them.

  • Wendy

    November 22, 2010 - 10:22 PM

    PLEASE let me win!

  • Theresa H

    November 22, 2010 - 8:34 PM

    My darling daughter or mom would love to have this book (me too!!) as we all love mysteries and Ms. Reichs writing.

  • bermudaonion (Kathy)

    November 22, 2010 - 7:41 PM

    I’ve been a fan of Reich’s since we lived in Charlotte years ago, so I’d love to be entered! Thanks for the contest!

  • Ed Lucas

    November 22, 2010 - 5:35 PM

    Interesting novel to read.

  • Amber

    November 22, 2010 - 5:21 PM

    what a great giveaway – please enter me!

  • Paige

    November 22, 2010 - 5:09 PM

    I love Kathy Reichs’ books and “Bones” is one of my favorite TV shows, too. I love that she has created a smart, strong, likeable female protagonist.

  • Valia Lind

    November 22, 2010 - 3:52 PM

    I would love to have a signed book….I love Mz Reichs novels! 🙂

  • Earl Burbridge

    November 22, 2010 - 3:10 PM

    I’ve been reading Ms. Reichs from the beginning, having gotten hold of Deja Dead while working in a bookstore. I’d love to have this signed copy.

  • Terri Dell

    November 22, 2010 - 2:52 PM

    I love the Bones TV show and would love to read this.

  • Tiffany Schwartz

    November 22, 2010 - 11:42 AM

    As soon as I finished my first Kathy Reichs book “Bones To Ashes” I found out what I wanted to do with my life! I am now going to a graduate school for forensic science! Kathy Reichs is a huge role model of mine, without her novels and tv show BONES I would be stuck working a chemistry laboratory job rather than following a passion I have grown to love!

  • Happens Chance

    November 22, 2010 - 10:35 AM

    Just getting into the mystery genre. Looking forward to reading Reichs.

  • Janice Stenmark

    November 22, 2010 - 8:44 AM

    I started reading Kathy Reichs’ books years ago and I am looking forward to this newest one. I also look forward to Hardcover Mysteries.

  • Rebecca Graham

    November 22, 2010 - 2:58 AM

    I have read almost all her books and would love to read this one too!

  • ariane solda

    November 21, 2010 - 11:39 PM

    I am a big fan and so is my grandmother in her nineties, this is the only one she has not read so would love to win it as a gift for Christmas and a signed one at that. How special would that be. I really enjoy the quebecois flavour as well as the south carolina slant, makes me feel like a tourist. Her characters are so real hard to believe they are composites. Thanks for the information and the contest

    • Elizabeth A. White

      November 22, 2010 - 12:35 PM

      Hope I make it to 90 and am still reading mysteries and thrillers like your grandmother. 🙂

  • Nadine L

    November 21, 2010 - 10:08 PM

    On the recommendation of a friend, I just finished reading Deja Dead last night (really) and have just added 4 more of her books to my Amazon wishlist, I would love to be entered to win, thanks

  • Shannon Baas

    November 21, 2010 - 8:32 PM

    Looks like a good book.

  • gemlily5

    November 21, 2010 - 6:26 PM

    I would love to read this book. sounds exciting.

  • Morgan

    November 21, 2010 - 5:42 PM

    Super Excited! I just started reading the novels, and can’t wait to read more!

  • Toni Poharcyk

    November 21, 2010 - 5:29 PM

    I would love to read Spider Bones autographed by Kathy Reichs! Her book tours usually come near where I live. Can’t wait to see her on Hardcover Mysteries tomorrow night! Thanks for writing this great article! Toni P.

  • Toni Poharcyk

    November 21, 2010 - 5:18 PM

    Reading all Kathy’s books and watching ‘Bones’ is my guilty pleasure! Now my husband watches too! Can’t. Wait to see Kathy on ‘Hardcover Mysteries’ Monday night to hear her interesting narrative. Thanks, Toni Poharcyk (;

  • Karisa Miller

    November 21, 2010 - 5:14 PM

    I’ve been reading Kathy’s books for years now. I was very excited ‘Bones’ was created. As an archaeologist, I am interested in the forensic anthropology aspect of the story lines, both in the books and on tv. I look forward to her episode on Hardcover Mysteries.

  • Hardy Reeves

    November 21, 2010 - 4:55 PM

    I’m a huge fan of both the books and the series. I can’t wait to watch this show!

  • Rebecca

    November 21, 2010 - 4:47 PM

    I love the book series, can’t wait for Hardcover Mysteries

  • Ellie W

    November 21, 2010 - 3:43 PM

    I’m a fan of the books but don’t watch the series. I’d love to win this one. Thanks for the chance!

  • Bertie Welck

    November 21, 2010 - 11:56 AM

    I have watched the t.v. show bones since day 1. Love them all. I also love reading the books. My daughter got me hooked on them. Glad she did. The Hardcover Mysteries is fantastic. It would be great to win this book.

    Thanks for giving us such great books to read.

  • sabrina ogden

    November 21, 2010 - 9:57 AM

    I’m a huge fan of the show “Bones” and have always been intrigued by author. Thanks for the heads up and I look forward to watching Hardcover Mysteries.

  • Mason Canyon

    November 21, 2010 - 9:51 AM

    I enjoy reading mysteries and for many years I would only read true murder mysteries. True crime is so fascinating and sad at the same time. It’s sad not only because of the loss of a person’s life, but because in most cases justice isn’t wrapped up neatly for the investigators to find in short order like in the books. I’ve enjoyed reading Kathy Reichs’ books and love the TV show based on her writing. I’ll be sure to watch this episode of Hardcover Mysteries to see who the killer was.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

    • Elizabeth A. White

      November 22, 2010 - 12:36 PM

      Definitely agree that true crime books and shows are a double edged sword of fascination and sadness.