The Skeleton Box

by Bryan Gruley Narrated by Rich Orlow

Overview

Called a "major talent" by Harlan Coben, Bryan Gruley has won the Anthony and Barry Awards and had his debut novel receive an Edgar nomination for best first novel. In The Skeleton Box, Gus Carpenter, editor of Starvation Lake's Pine County Pilot, investigates a story that threatens to tear him apart. His ex-girlfriend's mother has been found dead in the home of Gus' dementia-stricken mom. Now Gus has to find the real culprit before his mother is tagged with the crime.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Set in Starvation Lake, Mich., Edgar-finalist Gruley’s winning third novel featuring local newspaper editor Gus Carpenter (after 2010’s The Hanging Tree) finds him playing goalie for a men’s hockey league in his spare time and looking after his mother, who’s gradually slipping into dementia. A series of burglaries has the placid community on edge, and the townspeople demand action after an elderly friend of Carpenter’s mother is murdered. Assisted by his on-again, off-again police officer girlfriend, Carpenter determines to find the truth, which may reach back to the 50-year-old disappearance of a beautiful young nun. As Carpenter and veteran investigative reporter Luke Whistler venture into unexpected places, it becomes clear that someone is willing to go to any length to keep the past buried. While the small town as a variant of the locked-room mystery has been done before, Gruley injects freshness into a familiar story. 20-city author tour. Agent: Erin Malone, William Morris Endeavor. (June)

Library Journal

A series of puzzling break-ins in the town of Starvation Lake doesn't appear to add up to much until one awful evening when an intruder murders the best friend of journalist Gus Carpenter's mother. Seemingly out of nowhere, her last whispered word is the name of a long-gone parish priest, Father Nilus Moreau. Newspaperman that he is, Gus digs through his paper's microfilm and finds a connection between the priest and a young nun who vanished in 1944. Gus's mom, already suffering from mild dementia, finally shares some of her secrets with him, ones that have the potential to tear apart the town. Through it all, the locals play hockey. VERDICT Better late than never if you haven't started reading or recommending Gruley's outstanding trilogy (Starvation Lake; The Hanging Tree). The author brings his own background as a reporter to the story of his Michigan newspaperman who loves hockey and his small town. His characters successfully convey the realities of today's troubled economy and remind us that old secrets can be even more painful when discovered later. Consider crossover reading for Richard Russo fans.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170529575
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	05/03/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos