What do you think?
Rate this book
Skeletons
Lee Donne's family is gifted. Her mother has three doctorates, her father is an economics genius, and her grandfather is a world renowned Shakespearean scholar. Lee's own gift, if you could call it that, is an eidetic memory that seems to maintain a visual representation of everything she's ever seen. For the most part, this gift is useless; it certainly hasn't helped Lee in college, where she's just spent four years drifting from major to major, with no degree in sight.
Without a job or prospects, Lee is relieved to be housesitting her grandfather's isolated Oregon home. But her stay soon becomes a nightmare when she is tormented by strange and menacing noises at night. Emboldened by a visit from her friend Casey, Lee finds that the source of these haunting sounds is an all-too-human force--a young and well-respected man.
He knew that Lee's grandfather would be away, but what could he have been looking for? The search for answers takes Lee from the Pacific Northwest to the streets of New Orleans.
Using her strange gift as she probes into her family's past, Lee uncovers secrets more far-reaching and sinister than she ever could imagine.
Without a job or prospects, Lee is relieved to be housesitting her grandfather's isolated Oregon home. But her stay soon becomes a nightmare when she is tormented by strange and menacing noises at night. Emboldened by a visit from her friend Casey, Lee finds that the source of these haunting sounds is an all-too-human force--a young and well-respected man.
He knew that Lee's grandfather would be away, but what could he have been looking for? The search for answers takes Lee from the Pacific Northwest to the streets of New Orleans.
Using her strange gift as she probes into her family's past, Lee uncovers secrets more far-reaching and sinister than she ever could imagine.
378 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 2002
15 people are currently reading
313 people want to read
About the author
Kate Wilhelm
275 books443 followersKate Wilhelm’s first short story, “The Pint-Sized Genie” was published in Fantastic Stories in 1956. Her first novel, MORE BITTER THAN DEATH, a mystery, was published in 1963. Over the span of her career, her writing has crossed over the genres of science fiction, speculative fiction, fantasy and magical realism, psychological suspense, mimetic, comic, and family sagas, a multimedia stage production, and radio plays. She returned to writing mysteries in 1990 with the acclaimed Charlie Meiklejohn and Constance Leidl Mysteries and the Barbara Holloway series of legal thrillers.
Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit, Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.
Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops.
Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction.
Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.
Wilhelm’s works have been adapted for television and movies in numerous countries; her novels and stories have been translated to more than a dozen languages. She has contributed to Quark, Orbit, Magazine of Fantasy and ScienceFiction, Locus, Amazing Stories, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Fantastic, Omni, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Redbook, and Cosmopolitan.
Kate Wilhelm is the widow of acclaimed science fiction author and editor, Damon Knight (1922-2002), with whom she founded the Clarion Writers’ Workshop and the Milford Writers’ Conference, described in her 2005 non-fiction work, STORYTELLER. They lectured together at universities across three continents; Kate has continued to offer interviews, talks, and monthly workshops.
Kate Wilhelm has received two Hugo awards, three Nebulas, as well as Jupiter, Locus, Spotted Owl, Prix Apollo, Kristen Lohman awards, among others. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2009, Kate was the recipient of one of the first Solstice Awards presented by the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) in recognition of her contributions to the field of science fiction.
Kate’s highly popular Barbara Holloway mysteries, set in Eugene, Oregon, opened with Death Qualified in 1990. Mirror, Mirror, released in 2017, is the series’ 14th novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
June 9, 2012
Wow, still reeling from this one! I've loved Kate Wilhelm's novels since I read Where Late the Sweet Birds Sing many years ago and her thrillers, crime novels, courtroom dramas and science fiction are all so well written.
This novel involves Lee Donne, a misfit in her family she's just flunked out of college, unlike her friend Casey who has passed her computer courses with flying colours. Both girls are likeable characters and when you first meet them, fairly happy go lucky. Even Lee who has no idea what she wants to do with her future is, after a bit of persuasion, happy to go babysit her grandfather's house whilst he's away lecturing on Shakespeare in Oxford. And that's where it all starts! 1st there's the guy who's trying to scare Casey out of the house by throwing rocks at the roof. 2nd when the police call there's no rocks to be seen. 3rd when Casey arrives to stay they realise he's throwing ice cubes, so they've melted by the time anyone thinks to look for them 4th whilst trying to identify him, he is killed by accident in Lee's backyard and that's where the ride really starts! Discovering her grandfather's secret hideaway and what's inside it, Lee's decision to take this to a newspaper and a reporter she remembers taking classes from at uni, lead to a wild physiological thriller that doesn't stop until the last page.
