Happy publication day to Natalie Symons, author of Lies in Bone!
Told by a tart-tongued young woman with a love of Bruce Springsteen, Lies in Bone is at once a mystery and coming-of-age tale fueled by dark secrets involving love, murder, and the truths worth lying for.
On Halloween 1963, eleven-year-old Chuck Coolidge and his brother Danny are lost in a toxic smog covering the steel town of Slippery Elm, Pennsylvania. When the smog lifts, half the town is sick and twenty people are dead. And Danny is missing.
Now, over twenty years later, Chuck’s teenage daughter Frank plots escape from this “busted and disgusted” town. When a murdered child is found in the river, investigators link the crime to the disappearance of Danny in ’63, and Frank’s life is turned upside down. In the face of her worst fears, she must uncover her family’s dark past if she wants to keep her sister Boots from the hands of The State. Led to discover the unimaginable truth about Danny’s disappearance, Lies in Bone culminates in a shocking eleventh-hour reveal and an emotionally charged finale.
Praise for LIES IN BONE
“The fantastic, fallible characters leap to life in these dialogue-filled pages and draw readers into an immersive world involving mysteries of missing children, mental illness and unsolved murders. A gripping tale of outcasts that keeps you guessing and, more importantly, caring how it will unspool. Mystic River meets Stranger Things in this engrossing debut novel.” —Lane DeGregory, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, The Girl in the Window
“A moody, hard-edged coming-of-age story that keeps the horrors coming until the very end.”—Kirkus Reviews
“…Fierce teen protagonist, Frances “Frank” Coolidge… impolite, foul-mouthed, self-mutilating and rebellious, and she’s loving, loyal and has backbone to spare; a female Steve McQueen, a young Sarah Conner; totally icon-worthy. A heart-stopping work of suspense fiction… a tour de force of friendship, love and redemption. Organically woven and expertly balanced, Lies in Bone lightens the load of its heavy subject matter with quirky northern town humor. Gritty, campy and dark wit and, especially, a keen grasp of family dysfunction and its many varieties, all add to Lies in Bone‘s hypnotically page-turning appeal…” —Julie Garisto, 83 Degrees Media
“Symons’s language crackles and sparks…”—Diane Chiddister, author of One More Day
“This extraordinary story…refused to leave my thoughts for even a moment until I reached its explosive conclusion. Lies in Bone is dark, tough and visceral, and it’s rich with twists, turns and breathless suspense—the very definition of a page-tuner.” —Bill DeYoung, St. Pete Catalyst
“Finally, a heroine of substance growing into her own magnificence, bearing witness to the unspeakable with bravery outpacing her years. A tale told with unapologetic realism and voice crafted with skill and humanity.” —Lori D. Shannon, author of Superwoman Died Tonight
“Dickensian in the best sense of the word, Lies in Bone is a novel that grabs the reader and does not let go.” —Paul Wilborn, author of Cigar City
“Gripping and dark, Lies in Bone so precisely captures the angst of long hidden secrets and dysfunction—the slow, corrosive descents and the hard-won triumphs. To me, the most disturbing thrillers are the ones that are all too plausible—almost familiar. Consider me disturbed.” —Cindy Stovall, Beauty & the ‘Burg Podcast
“Symons displays her adept playwrighting skills with earthy dialogue that flows effortlessly…I’m reminded of the way Joan Didion writes about similar themes…in The Year of Magical Thinking, but in this one, we have an intriguing mystery thriller on our hands…This small-town mystery with family ties is an engaging and at-times humorous literary thriller.” —Frank Pizzori, Independent Book Review
“Lies in Bones is a spellbinder…The book just refuses to be put down..” —Readers’ Favorite 5-Star Review
“You will want to read Lies in Bone all in one sitting – but don’t cheat yourself out of moving fully through the evolution of the story in its own time. An extraordinarily satisfying work.” —Roxanne Fay, author of Upon this Rock: The Magdalene Speaks
“A serious new novelist whose work cannot be ignored.” —Greg Fields, author of Through the Waters and the Wild
“The melancholic force of Lies in Bone will hold you hostage. The humor in this gritty, coming-of-age mystery is driven by a whip smart young heroine like none other.” —Hannah Benitez, author of Dike
First Claire finds cryptic messages written in a foreign language she doesn’t recognize. Then a mysterious package arrives. When her estranged French aunt shows up on her doorstep only to suddenly disappear again, Claire’s world begins to dissolve.
