A Skeleton in Bone Creek

by Baer Charlton

FBI, Special Agent Nash Running Bear, returns to her hometown after a skeleton turns up in the local creek on reservation land.   Old racial slights and hatred for outsiders don't make looking for more bones any easier... nor does the appearance of an old high school fling.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, LGBT, Fiction, Ebooks

288 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 8, 2023

About the author

Baer Charlton, an Amazon best selling author, was degreed as a Social-Anthropologist by the University of California at Irvine. His many interests have led him around the world in search of different and unique.
As an internationally recognized Photo Journalist, he has tracked mountain gorillas, been a podium for a Barbary Ape, communicated in sign language with an Orangutan named Boolon, kissed a kangaroo and many wild experiences in between. Or he was just monkeying around.

His love for sailing has led him to file assignments from various countries, as well as from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean aboard a five-mast sailing ship. Baer has lectured and spoken on five continents, plus lecturing at sea.

His copyrighted logo is “WR1T3R”. The idea is within every person, there is a story. But inside that story, is even a more memorable story. Those are the stories he likes to tell.
There is no more complex and wonderful story than the ones that come from human experience. Mr. Charlton’s stories are all driven by the characters you come to think of as friends.

Reviews

[Deena Scintilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline line was ok, but there were so many distractions for me. It seemed like every other paragraph would have someone rolling their eye(s), squinting while rolling the eyes, SHRUGGING eyes (not sure how that is done), side-eyeing or furling their lips- not curling, furling, etc. Again, I'm not sure what that is. I'm not sure if I'll read more of this series which is too bad since I liked the idea of a Native American FBI agent.

[Ann Frizzell · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a bad story, but so poorly written, I could not figure out what was going on half the time. Plus, if I had read one more description of lips, or read the words "furled lips" one more time, I think I might have screamed bloody murder!!

[Sunhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the upper right hand corner of California atmosphere, and the authority it confers on our protagonist. A DEA agent planted in a hogan in the backyard for two decades strains credulity -- more cost effective to put him in Humboldt County's Emerald (not Green) Triangle? -- and it's Tomales, not tamales. Little failures of author and editor lost the book a star from me: if you're trying for atmospheric, best get the atmosphere right. I admire the author's effort to field as ungeneric a detective as possible, thereby stretching a jaded but favorite genre.

[Fran Burdsall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nash Running Bear is your basic bad-ass secret squirrel first nations heroine. I loved the plot and all the characters but toward the end, there was a lot of government acronyms and special forces kind of inside procedures that I had to work at following. For Book 1, Baer Charlton is off to a running start and I look forward to reading the next installment!

[Kelly Hudson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the view of cultures that are new to me, but I can’t judge the accuracy of the depiction. I would give this book a 4 star except that there are some typos and also some odd and distracting word uses. For example “The sundown was spectacular.” I’ve not seen that usage before.

[Shelly Fabian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Lesbian Literature detective story:

“here we are with marijuana legal in almost half of the nation.”

“Only because everyone still believes grass doesn’t kill anyone. Just like guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Drugs are drugs, and they all kill.”

“Dad used to say the VFW stood for very fine whiskey”

“by talking, we can make a difference.” “Communication is always the key.”

“Even if it’s your most loved dog, if it’s rabid, your duty is to put it down. You don’t cry about it; you just do it. Because by the time you know, they aren’t the dog you loved.”

[Bonnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This read was a read into a world that people don't understand about different beliefs and what they stand for. In Book #1 A Skeleton in Bone Creek; you have a killer that has been killing Native American people and others in a place that people go to soak, swim, and be with friends and family. After finding an other body and a skeleton of another one they bring in a F.B.I. Agent Nash Running Bear to help find the killer. What they don't know is it could be one of their own or is it an outsider.

[Michaele Caso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love Powder!!

Kept me reading past my bedtime for a few nights, had to know who's bones, and where it was going.
Powder has to have more adventures!

[Terry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn't do it! I got about half way through and was so lost. I think this was written to be sprinkled with humor but the whole time I was reading I felt like I was trapped in a room listening to inside jokes that I didn't get. The only likeable character was the dog. I had no interest in any of the characters so they could all end up in Bone Creek for all I cared. I finally threw in the towel and gave up.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

A SKELETON IN BONE CREEK is a really good story with multiple interesting plots. I loved Nash Running Bear, Uncle, and Powder. I did not like the frequent and repetitive descriptions of “lip furling” and looking with “one eye.” Also, the author needs a medical adviser (“hand bone?”). Overall, this is a good mystery that held my interest all the way to the end. I enjoyed it.

