Saturday, March 5, 2011

The Bone House-Brian Freeman

The Bone House
Brian Freeman
Minotaur, Mar 29 2011, $24.99
ISBN: 9780312562830

In Door County, Wisconsin, teacher Mark Bradley is accused of an affair with a teenage student Tresa Fischer. Both deny the accusations though the pupil admits she has a crush on Mark. He is fired as the townsfolk figuratively inscribe a P on his forehead for “predator”. His wife Hilary believes him.

Tresa’s sister Glory is drunk when she sees Mark on a Florida beach alone at three in the morning. She offers her body to him, but instead he tells her he is taking her home. Later that same morning, Glory’s corpse is found near the hotel where the Bradleys are staying. The police suspect he killed his lover’s sibling in a passion rage. Already irate over the injustice he suffered; Mark is stunned when he realizes he is the only person of interest. While Hilary investigates to prove her spouse’s innocence, Florida Detective Cab Bolton tries to break the suspect, but begins to believe the wife’s dangerous theory even as her faith in Mark is beginning to shatter.

This is a super police procedural-amateur sleuth thriller starring a powerful cast and loaded with twisting action from start to finish. Readers will believe Mark is innocent but like his wife soon will wonder if he is guilty of homicide and sex with a minor. Coincidence like being alone on a Naples beach at three in the morning propels the tension and sense of guilt so that readers will appreciate this taut thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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