Immersive in both environment and character, <I>Light on Bone</I> gave me this odd feeling of being suspended almost in a dream, just a half step outside our own world, where there's a rising tension (and slight confusion) you can't quite put your finger on. And perhaps that's fitting for stepping into the slightly eccentric yet endearing shoes of Georgia O'Keeffe. At home on her retreat in New Mexico, just as the dawn of a Nazi era is just beginning to emerge on the world stage in the mid 1930s, Georgia comes across the body of a murdered man, along with his luggage that contains a map with her initials on it. Feeling bound to the mystery through this link, she stays close to the unfolding clues -- and the sheriff who is digging into them.

I was genuinely surprised by the tone of the book, which was more richly atmospheric than I anticipated. There's much less of a Nancy Drew whodunit feel to this, and more of a well-rounded historical fiction and near biographical character development that I appreciated. While there is a mystery that's solved, at times it felt secondary. There are quite a few parallel story lines going on, and while it provided for some useful red herrings, I also felt that it was a little too much to keep track of, with some characters cluttering the story line rather than adding to it. Still, my mind keeps returning to the near haunting beauty of the setting, the tension of the times, and the joy of coming to know O'Keeffe more deeply (hopefully accurately). 3.5 stars rounded up. Trigger warning: child abuse.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kathryn Lasky, and Tantor Audio for an advance copy for review.