Stevie‘s review of A Bone to Pick (Widow’s Island Novella, Book 2) by Melinda Leigh
Contemporary Romantic Suspense published by Montlake Romance 30 Oct 18
Having read the first novella in this shared universe series, I moved straight on to the second, penned by another new-to-me author, intrigued to see how the change of writer and of point of view characters could provide new insights into the series’ overarching mystery. Tessa Black left the remote islands where she and her best friend, FBI Agent Cate Wilde, grew up in order to pursue a law enforcement career in the city. Her mother’s recent widowhood and early onset dementia have necessitated a return home for Tessa to care for both mother and teenage half-sister. Since taking up the post of Deputy on the islands, Tessa has been joined by Cate – on medical leave – and the pair have begun to uncover clues as to what happened to the third member of their schooldays best friend group, Samantha Bishop. While Cate is now dating the island’s new doctor-cum-coroner, Tessa is still single, though that looks set to change as she investigates a new murder with Cate’s older brother, Logan.
Tessa and Logan are first to arrive on the scene of this latest murder: Tessa has been called out to investigate screams in a remote area of woodland, while no other Deputies are available, and asks Logan, as the park ranger, to provide backup. Logan is another recent returner to the islands, having left military service to take up what he hopes will be a less fraught second career. Still suffering flashbacks from his last tour of duty, he had initially discounted the noises he heard until Tessa came calling. Now the pair are faced with the sight of a brutally murdered man, a local artist, although they are soon joined by Doctor Henry and Agent Cate.
While Logan helps Tessa investigate the background to the murder and Cate helps with Tessa’s mother, the women also keep up their investigations into Samantha’s disappearance – or murder as they suspect – learning that some of the original evidence has gone missing in the intervening two decades. Meanwhile, it transpires that a number of people – both local residents and visitors from the mainland – had reasons for wanting to get the murder victim out of the way.
I much preferred the way the central premise of this book was handled to that of the first novella, possibly because we’d already met most of the main characters and so had more room to meet the various suspects and understand their motives. While the mystery of what happened to Samantha is still rather murky, I’m keen to continue with this series to find out what awaits our heroes and heroines next.
Grade: B
Summary:
Deputy Tessa Black gave up her career as a detective with the Seattle PD and returned to the Pacific Northwest island she calls home to care for her ailing mother. Tessa thinks her mother’s illness is the worst thing she’ll face—until she responds to a routine call in the state park and discovers a local man harpooned to a sign.
As the murder investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the victim harbored secrets. Together with her FBI agent best friend, Cate, and park ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa must connect the pieces before the murderer strikes again. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she finds herself—and the ones she loves—in harm’s way.
Pressure mounts as Tessa attempts to juggle the current case with her search for the truth behind her childhood friend Samantha’s disappearance twenty years ago. Can Tessa find the murderer and uncover answers about Samantha without jeopardizing everything she holds dear?
Read an excerpt.
Other books in this series:
