All My Bones

A plan to beautify a front yard turns up long-buried bones. Madeline Brimley has moved back to Enigma, Georgia, to run the Old Juniper bookshop that her Aunt Rose left her. In the six months since she arrived, she's solved a murder, found a love interest, and made up with Rose's best friend, Dr. Philomena Waldrop, who's recently emerged from a stay in a private psychiatric facility to return as head of Barnsley College's psychology department. All seems wonderful until Madeline decides that the front yard needs to match the beauty of her back garden. Her friend Gloria Coleman, an Episcopal priest, suggests she plant rose bushes, and since it's Sunday and the garden center is closed, the two friends decide to get a head start on things by digging in the rock-hard soil. Then they hit a white rock that's actually a human skull. The law, in the person of Billy Sanders, suggests that a skull with a broken neck might point to a murder. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrives after the medical examiner agrees that it's murder. Although they keep mum about the victim's identity, everyone soon knows that the body was that of Beatrice Glassie. Soon, Bea's wealthy sister, Idell, loudly accuses Gloria of murdering Bea, who'd tried to get her fired because she suspected her of trying to attract her beau, Kell Brady. When Idell uses her influence to get Gloria arrested, Madeline gets to work to prove her friend's innocence. Kell Brady is still around, and his interest in rare books catches Madeline's attention while she searches for the truth. A group of friends proves to be good detectives who solve a murder with mixed motives. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.