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Claire Watkins #4
Bone Harvest
Then the quiet was broken. The baby reached up a hand and jerked at the tablecloth. A spoon hit her on the head, and she started to cry. Bertha Schuler stuck her head out the door and called that dinner was ready. The clock in the hallway struck the half hour. And the first shot was fired.The unsolved murders at a remote Wisconsin farmhouse half a century ago have receded into time. But one deranged man will do anything to make sure that all of Pepin County remembers that bloody day.The world was out of balance. It had been so for nearly fifty years. Only he could see it. Only he could change it.When a quantity of dangerous pesticides is stolen from the local co-op, Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins is called in to investigate. The thief has left one bizarre the finger bone of a child long dead.The pesticides soon reappear with devastating effect—in flowerbeds, in animal feed, and in a fatal concoction at a Fourth of July picnic. Each time, a tiny human bone is left at the scene. With the help of Harold Peabody, the quirky, aging editor of the Durand Daily, Claire unravels the secrets of the past, leading her to a pair of young lovers, a man enraged over his mother’s death, an obsessive recluse, and the deputy who first discovered the corpses of the Schuler family Claire desperately races against time to find the madman before he uses the lethal pesticide again. But he won’t be stopped. Not until he gets what he wants.The truth must be told. Or more will die. The flowers and the birds were only the beginning. . . .Written with Mary Logue’s trademark power and compassion, Bone Harvest is a bold, brilliant thriller that carries the reader deep into the heart of the Wisconsin bluffs country, into the hearts of its people—and to a startling conclusion.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
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144 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
May 7, 2013
Very engaging book in the Claire Watkins series. This one is the most engaging one since the first book in the series. It was very reminiscent of In Cold Blood in that a family who lived on a farm was killed in the 1950s, but this book had a different twist and based on revenge/memory/revealing the truth.
May 1, 2015
I have enjoyed this series. I just finished Bone Harvest. It is an excellent book. I normally am able to figure out who the culprit is but this book kept me in the dark until close to the end. I highly recommend this book.
July 4, 2014
Audiobook for the car - mystery set in Pepin County, Wisconsin, where present day crimes link to the mass murder of a farm family 50 years previous. Some very creepy moments and generally well paced.
January 11, 2016
Compelling doesn't even begin to describe this book. Gruesome crime, check; unsympathetic perp(?), check; hidden motives & agendas, check; plot twists (small, and therefore believable), check. Finished this in not much over 24 hrs., neglecting almost everything else till it was finished.
January 26, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. It was chilling and disturbing everything that a mystery should be. Plus I loved that it had a female Sheriff who solves the mystery.
March 29, 2008
Good, local author....want to read more by her!
July 14, 2008
I adore Mary Logues books. She is a good mystery writer, fast past books - all of her characters are realistice, intellegent and well developed.
July 31, 2008
great mystery. the story kept me involved. bonus points for taking place in pepin, WI (near where I went to college).
Read
January 20, 2009Good mystery fiction by a local author
June 22, 2010
I couldn't put this one down! As a bonus to being well written, it was set in Western Wisconsin!
July 30, 2011
A very interesting "murder mystery" with a very gentle ending -- I liked that.
August 13, 2011
Catchy start and well developed story. New author to me. I will definitely check out other books by her.
May 5, 2012
great series and a local!
March 29, 2013
excellent book, really enjoyed it, couldn't put it down.
January 13, 2017
Excellent read! What a who-done-it!
April 23, 2021
This was a very good mystery. The characters were smart, feisty and very well written. The blending of 1950 and modern times was seamless. Excellent.
Then the quiet was broken. The baby reached up a hand and jerked at the tablecloth. A spoon hit her on the head, and she started to cry. Bertha Schuler stuck her head out the door and called that dinner was ready. The clock in the hallway struck the half hour. And the first shot was fired.
The unsolved murders at a remote Wisconsin farmhouse half a century ago have receded into time. But one deranged man will do anything to make sure that all of Pepin County remembers that bloody day.
The world was out of balance. It had been so for nearly fifty years. Only he could see it. Only he could change it.
When a quantity of dangerous pesticides is stolen from the local co-op, Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins is called in to investigate. The thief has left one bizarre clue: the finger bone of a child long dead.
