Dem Bones, Dem Bones

Few things in life are sexier than skull fragments, charred flesh and the ticking of a cold, dispassionate mind. Or so Bones would lead you to believe. The hit Fox police procedural stars Emily Deschanel as the stunning Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan, a brilliant, socially awkward, emotionally distant investigator who uses her skills as a forensic anthropologist to turn heaps of mutilated human remains into convictions.

Besides its alluring premise, Bones has a clever twist: In the show, Brennan is also the author of a series of crime books based on her own exploits. The main character in her books is named Kathy Reichs. But in the real world, Kathy Reichs is a real forensic anthropologist – and she’s the author of the Bones series of novels, on which the TV show is loosely based. It’s a neat postmodern twist, and it’s paid off: Reichs is about to release her thirteenth Temperance Brennan book, Spider Bones, and it’s sure to be yet another ingenious – not to mention sexy – installment in the series.

Reichs will appear tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover Highlands Ranch, 9315 Dorchester Street; admission is free. For info, call 303-470-7050 or visit www.tatteredcover.com.

Mon., Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m., 2010