Inherit the Bones by Emily Littlejohn
Published by Macmillan on November 1st 2016
Genres: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural, Women Sleuths
Pages: 336
Format: eARC
Goodreads
Secrets and lies can’t stay buried forever in Cedar Valley. In the summer, hikers and campers pack the small Colorado town’s meadows and fields. And in the winter, skiers and snowboarders take over the mountains. Season by season, year after year, time passes and the lies, like the aspens and evergreens that surround the town, take root and spread deep.Now, someone has uncovered the lies, and it is his murder that continues a chain of events that began almost forty years ago.
Detective Gemma Monroe’s investigation takes her from the seedy grounds of a traveling circus to the powerful homes of those who would control Cedar Valley’s future. Six-months pregnant, with a partner she can’t trust and colleagues who know more than they’re saying, Gemma tracks a killer who will stop at nothing to keep those secrets buried.
Beautifully written with a riveting plot and a richly drawn cast of characters, Inherit the Bones is a mesmerizing debut from Emily Littlejohn.
The cover of this book caught my attention, and then the name of the book did. When I read the description of the story, I then knew I just had to read this book. Inherit the Bones by Emily Littlejohn is the first book in what appears will be a series, and book 2 will be expected in the fall of 2017. If you are anything like me, you always love getting onboard a series of books right at the beginning.
Inherit the Bones is about the story about protagonist, Gemma Monroe who is a young – and pregnant – deputy. Gemma doesn’t trust her partner, Finn Nowlin, and she thinks her colleagues know more than they are saying. She has nightmares from her discovery of the bones of two adolescent boys murdered 30 years earlier.
Gemma takes on a new case when a circus clown is found murdered on the circus grounds. This clown turns out to be the mayor’s teenage son, Nicky Bellington, who was believed to have died three years earlier from a fall into the river. The more Gemma investigates, the more she wonders how much she really knows about the town she calls home.
Because this story is a mystery and I don’t write spoilers, you’ll just have to trust me when I tell you, Ms. Litttlejohn did a great job writing these characters to life. The story seems real, and I had a hard time trying to figure out the identity of this mystery right away, which always keeps me turning pages. The author also does a great job tying up the loose ends on the story, although it’s pretty great knowing book 2 is out there on the horizon!
Who is Emily Littlejohn? Here’s what she says: “I live in a growing suburb outside Denver, Colorado, with my husband Chris and an assortment of beasts: Brooklyn and Sadie, our two dogs, and Abbey and Tobey, our two cats. I’m told I’m no longer allowed to “just go look” at any local animal shelters.
I wrote Inherit the Bones over the course of two years, in the evenings and on the weekends. I’ve always had a fascination with all things mystery, horror, and the macabre.Bones was inspired by a vision I had of a clown, found dead, in full costume. I wondered who was the man behind the make-up?
And just like that, a story was born.”
I was provided with a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion.
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