Excellent and well worth five stars
This novel involves Lee Donne, a misfit in her family she's just flunked out of college, unlike her friend Casey who has passed her computer courses with flying colours. Both girls are likeable characters and when you first meet them, fairly happy go lucky. Even Lee who has no idea what she wants to do with her future is, after a bit of persuasion, happy to go babysit her grandfather's house whilst he's away lecturing on Shakespeare in Oxford. And that's where it all starts! 1st there's the guy who's trying to scare Casey out of the house by throwing rocks at the roof. 2nd when the police call there's no rocks to be seen. 3rd when Casey arrives to stay they realise he's throwing ice cubes, so they've melted by the time anyone thinks to look for them 4th whilst trying to identify him, he is killed by accident in Lee's backyard and that's where the ride really starts! Discovering her grandfather's secret hideaway and what's inside it, Lee's decision to take this to a newspaper and a reporter she remembers taking classes from at uni, lead to a wild physiological thriller that doesn't stop until the last page.
Excellent and well worth five stars
February 16, 2017
This is the first book I've read by Kate Wilhelm and have discovered yet another author I'm going to be reading. The characters are interesting and the plot has many twists and turns. I enjoyed how the plot revolved around older history and family secrets.
April 2, 2016
Another awesome story. I could not stop listening! Two woman dispose of a body. They didn't kill the guy, but who would believe them? It only gets better from there!
I love the Eugene, Oregon settings.
Another new narrator for me. Good work, C.M. Herbert, you pronounced the Willamette River correctly. Siskiyou, not so much.
I love the Eugene, Oregon settings.
Another new narrator for me. Good work, C.M. Herbert, you pronounced the Willamette River correctly. Siskiyou, not so much.
August 5, 2017
Skeletons by Kate Wilhelm is a book I got from the library and it sounded like a good creepy book but it was just okay. Not creepy, just a mystery really. What happens there turns into a nightmare partly because of her so I didn't feel to sorry for her. It was just a strange plot, not very likeable people and a bit confusing at times. It did have some good moments that kept me going and enjoying it.
Read
May 24, 2012(This is really not a review, just scattered observations.)
I got this because 'Punk liked it, and I'd liked mysteries by Wilhelm before - it was indeed a good satisfying read.
It was also, yes, a little odd there was no email and no cell phones (especially since a character was a "super hacker" type), but if you mentally backdate it 10-12 years (it was published in 2002), that worked okay. It's rare to see a thriller take on racial issues this openly - I really liked Casey, and my favourite scene was the reverend and his scrapbook, and it was great that the smart cool teller at the end was apparently Hispanic (going by her surname; she's not described) - no fuss, just a nice, low-key cameo. But important. It was very convincing how Lee was this sort of vauge aimless drifter with one "useless" talent, and how she took it for granted (like her mother and great-uncle -- which was what threw their whole plot into motion). I also really liked how Lee's friendship with Casey was much more detailed and a bit more important to the plot than the Budding Romance, which was nice but sidelined - usually it's always the other way round (if there's the Bechdel test, this must be the Chloe-Likes-Olivia rating. Four Olivias, here). Lee's grandfather and mother weren't really that convincing, and the was sort of overwrought (High Southern Gothic?), but Casey and Perillo were worth it.
So, a tightly plotted book (if you read the end first it won't make any sense -- not that I would EVER do such a thing), very good characterizations, female friendship, the question of racial prejudice and ethical responsibility, even a little romance - and I guess it's sorta sad that a book which not only does NOT have gender and racefail issues, but actually treats those topics pretty WELL, was cause for a little quiet jubilation. But that's the world we live in.
I also really liked that Lee thought of herself as such a kind of bland milquetoast, when in reality she was pretty tough (and not in a Mary Sue way, not really). Best quote:
Wilhelm's sff is so underrated now, it's really sad (she was a big figure in the New Wave in the seventies, wrote a lot of feminist stuff, won prizes....). It's really nice to see she's apparently cleaning up some with good thrillers, if the large selection of used and new paperbacks in local bookstores is a reliable sign, and featuring mostly active female protagonists in a Pacific Northwest setting, too.
I got this because 'Punk liked it, and I'd liked mysteries by Wilhelm before - it was indeed a good satisfying read.
