The Bone House

A young girl is stealing time with a kitten in a barn owned by some neighbors, the Bone family. Someone walks in, and the girl hides, thinking she isn't seen. After the person leaves, the young girl looks out the window and finds the person staring back at her...a gas can in one hand, a lighter in the other. An inferno engulfs the barn and smoke is filling the air.

Ten years later, former high school teacher Mark Bradley is walking down a beach in Florida. A Chicagoan transplanted to Door County, Wisconsin, he is accompanying his wife, who coaches competitive dance teams at an event in Florida.. A young, drunk girl approaches...someone he knows. Glory is the younger sister of Teresa, one of his former students. Teresa is not just any show more former student, she's one whose fantasies got him fired from his job as nobody thought the girl of imagining such things out of whole cloth. Young Glory is feeling amorous, and tries to entice Mark into sex. She attempts to kiss him. It's late at night, but there are eyes everywhere. And in the morning, Glory is found dead on the beach.

Bradley once gain finds himself a victim of circumstance. Detective Cab Bolton is assigned to the case, and while he's not automatically assuming anything about the case, clues point to Bradley at every opportunity. Even Mark's supportive wife is starting to have doubts. The investigation follows Bradley back to Door Country, where he found he had already been convicted in the narrow-minded court of public opinion.

Freeman does his usual excellent job with local characters, plot twists, and misdirection. My only complaint is that poor Bradley couldn't do anything without digging a deeper hole for himself, to the point of implausibility. Bolton is part cop, part tourist, and all outsider as the story unfolds. The ending is rather surprising.

It's the first of series featuring this detective who is the son of a movie star, I look forward to more of them. show less

A great kick off to a series introducing Cab Bolton (rich, wandering, police detective) A death at a dance competition sets off a chain of events dating back six years. A small town death, a missing murderer, and a teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with a student is all mixed in this mystery. Lots of layers and intrigue with a dash of mistrust. A study on how far people will go to protect secrets, lies, and murders in a tight knit community where outsiders aren't welcome.

First, I have to give two thumbs up to Joe Barrett for his excellent narration. His narration was actually better than the book, even though the book was good.

Mark and Hilary Bradley have moved from Chicago to a small town in Wisconsin. They both work at the local high school until a student's mother reads her diary with her detailed fantasies of a relationship with Mark. The town assumes that Mark is a child molester but can't prosecute with no evidence and with the young woman refusing to admit that they had a sexual relationship.

Mark and Hilary go out of town with the school to watch a dance competition and a 16-year-old from the town is murdered on the beach. Did Mark do it?

An FBI agent investigates Mark but keeps an open mind for show more other suspects, unlike the townsfolk.

This was a fun read. I guessed some of the end, but not all, so I will probably read another Brian Freeman novel. show less

This is one of those books that I wish there were a 10 point scale. I would give 4.5. It isn't life changing, but it was a lot of fun and had some good twists.

There was suspense in this who done it. The audio book to which I listened skipped on two disks, ruining some of the build-up.

Great book!! I give it 5 stars!! Wonderful new characters from this author!! Would recommend this book to anyone!!

Here's a psychological thriller done by someone who knows how to write one. While basically a story of a man and wife, the plot bleeds out to include a detective and and CSI analyst, some troubled teenagers, and a terrible tragedy from the past. The tragedy, portrayed in the breathtaking prologue, reaches lethal tentacles into the future and threatens almost everyone involved.
Mark Bradley is having a tough time. He and his wife, Hillary, moved to an idyllic island in rural Door County, northern Wisconsin, from a Chicago suburb to live on their salaries as teachers and raise a happy family. Mark, however, was accused of sexual harassment when the mother of shy teenaged student, Tresa, read the torrid accounts of an inappropriate affair show more in Tresa's diary. Tresa insisted her writings were all fantasy, but Mark was fired anyway and has been out of a job for a year. His wife, Hillary is still a dance coach at the high school, but her reception by the locals has become increasingly chilly.
Mark accompanies his wife and her dance students to Florida for a competition. It's supposed to be a relaxing getaway, but Mark is accosted on the beach by Tresa's younger sister, Glory. When Glory is found dead, a witness is found that saw Mark kissing Glory very late at night. He insists they didn't kiss, and that he didn't kill the girl. Hillary wants to believe him, but she's exhausted from standing by him during the ordeal of the past year. And she's not quite sure he's telling the truth.
Cab (Born In One) Bolton, the unusual detective assigned to the case, fights against his attraction to the lovely CSI analyst, Lala. Like Hillary, he doesn't know who to believe. But he's Mark's only hope. And he carries a horrific secret of his own from the past.

Reviewed by Kaye George, Author of “CHOKE: An Imogene Duckworthy Mystery” for Suspense Magazine show less