additional title I may get to:
So, the other two books in Daniel Hecht's series about parapsychologist Cree Black have a subtitle of "A Cree Black Thriller" while this latest installment, Bones of the Barbary Coast, simply reads "A Cree Black Novel". I can agree, but don't take that for disappointment! I LuRvEd
this book! To me it read like some of Geraldine Brooks' and Tracy Chevalier's novels in that there is a historical mystery that needs to be solved. Cree is digging into the history of an old Victorian Mansion in a fairly swank San Fran neighborhood after a bizarre set of bones was discovered in the basement. Long, thin leg and arm bones, curved unnaturally; short, stubby fingers and toes; elongated skull with unusually sharp, pronounced canine teeth....you get the point. Running parallel to this contemporary story are diary entries written by one of the original owners of the house. The reader is the only one aware of the diary as the story goes along as Cree struggles to figure out the history behind the wolfman's bones. Cree is in town at the behest of an old family friend, Uncle Bert, and their relationship is strained by lost contact, the passage of time and secrets that Bert isn't willing to share.
I know I use this phrase waaaay too much but this is another novel that explores the dark places of the human soul. I have an interest in books that closely examine this point and I will be purchasing this entire series for my own personal library. To sum up, while Bones of the Barbary Coast really doesn't continue in the truly scary vein of the two previous books in the series, City of Masks and Land of Echoes, it is a very strong book all on it's own. I believe the author did an excellent job of fending off my paltry attempts to figure out whodunit. I've typed and erased several sentences to follow that one but they all give something away that I believe you'd enjoy more finding on your own so go out and find your own copy and get to it!
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