A deft editor could have made this closed door mystery a much better book because the story is a solid idea but it sags and slogs and there are too many unlikable characters. The Then/Now format works well. The gothic old school setting is perfect and the blizzard an essential feature. One of the main twists in the final chapters caught me completely by surprise, the other biggie I saw coming by the mid-point. The characters' motivations were clear and everyone got what they deserved. Really, had it paced better I would have enthusiastically recommended it, but as it is I'd say it's a decent 3-star read. I will look into other books by Carol Goodman.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

4.75 rounded up!

Twenty-five years ago, a student and an esteemed writing professor went missing near the ice caves located on the Briarwood College campus. Now, the current President of the school is planning on hosting a commemoration ceremony for that professor when the bones of the missing girl are found in the caves. As alumni arrive over the course of a snowy commemoration weekend, their stories from the past come back to haunt them.

YOU GUYS GOTTA READ THIS BOOK!

THE BONES OF THE STORY by Carol Goodman is a fantastically eerie dark academia book featuring past and present timelines, a rich girl who everyone bends over backwards for, and soooo many secrets.

This one was haunting in all of the best ways - the setting: a fancy college set in the mountains, the conditions: snowed in with no escape, the characters and the imagery: I will hear the pounding of typewriters for nights to come!!

I couldn’t give this a full five stars because there were a few moments of longwindedness, but WHAT A BOOK. Definitely recommend it for the academia vibes alone!

Huge thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Publication Date: July 11

Captivating!! I could not put this down. I saw someone raving about this on tiktok and immediately added it to my TBR. I was so excited to get an advanced copy so I could dive in before the release date. I was not disappointed. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Carol Goodman, I adore you...

After reading The Stranger Behind You, I knew Goodman and I had just dipped our feet in what would turn out to be a long standing reader/author relationship. When a book like The Stranger Behind You, can linger in my head long after concluding, I knew I hit the jackpot when it came to uncovering a new favorite author.

As The Stranger Behind You, hit the blogging stream, I knew I wasn't wrong when it came to falling head over heels for this unstoppable author.

So, when The Bones of the Story, popped up on Netgalley, I knew I had to have it!

Here we go.....

So let’s just get this part out of the way, The Bones of the Story, is without a doubt, a five star read.

Now, to the good stuff...

I will first start out by warning you, I doubt you will be able to sleep with the lights off after concluding. I know I sure wont be. The twists just kept on coming. The "jaw dropping" moments happened so often I barely had a chance to pull my jaw off the floor from the one before. The conclusion? There is no way you could even anticipate this ending! This book will gut punch you over and over again.

If you thought The Stranger Behind You, was good (and it is!!!) you need to run on over to your favorite bookstore and pre-order The Bones of the Story. If you have not read a Carol Goodman, novel ...... what are you waiting for?

Teaser :

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 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?

A select group of alumni are dying on a snowbound campus, in the manner of scary stories they once wrote as part of an exclusive writing class. Could this have a connection to a past tragedy?

I really enjoyed this book. I love love love the premise, and Goodman delivers on it. I did find myself more interested in the Now sections than the Then sections, but I think that’s because there was so much suspense in the Now. I definitely recommend this book.

Former classmates were reunited then trapped on the campus of Briarwood College, when they begin dying one-by-one reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. The alumni who gathered all have ties to each other and have kept a secret for many years. A body discovered in the near-by ice caves initiated more deadly events. I appreciated how we learned about these characters through the dual time-line narrative and their writing from the senior seminar, especially how their previous stories had connections to their current predicament. There were a number of literary references and observations about writing that provided an academic feel to the story. Nell was the most likable and well-drawn in my opinion, although the other had distinct personalities and significant roles in the story as well. Once the action got going, it did not stop. The chilling atmosphere of the deserted campus and winter storm were welcome aspects and provided a “locked-room” type setting. While the writing was clear, I did wish for some additional details regarding setting, particularly the ice caves to truly be able to immerse into this world. The plot required suspension of disbelief, but that is common in thrillers, and did not bother me enough to keep me from enjoying the twists. Despite a few issues with details and plot holes, I enjoyed reading this one! Thanks to Thoughts From a Page Podcast and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately, this book was a like a terrible Scooby Doo mystery. I pretty much figured out the whole story on the first page of chapter two. Not much else to say about this one.

* Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the advanced reader digital copy of this book

Carol Goodman is a new author for me. I was really interested in the premise of this story, a group of college friends 25 years later coming together and getting snowed in. While snowed in they are slowly picked off one by one. This novel certainly gives "And Then There Were None" vibes. The narrative goes back and forth between the past and the present from the perspective of Nell, who is currently a dean at the college. Initially the story was slow going, however once the pace quickened about halfway through it was difficult to put down.

#NetGalley #WilliamMorrowPublishing #TheBonesoftheStory

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Bones of the Story.

I've read a few books by the author, and though I like her writing, her books are hit and miss with me.

I did like the premise of The Bones of the Story so I was excited my request was approved.

There are familiar tropes in most thrillers/suspense books because they are so familiar to the reader.

