Old School Bones

by Randall Peffer

Book Overview

Winter in a New England prep school brings term papers, wet snow, and the suicide of a young black student. Except Liberty Baker's friends are convinced she couldn't have taken her own life, and Liberty's faculty advisor, Awasha Patterson, believes them. She is desperate to believe any theory that Liberty's death was suspicious--Awasha turned the girl away the night of her death. If Liberty had been suicidal, Awasha had missed the signs.

But how...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1440553939
• ISBN13: 9781440553936
• Release Date: November 2012
• Publisher: Tyrus Books
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Peffer Delivers Again

Randall Peffer has followed up his kinky and edgy Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues with a rewarding sequel for his new age Paladin, disallusioned ex-district attorney, Michael DeCastro. The rich, off-beat setting of the murder mystery is in a blue blooded boarding prep school much like the one the author navigates every day. Teen-something dialogue and mind-mapping is hard to do right and the author nails it. The characters are nutty and true, the smell and taste of place unmistakably Cape Cod and the Islands; the heroes are flawed, smart, and real. Buckle your seat belts and find out who done what to whom. A master storyteller operating at the top of his craft.

New type of detective

I really liked this dark and fast paced mystery. Michael De Castro is a new kind of protagonist. The lawyer/detective/fisherman is an introspective, sensitive man who adds a deeper than usual dimension to the mystery. I'm looking forward to meeting him again in the next novel of this series.

Compelling mystery meets literary novel

An edgy, fast-paced literary mystery that delves beneath the polished surface of an elite prep school, OLD SCHOOL BONES unfolds like a film, each atmospheric chapter building toward its surprising and carefully crafted finish. Yet in the midst of that compelling action, Peffer builds characters that matter and plumbs contemporary issues that extend beyond the reaches of most literary mysteries -- issues of culture, class, sexuality, and redemption that ultimately generate, rather than merely complement, the plotline of this novel. Fans of Peffer's quietly flawed and utterly original hero, Michael DeCastro, will be happy to see his return to rogue lawyering. I highly recommend this book, rich with both strong characterization and a gripping story, one that wouldn't let me put it down until the final, shocking page.

BOOKLIST review

Here is the review from Booklist for OLD SCHOOL BONES Former public defender Michael DeCastro (Provincetown Follies, Bangkok Blues, 2006) is back at work on his fathers fishing boat, too sensitive to cope with the woes of his clients. When Liberty Baker, a black scholarship student at a local prep school, commits suicide, her friends and her faculty advisor, Awasha Patterson, suspect murder. Awasha feels guilty because she turned Liberty away on the night of her death, anda friend who was working on a project with Liberty is convinced that the death was a racially motivated crime. The two girls were doing research on secret societies at the school and found evidence that some may still exist. Awasha seeks out Michael, who used to rent a room in her mothers house, and convinces him to investigate. Together they uncover a decades-old web of political intrigue and murder. Peffer has laid impressive claim to his Provincetown setting, and he effectively goes against type with his too-sensitive sleuth. A quirky, very appealing series.

Light but rich

This book is light enough for a summer read but rich enough to satisfy. It is a story of intrigue in a New England private school with the issues of race, class and culture intertwining with murder and secrecy. The parallels drawn between the communities of Portuguese immigrants in New Bedford and Wampanaug natives on Cape Cod add an extra dimension to the drama and excitement of the central mystery.