Bones Will Tell

by Bruno Fischer

A dead body, an ugly hunchback, and a sinister mansion. These were the ingredients to a night of terror thrust upon two young kids who were just out to have some fun and mischief on a moonlit summer evening. Old Miss Tait’s crumbling mansion was their target. She lived there in solitude with her hunchback servant, Klink. The mansion grounds were covered with wild, untended lilacs, and Joey Woodward knew a few of them wouldn’t be missed. But when he and Nancy North (absolutely the cutest girl in school) climbed the wall into the mansion grounds, they stumbled into a series of events that ended with dead bodies strewn all over the place; and each dreadful discovery sent them reeling in ever-increasing terror. Before long they found themselves trudging, nearly panic-stricken, through a dark swamp in the black of the night, where they soon stumbled upon the ultimate horror. And there was no question in Joey and Nancy’s minds—if they didn’t watch out, they’d be next…

Printed by Armchair Fiction along with Dead in Bed by Day Keene.

60 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Bruno Fischer was the author of 25 novels and more than 300 short stories, a contributor to "Black Mask" and "Manhunt" magazines, and the uncrowned king of the notorious 'weird menace' pulps. He wrote also as Russell Gray and Harrison Storm.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bones Will Tell is a classic whodunit murder mystery with elements of horror (mostly from the suspense and shock methods spattered throughout). Clocking in around 60 pages, it's a quick read that gets straight to the point with little to no filler content.

The premise is pretty simple and that's part of the fun; a preteen couple daring themselves to be brave jump over the wall of a creepy old house inhibited by an equally creepy old woman (though in reality said creepy old woman is in her early 50's) in search of ghoulish things and, well, to prove to themselves they're brave. Little did they know what lay on the other side of the wall would haunt them for the rest of their lives!

Whilst not as good as the book this is paired with in the two-for-one printing (Dead in Bed by Day Keene), Bones Will Tell is a lot fun to read, and will be more appreciated by readers familiar with pulp/dime-store paperbacks than traditional mystery readers.

[Glenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lightweight tale that seems geared to the juvenile audience, with the traditional “shocks” and “terror” portrayed by the characters’ ultra-dramatic reactions. Without knowing much about the original source material, this very short mystery adventure seems like it was a serialized magazine installment from decades ago. Similar to a Hardy Boys adventure, although more graphic in violence and dead bodies, and chock full of over-the-top reactions.