Divided into past and present narratives, this is the story of Nell, AKA Ellen, a former hard-working student now one of the deans of the hoity-toity boarding school she enrolled in 25 years ago.

Back then, she was a low middle-class student, struggling to fit in and adapt to her knew surroundings. But when she meets a charming, privileged young woman named Laine, her life is forever changed.

Now, 25 years have past and the former students have gathered for a commemoratory event. But, when one of them dies, followed by others, Nell has to wonder; is her former frenemy seeking revenge for the misdeeds of the past? And who will be left standing in the end?

I didn't like anyone; not Nell or Laine, Chilton or Miranda, Truman or Ben. They're still immature and selfish, nursing grudges from years ago. Nothing has changed, except their age and appearance.

Character development was poor, just surface details are given, basically everyone kowtows to Laine, drawn to her energy, her vitality, her money, and her domineering personality.

The men are barely blips on the radar; loosely characterized, we don't know much about them except for their devotion to Laine or Nell.

There's more exposition than suspense, until the end, so it's a slow burn for the most part.

We get insight into the past and what secrets tie the group together, for better or for worse.

I liked the setting, the description of the ice caves, and the dark academia vibe though I'm not a big fan of those themes like some readers are.

I did like how each person is murdered according to the ghost story they wrote in class years ago but my biggest issue is how unbelievable the entire setup was.

The author asks you to suspend a great amount of disbelief and I just couldn't, especially the big reveal at the end, though I guessed whodunit.

It was just too hard to believe and I didn't.

Nell is a dean at a smaller college. They have their rituals and traditions like any other college. But they also have ice caves. 25 years earlier when Nell went to this college herself she kept seeing a figure. The story is that a girl died and that she comes back to take new victims. Present day one of the students falls into the cave and 25 year old bones are found. The friends who went to college 25 years ago come together and get snowed in. One by one the friends (old classmates) start dying but the twist, they die how they wrote the deaths in their stories.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book had an interesting concept, but was definitely a slow burn until about 50% in. After that mark, I was on the edge of my seat trying to figure out who could be behind it all. I enjoyed the different aspect of how the murderer got his/her revenge by killing the victims according to their own stories.
On a side note: I really enjoy Carol Goodman books but the last 2 that I have read refer the the pandemic multiple times and I feel like it shouldn’t have been mentioned as much as it was. (I’m talking like 20 times) That’s a time I personally don’t want to think about. She’s the author that got me reading again so I hold a special place in my heart for her but I really hope her next novel doesn’t reference the pandemic.

Carol Goodman has done it again! The Bones of the Story is an atmospheric thriller set in the backdrop of the academic world. Told in two timelines, the story unfolds as our main character, Nell, is a college student and then 25 years later. In college, Nell is a fish out of water, saved by her roommate Laine, who leads a charmed life at first glance, but has problems of her own. Nells’ life is changed after a shocking death during her college years, and in the present, she is still atoning for the events of that night and dreading an event that brings a reunion with her friends.

The story of the past is doled out in pieces as the events in the present unfold, and the result is a thriller that will have you guessing until the end.

A group of college friends return to the campus after 25 years for a special ceremony and are snowed in when the weather turns bad. As they begin to be murdered one by one, the narrator, Nell tells the story between two timelines, “then” and “now” of the pact they made as college seniors to cover up the deaths of a fellow classmate and their beloved professor.
It seems that locked room thrillers are flooding the mystery/thriller market currently. This book has the closest plot to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” than any others I have read, complete with a poem describing the murders and the characters do reference Christie. I did find that the characters were introduced quickly and I found them and there roles in each timeline to be confusing at first. Right away, I guessed correctly who the murderer was but did not figure out that person’s motivation until it was revealed. Otherwise, the book was enjoyable and once the story really began unfolding, it was quick paced, absorbing and hard to put down. The ending was open and gives the reader food for thought.
#NetGalley #WilliamMorrowPublishing

This book goes back and forth between the present day and when the main characters were in college. The author does a great job describing the dynamics between the college friends. Class and gender themes are present throughout.

The mystery itself is well done and the snowy weather adds to the mystery. There are lots of literary references throughout the story.

My thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Cindy Burnett (Thoughts from a Page) for the advanced e-copy of this book. Publish date - July 11th.

It's been 25 years since a group of students (who were selected to be in a prestigious society for seniors) have been together back on the campus of Briarwood College. 25 years since the event in which a classmate disappeared and their revered professor died. 25 years since they turned in an assignment where they wrote scary stories that involved their greatest fears. As they gather to commemorate the professor, bad weather traps them in their dorm. And - one by one - the stories become self fulfilling prophesies, and one by one - classmates die. Will someone be able to figure out the mystery and stop the killer before they all die?

An enjoyable thriller. I recently read a book with a similar plot twist at the end, so it ended up being the person I suspected. But - there were still twists along the way that I did not predict. 3.5 stars

I loved Goodman's last book The Disinvited Guest. I thought it had some meaningful things in the background of a pandemic story that made my heart ache but I could tell the author was very much of a slow burn storyteller and that doesn't always work for me.

