Wisdom of the Bones [Paperback]

Christopher Hyde (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2003

Christopher Hyde takes us to Dallas in November of 1963, where Homicide Detective Ray Duval is about to collide with history. The President's assassination has sent shockwaves of panic throughout the city. And with six months left to live, Duvall is trying to save one last life before he loses his own.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Based on real child mutilation murders and extensive historical research, Hyde's (The Second Assassin, etc.) grim procedural takes place over the course of five days in November 1963. A killer whose M.O. includes kidnapping, raping, flaying and dissecting his young victims before piecing them back together like puppets, has resurfaced, but his rampage threatens to go unchecked after John Kennedy is assassinated. The only detective on the Dallas police force who isn't preoccupied with the assassination is Ray Duval, who happens to be dying from congestive heart failure. With one week left on the job and a determination to find the deranged killer, Ray digs into the past to solve the present-day murders of a 12-year-old black girl and an antiques dealer, both mutilated and dumped at the local junkyard within days of each other. Flashbacks from Ray's troubled childhood and days as a soldier lend dimension to this straightforward story, but the pace doesn't perk up until another girl goes missing and the clock begins to wind down on Ray's health. While some of the book's macabre elements are cliched (i.e., the flaying of the skin from the victims' bodies and the killer's craving for absolution), Hyde manages to capture the essence of a changing world.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Onyx (February 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451410653
• ISBN-13: 978-0451410658
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #629,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, February 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wisdom of the Bones (Paperback)

This was my first Christopher Hyde book, purchased prior to take-off from an international airport and finished (all 400-some pages) upon landing six hours later.

Needless to say, it won't be my last.

Hyde seamlessly integrates fact and fiction during that fateful weekend in Dallas nearly forty years ago. Having said that, this is _not_ a book about the assassination of an American president, per se. It _is_ the story of horrific events that occur before, during and after one of the defining moments of our time, and the mindset and priorities of our segregated society during the early '60s.

Hyde essentially picks up where history left off--the extremly careless investigation of mutilated African-American girls by a serial killer--and spins his tale from there. There was no justice for these girls then--that much is fact. Through Hyde's wonderful imagination and storytelling, they have their justice now...if only in the belief of what _should_ have been.

It's always amusing to read fictional situations involving real people. Put that in a hair-raising thriller by a storytelling master, and you have the literary equivalent of a drug addiction.

The afterword by the author helps us out some and highlights his skill; he teases apart the historical and the fantastical for us, letting us in on what was real and what wasn't.

This was one of the best books I've ever read. Fantastic job.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Worth Reading!, May 22, 2003

By 

bobbewig (New Jersey, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Wisdom of the Bones (Paperback)

If you're looking for an exciting, interesting and informative noirish police procedural that will take you back in time to the days just before, during and after the Kennedy assassination, I very much recommend Wisdom Of The Bones to you. The story is about a Dallas homicide detective's attempt to solve one last case involving a young kidnapped girl before he loses his own life to a terminal heart condition.

Hyde is meticulous in his research and is terrific in describing this period with accuracy, grit and lots of color. Further, Hyde's suspenseful thriller is filled with real-life characters, about which he provides interesting and many little-known facts (at least to me) that enables this book to rise above the average historical thriller. Of particular interest to me (and I think will be to you, too) were the "factoids" Hyde provides about Jack Ruby. Wisdom Of The Bones is a book that succeeds on many levels ... plot, narrative style, multi-dimensional characters to name just a few ... and is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to read on and on. Christopher Hyde's latest is well worth reading and one that should be near the top of your to-be-read list. Also, I'd recommend that you try Hyde's previous historical thriller, The Second Assassin.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Novel of the Year!, February 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wisdom of the Bones (Paperback)

Quite simply, I found this book to be one of the best novels I've read in a year!
It's well written and engaging with an excellent plot, historically based, gritty, hardboiled, noirish, atmospheric and hard to put down -- all with the Kennedy assassination serving as background to the time and setting. The historical base is not just the Kennedy assassination, but also the serial killings of the story itself. The hero of the story is also unique: a little rough around the edges, but likeable, and dying from congestive heart failure which is described in some detail.
A warning though: some scenes are graphically detailed, but these help the story. Never a dull moment in this Christopher Hyde masterpiece!