The Skeleton Makes a Friend: A Family Skeleton Mystery (#5)

By Leigh Perry

Georgia Thackery is feeling pretty good about her summer job teaching at prestigious Overfeld College, and she’s renting a rustic cabin right by a lake for herself, her daughter, Madison, and her best friend, Sid the Skeleton. Together again, the trio are enjoying the quiet when a teenager named Jen shows up looking for her friend. Georgia doesn’t recognize the name, but she learns that the person Jen was looking for is actually Sid.

Sid reveals that he and Jen are part of a regular online gaming group that formed locally, and one of their members has gone missing. Sid admits that he might have bragged about his investigative prowess, enough so that Jen wants him to find their missing player. Given that Sid doesn’t have many friends offline—none, really, unless you count the Thackery family—Georgia agrees to help him search. They manage to discreetly enlist Jen, who lives in town, and follow the clues to... a dead buddy.

Now they've got a killer on their hands. Probing the life of Sid's friend, they realize a lot is wrong both on campus and in the seemingly quaint town, and someone doesn't want them looking deeper.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diversion Books
• Release date: Nov 6, 2018
• ISBN: 9781635764437

Reviews for The Skeleton Makes a Friend

[jetangen4571 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great imagination! We've all read ghost stories, but this is the first I've ever read with an ambulatory skeleton and where all the cuss words are the names of bones. As the publisher's blurb suggests, the action takes place on a college campus where Georgia is a summer replacement prof and is staying at a cottage nearby with the family dog, her teenaged daughter, and Sid their longtime friend who just happens to be an ambulatory skeleton. From her family Georgia learns about internet based role playing games as Sid and another player are concerned about the apparent absence of a fellow player who Sid later finds dead. Good sleuthing ensues and a bit of heroism as well. This is a marvelous read, and I am glad that I requested and received a free ebook copy from Diversion Books via NetGalley!

[kris_anderson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Skeleton Makes a Friend by Leigh Perry is A Family Skeleton Mystery series. Georgia Thackery along with her daughter, Madison and best friend and skeleton, Sid are spending the summer in Overfeld, New Hampshire. Georgia is teaching a creative writing seminar as part of a high school enrichment program at Overfeld College. The three of them are swimming in the lake when Jen Cater shows up looking for Skalle Beinagrind. Skalle is a gaming friend of Jen’s from Runes of Legend who was bragging about his expertise as a private investigator. One of their fellow players, Erik Bloodaxe has gone missing and Jen wants to enlist Skalle’s help in locating him. Georgia quickly deduces that Jen is looking for Sid (use translator on Skalle Beinagrind). While Sid cannot meet with Jen in person (for obvious reasons), he does want to help locate their fellow player. Sid sifts through the online information on Erik to track down his real world identity. Erik works at Overfeld College, but he has played his last game. Sid and Georgia find him dead and it looks like he has been there for a few days which explains the malodorous stench in the building. The duo uncover problems at the college and the culprit has no intention of stopping his deadly game. Can the duo expose the killer in time?The Skeleton Makes a Friend is a humorous cozy mystery with delightful characters. Sid is one of those characters that you cannot help but love. He is a skeleton with a quirky personality and a zest for life. He has been Georgia’s best friend since she was a little girl (he saved her life at a carnival). Thanks to the advent of Wi-Fi, Sid can now have online friends in addition to the Thackery family. The Thackery’s have come up with creative solutions that allow Sid to go out in the world (the bowling bowl tote bag is ingenious). Madison is back in this tale and she gets involved with the mystery. I just love the interactions between Georgia, Sid and Madison along with their creative curse words. The mystery is complex with misdirection. Readers get clues as Georgia and Sid investigate the victim, suspects and the college. While The Skeleton Makes a Friend is the fifth A Family Skeleton Mystery, it can be read alone. Georgia and Sid’s backstory is provided so new readers will not be lost. I thought The Skeleton Makes a Friend was well-written and plotted with developed characters. The story has smooth transitions and moves along at a brisk pace. I especially appreciate that there are no loose ends at the end of the story except where Georgia will work in the fall. The Skeleton Makes a Friend is a light and lively tale that will tickle your funny bone.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

#136Georgia is an adjunct professor and moves from college to college, hoping one day to be tenured. She lives with; Sid, the living skeleton, who saved her life when she was six from a carnival fire and her daughter Madison in a secluded cabin on a lake. Both Madison & Sid are into role-playing gaming.Sid plays a game on line and when the main avatar in the group goes missing another of the Avatars, Jen, seeks Sid out & asks him to help find the missing person. There is only one problem, none of the players actually know one another. Jen was only able to find Sid's location by recognizing the landscape in a photo he posted online.When Sid & Georgia begin their investigation to the whereabouts of the missing Avatar, they first have to discover who he is.... In doing so they stumble upon his body (with the Viking Boat award knife sticking out of his neck) at the college where both he & Georgia work.Meanwhile Georgia is sent a packet of letters regarding a smarmy professor, alleging sexual misconduct. After researching the professor's history, it is found throughout the decades, the professor's office decor (never having a sofa) bears witness that the information in the letters was falsified and further research proves that the letters have been forged from the #Me Too site. After the original, bloodstained letters are found in the professor's office, it becomes obvious that someone is trying to close the college with acts of sabotage, becoming more blatant and violent with each act.I liked the story, I liked the characters, and I still find Sid to be a novelty in regards to paranormal mysteries. The book held my interest and I stayed up until after 2:00 am this morning to finish it.