Coincidence is a strange thing.

And sometimes it is a convenient thing (like in movies and other works of fiction.) Today on my flight to Palm Springs coincidence caught up with me.

Yesterday, Allison and I went to 8:00am Mass (a little late because we still thought it was 8:15am Mass). At Mass, Deacon Joe’s homily mentioned an ossuary inscribed with ‘James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus.’ Now I am not totally sure exactly what an ossuary is physically (as I write this, but I’ll be looking it up) and yesterday was the first time I had heard the word.

On page four of Cross Bones, my latest Kathy Reichs novel, I was presented with those same words. In fact this novel is very much a fictional shot at telling this story. Just a weird little coincidence for my plane rides.

An ossuary is a stone coffin that the bones are placed in after the body has decomposed in a tomb after a year. The book is getting really good. Different than her other works and I like it a lot.