The pesticides soon reappear with devastating effect--in flowerbeds, in animal feed, and in a fatal concoction at a Fourth of July picnic. Each time, a tiny human bone is left at the scene. With the help of Harold Peabody, the quirky, aging editor of the Durand Daily, Claire unravels the secrets of the past, leading her to a pair of young lovers, a man enraged over his mother's death, an obsessive recluse, and the deputy who first discovered the corpses of the Schuler family Claire desperately races against time to find the madman before he uses the lethal pesticide again. But he won't be stopped. Not until he gets what he wants.
The truth must be told. Or more will die. The flowers and the birds were only the beginning. . . .
Written with Mary Logue's trademark power and compassion, Bone Harvest is a bold, brilliant thriller that carries the reader deep into the heart of the Wisconsin bluffs country, into the hearts of its people--and to a startling conclusion.
Then the quiet was broken. The baby reached up a hand and jerked at the tablecloth. A spoon hit her on the head, and she started to cry. Bertha Schuler stuck her head out the door and called that dinner was ready. The clock in the hallway struck the half hour. And the first shot was fired.
The unsolved murders at a remote Wisconsin farmhouse half a century ago have receded into time. But one deranged man will do anything to make sure that all of Pepin County remembers that bloody day.
The world was out of balance. It had been so for nearly fifty years. Only he could see it. Only he could change it.
When a quantity of dangerous pesticides is stolen from the local co-op, Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins is called in to investigate. The thief has left one bizarre clue: the finger bone of a child long dead.
The pesticides soon reappear with devastating effect--in flowerbeds, in animal feed, and in a fatal concoction at a Fourth of July picnic. Each time, a tiny human bone is left at the scene. With the help of Harold Peabody, the quirky, aging editor of the Durand Daily, Claire unravels the secrets of the past, leading her to a pair of young lovers, a man enraged over his mother's death, an obsessive recluse, and the deputy who first discovered the corpses of the Schuler family Claire desperately races against time to find the madman before he uses the lethal pesticide again. But he won't be stopped. Not until he gets what he wants.
The truth must be told. Or more will die. The flowers and the birds were only the beginning. . . .
Written with Mary Logue's trademark power and compassion, Bone Harvest is a bold, brilliant thriller that carries the reader deep into the heart of the Wisconsin bluffs country, into the hearts of its people--and to a startling conclusion.
September 25, 2017
I LOVED this book! It was nail bitingly good, and the murderer was a total surprise to me, which is my favorite thing when reading a good whodunnit.
The writing was elegant , as one reviewer put it, the characters were like people I know in my own life because their problems and thoughts were believable and interesting.
The puzzle of this story was as intricate as they get and for once, I put down all that I was doing to get to the answer. Now I’ve bought all the other books by the author and put them on my Nook!
The writing was elegant , as one reviewer put it, the characters were like people I know in my own life because their problems and thoughts were believable and interesting.
The puzzle of this story was as intricate as they get and for once, I put down all that I was doing to get to the answer. Now I’ve bought all the other books by the author and put them on my Nook!
April 20, 2018
An interesting take on local murders that occurred in Plum City, WI back in the 40s. Two families had been murdered within years. One family, the Seipels, followed the story outlined here very closely. The author does a fantastic job of mimicking small town Wisconsin, down to the details of what is eaten. Murder Mysteries are not my go-to genre so for those who like them I wouldn't be surprised if the rating was higher.
October 23, 2017
Excellent original story. I haven't red anything like it in all the books I have read. I loved the characters and believed that what actions they took were not unreasonable considering the extraordinary circumstances. There was so much hate involved and misunderstanding. The image of the boy at the end is haunting and probably won't leave my mind for a while. Recommended
May 19, 2017
This is the second book in this series that I have read recently.I really do like the Claire Watkins series.They do make you think and keep you guessing.I have to admit though as much as I would like to see Claire and Rich get together.I do not think that it would work out.
December 21, 2020
This wasn't a bad book but overall I found myself a bit disappointed in it because Claire isn't really the one to solve the case. It has an interesting premise. It's the 50th anniversary of a family slaughter. Both parents and all five of the kids including the baby were shot to death. Now 50 years later, our villain believes it's time for the case to solve. He begins doing things that are potentially fatal to draw attention to the case.
