The Bones in the Attic [Paperback]

These are some of the questions plaguing Matthew Harper, the protagonist of Robert Barnard's new mystery, "The Bones in the Attic." Matt is a former footballer turned broadcaster, who has just purchased a new house named "Elderholm" for himself and his new family. Matt is minding his partner's three children while she is away, and he finds the skeleton of a murdered baby while poking around in the attic of his new home. It turns out that in 1969, there were some suspicious goings-on in the neighborhood. To make matters more interesting, as a seven-year-old boy, Matt had stayed in his Aunt Hettie's house for a time, and he played football (soccer) with the children in this very neighborhood. He begins to remember bits and pieces about the friends with whom he played during that fateful year.

Barnard is using a plot device that has been used by many other mystery writers. What happens when an old murder suddenly comes to light and long buried secrets are unearthed? Is the murderer still alive and will he or she ever be brought to trial for a thirty-year-old crime? Who will care about a crime that occurred so long ago?

As it turns out, Matt cares very much. In addition to his duties as a surrogate father and as a broadcaster, Matt makes it his business to investigate the murder. He joins forces with Detective Sergeant Charlie Peace, who amazingly gives Matt carte blanche to behave like a latter-day Sherlock Holmes. It turns out that Matt has an uncanny talent for investigative work and he and Sergeant Peace manage to locate many of the principles who lived near Elderholm. Between them, they piece together the various elements that contributed to the death of that baby so many years ago.

Barnard's book is nicely written. Matt is a likeable, intelligent and sympathetic character and the mystery is intriguing enough, although the solution is not particularly believable. "The Bones in the Attic" is a reminder that the deep, dark secrets that we think are buried in our past sometimes come back to haunt us in later life.

Before Matt sets a moving date, he and the decorator make a grisly discovery in the attic. They find the whole skeletal remains of a very young child lying in the corner of the room as if somebody put it there and forgot about it. Matt calls in the police but since the crime happened in 1969 it is not a high priority case. Since Matt knew most of the children in the area during that summer he begins investigating and discovers a conspiracy of gigantic proportions.

The protagonist of THE BONES IN THE ATTIC is a good sensitive man eagerly taking care of three children not his own while their mother is away taking care of their father. Readers will get caught up in Matt's investigation of why the child died and was left up in the attic and hope he gets some answers quickly. The investigation is believable and the answers will more than satisfy the audience.

Harriet Klausner