It was also, yes, a little odd there was no email and no cell phones (especially since a character was a "super hacker" type), but if you mentally backdate it 10-12 years (it was published in 2002), that worked okay. It's rare to see a thriller take on racial issues this openly - I really liked Casey, and my favourite scene was the reverend and his scrapbook, and it was great that the smart cool teller at the end was apparently Hispanic (going by her surname; she's not described) - no fuss, just a nice, low-key cameo. But important. It was very convincing how Lee was this sort of vauge aimless drifter with one "useless" talent, and how she took it for granted (like her mother and great-uncle -- which was what threw their whole plot into motion). I also really liked how Lee's friendship with Casey was much more detailed and a bit more important to the plot than the Budding Romance, which was nice but sidelined - usually it's always the other way round (if there's the Bechdel test, this must be the Chloe-Likes-Olivia rating. Four Olivias, here). Lee's grandfather and mother weren't really that convincing, and the was sort of overwrought (High Southern Gothic?), but Casey and Perillo were worth it.
So, a tightly plotted book (if you read the end first it won't make any sense -- not that I would EVER do such a thing), very good characterizations, female friendship, the question of racial prejudice and ethical responsibility, even a little romance - and I guess it's sorta sad that a book which not only does NOT have gender and racefail issues, but actually treats those topics pretty WELL, was cause for a little quiet jubilation. But that's the world we live in.
I also really liked that Lee thought of herself as such a kind of bland milquetoast, when in reality she was pretty tough (and not in a Mary Sue way, not really). Best quote:
Wilhelm's sff is so underrated now, it's really sad (she was a big figure in the New Wave in the seventies, wrote a lot of feminist stuff, won prizes....). It's really nice to see she's apparently cleaning up some with good thrillers, if the large selection of used and new paperbacks in local bookstores is a reliable sign, and featuring mostly active female protagonists in a Pacific Northwest setting, too.
May 1, 2010
Awesome Book!!
From the synopsis here on goodreads, you might get the impression that you've been given way too much information. But this is classified as a psychological thriller, and it's a good one.
The book begins with the introduction of the two major characters and college roommates, Lee and Casey. I liked them right away, and the relationship between them. I wouldn't say the stress of this book was on the characters, though. The emphasis was more on the suspenseful and shocking plot line.
The background information is laid, and then the events start unfolding quickly. In fact, I was surprised at how fast; when I checked, I saw that the first strange happenings began in the first 25 pages. There were some unexpected twists and turns that I never saw coming, and what I found refreshing was the intelligence of our two heroines. In a game of cat and mouse, it was nice to see that they sometimes played the cat role.
I could probably have found a few things to criticize about this book, but I was too busy holding on to the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails.
From the synopsis here on goodreads, you might get the impression that you've been given way too much information. But this is classified as a psychological thriller, and it's a good one.
The book begins with the introduction of the two major characters and college roommates, Lee and Casey. I liked them right away, and the relationship between them. I wouldn't say the stress of this book was on the characters, though. The emphasis was more on the suspenseful and shocking plot line.
The background information is laid, and then the events start unfolding quickly. In fact, I was surprised at how fast; when I checked, I saw that the first strange happenings began in the first 25 pages. There were some unexpected twists and turns that I never saw coming, and what I found refreshing was the intelligence of our two heroines. In a game of cat and mouse, it was nice to see that they sometimes played the cat role.
I could probably have found a few things to criticize about this book, but I was too busy holding on to the edge of my seat and biting my fingernails.
February 1, 2010
Perhaps if I had not read Kate Wilhelm's Barbara Holloway legal mysteries, I would have given this book 4 stars. This was an entertaining, mildly suspenseful novel; enough so that I was interested in finding how our main characters made it through the many crises in their quest to find a solution to their mystery.Rather than produce a synopsis of the plot, I mention here some points of interest that Kate Wilhelm has conveyed quite well. Her attention to the scenery of the Pacific Northwest was vivid, with detail that evoked a sense of the beauty of the surrounding landscape. This novel involves racism, hatred and the Ku Klux Clan, which Wilhelm deftly defined to add impact to her story. Many problems were too easily overcome, with the characters finding salvation "in the nick of time". The principal characters were generally likable with a general sense of interest for their goals.
This is the first non-series book which I have read by this author.I am not convinced that my sense of this book is indicative of her writing in other "stand- alones". I intend to pursue her fiction again, based on my former experiences with her writing.
This is the first non-series book which I have read by this author.I am not convinced that my sense of this book is indicative of her writing in other "stand- alones". I intend to pursue her fiction again, based on my former experiences with her writing.