I wanted to see if I enjoyed this one as much and I just had a hard time staying into it, even though I like dark academia, perhaps I enjoy a more YA version of that.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review.

Most writers have themes they return to over the course of many books, a throughline in their work that creates both familiarity and a deeper understanding of the things that are of interest to them as writers. To me, this is one of the joys of reading. For Carol Goodman these things seem to be both an interest in a character (or characters) discovering or searching for their identity, and a compressed or restricted setting. Most often her books are told in dual timelines, as this novel is, which is set during the period the characters are in college, and twenty five years later.

In the past, young Nell Portman heads to Briarwood as a student, intimidated by the old money students and their traditions. She tries to be invisible – she’s a work study student – and even agrees to take the smallest room in her assigned suite. She’s quickly bowled over by the charisma of her roommate, Laine Wilder. Laine sweeps her up into the traditions of the college and the two women, both wanting to be writers, become enmeshed in a cadre of fellow would be writers.

In the present, the grown Nell is now Dean of Students at Briarwood, and she’s looking forward with apprehension to a planned weekend honoring alums who are writers (many of whom are her former classmates), and the inauguration of the new dedicated writers program, complete with a writer in residence. The star of the show is supposed to be none other than Laine Wilder herself, the most successful writer among them.

Both in the past and in the present, there’s a heavy overlay of secrets and undiscovered backstage machinations on the part of virtually every character. Some of the traditions in the past involve ice caves of the hill (or “Tor”) behind the school, a subject of much speculation. Campus legend has it that anyone who died in the caves will come back to take their revenge on the living. When bones are discovered during a traditional ascent up the Tor (a student actually falls in a crevasse and lands on them), the secret of who they might belong to looms over the novel. It’s clear Nell and her friends know who they belong to.

As the weekend progresses, two things occur: one, Laine does not turn up, and two, the campus is hit with a massive snow and ice storm, isolating the group just as members of it begin to die mysterious deaths. Goodman’s fascination with Christie’s And Then There Were None could not be more clear. Much like her references to Poe (the college writing society is known as “The Raven”), the Christie references deepen the atmosphere of dread and suspicion.

Goodman is great at plots but she’s also character driven as a writer, and the various personalities of Nell and her former classmates ultimately determine the story, which has an excellent twist, and in true Goodman style, some moral ambiguity. (As a reader, you might often ask yourself: what would I have done?) She’s a mistress of doubt and dread – in a good way. The story is vivid and fast paced and the set up is one Goodman has made all her own with her academic details, her characters, and her use of setting. I still feel cold after reading it! This is a wonderful book.

Pub date: 7/11/23
Genre: mystery/suspense, dark academia
Quick summary: Briarwood College was the site of a double disappearance/presumed death - of a student and a famous professor - 25 years later, the professor's students gather to remember him...until they start to die.

I love a dark academia novel, and the setup for this one is great. It's clear from the beginning that Briarwood and the MC Nell both have plenty of secrets, and I loved the eerie, snowy setting. This one moved a little slowly for me, but there were a good number of twists at the end, and they all surprised me! I think readers who like atmospheric mysteries, like Jane Harper's books, would enjoy this one! But reader beware, this is a slow burn, not a fast-paced mystery, although the pace does speed up a bit at the end. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to William Morrow and Thoughts From a Page podcast for my e-ARC.

4.5/5 ⭐️
Nell Portman is dean at Briarwood College, where 25 years earlier a student vanished and a professor died looking for her. Present day, a commemoration is being held where the next writer-in-residence, the first since the death of the previous one 25 years before, is to be announced. Gathered are the other students that were part of the Ravens with Nell. However, they keep mysteriously dying. It seems like maybe their past is back to kill them.

This book was really enjoyable! It had vibes of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, with people being picked off one by one. However, it still had the structure of a more modern thriller with Then and Now chapters. There were some good twists at the end, and the suspense was present throughout the book. I also kept guessing at what I thought the twist might be, which I feel like is a hallmark of a good thriller - it means you're invested! I'd definitely recommend this one.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review!

While I found parts of this book very interesting and I liked the idea of coming back to campus to work and seeing how different it was then being there as a student, overall I was not a fan of this book. I felt that most of the characters really hadn't grown up from the way they acted in college. There was so much miscommunication and trying to fit back into the roles they fell into in college. I also thought that the twist at the end was incredibly unrealistic - that the main character wouldn't have recognized the woman people say died in the ice caves? I didn't believe it.

If you enjoy stories about students, reunions at colleges and a murder mystery involved, than you will enjoy reading The Bones of the Story. This story has a duel timeline depicting what went on in the college when 4 young women were pursuing their education, as well as what transpires at their reunion that turns into a locked door mystery. Secrets prevail about a missing student who disappears in a Crystal Cave after a ceremony that takes place annually. There are other surprises and twists along the way that keep the reader captivated and wanting to read more.
Unfortunately, I figured out part of the ending of the story before hand. But, I guess that happens sometimes. There were enough secrets to make it interesting and keep me wanting to know the solutions to the mysteries.
If you enjoyed Carol Goodman's other novels, you will be delighted with this one.