The Bones of the Story: A Novel

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Description

The twisty locked-room mystery from two-time Mary Higgins Clark Awardwinning author Carol Goodman, about a group of former classmates trapped on their college campuswith a murderer among them.

Its been twenty-five years since the shocking disappearance of a female student and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. The Briarwood College community has never forgotten the double tragedy. Now, the college President is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago.

On a cold December weekend after the fall semester has ended, guests gather on the vacant campus for the commemoratory event. But as a storm descends, people begin to depart, leaving a group of alumni who were the last ones taught by the esteemed professor. Recriminations and old rivalries flare as they recall the writing projects they shared as classmates, including chilling horror stories they each wrote about their greatest fears.

When an alumna dies in a shockingly similar way to the story she wrote, and then another succumbs to a similar fate, they realize someone has decided at long last to avenge the crimes of the past. Will the secret of what they did twenty-five years ago be revealed Will any of them be alive at the end of the weekend to find out

Reviews

Superior Goodman is superb at doling out reveals gradually, and toggling between past and present to build ample tension. Admirers of Riley SagersThe Last Time I Liedwill be enthralled. Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Carol Goodman's The Bones of the Story deftly and intriguingly combines a decades-old campus mystery, a powerful winter storm, and a batch of suspects and potential victims to create one of the best and smartest locked-room mysteries I've read in a long time. A page-turner with both heart and brains. Don't miss it!" David Bell, New York Times bestselling author of Try Not to Breathe and Shes Gone Carol Goodman's The Bones of The Story delivers theperfect mix ofdark academia and locked-room thriller vibes in a tense cat-and-mouse game where decades-old secrets haunt every page and lead to deadlyconsequences. Darby Kane, #1 International bestselling author ofPretty Little Wife This smooth cocktail of refreshingly chilly suspense is sure to win [Goodman] new fans. Publishers Weekly on The Disinvited Guest Goodman, a master genre-blender, has integrated elements of Mary Roberts Rineharts had-I-but-known gambit and Agatha Christies alone-on-an-island theme to come up with a real winner. Booklist(starred review) on The Disinvited Guest The Disinvited Guestis a tense, fever dream of a thriller in an extraordinary, atmospheric setting,gripping from first page to last. In a world under attack from a new virus, seven friends takerefuge on a private, fog-drenched island where memories are both long and unreliable, illness lurks, the terrain is treacherous and even the islands history has claws. Carol Goodman is a brilliant writer, and she shines here. Loved it. Gilly Macmillan,New York Timesbestselling author [A] superior thrillerThe plot takes many terrifying twists and turns en route to the surprising climax. Those with a taste for the gothic will be richly rewarded. Publishers Weekly(starred review) onThe Stranger Behind You A mesmerizing narrative that culminates in a poignant ending to a brilliant journey. Gothic Note the phantom lye and bleach stench and wait for it! Make sure fans of Shari Lapena and Alison Gaylin get their hands on this one. BooklistonThe Stranger Behind You

Author Bio

Carol Goodman is the critically acclaimed author of fourteen novels, including The Lake of Dead Languages and The Seduction of Water, which won the 2003 Hammett Prize. Her books have been translated into sixteen languages. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her family, and teaches creative writing at the New School and SUNY New Paltz.