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Mapleton Mystery #2
Deadly Bones
A dog finding a bone is no big deal—until it turns out to be human.
Mapleton Police Chief Gordon Hepler and the mayor can’t agree about what being a cop means. To Gordon, it’s keeping his citizens safe. To the mayor, it’s generating revenue by issuing speeding and parking tickets.
When two runaway dogs waylay Gordon on the way to what he hopes will be an uneventful afternoon at a backyard barbeque, more than his afternoon is interrupted. As dogs will do, these have uncovered a bone. Trouble is, it turns out to be human. When it leads to the discovery of more human remains, Gordon needs to find out why they’re on the property, when they got there, and who they belonged to. After all, somebody needs to care.
Over the mayor’s objections, Gordon pursues the investigation of the bones along with an unusual outbreak of petty crimes, accidents, and a dispatcher who seems to be losing it. Before long, he’s got more puzzle pieces than he knows what to do with—and no puzzle to fit them into. When people he loves are endangered, no mayoral directive will stop Gordon from saving them.
This second book in the Mapleton Mystery series reunites Gordon with Detective Tyler Colfax, once again faced with cooperating to solve another case.
Mapleton Police Chief Gordon Hepler and the mayor can’t agree about what being a cop means. To Gordon, it’s keeping his citizens safe. To the mayor, it’s generating revenue by issuing speeding and parking tickets.
When two runaway dogs waylay Gordon on the way to what he hopes will be an uneventful afternoon at a backyard barbeque, more than his afternoon is interrupted. As dogs will do, these have uncovered a bone. Trouble is, it turns out to be human. When it leads to the discovery of more human remains, Gordon needs to find out why they’re on the property, when they got there, and who they belonged to. After all, somebody needs to care.
Over the mayor’s objections, Gordon pursues the investigation of the bones along with an unusual outbreak of petty crimes, accidents, and a dispatcher who seems to be losing it. Before long, he’s got more puzzle pieces than he knows what to do with—and no puzzle to fit them into. When people he loves are endangered, no mayoral directive will stop Gordon from saving them.
This second book in the Mapleton Mystery series reunites Gordon with Detective Tyler Colfax, once again faced with cooperating to solve another case.
- GenresMysteryCozyCozy Mystery
362 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 30, 2012
52 people are currently reading
97 people want to read
About the author
Terry Odell
64 books224 followersTerry Odell was born in Los Angeles and after living several decades in Florida now makes her home in Colorado. An avid reader (her parents tell everyone they had to move from their first home because she finished the local library), she always wanted to "fix" stories so the characters did what she wanted, in books, television, and the movies. Once she began writing, she found this wasn't always possible, as evidenced when the mystery she intended to write rapidly became a romance.
However, her entry into the world of writing can be attributed to a "mistake" when her son mentioned the Highlander television series on a visit home. Being the "good mother" she began watching the show and soon connected with the world of fanfiction, first as a reader, then as a critique giver, and then, one brave weekend, she wrote her first short story.
Things snowballed (if one can use that analogy in central Florida!) and soon she was writing her first original novel. Much later, she mentioned something about a recent Highlander episode to her son, and he said, "Oh, I've never actually watched the show, I just thought the concept was cool." Little did he know what he'd started.
"
However, her entry into the world of writing can be attributed to a "mistake" when her son mentioned the Highlander television series on a visit home. Being the "good mother" she began watching the show and soon connected with the world of fanfiction, first as a reader, then as a critique giver, and then, one brave weekend, she wrote her first short story.
Things snowballed (if one can use that analogy in central Florida!) and soon she was writing her first original novel. Much later, she mentioned something about a recent Highlander episode to her son, and he said, "Oh, I've never actually watched the show, I just thought the concept was cool." Little did he know what he'd started.
"
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 17, 2017
In Terry Odell's Deadly Bones, second book in the Mapleton Mystery series. Police Chief Gordon Hepler comes across a pair of young boys looking for their lost dogs and puts out a call to locate the pets. When he gets the notice that the dogs have been located, they find a complication: One of the dogs is carrying a bone, and it is human. Making use of the county cadaver dogs, the law enforcement officials find old bones, buried at least 30 years ago on the property of Sam and Rose Kretzer. But the mayor, always anxious to cut back on the police department budget, demands that Gordon do nothing to investigate the body because Gordon has no sign of a crime's having been committed.
Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation
Read the rest of this review, more reviews, and other wonderful, geeky articles on FangirlNation
April 21, 2013
Police Chief Gordon Hepler has his hands full when a dog unearths a human bone, and the mayor wants him to hand out more speeding tickets. But a person is dead, their family needs closure, and Gordon needs to work the case. More bones are found, more interference rains down from the mayor, and Gordon’s personal life takes a turn for the worse. A rash of nuisance crimes and injury to community members puts Gordon on full alert. Something’s rotten in his town, and by George, he’s going to stamp it out.
