The Skeleton Paints a Picture

Leigh Perry

Oct 2017 · The Family Skeleton Mysteries Book 4 · Diversion Books

About this ebook

No bones about it, this death is suspicious…“Amateur sleuth Georgia, and her sidekick, Sid, are just plain fun!”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times-bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries
 
Georgia Thackery, adjunct English professor, has a new job teaching at Falstone College of Art and Design, known as FAD to its students and faculty. Living in a borrowed bungalow during winter in the snowiest part of Massachusetts, Georgia feels her isolation weighing as heavily as the weather. Then she receives a package containing her best friend, Sid, a walking, talking skeleton who has lived with the Thackery family since Georgia was six. With Georgia working out of town, Sid was lonely too.
 
The two of them make plans for a cozy semester together, and it might have worked out that way if Sid hadn’t snuck out in the middle of the night to play in the snow and spotted a crashed car. When he drags Georgia out to investigate, they find the driver behind the wheel, apparently dead from the collision. Initially, police think it’s an accident, so Georgia and Sid think that’s the end of it—until Georgia finds out the body hits closer to home than she’d realized...
 
“Dr. Georgia Thackery is smart, resourceful, and determined to be a great single mom to her teenager. Georgia is normal in every respect—except that her best friend happens to be a skeleton named Sid. You’ll love the adventures of this unexpected mystery-solving duo.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author
 
“A very touching and entertaining whodunit. The mystery is intelligent and nicely done with fun insights into academia and anthropology.” —RT Book Reviews on A Skeleton in the Family

Ratings and reviews

The Skeleton Paints a Picture by Leigh Perry is the fourth tome in A Family Skeleton Mystery series. Dr. Georgia Thackery is working at an adjunct at Falstone College of Art and Design (FAD) in Falstone, Massachusetts. Georgia arrives home (the borrowed bungalow) and finds two packages on her porch. She opens them to find her best friend, Sid inside—a walking, talking skeleton. Sid was feeling lonely (too many grad students at the Thackery home) and decided to visit Georgia (who was equally lonely). That night Sid (who doesn’t need to sleep) is out exploring the backyard and spots a car crashed in the woods behind the bungalow. When Georgia and Sid check it out, they find the body of a woman. The next day, Georgia discovers the victim is Kelly Griffith who ran the writing lab at FAD. Georgia and Sid believe there is something off about Kelly’s death and start researching the victim (and faculty—Sid is whiz with computers). It seems that Kelly was involved in her own investigation and it ended up getting her killed. Can Georgia and Sid follow the trail and find Kelly’s killer? The Skeleton Paints a Picture is nicely written and easy to read (has good pacing/flow). I just love Sid. He is such an entertaining and unique character (Sid will provide many laugh out loud moments) and Georgia is the perfect counterpart for him. I like that their relationship is changing and developing into a partnership (a team). I especially like the creative “swear” words that they utilize. The author has certainly found some creative ways for Sid to get out and explore the world as well as investigate (Sid just loves snow blowers). I do want to mention the author included a “gender fluid” character. I applaud the author for tackling a gender fluid character and her handling of it (though it was confusing to read about the character without the gender specific pronouns). My rating for The Skeleton Paints a Picture is 4 out of 5 stars. The mystery is medium complexity. I think some readers will be surprised by the solution (pay very close attention & it can be solved). I did miss Georgia’s parents and daughter (Madison) in this installment. I hope they return in the next book in A Family Skeleton Mystery series. While The Skeleton Paints a Picture is the fourth book in this series, it can be read alone. Personally, I am glad I have read each book in the series. I believe you will be missing out by not reading the first three books (you find out more about Sid and how he joined the family, Georgia’s teaching history). The Skeleton Paints a Picture is a humorous (Sid makes a funny “humerus” pun in story) cozy mystery that will delight many readers. I am glad that Sid is back!

what a fun and novel concept.

About the author

Leigh Perry is the author of the Family Skeleton Series: A Skeleton in the Family, The Skeleton Takes a Bow, and The Skeleton Haunts a House.