GHOST BONES

In Foster’s mystery novel, a lawyer finds an old friend murdered and believes his killing might be related to a controversial history he was writing.

In Coffee Creek, Texas, Alice Greer enjoys a happy existence practicing law—her principal client, retired federal judge Edwin Mahan, is a good friend— and she is soon to wed Ben Kinsear, a former law-school classmate. Alice’s bubble of cheer is burst when Mahan is discovered dead, having been shot on his own property, by Alice’s assistant Silla. Given his long career as a federal judge, the list of suspects is long and even incudes his son, Eric, and grandson, Johnny, both of whom were hard-up for cash and soliciting the octogenarian’s financial assistance. Alice, however, comes to believe his death might be connected to work he was doing. Mahan had hired her to oversee two different but ultimately related projects: the publication of a history he was writing of Coffee Creek and an archaeological dig on his property looking for “evidence of human history.” Mahan aimed to uncover the unalloyed truth of the region, including some “pretty grisly stories.” One of these was about the murder of an entire family committed by a man named Jasper Riley back in 1847, a macabre crime chillingly related by the author. The archaeological excavation, as it turns out, is less an exercise in scientific curiosity than an effort to find the missing bodies of those slain, part of Mahan’s relentless quest to determine the truth. This novel is the ninth installment of a running series and has all the virtues of its predecessors—a well-crafted mystery, riveting crime drama, and a light touch that keeps the story from turning too dark. Foster obviously has no ambition to traverse new literary ground; her prose is lucid and companionable, but never striking. The novel is a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless, combining easy entertainment and intelligence in the manner of a work by Agatha Christie.

An engrossing read sure to delight lovers of murder mysteries and legal drama.