The Skeleton Box

The third novel in the award-winning Starvation Lake series finds Gus Carpenter faced with a new case that reveals a haunting secret from his own family's past.

Mysterious break-ins are plaguing the small town of Starvation Lake. While elderly residents are out playing bingo, someone is slipping into their homes to rifle through financial and personal files. The "Bingo Night Burglaries" leave the entire town uneasy.

When a break-in escalates to murder, Gus Carpenter, editor of the Pine County Pilot, is forced to investigate the most difficult story of his life. Not only is the victim his ex-girlfriend Darlene's mother, but her body was found in the home of Bea Carpenter--Gus's mother. Suffering from worsening dementia, Bea remembers little of the break-in.

Gus sets out to uncover the truth behind the murder. But when the story leads him to a lockbox his mother has kept secret for years, Gus doesn't realize that its contents could forever change his perception of Starvation Lake, his family, and the value of the truth.

“"Gruley's best work to date. . . . The writing is tighter and more vivid than ever. The characters are so real you could almost reach out and shake their hands."”

"Better late than never if you haven't started reading or recommending Gruley's outstanding trilogy. . . . His characters successfully convey the realities of today's troubled economy and remind us that old secrets can be even more painful when discovered later." --Library Journal
--Associated Press

Bryan Gruley is reporter at large for Bloomberg News and the former Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago bureau chief of The Wall Street Journal. He has won the Anthony, Barry, and Strand Awards and was nominated for an Edgar Award for best first novel. He lives with his wife in Chicago. Visit BryanGruley.com.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.