A Bone to Pick

Publisher's Summary

In this gripping second novella in the Widow’s Island series, bestselling author Melinda Leigh delivers a chilling tale of murder in the Pacific Northwest.

Deputy Tessa Black gave up her career as a detective with the Seattle PD and returned to the Pacific Northwest island she calls home to care for her ailing mother. Tessa thinks her mother’s illness is the worst thing she’ll face - until she responds to a routine call in the state park and discovers a local man harpooned to a sign.

As the murder investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the victim harbored secrets. Together with her FBI agent best friend, Cate, and park ranger Logan Wilde, Tessa must connect the pieces before the murderer strikes again. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more she finds herself - and the ones she loves - in harm’s way.

Pressure mounts as Tessa attempts to juggle the current case with her search for the truth behind her childhood friend Samantha’s disappearance twenty years ago. Can Tessa find the murderer and uncover answers about Samantha without jeopardizing everything she holds dear?

©2018 Melinda Leigh (P)2018 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Much better than Close to the Bone

Christine Williams' narration is also much better. A BONE TO PICK is a first rate novella. It is not that Melinda Leigh is a more talented author than Kendra Elliot (she is not; they are equally talented). The Widow's Island novella series has potential to be as successful as the other novella series Elliot and Leigh have coauthored.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

OK book, horrible narration..

I said I wasn't going to listen to this because the narrator was soooooo awful but since it was a
free read, free listen I decided to give her another chance to see if she got better. She didn’t. So, I quit listening and just read the novella.

This was a story about the murder of an artist who had been harpooned AND Tessa’s problem trying to take care of her mother who has dementia and who finally wandered off into the woods.

Since it was only 101 pages I can't say much without giving it away so, enough said.

There was a thought or two of romance but that was all and the F-bomb was thrown out there 5 times.

As to the narration: Horrible! Jeez, everything Christine Williams read was so romantic sounding. If she was talking about a dead body she made it sound romantic. That was the only emotion she had. AND every time the book said it was Logan talking I thought WTH, I thought that was Tessa or Cait. Every man sounded just like a girl. I quit listening after about 15 minutes, just about the time Logan spoke for the first time. NOTHING worse than a girly-sounding man. The other few reviews must be friends or relatives of the author or the narrator, to have given her 4 and 5 star reviews.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Love the novella format

Good story. It's all about relationship building. Overall very entertaining and I really like the characters.

A bone to pick

This was a great story to listen too while recovering from a surgery, it held my interest and attention while being a distraction from my discomfort from surgery

Not as good as the first in the series, awkward audio

Not as good as the first in the series. The narrator was not great. Awkward when it came to narrating questions, her emphasis on certain words left you wondering why. Wouldn’t be in a hurry to listen to audio with her narration again. I am an avid audiobook listener, numerous books per week. Never had it feel quite so awkward?

Great Story

Great story. The performer was not that good. The different voices used were annoying at times.

Ending felt sloppy

The ending was just rushed through. It felt sloppy and like the author just needed to be done with the book.

Excellent

Such a great book. I loved it. A great series. Would recommend reading them if you read the previous books.

Fun novella series.

I've enjoyed both of the novellas in this series so far. I wish we didn't have such a long wait until the next one is released. In this sequel, a man is murdered in a park on Widow's Island. Deputy Tess and Park Ranger Logan must investigate who the man is and why he was murdered. Just like with the first story, there were multiple suspects and I didn't guess the killer.

I like the way the author took the time to dive a little further into Tess' life and even into Logan's life. One of the best things about this story and the one before it is the relationships between these characters-these two and Cate and Henry, who were featured in the first book. Even though the stories are short, it is easy to get a real sense of who these characters are, and I appreciate that as much as (or maybe even more than) the mystery part of the story.

I'm looking forward to more from Widow's Island.

A Gruesome Murder for Tessa, Strong Sequel

The night's calm is broken by the sounds of a man screaming in great pain. Thus begins Sheriff's Deputy Tessa Black's investigation into the gruesome death of a well-loved artist. With the aide of her high school crush and her best friend's brother, Logan Wilde, she works the case and attempts to balance a situation in her home life. I found this second novella in the series just as engaging as the first.

A Bone to Pick follows on the heels of the events in Close to the Bone. It continues Tessa and Cate's investigation into their high school friend's disappearance, but shifts focus from Cate's POV to Tessa's and introduces a new murder to investigate. Book one introduced the history and way of life on the island and now book two is able to move right along with the new chain of events.

I enjoyed being along as Tessa worked the case, taking into consideration the way the locals on Widow's Island are isolated and have to do things a little differently even with their police work. I liked seeing Cate's brother, Logan, introduced into the story and getting to know this man who is trying to heal after his work as an Army Ranger of three tours of duty. The murder happens in the park and so he partners to solve the crime with a now grown up and capable Tessa who, yes, he notices she is all grown up without his matchmaking grandmother's help. Logan doesn't think any woman should have to take on his issues and Tessa's life is complicated with a mother diagnosed with Alsheimer's and a younger teen sister in her care. Again, I found the blend of character and relationships developed well with an engaging murder to be solved was done so well.

Christine Williams continues to delight me with her narration work She does male and female voices, age and emotion well.

Now, I'm caught up on the series and now have to kick my heels for another year to find out what comes next for Cate, Tessa, and the rest on Widow's Island. These well-developed and clever romantic suspenses are a series I can whole-heartedly recommend to others.