Brooklyn Bones

Brooklyn Bones
An Erica Donato Mystery
Triss Stein
Poisoned Pen Press
Scottsdale, AZ
ISBN: 9781464201226
Trade Paperback
2013
$ 14.95
261 pages
For single parent and widow, Erica Donato, life is difficult to keeping up with a teenaged daughter and her work and research for her doctoral degree. Up until now, Chris, the daughter has not been overly overly challenging but frequently is expensive. Erica has greatly grown professionally from being a high school social studies teacher to being an intern at the local museum.
Conveniently, their home is in Brooklyn, close to the museum. Currently the old house is being remodeled by her close friend, Joe. Joe is like a big brother to Erica and usually helps her in many ways. Being that Erica can't afford summer camp for Chris, Joe hires Chris as a part time helper with the job.
With the dusty, dirty job of breaking through walls around the fireplace, Chris discovers a human skeleton of a long-dead teenaged girl. Naturally she is curious about who the girl really was but as usual, the police are not going to share information. Chris decides to investigate who used to own their home.
But someone does not want them to discover any information about the corpse. Quickly, it is obvious that there is a mystery here that someone does not want it to be solved.
As Erica discovers her daughter's investigation, fortunately, their family friend, Rick, comes to the rescue and pays for Chris to go to the summer camp. Chris is delighted but makes Erica promise to continue to investigate.
Sure, Erica now only has to continue the museum's research project about the Brooklyn neighborhoods, an extra project regarding the history of the area promises some much-needed extra cash and possibly a new relationship for her love life, and now added to that the death of a teenaged girl back in the time of hippies. When she just feels that things are getting under control, Rick, the family friend, has been shot.
Why? Rick was a police officer so could this be a killing of revenge?
Of course, added to her overflowing plate, she also feels obligated to investigate about Rick's death.
Brooklyn Bones is a fast-paced engrossing mystery that is realistic with well-developed characters. The actions are believable and written in an organized and logical sequence leading up to the climatic discovery of how all these people and actions were related.
Triss Stein comes from a small-town and has lived all of her adult life in New York City. Previously she has written Murder at the Class Reunion and Digging Up Death. Brooklyn Bones is the first book in this new series featuring Erica Donato.
Brooklyn Bones is a tightly interwoven plot in a riveting mystery.