Odell’s cozy/police procedural kept my interest from start to finish. Those cinnamon rolls seemed so real I could taste them. Recommended for mystery lovers.
Odell’s cozy/police procedural kept my interest from start to finish. Those cinnamon rolls seemed so real I could taste them. Recommended for mystery lovers.
September 3, 2020
The first book in this series, Deadly Secrets, was good enough that I wanted to read more of Odell's work.
Odell takes us back to Mapleton, CO, where Police Chief Gordon Hepler launches an investigation into the story behind human bones found by a dog while dealing with a political hack of a mayor, the sudden life-threatening illness of an old friend, and his deepening relationship with Angie Mead.
A dog finding bones has been used before and the small town setting, while not commonplace, is not new either. Nor is a police chief feuding with the mayor over the cost of an investigation vs. revenue generated by handing out parking and speeding tickets. But this book had that indefinable ‘something extra’ that makes a book click with a reader.
Odell and her Mapleton series are now on my ‘Must Read’ list.
Odell takes us back to Mapleton, CO, where Police Chief Gordon Hepler launches an investigation into the story behind human bones found by a dog while dealing with a political hack of a mayor, the sudden life-threatening illness of an old friend, and his deepening relationship with Angie Mead.
A dog finding bones has been used before and the small town setting, while not commonplace, is not new either. Nor is a police chief feuding with the mayor over the cost of an investigation vs. revenue generated by handing out parking and speeding tickets. But this book had that indefinable ‘something extra’ that makes a book click with a reader.
Odell and her Mapleton series are now on my ‘Must Read’ list.
April 14, 2019
Intriguing
"Can't tell the players without a scorecard. " So many people, so many years. This was true combined investigative work. Old bones found in old graves. Whose are they and how did they get there? These questions have the whole town guessing and 2 police forces stretched to the limit.
Romance is off limits for the time being. No time for Megan and Justin or for Angie and Gordon to do anymore than stay alive.
All in all a good read.
"Can't tell the players without a scorecard. " So many people, so many years. This was true combined investigative work. Old bones found in old graves. Whose are they and how did they get there? These questions have the whole town guessing and 2 police forces stretched to the limit.
Romance is off limits for the time being. No time for Megan and Justin or for Angie and Gordon to do anymore than stay alive.
All in all a good read.
May 9, 2019
Very good mystery!
This is the second book in a series by Terry Odell. I really got caught up in the events and could not put the book down.
The characters are well done and believable. The writing is strong and complete. I have no urges to edit or proof the story.
I am looking forward to the next one.
This is the second book in a series by Terry Odell. I really got caught up in the events and could not put the book down.
The characters are well done and believable. The writing is strong and complete. I have no urges to edit or proof the story.
I am looking forward to the next one.
October 17, 2025
Really enjoy following the characters in the small CO town. The police chief character is getting better with each book. The plot is sound, but the ending catches you by surprise. Great cozy mystery book, fun to try and fill in the puzzle pieces
November 25, 2020
Pleasant and clean small town sheriff mystery. Well plotted and nicely narrated by Steve Marvel.
May 20, 2017
Terry Odell's Deadly Bones is the second book in the Mapleton Mystery series, but my first book by the author.
Gordon Hepler is the Chief of Police in a small Colorado town. Chief Hepler happens upon two boys looking for their missing dogs and so helps them look for the dogs. When the dogs are located they have a bone that looks suspiciously like a human bone. Chief Helper is trying to find out where the bone came from and who it belonged to but the Mayor is insisting that Hepler spend his time solving a series of break-ins that have happened recently in the area. Can Hepler solve the mystery of the bone without getting into more trouble with the Mayor? Are the break-ins a diversion from something more sinister?
I received a copy of this audiobook for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas are my own.
I really enjoyed this book. The book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone mystery. It is well written, has a great pace to the storyline, the characters are well developed. There are enough twist and turns so I didn’t figure out who was involved until Mrs. Odell decided to let her readers in on the answer to the mystery. The narrator Steve Marvel did a great job telling the story. He has a clear voice and a wonderful tone that you can enjoy listening to. I would recommend this book to other mystery lovers and will read more books by Mrs. Odell in the future.
Gordon Hepler is the Chief of Police in a small Colorado town. Chief Hepler happens upon two boys looking for their missing dogs and so helps them look for the dogs. When the dogs are located they have a bone that looks suspiciously like a human bone. Chief Helper is trying to find out where the bone came from and who it belonged to but the Mayor is insisting that Hepler spend his time solving a series of break-ins that have happened recently in the area. Can Hepler solve the mystery of the bone without getting into more trouble with the Mayor? Are the break-ins a diversion from something more sinister?
I received a copy of this audiobook for my honest review. All thoughts and ideas are my own.
