Part of Gideon Oliver, book 4
First published 1987
Workers discover human remains buried beneath the floorboards of the du Rocher estate. Dr. Gideon Oliver, a forensic anthropologist known for his ability to read stories from bones, arrives to examine the skeleton. The remains are old, but Oliver must determine how old and why someone hid them under the house. As he analyzes the bones, Oliver uncovers clues that point to secrets the du Rocher family would prefer to keep buried. The investigation forces him to dig into the estate's history while the family grows increasingly uncomfortable with his questions. Oliver realizes that solving the mystery of these old bones means exposing truths that could destroy the people still living on the estate. He must decide whether justice for the dead matters more than protecting the living.
Genres: fiction, mystery, crime, thriller
Vibes: dark, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: investigation, secrets
Setting: du Rocher Estate
Period: 20th-century
366 pages · Hardcover · John Curley & Assoc