The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking

Mirth and murder blend beautifully in Perry’s sixth whodunit featuring Sid, a skeleton who can move around, talk, and search the internet for clues (after 2018’s The Skeleton Makes a Friend). Georgia Thackery, who has known Sid since she was a child, is spending a year as an adjunct English professor at New England’s Bostock College. She enlists Sid’s help after a femur is uncovered by her dog, which leads to the discovery of the skeleton of an unidentified woman who was probably strangled about a decade earlier. Despite a paucity of clues, Georgia catches a break when a homeless colleague , Charles Peyton, reveals that he believes the victim to be a person named Rose, with whom he became involved before she disappeared. Charles is sure that the remains found near the site of the abandoned house where he and Rose used to squat are hers. In their investigation, Georgia and Sid seek Rose’s true identity and possible motives for her killing. Perry tosses in helicopter parents and academic politics en route to a satisfying denouement. Cozy fans who enjoy their mysteries leavened with humor will find their funny bones tickled. [em]Agent: Lisa Rodgers, JABberwocky Literary. (Sept.) [/em]