Closer than the Bones (A Deep South Mystery)

By Dean A. James

Book Overview

Recently retired from teaching high school English, Ernestine Carpenter freely admits that she's more than a bit nosy. Ernie (as she's called by her nearest and dearest) is also good at solving problems, and she's let it be known, amongst them, that she's willing to take on...interesting...jobs. Mary Tucker McElroy, well-known in Southern literary circles as a generous patron. Six months earlier, her literary group had gathered for the Christmas festivities at Idlewild, Miss McElroy's ancestral home in north central Mississippi, and one guest, writer Sukey Lytton, turned up dead in the pond one day, an apparent, but suspicious suicide. Miss McElroy is convinced that Sukey Lytton was murdered, and she wants Ernie to help her figure out the guilty party. But who can it be? Was it Lurleen Landry, best-selling author of Southern women's fiction? Did Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Russell Bertram kill her? Or was it his nasty, vindictive wife Alice? Maybe it was literary enfant terrible Brett Doran, who seems to have more than one secret to hide. Could Sukey Lytton's missing manuscript be the motive? When the killer strikes again, it's up to Ernie to save her friends and find the killer...or she may be next!

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1503057534
• ISBN13: 9781503057531
• Release Date: January 2015
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.84 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.6" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

An engaging mystery

In Tullahoma, Mississippi, retired sixty-year-old school teacher Ernestine "Ernie" Carpenter enjoys solving problems. Being single, Ernie, who works from her home, relishes helping people with their troubles. She has quickly earned a reputation for results.However, even Ernie is a bit taken aback when venerable wealthy icon Mary McElroy comes to Ernie's home for assistance. The elderly patron of Southern Belle Letters hires Ernie to uncover the identity of the individual who murdered writer Sukey Lytton six months ago in a reported accidental drowning. Since the same group will be at Mary's home, Ernie joins them on the pretense of helping Mary write her memoirs. Ernie quickly learns that Sukey's final manuscript is missing and wonders if that is the cause of the murder; that is if someone actually killed the author. Ernie also wonders if murder did indeed occur, and it is not the ramblings of a senior citizen, will the murderer strike again if the amateur sleuth gets too close to the truth?This Ernie Carpenter tale, CLOSER THAN BONES, is an engaging mystery starring a fabulous lead protagonist. The story line moves forward in a genteel way as expected from a Southern cozy, but never slows down or looks back. Ernie is a great character and the support cast, especially the writing group provides the audience with an insightful novel that readers will enjoy while demanding Dean James return quickly with his heroine.Harriet Klausner