[Jhonda · Rating 5 out of 5]

great new series

Great new series. I am looking forward to the next book. The characters are well written and are believable. Agent Running Bear is a great addition to the female leads in the mystery genre.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story, well-written except for several horribly misused words (kind of like wordos, but worse). It word appear that this first in a series about a lesbian Native American woman was written by a sociologist cis man, but still, he did a decent job.

[Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for the next book!

I love the story this book tells. It's sad and powerful at the same time. Baer Charlton creates works that are worth your time.

[Sienna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing could use a little more polish, but that didn't get in the way of the story. I'll continue this series to find out what happens to our characters next.

[Beth Gooch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the dog.

[J H · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were great things about this book, but the things that I didn't like heavily impacted my opinion of it.

Nash was a likable & relatable character. I appreciated her flexibility with certain law enforcement issues and how intersectionality continues to impact Native American women like her. Even though the book falls under a possible definition of a lesbian book, it wasn't one. The MC was a queer woman with a wife, but that was never a significant part of the story, so I wouldn't pigeonhole it. It also wasn't "shoved" down my throat, "too woke," or "too PC." If the little bit of it mentioned bothered people, they just need to get over it

The frequently mentioned prejudice against and poor treatment of Native Americans is well-deserved, but possibly a bit too much in the story. The fact that the author chose to use the term "dwarf" to describe a Little Person indicated to me that he isn't aware of other marginalized people having their own prejudices. It also proved that reviewers crying and complaining about it being "too PC" are wrong. Otherwise, it wouldn't be there.

It was in need of editing & polishing. There were above average grammatical and punctuation errors. There was also overuse of certain terms or phrases.

I saw one review that mentioned not knowing why skeletons and water toxicity would be used together. I didn't find that confusing at all. The science nerd in me appreciated it.

All in all, I enjoyed the plot and Nash, but the above-mentioned things spoiled it for me.

[SylviaV · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Skeleton in Bone Creek by Baer Charlton.
(A Nash Running Bear Mystery Book 1)

This book has an interesting story arc and engaging characters. The main character Nash is juggling her life experiences as a first nation person with her time in the armed forces and now as special agent with the FBI. When bones are discovered in the area where she grew up she has to navigate her memories and her responsibilities as the person in charge of the investigation. Over the course of the book, she encounters a diverse group of people, all doing their bit, all working towards a common goal of investigating the crimes and getting justice for the victims. A great read.

[Russ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story and characters were intriguing. I would often get confused about the setting as there wasn’t much continuity between chapters or even within a chapter. The author overused many phrases to describe expressions by the characters. The most egregious was the use of the term “furled lips”, which occurred 32 times in the book. I’m not even sure what “furled lips”looks like. Overall, I did like the characters and with a better editor this would be a solid western mystery.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting characters with depth yet to be explored, one strong character with feet in two worlds, a puzzle to solve, and a homecoming of sorts. Had a few WTF moments where I had to go back to the last chapter and see if I had missed something and it got to the point that "furled lips" caused me to chuckle and roll my eyes (but now I need to look that up and see if it's a thing). Looking g forward to seeing what's next and hoping for a return of many of the characters.

[Sue Dix · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was a solid mystery but could have used some editing. There were times I lost the narrative, but it had a really heartfelt ending. I really like Nash Running Bear and her wife Mina. Lots of federal agencies, drugs, a serial killer, tribal lore, a dog named Powder (does not die), small town politics. There are more books in this series and I may try another.

[Leslie Bristow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A whodunnit that keeps you engaged from the good! When an FBI agent returns home to find her small hometown under attack from drugs and violence, she has to facedown old racisms and bigotry to uncover the answers and keep the rest of her town safe. My only critique would be his characters all make the same facial expressions and wink alot, but who cares really with a book this good!!!

[Heather Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting premise, a jaded but relatable and very strong female protagonist who is not only in law enforcement but a Special Agent and a Native American returns reluctantly to home turf. The backdrop is a character all its own, and backstories show old conflicts may be covered, but are never healed.

[Ann H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Thought it had promise, but the story was a bit everywhere, when the story should have moved along quicker at the end for example the author got stuck on too much unnecessary information. The written English was hard to follow…..slang, way of talking I don’t know about??

[Gillie Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put it down!

[Fancy]

dnf. slow pace, slow language.

[Maureen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not very good…hard to keep everyone straight and the writing didn’t explain much…

I didn’t get this book at the library, I ran across it in iBooks app….

[Kathy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly a 4, but there were several areas that seemed like they'd left out a few paragraphs or a chapter, even.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really really creepy story!! Definitely held my interest.

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good suspenseful read with twists and turns that adds to how good this author has written this book. This is the first I've read from this author but it won't be the last

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

unusual characters and a little different.