Book Reviews and More: Faking a Murderer - Lee Child and Kathy Reichs

Friday, 26 April 2019

Faking a Murderer - Lee Child and Kathy Reichs

Faking a Murderer
A Jack Reacher and Temperance Brennan Short Story
Lee Child
Kathy Reichs
Sphere
eISBN 9780751569063
ASIN B078WD1F48

This story also appeared in:

Match Up: The Battle of the Sexes Just Got Thrilling
To Die book 7.5
Lee Child (Editor)
Simon and Schuster
ISBN 9780751569025
eISBN 9781501141614
ASIN B01LLXCH00

This short story appears in the anthology Match Up: The Battle of the Sexes Just Got Thrilling edited by Lee Child. In some markets it is published as a stand-alone short story. The eBook comes in at 51 pages, and it is a great little read. I have been a fan of the Bones Tv Series for years and was finally able to watch all the episodes. Over the last few months I have read and reviewed 8 novels and other Reacher books. I have yet to read any of the books by Reichs but that is about to change.

This was a very interesting story to read. Especially as my knowledge of all things Reacher is expanding. Based on the subtitle of Temperance Brennan VS Jack Reacher I was expecting a very different story than the one that was delivered. In the introduction to the story in the anthology Lee Child states:

“I was first published in1997 when Killing Floor introduced the world to a quiet wanderer named Jack Reacher. Kathy Reichs also came along in 1997 when Déjà Dead brought us forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.”

It is an interesting fact. He also states:

“In creating our story, Kathy and I both agreed on the rough outline, then we wrote in turns. She likes things all planned out. I prefer to wander. But we found a happy medium in which to work. … but we discovered that our actual writing styles are somewhat similar. This sometimes happens with collaborations. It helped that we’ve both written screenplays. Kathy with the television series Bones, which is based on her characters, and myself with my daughter. There’s a process to fashioning a screenplay that’s different from crafting a novel. Much more give-and-take is there between the various contributors, since rarely is a screenplay written by only one person. Luckily, we were both comfortable with that process.”

And what a wonderful story they have produced. To be honest this story is an excellent mash up. The characters of Bones and Reacher blend together well. The story begins with Reacher hitchhiking south for the winter when he hears a news story about an event from his past and Temperance. At that same time Temperance is giving into introductory remarks at a convention. Right after her talk she is approached by two officers who want her to accompany them for questioning. And thus, begins a great story.

But reading this have left me in a dilemma, I already have plans to read all the Reacher novels in a year. I already had the Murdoch Mystery novels by Maureen Jennings on my list to read next. And now I need to slot in the Kathy Reichs novels as well. If you are unfamiliar with either character this is still a great story. If you are a fan of either Reacher or Bones this is a must read. An excellent short story.