February 7, 2015
I have to say, I picked up this book after reading the Good Children- a fabulous book and I was sooo disappointed in this one. This author has written over 40 books and with all the accolades she received for so many I couldn't believe how dumb she made her main character in this book. And I mean in the sense of making decisions and choices throughout the ENTIRE book. With every page I became more annoyed at what she was doing. I realize that the reader often can put together clues together before the protagonist but when Lee did put together things, what she did with the information was mind boggling stupid. I finished the book but did so reluctantly. I mean what person figures that she can't go to the police when someone is accidently killed on her property? And throughout the entire book she didn't once speak to her grandfather- the entire source of the chaos. If I had someone in my house going through it and telling the FBI and the news about what they found I sure as hell would be pissed. And just because she has an idetic memory doesn't mean that the FBI is suddenly going to give you a job. So frustrating.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2020
A good plot, but some of the content is sickening as it deals with the Klu Klux Klan and describes in detail a horrific killing carried out in 1947. While it is a fictional story it still sent chills of horror through me just reading it.
August 16, 2019
Wow. This is a fantastic book. Throughly enjoyable and a great story. Full of lots of history and intrigue. Read it, you won't be disappointed.
September 13, 2025
A good read that ended up feeling more ripped–from–today’s –headlines than I expected. This one deals with racism, both overt and hidden.
The protagonist and supporting characters are appealing, though there are a couple of notable times when their behavior feels “off”. Unfortunately, those times drive the story, which stopped this from being a five star read for me.
Still good and definitely recommended. If I knew anyone else who had read this I would compare notes to see if what bothered me was even noticeable. Eh. *Shrugs.*
The protagonist and supporting characters are appealing, though there are a couple of notable times when their behavior feels “off”. Unfortunately, those times drive the story, which stopped this from being a five star read for me.
Still good and definitely recommended. If I knew anyone else who had read this I would compare notes to see if what bothered me was even noticeable. Eh. *Shrugs.*
September 27, 2016
Lost all respect for the main character and the book just was not my cup of tea. Slog fest.
May 19, 2012
Thriller. Lee comes from a long line of overachievers, but considers herself an appendix in a family of brains. After failing to graduate after four years of college, she's sent away to housesit in disgrace while her grandfather is at Oxford. Except someone wants her out of the house.
Lee is exactly as paranoid as I want the protagonist of a psychological thriller to be. She worried about the same things I worried about, was suspicious to a fault, never ran off by herself, and didn't make any dumb decisions, which is a wonderful relief. Also, scarier. Because if the protagonist is doing everything right, and bad things are still happening? That's scary. It means you can't fix things just by thinking, "Jesus, lady, stay out of dark alleyways and stop hanging out with dudes you don't know."
The suspense is good, and the scenery changes, which is not something you see in a lot of suspense novels. Usually it's like WHICH COWORKER IS TRYING TO KILL HER? or WHAT IS THAT NOISE IN THE SWAMP? But this moved around a lot. Which means you never know what direction the danger is going to come from and you just have to suspect EVERYTHING.
The writing can be clumsy at times and doesn't feel very modern. This was published in 2002, but felt like it was written much earlier. A college student is popping bennies. No one carries a cell phone. I should have just not looked at the publication date? But that is not the way I read books. Sorry.
I liked the understated, but sweet, romance, and I really liked that it didn't get in the way of the plot.
Three stars. Exciting, sometimes funny, and with a smart protagonist who knows people are trying to kill her and refuses to make it easy for them. I'll be reading more by Wilhelm.
Lee is exactly as paranoid as I want the protagonist of a psychological thriller to be. She worried about the same things I worried about, was suspicious to a fault, never ran off by herself, and didn't make any dumb decisions, which is a wonderful relief. Also, scarier. Because if the protagonist is doing everything right, and bad things are still happening? That's scary. It means you can't fix things just by thinking, "Jesus, lady, stay out of dark alleyways and stop hanging out with dudes you don't know."
The suspense is good, and the scenery changes, which is not something you see in a lot of suspense novels. Usually it's like WHICH COWORKER IS TRYING TO KILL HER? or WHAT IS THAT NOISE IN THE SWAMP? But this moved around a lot. Which means you never know what direction the danger is going to come from and you just have to suspect EVERYTHING.
The writing can be clumsy at times and doesn't feel very modern. This was published in 2002, but felt like it was written much earlier. A college student is popping bennies. No one carries a cell phone. I should have just not looked at the publication date? But that is not the way I read books. Sorry.
I liked the understated, but sweet, romance, and I really liked that it didn't get in the way of the plot.
