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A locked-room mystery about a group of former classmates trapped on their college campus—with a murderer among them. It’s been twenty-five years since the shocking disappearance of a female student and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. The Briarwood College community has never forgotten the terrible storm that caused the double tragedy. Now, the college President—who has his own reasons for drawing attention to the notorious incident—is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. On a cold December weekend after the fall semester has ended, guests gather on the vacant campus for the commemoratory event. But as a winter storm descends, people begin to depart, leaving a group of alumni who were the last ones taught by the esteemed professor. Recriminations and old rivalries flare as they recall the writing projects they shared as classmates, including chilling horror stories they each wrote about their greatest fears. When an alumna dies in a shockingly similar way to the story she wrote, and then another succumbs to a similar fate, they realize someone has decided at long last to avenge the crimes of the past. Will the secret of what they did twenty-five years ago be revealed? Will any of them be alive at the end of the weekend to find out?
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**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**
Carol Goodman returns with a dark academia locked-door mystery in The Bones of the Story. Readers follow Nell, Dean of Liberal Arts at a prestigious, but small college. As the college arranges a fundraising weekend for alumni and donors to celebrate the naming of writer-in-residence, the skeleton of a girl is found in nearby ice caves. Nell is surrounded by classmates who have come for the fundraiser and they all know more about the found bones than they have admitted. When everyone is snowed in by a blizzard, the danger is found to come from within Wilder House. Told in dual timelines from Nell as a student and in present day as Dean, the secrets of Briarwood College are bound to be carved from the ice.
While Carol Goodman's name commonly comes up on lists of books with dark academia settings, this was my first read from her. I am pleased to say I enjoyed it! The dual timeline was well-executed, even if I felt that it slowed the progression of the book. I was never bored, despite the slower pace. I also liked that Goodman took the time to establish solid personalities throughout the friend group, something that mystery thriller authors occasionally neglect in favor of archetypes. The information provided to the reader is enough for the reader to be able to solve the mystery, but the final reveal is one that may still be a bit of a surprise.
Overall, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read this work early, and I look forward to exploring Goodman's backlist.
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