#TheBonesOfTheStory #NetGalley
Captivating story.
It’s been twenty-five years since the shocking disappearance of a female student and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. The Briarwood College community has never forgotten the terrible storm that caused the double tragedy. Now, the college President—who has his own reasons for drawing attention to the notorious incident—is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. On a cold December weekend after the fall semester has ended, guests gather on the vacant campus for the commemoratory event. But as a winter storm descends, people begin to depart, leaving a group of alumni who were the last ones taught by the esteemed professor. Recriminations and old rivalries flare as they recall the writing projects they shared as classmates, including chilling horror stories they each wrote about their greatest fears. When an alumna dies in a shockingly similar way to the story she wrote, and then another succumbs to a similar fate, they realize someone has decided at long last to avenge the crimes of the past. Will the secret of what they did twenty-five years ago be revealed? Will any of them be alive at the end of the weekend to find out?
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Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for giving me an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As with all of Goodman’s books the writing was excellent and the setting was well done. I liked the main character well enough but nothing really excited me about this story. The pacing was slow and I just never became invested.

The Bones of the Story refers to bones that are found in an ice cave, twenty-five years after the death and disappearance of a student at the claustrophobic Briarwood College. That same year a famous literary professor died by a fall on the mountain. In present day the college is commemorating the deaths and students are gathering in memory of their favorite professor. Only one is missing, Laine, who became a famous but reclusive author.

Author Carol Goodman does a great job of making Briarwood College a whole world. Nothing seems to exist outside of it for these characters. It is creepy and suffocating, with overtones of dark academia and locked room mystery. As the guests begin dying in a horrific manner, the remaining students struggle to figure out which one of them is a killer.

I give this 5 stars for atmosphere, 5 stars for convoluted and unexpected plot twists, and 3.5 stars for character development. That was the only weak point for me, I never became fully invested in any of the main characters. However, I enjoyed the read. Save this for a creepy October/Halloween read!

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and publisher William Morrow for allowing me to read an arc in exchange for an honest review.

In Carol Goodman's gripping novel, the chilling legacy of a decades-old tragedy resurfaces to haunt a group of former classmates in a twisty locked-room mystery.

As the Briarwood College community gathers to honor the memory of a female student and a Creative Writing professor who disappeared twenty-five years ago, old wounds are reopened and long-buried secrets come to light. But when a deadly storm traps a group of alumni on the vacant campus, they soon realize that someone among them is seeking vengeance for the past.

With recriminations and rivalries reignited, the tension mounts as alumni begin to meet grisly fates mirroring the horror stories they once wrote together in class. As suspicion and paranoia grip the group, they must confront the terrifying possibility that the sins of their past may have come back to haunt them in the most sinister of ways.

With expertly crafted suspense and a cast of deeply flawed characters, Goodman weaves a tale of intrigue and betrayal where the line between truth and fiction blurs. As the body count rises and the truth inches closer to the surface, the alumni must race against time to uncover the killer's identity and confront the dark secrets that bind them together.

As each revelation brings them closer to the heart of the mystery, readers are drawn into a gripping tale of suspense and psychological tension. With its atmospheric setting and cleverly plotted twists, "The Bones of the Story" is a riveting read that will keep readers guessing until the very end.

A group of former college students are reunited years later when a body is discovered. The mystery of who and why is slowly revealed as layers secrets are uncovered. This is fast-paced with an interesting and unique storyline. It will keep readers guessing.

It was a struggle to read this book, and definitely harder to finish it. The story was lame. the characters were unlikable, and i.simply did not enjoy this book. I received a free copy for my honest review.

What a hot mess of a whodunit! Pure convoluted chaos involving collegiate friends sharing a decades old secret, trapped in a stow storm 25 years later....ice caves, hidden tunnels, plagiarism, blackmail, identity theft, murder, and so many characters I couldn't keep up with them. I'm exhausted and frankly I'm shocked I managed to get through this one. It didn't work for me and I can't recommend it. My thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I usually love Carol Goodman's books so I was super excited to read this one. Unfortunately, this one just wasn't my favorite. The characters didn't have much depth and weren't particularly likeable. The story felt flat to me and I had to keep forcing myself to get back into the book. I will definitely still keep reading Carol Goodman's books, but this one was just OK for me.

I’ve been away from thrillers for a while. On purpose. Just got tired of all the formulaic crap flooding the market. But then I liked Goodman’s work, so I figured I’d try it again, see if I can be pleasantly surprised. And lo and behold, I was!
This isn’t to say The Bones of the Story isn’t formulaic. It’s formulaic as all get out. You know that checklist that all thrillers are working off these days? Yeah, this novel checks several of the boxes very prominently.
Young people getting together and doing things that’ll sure to haunt them in the future - check.
Those same people coming together 25 years later when the bodies start to drop – check.
A remote Academia setting – check.
An inclement weather trapping them together – check.
What sets this locked campus mystery aside isn’t its originality, but its ability to work the formula well. Goodman not only writes very well, but she plots nicely, too. The story twists and turns and surprises plenty. Even though the party responsible was the one I’ve had my suspicions about all along, the motives were still a surprise. And that’s really all you can want out of a book like that – to play along with a puzzle, try to solve it, and be surprised in the end. So yeah, fun was had. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

3.5ish stars, rounded down. I thought the dark academia-esque vibes in this one were well done, and the author does a great job creating the tight connections of the characters. That said, I did struggle to stay invested with the story at a couple points. However, there were enough spooky, surprising parts to this story that I ultimately enjoyed the journey.