Three stars. Exciting, sometimes funny, and with a smart protagonist who knows people are trying to kill her and refuses to make it easy for them. I'll be reading more by Wilhelm.
April 21, 2021
This book was the first book I had ever read by this author, and I enjoyed her writing style. It was easy to follow and flowed well. Writing style is very important to me when I choose a book, and this one passed that part of the test.
The story on the other hand, didn't rate so high on the charts to me. My biggest complaints are:
1.) The main character's relationship with her friend Casey. At times it almost seemed a bit more than just a friendship, especially since Casey always called her baby and the main character would think of her hands and stuff out of nowhere. Neither were gay, so I wasn't sure why that feel was there. It was strange and out of place. It was also odd that Casey would get really mad at Lee when they found out that Lee's relatives, who she had never even met, were members of the KKK. I would never blame my friend for what their ancestors did, so I just didn't get it.
2.) My next complaint is about the relationship that forms between Lee and the reporter she contacts for help. Throughout the entire book Lee describes him as nothing but a very ugly, mean, constantly scowling man, then in the last 3-4 chapters they start dating? There was no buildup whatsoever. Nothing more than a brother-sister relationship, if even that. They worked the case, and he put his arm over her shoulders once. That's it. Why through in the relationship when there wasn't one?
The story on the other hand, didn't rate so high on the charts to me. My biggest complaints are:
1.) The main character's relationship with her friend Casey. At times it almost seemed a bit more than just a friendship, especially since Casey always called her baby and the main character would think of her hands and stuff out of nowhere. Neither were gay, so I wasn't sure why that feel was there. It was strange and out of place. It was also odd that Casey would get really mad at Lee when they found out that Lee's relatives, who she had never even met, were members of the KKK. I would never blame my friend for what their ancestors did, so I just didn't get it.
2.) My next complaint is about the relationship that forms between Lee and the reporter she contacts for help. Throughout the entire book Lee describes him as nothing but a very ugly, mean, constantly scowling man, then in the last 3-4 chapters they start dating? There was no buildup whatsoever. Nothing more than a brother-sister relationship, if even that. They worked the case, and he put his arm over her shoulders once. That's it. Why through in the relationship when there wasn't one?
September 30, 2010
This was a great mystery to read shortly after Angel's Game. Although it isn't written by an internationally known author, it still has the same theme of how those wanting power or fanatics can manipulate the fear, anger, and self-rightousness of easily led people in order to gain power in this case including political power. It was chilling to read the statement that although this candidate didn't expect to win, his ideas would completely squash the person who did win the office because of the pressure from his group. The inticacies of the organization and its fanatic ideas seemed to be the textbook for people in this country even as I write. Sad to say, these people don't have to be readers to get these ideas. They just have to follow the leanings of their own dark souls. I really fear the growing hate and anger between Americans at this time, especially when it targets minorities and the powerless as well as the different. For a mystery out of the bookstore's regular mystery section, it really made me think.
September 29, 2012
I really wanted to like this book. I had greatly enjoyed "Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang," so I had assumed this one would be awesome as well.
Unfortunately, it's just not nuanced. A character freaks out to the point of PTSD over something a her friend's great uncle did 45 years ago. The friend hasn't even met her grandmother, much less the great uncle, so it's not like there's a tight relationship. And yet, our heroine falls into a deep depression and her friend loses it and appears to end their friendship.
*sigh* Such a lot of drama.
The moral perspective is limited and one-dimensional. I got a little tired of one group, in a complicated many-decades-long historical race war, being utterly vilified. It's a whole lot of white guilt. It's not that there aren't horrors, in both past and present. It's just that the characters are all either good or bad, without the subtlety of real people or an acknowledgment of the conflicting pressures on the players.
Overall, meh. I hung in there because I'd paid for the audiobook, but I was not sad to see the back of this one.
Unfortunately, it's just not nuanced. A character freaks out to the point of PTSD over something a her friend's great uncle did 45 years ago. The friend hasn't even met her grandmother, much less the great uncle, so it's not like there's a tight relationship. And yet, our heroine falls into a deep depression and her friend loses it and appears to end their friendship.
*sigh* Such a lot of drama.
The moral perspective is limited and one-dimensional. I got a little tired of one group, in a complicated many-decades-long historical race war, being utterly vilified. It's a whole lot of white guilt. It's not that there aren't horrors, in both past and present. It's just that the characters are all either good or bad, without the subtlety of real people or an acknowledgment of the conflicting pressures on the players.