And he leaves behind the finger bones of the victims (baring the fact that the children's bones are fully ossified).
That is interesting but in many ways they're working more on who is trying to draw attention to the old crime which makes sense since he's a potential danger. Much of this is mired in anti-German prejudice that was rampant post WWII.
But the thing that bothered me was someone has always known what happened and eventually confesses to what they know so basically nothing Claire did mattered. That was how the case was solved and the ending was rather weird.
And he leaves behind the finger bones of the victims (baring the fact that the children's bones are fully ossified).
That is interesting but in many ways they're working more on who is trying to draw attention to the old crime which makes sense since he's a potential danger. Much of this is mired in anti-German prejudice that was rampant post WWII.
But the thing that bothered me was someone has always known what happened and eventually confesses to what they know so basically nothing Claire did mattered. That was how the case was solved and the ending was rather weird.
December 20, 2019
Page turner
August 15, 2020
Wonderful well written story
August 8, 2021
Another three and a half stars. Wisconsin author. Captures small town life well. Quick solid mystery for mystery lovers.
January 16, 2022
As my grandson used to say “I didn’t see that coming”! Like this series. Reminds me a little of Kate Burkholder series. Good story
May 23, 2023
I liked the book but boy was it sad. There was more than one tortured soul. The mystery involves current day poisonings seemingly tied to an unsolved murder of 7 family members 50 years previously. There are plenty of old hurts and fragile raw feelings remaining and a lot of melancholy.
July 19, 2011
Bone Harvest by Mary Logue is a bit more of a thriller than I usually read...it's also American and more recent. But I'm very glad that the Follow That Blurb Reading Challenge led me to it. It is a very absorbing read--quick-paced and well-written.
The story takes us back and forth between modern-day Wisconsin and the same town 50 years ago. In that small-town half a century ago, an entire family was murdered in a remote farmhouse. The town rocked from the impact of the horrible deed and eventually came to terms with the fact that the killer was never brought to justice. But one person never forgot what happened that day. And now, fifty years later, he wants the truth to come out. And he's willing to do some very dreadful things to see that it does. The modern portion of the story begins with a robbery at the local farm co-op. A large quantity of two very dangerous pesticides are the only things missing. And the thief has left a strange calling card: a tiny finger bone from a child long dead. Soon the pesticides are put to use--killing the flowers in front of the sheriff's office, poisoning a local farmer's chickens, and finally being mixed up in a deadly batch of lemonade at the annual Fourth of July Festivities. And with each occurrence another bone is left. Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins is put in charge of the case and finds herself in a race against time to unravel the past before the next stage of the game.
Logue handles the parallel stories in a very deft manner. Her writing is fluid and quite beautiful, even when describing very horrible deeds. Her characters are strong, smart, and well-defined and she makes the reader care about the inhabitants of Pepin county. She even makes the culprit a very sympathetic character. The interludes where she shows us what he is doing and allows us to understand his character are just enough. Much more would have been too much. I enjoyed this story very a lot--even though I recognized the culprit well before the end.
The story takes us back and forth between modern-day Wisconsin and the same town 50 years ago. In that small-town half a century ago, an entire family was murdered in a remote farmhouse. The town rocked from the impact of the horrible deed and eventually came to terms with the fact that the killer was never brought to justice. But one person never forgot what happened that day. And now, fifty years later, he wants the truth to come out. And he's willing to do some very dreadful things to see that it does. The modern portion of the story begins with a robbery at the local farm co-op. A large quantity of two very dangerous pesticides are the only things missing. And the thief has left a strange calling card: a tiny finger bone from a child long dead. Soon the pesticides are put to use--killing the flowers in front of the sheriff's office, poisoning a local farmer's chickens, and finally being mixed up in a deadly batch of lemonade at the annual Fourth of July Festivities. And with each occurrence another bone is left. Deputy Sheriff Claire Watkins is put in charge of the case and finds herself in a race against time to unravel the past before the next stage of the game.
Logue handles the parallel stories in a very deft manner. Her writing is fluid and quite beautiful, even when describing very horrible deeds. Her characters are strong, smart, and well-defined and she makes the reader care about the inhabitants of Pepin county. She even makes the culprit a very sympathetic character. The interludes where she shows us what he is doing and allows us to understand his character are just enough. Much more would have been too much. I enjoyed this story very a lot--even though I recognized the culprit well before the end.
