Charlie's Bones: A Mystery [Hardcover]

L.L. Thrasher (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998

All Lizbet really wanted was a swimming pool. What she got was a skeleton, suspicious cops ... and Charlie.

Ex-truckstop waitress/new heiress Lizbet Lange inherited a mansion from her ex-husband, who neglected to put in an outdoor, Olympic-size pool in the back "grounds" before he died. So, thinking it would be just the thing to cheer her up, seeing as how she's young and alone, she sets up a "dig" with the local pool company, who promptly unearth a human skeleton.

And if that isn't bad enough, what with the cops and FBI and all, tromping around in her back yard, thirty minutes later the skeleton's owner, also shows up, albeit in ghost form, and asks Lizbet to help him find out who murdered him back in 1969!

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Young Lizbet Lange, former waitress, inherits a fortune from her 60-year-old ex-husband. She decides to install a pool at her new mansion, but workers discover a skeleton and police investigate. Lizbet informs them of the skeleton's identity?even though the man died 27 years ago?because his spirit/ghost "talks" to her. Lizbet and the ghost, an undercover cop presumed to have absconded with a million dollars, proceed to clear his name. Though this is seemingly far-fetched, the unusual plot, gentle humor, and unlikely heroine ultimately prove captivating. A sequel is in the works.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Lizbet Lange is an ex^-truckstop waitress who married a rich old man and inherited his fortune. Workmen installing a pool next to her mansion uncover a skeleton, the remains of a murdered undercover police officer named Charlie Bilbo. The disturbance causes Charlie's ghost to return and ask Lizbet to solve his murder. Charlie's son and ex-wife appear shortly thereafter with clues and suspicious behavior. Lizbet, Charlie's ghost, and his son solve the murder, but only after they dig into a blood-soaked drug deal from the late 1960s. Thrasher's second mystery suffers a bit from some occasionally cloying characters, but this shortcoming is offset by an original plot, effective use of a ghost as a character, and an intriguing juxtaposition of contemporary and 1960s society, nicely linked by well-placed flashbacks. John Rowen

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: Write Way Publishing; 1st edition (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885173474
• ISBN-13: 978-1885173478
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,328,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a Beinging!, August 22, 2000

By 

Michael Butts "as i see it" (Martinsburg, WV United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie's Bones: A Mystery (Hardcover)

What a fun read! Very likeable cast. The mystery takes you on many twist and turns. What is true and is not? Ms. Thrasher does a great job on bringing the 60's back to us. Lizbet is a wonderful hero, if unwilling, to root for. I hope to see many more installments of this series. Fun of mystery and laughs. Charlie and Lizbet have a grand time throwing barbs at each other.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun!!!!, July 2, 1999

By 

Gail Egbers "glynis tryon" (Tacoma, Wa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Charlie's Bones: A Mystery (Hardcover)

Charlie's Bones is an off-the-wall type of mystery. You have to suspend belief about ghosts to really enjoy this book. I didn't find it a problem! I loved the characters, I loved the plot. I hope Thrasher writes more along these lines!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Read, July 28, 2000

By 

Pamela Stone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Charlie's Bones: A Mystery (Hardcover)

CHARLIE'S BONES L.L. Thrasher Write Way 1998 ISBN: 1885173474 Buy It Here My first impression was, this is a very well written mystery with touches of comedy. I could not stop reading it.

Charlie's Bones is about Lizbet Lange, who inherits a mansion from her ex-husband. Lizbet decides to put in a pool and that's where Charlie comes in. About the same time his bones are unearthed, his ghost appears to Lizbet and asks for help in solving his murder and clearing his name. Of course Lizbet agrees to help. There are a lot of surprising twists and turns in their search, with a very surprising end.

L.L. Thrasher made me feel as if I was there, in the story, with her descriptions of places and things from the 60's. From the very first page I was hooked. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a lighthearted mystery.

Pam Stone