Overall, meh. I hung in there because I'd paid for the audiobook, but I was not sad to see the back of this one.
September 10, 2011
I was really looking forward to this book. The sweltering days of August leave little choice but to stay inside and reading is my diversion. I was not diverted. Instead, I found myself reading the same page over and over again, never really grasping the story.
Granted, I was expecting a different sort of book. A haunted, Victorian house on a cliff over looking the ocean sort of book and so I was surprised when it turned out to be about a terrible time in our country's history. Gratefully surprised.
Still, I just couldn't get into the story. I found the background bits to be contrived without really building a history for Lee and her family. Too many characters that never really came to life and did nothing to hold my interest.
This was my first book by Kate Wilhelm and I hate to write an author off based on one book so I will probably give her another go ... but I'm not looking forward to it this time.
Granted, I was expecting a different sort of book. A haunted, Victorian house on a cliff over looking the ocean sort of book and so I was surprised when it turned out to be about a terrible time in our country's history. Gratefully surprised.
Still, I just couldn't get into the story. I found the background bits to be contrived without really building a history for Lee and her family. Too many characters that never really came to life and did nothing to hold my interest.
This was my first book by Kate Wilhelm and I hate to write an author off based on one book so I will probably give her another go ... but I'm not looking forward to it this time.
August 3, 2009
This book was OK. I thought that Wilhelm could have done more with the fact that she made one of the characters a Shakespeare scholar and given this multigenerational storyline a little touch of the Bard. I didn't really like Lee very much and was a bit confused about her relationship with Casey--at first I thought they might be more than roommates. Actually, I would have liked the book better if Casey would have been the protagonist. I didn't find it to be a smooth read and it just seemed really disjointed.
February 16, 2011
I started this book & was interested, but as it progressed I lost interest. Once I put it down I really had no desire to pick it up again to see what would happen next.
October 29, 2017
Lee Donne is a family enigma. All of her family are overachievers, but Lee hasn't even graduated from college after four years. She agrees to housesit for her grandfather while he travels to Oxford for a lecture series. She travels to Oregon to his home and the action begins....A mysterious burglar who throws ice cubes at her roof is killed. She and her friend Casey dispose of the body. Then they uncover a horrible thing hidden in the house for years. Then the FBI shows up. This book is full of twists and turns and covers Oregon, California and Louisiana in its scope. It is a very good book with a lot of different aspects. Very good book!
October 16, 2024
Maybe 3.5 stars. This book took a wild turn from a vaguely supernatural premise into a political thriller. It really held my attention. I liked the protagonist and most of the supporting characters. Kudos to the newspaper with unlimited funds at their disposal! Ha ha! The best friend was a little cardboard and stereotypical—she should have been fleshed out more, but altogether is was mostly believable and a quick read at under 300 pages. Entertaining.
May 9, 2017
Thought this was going to be a haunted house type mystery but it was more politics. So good! There were some references I didn't understand, like she'd refer to a name she hadn't mentioned before. But otherwise very good. I do wish it had a more finished ending though.
January 5, 2019
I must
Say that the beginning of this book left me flat. There were a couple things that I just couldn’t understand but I did keep reading. I’m glad I did since the rest was indeed well written and kept my interest.
Say that the beginning of this book left me flat. There were a couple things that I just couldn’t understand but I did keep reading. I’m glad I did since the rest was indeed well written and kept my interest.
April 25, 2019
I don't want to give any spoilers!! Just read this book! It was amazing! I hope their is a part 2 of this so I know what else happens to everyone👏👏👏👏❣❣❣ Thank you again Kate Wilhelm for being such an amazing author! You did a fantastic job!
November 19, 2019
This book as a “blind date” from a used book store. I went in having no idea what to expect and let the author take me through her story. I enjoyed the mystery unfold and was impressed by the story overall. I look forward to reading more by this author.
September 19, 2020
I found this a very interesting thriller- lots of historical information and it dealt with racial issues in an open manner for a book published in 2002. There were lots of twists and turns! Satisfying read.
January 20, 2022
A story of family secrets centering on those who seek power. The protagonist’s relationships sometimes feel a bit awkward. But this is an excellent author who knows how to build suspense and who writes a good story.
December 12, 2022
I really enjoyed this book! I do feel like there was something missing. Maybe more about the grandpa or the grandma I just needed something more, but was an excellent book! I personally don’t find it very suspenseful I guess the gun scenes are suppose to be but I don’t think they are lol
January 10, 2018
Granddaughter discovers a family secret while staying at her grandfather's house. Fun and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews