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ewg109's review against another edition
3.0
Part of being a librarian means reading a lot of books for book clubs, to understand genres and as fodder for recommendations. My patrons love their cozy mysteries so I picked up this little paperback for something a bit more off the wall. All in all, it’s not half bad and it’s gets the highest form of flattery—I just ordered the second in the series.
eastofthesunwestofthemoon's review against another edition
4.0
Surprisingly engrossing, and for all that it has an exceedingly silly premise, it actually doesn't feel as silly as many more normal cozies I've read.
greenvillemelissa's review against another edition
4.0
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.
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.
deadrelativecollector's review against another edition
5.0
Probably the cutest cozy murder mystery I’ve read in a long time. I was totally in all the way with the story of Dr. Georgia Thackery, a single adjunct college English professor raising her teenage daughter all the while living in her parents home in which a walking, talking , skeleton was and had been living with Georgia for over thirty years. The thing is, the mystery, is exactly who is Sid the Skeleton? More important, when and how had Sid died?
And that my reader friends is where you’ll have to ask Paul Harvey used to say read “ the rest of the story”.
And that my reader friends is where you’ll have to ask Paul Harvey used to say read “ the rest of the story”.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition
5.0
Well this was the perfect introduction to what should be a fantastic series. The pacing, the writing, the characters and the story telling were interesting and just hit all the right notes. I love Sid's humor and learning about his past. Georgie is smart and savvy and I enjoy her interactions with all the characters. It was interesting getting a look into academia from her perspective and I enjoy how it's incorporated into the story. All around so much fun and kept me captivated the entire time. I cannot wait to read more!
git_r_read's review against another edition
5.0
I love cozies and I especially adore paranormal cozies. This one is super-duper FUN! As soon as I read the premise of A Family Skeleton series, I had to have this first book. And I really cannot wait til the next one is out.
The reader gets the mystery, the backstory of how Sid the Skeleton comes to join the Thackery family and the life and times of college professor life and the pursuit of tenure.
I had no idea that this hierarchy existed, adjunct professors. Sort of like part time help that actually work full time, but don't get the bennies.
Fast moving story, plenty of grins and wishing I could hug some characters and smack others. And I adore Sid!
The reader gets the mystery, the backstory of how Sid the Skeleton comes to join the Thackery family and the life and times of college professor life and the pursuit of tenure.
I had no idea that this hierarchy existed, adjunct professors. Sort of like part time help that actually work full time, but don't get the bennies.
Fast moving story, plenty of grins and wishing I could hug some characters and smack others. And I adore Sid!
paige1947_'s review against another edition
5.0
Oh I loved this book!! A very good mystery. Georgia is a adjunct professor in a small college in New England and also a single mother. There are some great characters in this one- some good guys- some not so good and some you are not sure of. But Sid- is the best character I have read in a long time. He has a great sense of humor and is very clever plus intelligent. Sid has been Georgia's best friend since she was six years old. Not let yourself miss this one and like me you will be anxious for book #2 which comes out in September.
readerpants's review against another edition
3.0
This was my first ever super-cozy. I was sold by this quote from Susan Jane Bigelow over at the Book Smugglers:
"If you read cozies you know why they’re so great. But if you don’t, ask yourself this: do you think you’d like books about scrappy, intelligent, mostly female protagonists with adorable jobs who live in cute little towns solving mysteries with their cats? Do you also like books that often have romance elements and light speculative fiction elements mixed in? If so, then cozies may be for you!"
(http://thebooksmugglers.com/2014/12/smugglivus-2014-guest-author-susan-jane-bigelow.html)
Well, that is utterly convincing. Those are all things I like! So I put in a purchase request for this book, one of the first she recommended in her post, and it finally arrived.
It was pretty funny. However, what was funniest about it was that although it was ostensibly a cozy, it was in actuality a screed about the miseries of adjuncting. Adjunct etiquette, parking passes, fighting over desk space, dating other adjuncts, knowing everybody from having worked at dozens of other colleges, adjuncts squatting in empty offices... it was all there. There was a lot more adjunct-talk than there was mystery-solving.
I liked the bone puns, the characters, the contemporary feel, and the setting. The plot didn't really engage me all that much, but I could see its appeal for a voracious reader who likes a gentle read with a lot of humor. I can certainly understand how this might be someone's book candy.
"If you read cozies you know why they’re so great. But if you don’t, ask yourself this: do you think you’d like books about scrappy, intelligent, mostly female protagonists with adorable jobs who live in cute little towns solving mysteries with their cats? Do you also like books that often have romance elements and light speculative fiction elements mixed in? If so, then cozies may be for you!"
(http://thebooksmugglers.com/2014/12/smugglivus-2014-guest-author-susan-jane-bigelow.html)
Well, that is utterly convincing. Those are all things I like! So I put in a purchase request for this book, one of the first she recommended in her post, and it finally arrived.
It was pretty funny. However, what was funniest about it was that although it was ostensibly a cozy, it was in actuality a screed about the miseries of adjuncting. Adjunct etiquette, parking passes, fighting over desk space, dating other adjuncts, knowing everybody from having worked at dozens of other colleges, adjuncts squatting in empty offices... it was all there. There was a lot more adjunct-talk than there was mystery-solving.
I liked the bone puns, the characters, the contemporary feel, and the setting. The plot didn't really engage me all that much, but I could see its appeal for a voracious reader who likes a gentle read with a lot of humor. I can certainly understand how this might be someone's book candy.
christinegreads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25