Thank you to Thoughts from a Page, William Morrow Books, #partner, for an advanced e-copy of The Bones of the Story in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow Books
Published: July 11, 2023
Summary:
The twisty locked-room mystery from two-time Mary Higgins Clark Award–winning author Carol Goodman, about a group of former classmates trapped on their college campus—with a murderer among them.
It’s 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 terrible storm that caused the double tragedy. Now, the college President—who has his own reasons for drawing attention to the notorious incident—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 winter 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?
My thoughts:
I was thrilled when Cindy from the Thoughts of a Page Podcast selected this book for her Patreon group to read early as I had already had my eye on it. I had read two of Carol’s previous books and really enjoyed them and have been meaning to read more, so this was the perfect opportunity to do so and then be able to not only discuss it with the Patreon group but also with the author, too!
Between the dark academia vibes and the locked-room mystery, this book really had such an atmospheric pull to it that really grabbed me initially. There are some And Then There Were None vibes here that I loved, but in true Carol Goodman form, she put her own spin on things so that you really didn’t know what to expect. There is such a strong sense of place here and I am always a fan of that. The wintry setting really sets the mood here and adds to the overall tension.
This is a dark and ominous story that kept me engaged from start to finish. Between the traditions of the school that we learn from the past storylines to the secrets that are being kept, this is one twisty story that you just cannot stop reading and one that kept me guessing all the way through!
