cover image Charlie's Bones

Charlie's Bones

L. L. Thrasher. Write Way Publishing, $21.95 (224pp) ISBN 978-1-885173-47-8

Readers who can suspend disbelief will enjoy this snappy series debut by the author of Cat's-Paw. Amateur sleuth Lizbet Lange's interesting and not entirely trustworthy sidekick is a ghost. Unexpectedly wealthy due to her late ex-husband's demise, former truck-stop waitress Lizbet arranges for a swimming pool to be dug in the backyard of her new estate. But moments after the workers come upon a skeleton, the skeleton's former owner appears only to Lizbet and asks her to unearth the 27-year-old mystery of his death. Sporting an impressive peace symbol around his neck and otherwise decked out as a hippie, the ghost of Charlie Bilbo reminds Lizbet of her late parents, Duke and Lady, who educated their daughter about the 1960s. Lizbet's life is further complicated when a not so innocent Charlie turns out to have been a dishonest undercover cop killed after a bust gone bad. Charlie's son, Jonathan, also a cop (but not dead yet), joins forces with Liz, not knowing that his late father is guiding her. Finally, Lizbet's own life is threatened in the here and now when she uncovers local corruption. Lizbet, a sassy and sometimes too cute narrator, is surrounded by an amusing supporting cast and plenty of colorful '60s nostalgia. (Feb.)