A Goodreads user asked Kathy Reichs:

How did the story of a Conspiracy of Bones come to you and how do you keep your characters as interesting over time? Thank you.

Kathy Reichs A friend shared with me her thoughts concerning the sinking of the ferry Estonia. I was involved with so many other projects at the time, so the idea was put on the back burner. I also read an article about Somerton Man, a real investigation and cold case. Theories were wide-ranging. These two ideas were great starters. Also, I worked on a case in the mid 90s where the remains were badly decomposed and scattered due to scavenging by bears. The bear scavenged remains offered elements with no features, no dentals, no prints. I envisioned a tragedy around these ideas. A body bearing ominous clues. A corpse lacking identifiers. Conspiracy theories. This trio could work.

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