Coal Bones

by Karen Rose Cercone

The discovery of a slain man in a coal mine leads Detective Milo Kachigan and reporter Helen Sorby into the middle of an ugly battle between immigrant laborers and big money interests in turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh

Genres: Mystery, Historical Mystery, Historical Fiction

274 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

For Karen Rose Cercone, writing is just another way to flex her teaching muscles. The IUP geoscience professor teaches her readers about science and scientists through her Star Trek novels and history through her series of historical mysteries.

She has co-written some eleven Star Trek novels with fellow writer Julia Ecklar under the name L.A. Graf. The name stands for "Let's All Get Rich and Famous" and was the name of a writer's group to which the two authors belonged. Their first Star Trek novel came out in 1990.

The two authors have split the writing by dividing up the characters. Cercone takes the scientists. "I want to have a really positive portrayal of science and show scientists are human beings using this technique to solve problems," said Cercone. "I want my scientists to be the heroes and the role models. I have a lot of women scientists."

Reviews

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting characters from the previous volume effectively went to Mandyville. Disappointing. Also, the mystery and the romantic plotlines both seemed less interesting. Well, in the case of the latter, it was interesting, just not handled in a very satisfying way. And the introduction of the Black Hand was almost ... I don't know, too convenient? There's a trope for this but I am blanking on its name. I almost wonder if the author wanted to write more books in these series but the sales figures weren't good enough, or if her day job started demanding more of her attention.