A great mystery with dark academia vibes and pretty good writing. The pacing was good, I was invested pretty much from start to finish. I'll definitely read more from this author now, I'm truly impressed.

This locked room mystery was absolutely fantastic. This was a wonderful book! It was a page turner that I couldn't put down.
I just reviewed The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman. #TheBonesoftheStory #NetGalley
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I love Carol Goodman's books and I was so anxious to read this one. It did not disappoint! A college reunion to choose a new Creative Writing professor reunites students from a class of Briarwood students from 25 years ago. What starts as a memorable get together turns deadly. A past history involving a mysterious disappearance of a professor and a student brings secrets to the present. Eerie stories written by the students and trips to crystal caves all make this mystery a Fabolous read. I will definitely recommend this book!

25 years ago a group of friends from Briarwood college go to an ice cave. One disappears and a writing teacher of the college goes missing. Present day Dean Portman and the new college president are having a commemoration for the missing because bones have been found. Old friends gather at the gothic college and start getting bumped off one by one.
This was a dark, creepy, academia novel that I hated to put down. I hope to read more by Carol Goodman.
Thanks NetGalley and William Morrow for this ARC that will be released July 11, 2023!

I LOVE Carol Goodman and couldn't wait to read this mystery. As always, she does not disappoint.

This story is based on a mysterious death more than 25 years ago at the prestigious Briarwood College. Years later,many of the alum have gathered for a large scale fundraiser lead by the suspicious and unlikely college president. As the students reunite, their are a series of flashbacks and Agatha Christie style deaths, This gothic and atmospheric novel complete with blizzard will suck you in for a long nightmarish weekend. If you love locked-room type stories, dark academia style atmosphere or just want a reunion story with a hint of death and gloom, The Bones of the Story is for you! #williammorrow #TheBonesofTheStory #CarolGoodman

Hideous, ominous, and bone-chilling, but also riveting, captivating, and unputdownable, this dark academia novel is everything a true Agatha Christie fan needs. With its unreliable, flawed characters, claustrophobic atmosphere, blizzard, caves, ghosts lurking around the estates, secret societies, perfect Edgar Allan Poe references, fast-paced storytelling that moves back and forth, and a mysterious whodunnit theme that keeps you guessing from beginning to end, it delivers smart, unpredictable, jaw-dropping twists and an epic conclusion.

The story takes place at Briarwood College's campus, where a tragic event happened 25 years ago, resulting in the death of a legendary teacher and an aspiring student. The college president, Hotch, is determined to exploit this tragedy to bring together faculty, donors, and alumni to honor the victims at the 25th-anniversary commemoration event.

Despite scholarship student Nina Lawson accidentally falling down a cave to the exact place where the bones of the missing corpse have been for years, Hotch has no intention of postponing the event. He plans to bring in famous author Laine Bishop to raise awareness and funds for the creative writing program.

Nell Portman is now the Dean of the college and one of the alumni students who was part of a pact that forces her to keep big secrets about the tragic events regarding the brutal deaths. She is also harboring complex feelings for Laine, once her best friend who cut contact with her and the rest of the group.

Nell feels like a blur-girl, thinking little of herself, self-flagellating, and focusing on students' lives as a devoted Dean. She seems too tired to keep things to herself.

The other misfits in the group include rock star Truman, for whom Nell has had a crush for years, Miranda, a crime thriller queen who wants to become the first writer-in-residence at Wilder Writer's House, Darla, a vengeful indie writer who suffers from an eating disorder, Chilton, an editor who is married and raising her daughters and is competitive to be Laine's best friend, and Lance, a sensitive, kind-hearted memoir author who has a problematic relationship with his stepfather.

They gather on campus, residing in the same dorm rooms they inhabited 25 years ago. But the morning after their gathering, the misfit members start to die in mysterious ways inspired by the horror stories they wrote when they were students. Could one of them be the killer, or does somebody already know what they did 25 years ago, seeking revenge for the deaths they caused? Or is a vengeful spirit back from the caves to get revenge?

This book is definitely unputdownable, exciting, and heart-throbbing, with amazing Christie and Poe book references. I highly recommend it to genre lovers and thriller/mystery fans!

Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow/William Morrow Paperbacks for sharing this mind-blowing book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

“They say that anyone who dies in the caves comes back to avenge their death.”

Carol Goodman is an auto-buy author for me. Consistency and reliability are her writing virtues. I’ve read (and re-read) everything she’s written, and I’m never disappointed. With every offering, she exceeds my expectations. This time, she outdid herself, if that’s even possible. The Bones of the Story just might be my favorite of all her books. As usual, her supreme skill is on full display, but she sweetens the deal by adding every ingredient that I love in a reading recipe: a mystery from decades earlier,
an academic setting, and an impending snow storm.

Here, as with all her previous novels, Carol Goodman elevates the mystery/suspense novel to something that’s quite literary. With her command of language and mastery of building tension through atmosphere, she offers her readers a unique blend of genre and style, an adventure that is both familiar and fresh. Surprises lurk behind every dark corner. Grab your copy and search for them. You won’t just read this book; you’ll live in it.

I had fun with this one. A solid locked room mystery with secrets and twists around every turn. I haven't read anything by this author previously, but I enjoyed their style and the way they wrote characters. I'll definitely be on the lookout for more by this author!

Thanks to William Morrow and Netgalley for the opportunity to read The Bones of the Story by Carol Goodman.

I have read ever book written by Ms. Goodman, including those written under a pen name, she never disappoints. I inhaled this one in one sitting, but now I'm sorry it's over.

If you don't know, "Carol Goodman is the author of The Lake of Dead Languages, The Seduction of Water, which won the Hammett Prize, The Widow's House, which won the Mary Higgins Clark Award and The Night Visitors, which won the Mary Higgins Clark Award."
She's not someone without the skills to pay the bills and this is just one set example of why she can wow your socks off.
Take for example that readers are led on this maze of sorts to figure out who the party responsible is because the bodies are piling up. At last count I believe we had five if memory serves me right.
First before I go any further -I'm currently sick with Covid Pneumonia/Sepsis/Sinus Tach upon arrival at ER on the 10th. I was given antibiotics for pneumonia w/o IV fluids and sent home. Needless to say an hour later I was confirmed with Covid with severe dehydration. So bare with me as I try my best to write this review because on the 10th I also lost my dad from end stage cancer/heart attack/three separate heart issues.
This story begins with this 25 years ago death of a writing student and her professor who died while searching for her.
Now, the timeline jumps to students and one particular possibly capitalizing on her mom's death. Gunshots ring out. People are being shoved. Bodies are hidden in towers.
There's a whole ton of craziness with more deaths on the horizon.
Meanwhile, Laine's missing and now Ruth seems to have attracted much attention for possessing something.
I'm sorry, I have Covid fog...was that Ruth or was that Bridget Feeley....You know, it's so hard to keep things straight (enter sarcasm here).
Who is drugging who here because Lord knows this is getting scarier by the minute!
People are being forced out of locations and now at gunpoint!
Wait, what?!
What or who is Blur - Girl? Is she seeking revenge from the past?
Ya know it's hard to get good treatment these days and perhaps there's nothing wrong with taking matters into one's own hands, or is there?
WOW!!! RUN for this one !
Thank you to Carol Goodman, William Morrow, and Netgalley for this ARC. This diamond is due out : July 11th 2023!