A Skeleton in the Family

I am a huge fan of cozy mysteries that have a paranormal slant to them and now I have added a new "must read" to my list of recommendations. A family with a *real* skeleton in the closet...funny, tender and full of suspense. I LOVE Sid! What a unique character. This mystery will keep you turning the pages just to find out what Sid and Georgia are up to next. I cannot wait for the next installment. Everyone should go out and buy this book now:)

Book #124 Read in 2015 A Skeleton in the Family by Leigh Perry This is the first book in a cozy mystery series where Georgia is an adjunct college professor whose family has had Sid, a talking, moving skeleton, since she was a small child. Sid often pipes in with life advice, career counseling and humor. In this book Georgia and Sid try to figure out who murdered another college professor, who seemingly has a connection to Sid...in life and death. This book had a good mystery, humor, interesting characters and a strong plot. I have the next two books in my TBR pile.

This isn't what I think of when I think "cozy mystery," but it wasn't bad either. It reads more like a sitcom, and Sid reminds me of Salem from the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Usually non talking entity now talks and loves to quip and we slowly learn about the backstory throughout the book. Unlike Salem though, Sid's story isn't done by the end of the book. It wasn't spooky, or even really murder focused. I got to almost 100 pages before there is even the murder that kicks everything off. Everything else was backstory and manga and tenure and they just keep popping up again and again. It really could be a sitcom. If you like sitcoms, this might be the cozy for you. I didn't think it was bad, but wouldn't really be inclined to pick the next one up either.

Written by Leigh Perry, this novel follows Georgia, her daughter Madison, and the family Skeleton, Sid. And, yes, Sid is a walking, talking skeleton. Georgia and Madison have recently moved into her parent’s home while they are away at sabbatical and Georgia has obtained an adjunct job at her alma mater, and her daughter doesn’t know about Sid, who lives in the attic and is her mother’s best friend. When Sid sees someone that jogs something about his life before death and a body is found, Sid and Georgia begin a search to learn who Sid was. Oh, and Madison is obsessed with anime. Alright, that was a bit of a summary. The reason I went on a hunt to find this book at my local library (honestly, it is easy to just buy this book right here) was because of an e-mail that was received to possibly review the… 5th in the book series. I had no idea what it was about, read the first chapter or two, loved it and learned it was the 5th. And then began a search to find the first novel and STOP reading/beginning a series in the middle. I really enjoyed this novel. It was a quick read, a bit more in depth that the usual cozy mystery, and overall was just fun. A sarcastic skeleton who curses using the technical names of bones just is wonderful. When reading this, I imagined a cartoon version of this running in my head. Think prime Alvin and the Chipmunks and Scooby-Doo. There was some romance in this novel that … was very odd. Mostly in the way that Georgia approached all of her interactions with him and was constantly rating him, but that could be because she has always been a single mother and looks at things differently. Quick moving and quick witted with a decent mystery thrown in, this was a really fun read.