I really enjoyed this book. The book is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone mystery. It is well written, has a great pace to the storyline, the characters are well developed. There are enough twist and turns so I didn’t figure out who was involved until Mrs. Odell decided to let her readers in on the answer to the mystery. The narrator Steve Marvel did a great job telling the story. He has a clear voice and a wonderful tone that you can enjoy listening to. I would recommend this book to other mystery lovers and will read more books by Mrs. Odell in the future.
January 5, 2015
The Mapleton Mysteries are cozy stories set in a small Colorado town just outside Denver. The main characters are the sheriff Gordon, the diner owner Angie, and a family comprised of two elderly grandparents Sam and Rose, their ward Meggie, and grandson Justin. As we all know, small towns everywhere are populated by people with secrets they will kill to keep hidden. As with all cozies, the success of the story lies in the characters first. Terry Odell does a great job of giving us people who have both strengths and faults that are believable.
Now the secret is solved life should be good. Until a dog digs up a bone on Sam and Rose’s back lot, it is.Now Sheriff Gordon is tracking burial sites and still fighting for control of the investigation with the ‘help’, his own team, and the mayor
Now the secret is solved life should be good. Until a dog digs up a bone on Sam and Rose’s back lot, it is.Now Sheriff Gordon is tracking burial sites and still fighting for control of the investigation with the ‘help’, his own team, and the mayor
September 10, 2016
Loved it!!!
Gordon, the police chief and Angie, who owns the restaurant in town are seeing each other. But he is not quite ready to admit his feelings for Angie.
We once again have Sam and Rose, what an awesome couple. And of course Megan, who was raised by Sam and Rose and Justin who is their grandson.
All of these people are old friends from a previous book.
This is great mystery that stretches back to the 1940's and WWII. You have a crazy man and a crooked mayor. Plus numerous other characters.
This is so well written, with so many twists and turns that you don't know where it is going just that you have to keep flowing it so you don't lose your way. You definitely don't want to miss the ending
This is part of a series and should be read in order!
Gordon, the police chief and Angie, who owns the restaurant in town are seeing each other. But he is not quite ready to admit his feelings for Angie.
We once again have Sam and Rose, what an awesome couple. And of course Megan, who was raised by Sam and Rose and Justin who is their grandson.
All of these people are old friends from a previous book.
This is great mystery that stretches back to the 1940's and WWII. You have a crazy man and a crooked mayor. Plus numerous other characters.
This is so well written, with so many twists and turns that you don't know where it is going just that you have to keep flowing it so you don't lose your way. You definitely don't want to miss the ending
This is part of a series and should be read in order!
August 13, 2016
Where did the dog get the bone? Why does it matter? It
matters because the dog unearthed a human bone. So the
Mystery begins in the quaint town of Mapleton, Colorado.
With the help of the sheriff and his staff, Police Chief
Gordon Hepler begins the investigation. But why does the
mayor insist Gordon put this mystery on hold? What is
happening with all over the town with injuries to
community members plus bothersome minor crimes?
The plot has many twists and turns making for attentive
reading. The characters are all unique and interesting in
their own ways . Each character adds to the story’s
development. It is a mystery you won’t want to miss!!
matters because the dog unearthed a human bone. So the
Mystery begins in the quaint town of Mapleton, Colorado.
With the help of the sheriff and his staff, Police Chief
Gordon Hepler begins the investigation. But why does the
mayor insist Gordon put this mystery on hold? What is
happening with all over the town with injuries to
community members plus bothersome minor crimes?
The plot has many twists and turns making for attentive
reading. The characters are all unique and interesting in
their own ways . Each character adds to the story’s
development. It is a mystery you won’t want to miss!!
November 19, 2012
A good small town police procedural/mystery. It brings a recent discovery of bones together with the history of the town and some of the people in it. Throughout the story various bits and pieces start to come together with some interesting twists and turns, there are some unanswered questions at the end but they don't really affect the overall story so that just makes it more realistic.
I will probably try at least one more of the Mapleton Mysteries.
I will probably try at least one more of the Mapleton Mysteries.
December 14, 2012
I just finished reading Deadly Bones. It kept me guessing all the way through. Just when I figured out who I thought was behind the bones, the book took off at break-neck speed until the ending. Odell mixes in just enough romance and small town charm to make this a fun and interesting read. I look forward to many more Mapleton mysteries. Well done Terry...
July 14, 2014
Well, I enjoy finding a series and then getting into the characters. I liked Deadly Secrets so I carried on with Deadly Bones. Gordon is sweet, a bit too careful for me. I like his relationship with Angie. Megan and Justin are a good couple as are the stars of the book Rose and Sam. But again to much build-up for the climax for me.
January 10, 2013
I enjoyed this book. It was a solid mystery that kept me engag.ed
December 10, 2014
DEADLY bones
Suspense to the very end. Very good book. You have a winner here. I am ready to read the next in the series.
Suspense to the very end. Very good book. You have a winner here. I am ready to read the next in the series.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews