A Whisper of Bones

by Rosanne L. Higgins

Maude Travers gulped for air. Why had this man struck her? Why was she on this kitchen floor in this ramshackle tenement? Blinking hard she was instantly sitting back in the anthropology lab questioning her own sanity. Was that a vision? An hallucination? Could she really just have witnessed, or rather, felt the brutal beating of a woman who lived over 170 years ago, and if so, why? What was this woman trying to tell her? Compelled to understand this message, Maude juggles the running of her own business and her work in the lab. Her attempt to decipher the tale of an excavated skeleton from the former grounds of the Erie County Poorhouse consumes her. This quest is aided by the diary of the Keeper of the Buffalo Orphan Asylum, Ciara Sloane Nolan. A former poorhouse inmate herself, Ciara's duty is to defend and protect the homeless children of the city. Between the journal and the whispering of bones, the past and the present intertwine. Maude learns of widespread corruption at the almshouse, and a most horrifying secret is revealed.

464 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2014

Reviews

[Julie Pfleuger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Addicting

Being born and raised in Buffalo, I feel a pride that I wasn't aware I have for my city. These books are part of my ancestors history and it has been such an eye opener for me.
But even if.your not from Buffalo, the story is addictive, the characters endearing and in the end it leaves you wanting more.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am enjoying this well-researched series. I am unsure whether I prefer the dual timeline approach the author takes in this second novel, or the more straightforward narration used in the first book. While I thoroughly enjoyed the technical details surrounding the anthropological research, which the contemporary timeline provided, I am not as fond of the supernatural touches. On investigating the books to follow, I see that this aspect is likely to be amplified in the books to come. While not a plus, in my opinion, that will not stop me from completing this entertaining series (enhanced by the local flavor, since I am a Buffalo resident)!

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 2 in the series of historical fiction, based on the orphanges in Buffalo, NY in the 19th Century. This book adds the twist of an archiologist in the early 2000's in Buffalo exploring graves found on the side of the Univeristy of Buffalo. The story alternates with the head of the orphanage (we met her in book 1)and her family and some of the orphange workes.