Read
July 6, 2008Bone Harvest, by Mary Logue, B-plus. Purchased from audio bookstand, produced by Brilliance Audio.
Mary Logue’s books are about small town Wisconsin on the Minnesota border. And this is another one about Clare, who is a deputy sheriff and the office investigator for the sheriff’s office. She was a former policewoman in Minneapolis. She lives with her young daughter, Meg, and her boy friend who is a local turkey farmer lives nearby. There is discomfort between the two of them because he wants to get married while Clare is so busy in her new job she can barely keep routine hours. In this book, there is a robbery of some very strong insecticides from a government storage place. Then, strange things start happening. A coop of chickens is poisoned. The garden in front of the sheriff’s office is obliterated by poison, and finally, people are poisoned at the state fair but do not die. At the scene of each poisoning is found a finger. The person responsible keeps writing letters to be put in the paper, and it is clear that he has one more major drama to inflict on the town, and he threatens that it has something to do with poisoning the water. All these crimes seem to be connected to a tragedy fifty years ago where an entire family was massacred as they got ready to sit down to dinner. It is up to Clare and the sheriff to figure out what is going on, what the connection is, and who is doing the poisoning.
Mary Logue’s books are about small town Wisconsin on the Minnesota border. And this is another one about Clare, who is a deputy sheriff and the office investigator for the sheriff’s office. She was a former policewoman in Minneapolis. She lives with her young daughter, Meg, and her boy friend who is a local turkey farmer lives nearby. There is discomfort between the two of them because he wants to get married while Clare is so busy in her new job she can barely keep routine hours. In this book, there is a robbery of some very strong insecticides from a government storage place. Then, strange things start happening. A coop of chickens is poisoned. The garden in front of the sheriff’s office is obliterated by poison, and finally, people are poisoned at the state fair but do not die. At the scene of each poisoning is found a finger. The person responsible keeps writing letters to be put in the paper, and it is clear that he has one more major drama to inflict on the town, and he threatens that it has something to do with poisoning the water. All these crimes seem to be connected to a tragedy fifty years ago where an entire family was massacred as they got ready to sit down to dinner. It is up to Clare and the sheriff to figure out what is going on, what the connection is, and who is doing the poisoning.
October 23, 2018
I listened to this book instead of reading it. I do not have a experience with a vast number narrators in which I could compare Joyce Bean's narration of this book to, but in my opinion, it was just o.k. After more experience in the future, my opinion may change.
I think there were some parts of the book that could have been excluded, simply because it made no contribution to the story line.
Overall, I did in fact enjoy this book. The story line held my attention throughout the entire book. While this was only my second or third mystery, I had figured out the suspect with the bones at the first introduction of him. Although I had figured the person with the bones was not the actual murderer, in no way did I suspect who the actual murderer was. That was a shocker!
I would recommend this book to my friends.
I think there were some parts of the book that could have been excluded, simply because it made no contribution to the story line.
Overall, I did in fact enjoy this book. The story line held my attention throughout the entire book. While this was only my second or third mystery, I had figured out the suspect with the bones at the first introduction of him. Although I had figured the person with the bones was not the actual murderer, in no way did I suspect who the actual murderer was. That was a shocker!
I would recommend this book to my friends.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2016
An unsolved murder of an entire family on a small Wisconsin town 52 years earlier, and not forgotten by most comes back to haunt the town when the town paper starts getting threats demanding the truth about what happened.
This is a Claire Watkins mystery, Claire is an investigator with a Sheriff's Department in a rural county. This is quite reminiscent of the mid-century English mysteries, that are long on character development and short on gruesomeness, which is a refreshing break from modern mysteries which are trying to out gore each other. Just a plain old fashion mystery, that keeps you guessing to the end.
This is a Claire Watkins mystery, Claire is an investigator with a Sheriff's Department in a rural county. This is quite reminiscent of the mid-century English mysteries, that are long on character development and short on gruesomeness, which is a refreshing break from modern mysteries which are trying to out gore each other. Just a plain old fashion mystery, that keeps you guessing to the end.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews