Who’s up for a good mystery? I always am and I’ve got a fun one to tell you about.
Tip of a Bone has plenty of suspects and more than one mystery to solve.
Check it out. And don’t forget to enter the giveaway to win your own copy!
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Genre: Mystery Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Adventure Publications (September 3, 2013)
ISBN-13: 978-1591934394 E-Book ASIN: B00EGWE5HC
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My Review
Tip of a Bone is all about mystery. There are brief touches on romance but it doesn’t really play a part.
Maya moves from California to Oregon after her divorce. Same old story. Husband falls for younger woman, gets her pregnant, starts a new life. Old wife, like she never was.
The move gives her a chance to get to know her brother, Harley. As young kids, their parents divorced and each parent took one of the children. Maya was raised by her mother, having no contact with her father or Harley.
Just when they are starting to connect as friends, as siblings, Harley dies in a mysterious fire. The authorities say it was arson, the fire set by her brother, and he succumbed to smoke inhalation. Maya suspects something else.
As she questions his friends and fiance, she must stir up something, because she’s now being stalked, someone has broken into her apartment, and she’s nearly killed when a truck runs her off the road.
Now it’s a race to solve the mystery before she’s killed too.
What drew me to this book was the mention of eco-activists. There are the big companies coming in to set up their condos and the environmentalists who try to stop development, doing things like tree hugging and lying down in a busy intersection to stop traffic. Then, an activist vanishes and someone ups the ante to arson, burning equipment, a boat, and buildings.
One thing I missed was a connection to the characters. I enjoyed Maya, her divorce and subsequent struggles to find a path hit home. Been there before. But I didn’t really connect with anyone else in the story. Her brother, Harley, sounded promising if I’d had more time with him. Others played their part, adding to the list of suspects, but I didn’t much care about them.
While I didn’t particularly connect to a couple, they did make me wonder what they were. Good guys or bad guys?
Nick seemed like a nice guy while Tomas seemed scary. Both were part of the Coast Defenders group. Nick became suspect when right in the middle of some heavy petting, he stopped to answer his phone. Hmm…interested in Maya or what she knows? Â And Tomas was a looming hulk, gruff like a bear. He made no bones about how he felt towards Maya sticking her nose in their business.
About half way into the mystery I had my suspect tagged. It wasn’t blatant, but I had a good idea he was guilty. Still had fun following Maya as she did her snooping and the ending was quite good. I got my man and you’ll find out if Maya got hers.
4 Stars
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Synopsis
Buried bones, a missing eco-activist, and a deadly fire? It’s not what Maya Rivers bargained for when she moved to the coastal city of Newport, Oregon to reunite with her brother, Harley. Yet when Harley is accused of an unthinkable crime, Maya insists on adding “amateur sleuth” to her career options. It isn’t long before she discovers an eerie clue . . . but the closer she gets to the truth, the closer a murderer follows.
Purchase Links  ~  AMAZON
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About This Author
Christine Finlayson borrowed from her “past lives” as a waitress, barista, environmental educator, and water scientist when creating her debut mystery novel, Tip of a Bone—a tale that takes place on the stormy Oregon coast. In her spare time, Christine loves to run on forest trails, watch waves break, compete in triathlons, and photograph anything Northwest-weird or wild. She’s now working on her second book, a novel of suspense.
Christine’s an active member of Sisters in Crime, Friends of Mystery, Oregon Writers Colony, and Willamette Writers.
Author Links:
Webpage ~ Blog ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads
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I have one copy of Tip of a Bone to giveaway.
Print or eBook (winners choice)
To enter, please leave your email address so I can contact you if you win and answer this question:
“Do you like a lot of suspects in a mystery?”
Giveaway ends April 4th
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Tour Participants
March 25 – fuonlyknew ~ Laura’s Ramblins and Reviews – Review, Giveaway
March 26 – readalot blog – Review
March 27 – Books-n-Kisses – Review
March 28 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review, Guest Post
March 29 – Deal Sharing Aunt – Review, Interview, Giveaway
March 31 – Reviews By Molly – Review, Giveaway
April 1 – Queen of All She Reads – Review, Guest Post
April 2 – Brooke Blogs – Review
April 3 – Kelly P’s Blog – Interview
April 4 – rantin’ ravin’ and reading – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!
To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!
“Do you like a lot of suspects in a mystery?” Answer: it does not depend on number of suspects to make me interested in the mystery. Sometimes, the culprit is so obvious but the good (fake) alibi is the key turning the whole story thrilling. I hope to be able to read this “Tip of a Bone” soon.
koukkunokka@anvianet.fi. Greetings from Finland!
I like it when there’s only a couple of suspects but you go back and forth as to which one is gulty. Getting to the reveal is the best part!
Great cover and yes I like a lot of suspects, keeps me guessing.
Good exercise for the brain pan. LOL
Sounds wonderful, would love to win/read it
A fun solid mystery.
Thanks for taking the time to read Tip of a Bone and leave a thoughtful review, Laura. I appreciated it and hope your blog readers will enjoy the book!
You’re welcome Christine. Most of the gang love a mystery:) Thanks so much for stopping by.
Yes, I like a lot of suspects in a mystery. I like when you think you solved the mystery then there is a twist that points to another suspect. This looks like a good read. The author is new to me so it would be a good way to be introduced to her writings. Thank you for your consideration.
penelope223(at)yahoo(dot)com
I like it win I say yep it’s that one, nope it’s that one over there, nope it’s the other one. LOL Following the clues and reaching dead ends are part of a fun mystery.
If there are too many suspects, I think it can sometimes become confusing instead of clever. We watched the movie, The Frozen, last week. There was one suspect, so it had to be him, right? Well, sort of. The ending totally and completely took me by surprise. That’s what I love the most–when I can’t guess the ending–no matter how many suspects.
I’ve seen a movie called Frozen but it can’t be the same one. This had no mystery. Have to check it out.
Those pesky elusive guilty parties. Why don’t they just stand up and say, I’m the one! LOL
Yes I do like several possibilities so I can try to solve the mystery as I read. Love a “twist” at the end!
I like a twist at the end and some in the middle and some….!
Suspects are always fascinating to read about and make the mystery captivating.
I know what you mean. You have to get to know them and it’s really traumatic when the one you like fools ya!
Mysteries can be so much fun, a truly interactive book. 🙂
Anna from Shout with Emaginette
I’m thinking not connecting to many of the secondary characters and focusing on Maya made this mystery better.
Enough suspects to be challenging, but not so many that I feel that I need a score card to keep everyone straight!
Feeling it! Too many is like trying to follow the bouncing ball.
Hi Mai, Sherry, Taylor, Anna, and Libby,
Thank you for your comments! I’m honored to know that Tip of a Bone could make its way to Finland. (With my last name, people often ask if I’m Finnish . . . but it’s actually Scottish). I’m working on my second book now and having great fun making up red herrings and suspects. Hopefully it won’t, as Libby suggests, need a score card!
I see where your bio mentions some suspense. I love it when I can’t wait for the next page and the suspense is teeth clenching good.
Hi Laura,
Yes, my current book-in-progress is a novel of suspense, set in Portland, Oregon. So the red herrings and suspects aren’t so much for the readers but for the characters. I love to read suspense and, so far, it’s been great fun to write, too. I’ll keep that image — teeth clenching good — in my mind!
And to everyone I missed earlier (Anne, Martha, Kerry, Debbie, Barbara, Carol), thanks so much for stopping by to comment. I love to hear from readers what they like to see in books!
Just enough suspects to keep me guessing. BobbiPad@gmail.com
No more, no less:)
I do like a mystery that is very mysterious…that does not give away what the ending will be until you reach the ending. So if that means a lot of suspects or no suspects at all, then that is what I like. I like trying to solve the puzzle of the mystery myself and then find out if I’m right or wrong…I don’t want the solution handed to me way too early. It wouldn’t be a good “mystery” then. 🙂 Thanks for the post and the tour! jdh2690@gmail.com
That’s how it is in this book. I think I have a good idea but I get fooled a lot!!LOL
Yes, I do! It makes it harder to figure out whounnit!!!
mlawson17 at Hotmail dot com
All the better to make you dig in!
Love lots of suspects as long as it stays with the story and does not just take up space.
I agree. As long as it doesn’t bog down the story, more are welcome!
[…] 25 – fuonlyknew ~ Laura’s Ramblins and Reviews – Review, Giveaway March 26 – readalot blog – Review March 27 – Books-n-Kisses – […]
I do like a lot of suspects in a mystery. It makes it much harder to figure out who did it. I would love to read this book. Thanks for having the giveaway.
The more the merrier! And the better to keep you sniffing out the clues:)
Thanks, Janice, Martha L, Sherry, Kate, and Anita for stopping by to leave a comment! When I read a mystery, I like having a few strong suspects in mind (rather than a multitude of weak ones) — but that’s also because I enjoy the “why-dunnit” side of mysteries as much as the “who-dunnit.” I’m jotting down notes here!
I like it also when I just know who did it and then the doubts coming pouring in. Whether it turns out I had my man or not, I still have a fun read getting to the guilty party. Thanks for stopping by!
LOVE a good mystery! I was always a big Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys fan as a kid! LOL! That kind of gives away how old I am getting ~ Thanks for sharing and I hope I win for sure! Love ya lady !