THE SKELETON BOX by Bryan Gruley performs a hat trick with its tightly woven mystery, the deft handling of small town politics, and the intricate display of family relationships.
Gus Carpenter, editor of the local paper, coach to the River Rats, the first high school hockey team since his days on the team with a chance to go to the state playoffs, and dutiful son who doesn't know on the best of days how to take care of his ailing mother. He struggles to put his past mistakes and past love behind him as he works to solve the Bingo Night Burglaries. Four homes broken into. Nothing taken. No evidence left. The only connection is they all happened on Bingo night.
When Mrs. B, the mother of his ex-girlfriend, is found murdered in his mother's bathroom, Gus has no choice but to work with the only woman he's ever loved to find the truth behind the seemingly senseless crimes.
Mrs. B's dying words point Gus to Father Nilus Moreau, a pastor at St. Valentine's, but connecting a long dead priest to the present murder can be difficult when the only people who remember Nilus have their own secrets to protect. Gus must sort through the memories and lies for a truth that might tear his family apart.
The world Bryan Gruley has created in THE SKELETON BOX perfectly depicts the life and politics of a small town where intricate circles not only tie the community together but could potentially break it apart as well. It's a world where families; those you're born to as well as those you create, cause hurt as often as comfort. It's a world I'll definitely look forward to visiting again.
Does Gus Carpenter really want to know whatβs inside the skeleton box? In Anthonyβ and Barry Awardβwinning author Bryan Gruleyβs gripping new novel, Gus must decide if the truth is better off dead and buried. Mysterious break-ins are plaguing the small town of Starvation Lake. While elderly residents enjoy their weekly bingo night at St. Valentineβs Catholic Church, someone is slipping into their homes to rifle through financial and personal files. Oddly, the intruder takes nothingβyet the βBingo Night Burglariesβ leave the entire town uneasy.
Worry turns into panic when a break-in escalates to murder. Suddenly, Gus Carpenter, editor of the Pine County Pilot, is forced to investigate the most difficult story of his life. Not only is the victim his ex-girlfriend Darleneβs mother, but her body was found in the home of Bea CarpenterβGusβs own mother. Suffering from worsening dementia and under the influence of sleeping pills, Bea remembers little of the break-in.
With the help of Luke Whistler, a former Detroit Free Press reporter who came north looking for slower days and some old-fashioned newspaper work, Gus sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when the story leads him to a lockbox his mother has kept secret for years, Gus doesnβt realize that its contents could forever change his perception of Starvation Lake, his own family, and the value of the truth.
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