Murder

"In Mundy’s Landing, bygone bloodshed has become a big business. During the rigorous winter of 1666, all but five colonists in the small Hudson Valley settlement died of starvation. Accused of unimaginable crimes, James and Elizabeth Mundy and their three children survived, but the couple were later accused of murder and executed."

Bone White is the third book in the Mundy's Landing Series and features many of the same characters including NYPD Detective Sullivan Leary, who solved the Sleeping Beauty Murders. All she wants is to be able to settle into this quaint community and leave behind the big city. Quiet is not what she gets when the elderly lady, Ora Abrams, that runs the town's museum decides that a skull in the museum will have answers as to who the skull belongs to, it is believed that it is the skull of a Mundy from 1666.

Emerson Mundy shows up from California to learn more about her descendants, her father killed himself and a note found by his body has Emerson wanting to find out more. Not long after she arrives in Mundy's Landing, a man is found hanging from a tree outside an inn, also with a note similiar to the one from Emerson's father.

Out of all of the characters, I liked Ora as she is the one with all the knowledge and stories about the original founders of Mundy's Landing. The story actually has two different stories at the same time. The one from 1666 survivors from the Mundy family and the current one in 2017.

I have been reading Wendy Corsi Staub's works for many years and it is always a treat. A taut murder mystery with enough twists to keep the reader interested. The writing is well done and enjoyable. ( )

Mundy's Landing might seem like a small town where nothing ever happens, but looks can be deceiving. Back in the winter of 1666, Mundy's Landing was the scene of a horrific crime, murder followed by cannibalism, in an effort to survive the winter. Some of the descendant's of the survivors are still found in Mundy's Landing, while others have left to make lives elsewhere. One of those descendants is Emerson Mundy. Still grieving the death of her father, Emerson has traveled to New York from California to find out more about her family. Meanwhile, New York City transplant, Sullivan "Sully" Leary is enjoying the laid back lifestyle in Mundy's Landing. As a police detective, she no longer has to deal with the rampant crime in the city. But Sullivan's life is about to be shook up when her former NYPD partner, Stockton Barnes, shows up in Mundy's Landing. As Emerson investigates her family's past and Sullivan tries to find out what is going on with her former partner, a murder occurs that harkens back to the founding family's history. Adding to the general sense of intrigue, Miss (never Ms.) Aurora Abrams, curator at the Mundy's Landing Historical Society, is determined to find out what happened back in 1666 by hiring a forensic anthropologist to examine a skull exhumed from the original settler's site back in the 1940s. Can this somewhat idyllic small town handle all that is about to be revealed?

Although Bone White is the third book in the Mundy's Landing series, it is one that can be read as a standalone. How do I know this? Well, I haven't read the previous books in this series (something that is about to be corrected) and didn't feel like I was coming into the series with tons of missing information from previous books. I found Bone White to be a fast-paced and engaging read. There are multiple storylines at work in this book and all are interconnected (trust me, they are). Adding to the overall sense of mystery, Ms. Staub has incorporated letters from one of the 1666 survivors in between the chapters. Actually, there are other letters as well, but all of the letters are provided as clues to what has happened in the past. Emerson's past is just as much of a mystery as what happened back in 1666. Sully's naturally inquisitive nature is piqued by the appearance of her former partner, the visit by Emerson, and subsequent murder of Emerson's fiance. Mundy's Landing isn't quite the sleepy little town I thought it was. Just in case you couldn't tell, there's a lot happening in this story, murder, cannibalism, mental illness, and more. I could tell you more about the characters and the action, but I won't. I'll tell you that if you enjoy contemporary mysteries then you'll want to read this book. If you enjoy contemporary stories with ties to the past, you want to read this book. If you're interested in reading something a little bit different, then you'll want to read this book. I enjoyed reading Bone White, and look forward to reading the previous books in this series just so I can reread Bone White.

This review originally posted on 4/16/2017 at www.thebookdivasreads.com. I was given a free digital review copy from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. ( )