Meh, I really struggled to get into this one, and I let some time pass before I gave a review. My apologies, The plot was not exciting.

Buried under books and not interested in reading? What to do? Read an author who has always been a comfort. I picked up Carol Goodman's new mystery/thriller "The Bones of the Story" and was swept away!

FIRST LINE: "I'm just having trouble getting back on track."

THE STORY: Briarwood College has not forgotten the disappearance of a female student twenty-five years ago and the distinguished Creative Writing professor who died while searching for her. Now, the college President is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. When the snow starts, people head home leaving the returning classmates at the college. Old rivalries are raised when they discuss the stories they had written about their greatest fears. And then there are more murders.

WHAT I THOUGHT: All Ms. Goodman's books are what I would call Romantic Gothic Mysteries with similar motifs and designs. She sets her stories in the Hudson River Valley in small college towns. Past college friendships, youthful indiscretions, secret histories and suggestions of ghosts combine to cause suspense and a sense of dread. In "The Bones of the Story" alternate chapters are marked either NOW or THEN and the author makes it even clearer as you start each section.

BOTTOM LINE: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by mystery readers who are more interested in a puzzle of a story and interesting characters. Find more information about the author, click CAROL GODWIN.

DISCLAIMER: A copy of was provided to me by William Morrow / Net Galley for an honest review.

A campus setting; a winter storm; a killer stalking alumna for a crime committed over twenty years ago? Sign me up.

I loved this story of old rivalries, secrets, and a twisty ending. A fun winter thriller to add to your TBR pile.

Entertaining and immersive. A recommended purchase for collections where dark academia and thrillers are popular.

Give me bad weather, dark academia, and a locked-room mystery, and I'm hooked from the beginning! This is the first book I read by Carol Goodman, and I really liked it. It was intriguing from the get go and didn't take long to get sucked in. I like how it hopped back and forth in time and felt like you were watching a movie. I'll be looking up more by this author for sure.

I couldn’t put this book down. I love dark academia. This book was no exception! So glad I received the ARC. Can’t wait to read more by this author.

Anyone who read her earlier books will enjoy this one. Her books aren’t fast paced mysteries so make sure that you’re in the mood for something with more even pacing than someone like Patterson. Worth the read.

The Bones of the Story is classic Carol Goodman. It’s a dark tale, set in a small college in the Northeast with lots of secrets, lies and murder. She is a master at this kind of tale. I enjoyed most how the book started in the present and you weren’t for sure what happened in the past, but little by little it was revealed. The author is fabulous at writing a story setting dark academic worlds. As always, I recommend any Carol Goodman book. This one was a little slower from the start, but once I sorted out who was who I really raced through the book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book. All opinions on my own.

The Bones of the Story
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Author: Carol Goodman

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and William Morrow and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

Synopsis: The Briarwood College community has never forgotten the double tragedy. Now, the college President is bringing together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims from all those years ago. On a cold December weekend after the fall semester has ended, guests gather on the vacant campus for the commemoratory event. But as a storm descends, people begin to depart, leaving a group of alumni who were the last ones taught by the esteemed professor. Recriminations and old rivalries flare as they recall the writing projects they shared as classmates, including chilling horror stories they each wrote about their greatest fears. When an alumna dies in a shockingly similar way to the story she wrote, and then another succumbs to a similar fate, they realize someone has decided at long last to avenge the crimes of the past. Will the secret of what they did twenty-five years ago be revealed? Will any of them be alive at the end of the weekend to find out?

My Thoughts: I was intrigued by the premise and that cover and I was not disappointed. This story would resonate with Agatha Christy fans. A true whodunit locked door mystery. The Briarwood College is an elite college. On the 25th year of a double tragedy, the college is holding a weekend gathering to commemorate those lost. The double tragedy involved a legendary teacher and a promising student. When a nasty storm rolls through and old rivalries spark up, and a new mysterious death occurs, is someone from the past coming back for revenge or is it someone new with an axe to grind? Then the others are slowly begin to die as they wrote in their horror stories in college.

The story is narrated by Nell, the now Dean of the college, in a dual timeline with the past (25 years ago) and present. Our protagonist is unreliable and flawed. In college, Nell always felt imposter’s syndrome, like someone else was living her life and she was not good enough to have the friends that she did. The friend group was comprised of Truman, rock star and Nell’s longtime crush; Miranda, writer with aspirations to be writer-in-residence at the college; Darla, independent writer that suffers from an eating disorder; Chilton, editor with a family; Lance, memoir author with troubled relationships; and Ben, local detective who crushed on Nell growing up. I was most invested in Nell, even though she did some questionable things as a college student, she has since repented for it. The characters were written with depth, built up slowly, had mystery, were creative, and intriguing. The author’s writing style was complex, suspenseful, twisty, and brilliant.

This psychological thriller has all of the earmarks of impactful thriller, it is captivating, gripping, compelling, atmospheric, although somewhat predicable. There are some surprise twists, however, some of them are predicable. Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel by Goodman, whom I have not read before. I devoured in a few days as I could not wait to see whodunit. I would definitely be interested in reading other novels by Goodman. I would recommend to others readers, especially fans of Agatha Christy.

I'm not usually a huge fan of dark academia, but Carol Goodman is a must-read author for me, and The Bones of the Story exceeded my expectations. While it takes place on a campus, the story is mostly focused on several adults who return for an alumni weekend and are forced to reckon with their past. A fast paced book with enjoyable characters, this book is a perfect locked-room mystery that will keep you guessing until the end. While I did have in inclination about the major twist, there was plenty of other surprises that left me very satisfied by the end.