The Skeleton Takes A Bow

“This is a great cozy filled with sparkling humor and lots of twists and turns ... Every cozy lover will revel in The Skeleton Takes A Bow." — Criminal Element English adjunct Georgia Thackery and her best friend, Sid the skeleton, must find a murderer and the victim after the local high school auditorium becomes the scene of a late-night murder...and Sid is the only witness! Against her better judgment, Georgia allows her daughter Madison to sneak Sid into the Pennycross High School Drama Club’s spring production of Hamlet. As a bona fide member of the Thackery family, Sid is thrilled to lend a hand—or in this case, a skull—to help Madison’s thespian pursuits. But when Sid accidentally overhears a murder occurring off the stage, he and Georgia suspect something’s rotten in the state of...well, Massachusetts. As an adjunct English professor, Georgia is familiar with Hamlet’s typical body count. So, she knows the scene Sid heard from the wings—long after rehearsals ended and the high school closed for the night—was definitely off-script. But how can she and Sid investigate a murder if the victim’s corpse is nowhere to be found? It seems like a dead end. But even a bare bones investigation is better than none at all, because if Georgia and Sid don’t act quickly, Madison and her classmates could be in danger of something far worse than stage fright... Readers will be delighted by the second book in the Family Skeleton cozy mystery series by Agatha award-winning author Toni L. P. Kelner, writing as Leigh Perry—perfect for fans of Charlaine Harris and Bailey Cates! Praise for The Skeleton Takes a Bow: “This mystery moves effortlessly with good plotting, amusing dialogue and a suspenseful and funny ending. Georgia’s endearing family of crime solvers will have readers clamoring for the next in the series.” — RT Book Reviews “The humor and wit are razor sharp ... Leigh Perry, the pen name of Toni Kelner, shines in this delightfully funny and unique series that blends paranormal with mystery and academic satire.” — Kings River Life Magazine “The family love and humor are forefront in an enjoyable mystery ... THE SKELETON TAKES A BOW deserves applause for its refreshing departure from the cozy mystery formula.” — Lesa’s Book Critiques

“An effortlessly narrated, meticulously crafted cozy mystery.” — The Big Thrill An adjunct professor worries she’s made a grave mistake returning to her hometown when she’s drawn into a decades-old murder mystery...by the victim’s skeleton! Georgia Thackery isn’t exactly thrilled to be moving back to her childhood home, not that she has much choice. As a struggling adjunct English professor and single mom to a teenage daughter, Georgia takes jobs wherever she can find them. At least with this new teaching gig in Pennycross, Massachusetts, she has a rent-free place to live. Besides, there’s a major upside to Georgia’s homecoming: Sid! Every family has secrets, but the skeleton in Georgia’s closet isn’t just real, he’s a living (kinda), breathing (sorta), cringey-joke-making part of the family–who happens to be her best friend! No one quite knows the origins of Sid’s remains, and he can’t recall anything from before meeting Georgia and taking up residence in the Thackery attic. But all that changes during an outing to the local college campus, when Sid recognizes a face from his literal past life...and it chills him to the bone. Now, Sid has questions about the circumstances of his death and Georgia will do whatever it takes to help him dig up the truth. But when all signs point to murder, is Georgia in danger of becoming the next family skeleton? Fans of Charlaine Harris and Sofie Kelly will adore this charming supernatural cozy mystery—the first in the beloved Family Skeleton series—by Agatha Award-winning author, Toni L. P. Kelner, writing as Leigh Perry. Praise for A Skeleton in the Family: “A very touching and entertaining whodunit. The mystery is intelligent and nicely done with fun insights into academia and anthropology.” — RT Book Reviews "You’ll love the adventures of this unexpected mystery-solving duo.” — Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author "A charming debut ... Amateur sleuth Georgia, and her sidekick, Sid, are just plain fun!” — Sofie Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Cat Trick

"The Skeleton Haunts A House, and the entire Family Skeleton Mystery series for that matter, is a fun-filled, action-packed read that engrosses the reader from the first page to the last. Highly recommended!” — Open Book Society Pennycross is spooked after a student is murdered at a popular haunted house, and now it’s full scream ahead for English adjunct professor Georgia Thackery and Sid the Skeleton as they scramble to solve the case... No bones about it, Halloween is Sid the Skeleton’s absolute favorite season! It’s the one time of year he can freely cavort around town with his best friend, English adjunct professor Georgia Thackery. Sid’s especially looking forward to Pennycross’s infamous Halloween Howl. The annual, month-long event celebrates all things spooky, but its main attraction is undoubtedly the haunt at “McHades” Hall. Every October, to raise scholarship funds, McQuaid University transforms McQuaid Hall, the oldest building on campus, into an immersive haunted house experience, serving scares at the dilapidated mansion with swarms of student zombies, gallons of gag blood, and piles of plastic bones. But unfortunately, this year, visitors to McHades Hall stumble upon something unexpected—one very real murder victim... McQuaid student Kendall Fitzroy was beloved by family, friends, and her boyfriend—no one knows why anyone would want to kill her. But with the community mourning a dead co-ed, the authorities threatening to shut down the attraction, and the University standing to lose thousands in donations, it’s up to Sid, Georgia, and the entire Thackery family to scare up some clues and unmask the haunt’s true ghoul before they strike again. The third book in the Family Skeleton cozy mystery series by Agatha award-winning author Toni L. P. Kelner, writing as Leigh Perry, is sure to charm fans of Charlaine Harris and Sophie Kelly! Praise for The Skeleton Haunts a House: "This is a smart, fun book with lots of twists and a wry humor, making it the perfect Halloween book you can read late into the night and not have nightmares from." — Crimereads “One of the freshest and original voices in the subgenre of paranormal mystery.” — Talk Nerdy With Us “Sid (he likes to think of himself as Sherlock Bones) and Georgia come through in the end, of course, and there’s a lot of fun (and a bit of romance) to be had along the way. Check it out.” — Bill Crider

“Mirth and murder blend beautifully” in this tale of an amateur sleuth and her bony best friend (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Dr. Georgia Thackery is back home with her parents after finding a new adjunct position at Bostock College. Everyone is excited for their first family Christmas with nothing to hide. Why? Because Georgia’s daughter Madison is now in the know about Sid, their walking, talking family skeleton. But their Christmas cheer is interrupted when the Thackerys' dog Byron goes missing on a cold December night. When he’s finally found, he has a femur clutched between his jaws—and Georgia and Madison race to apologize to Sid for letting the dog gnaw on him yet again. Except that all of Sid’s bones are present and accounted for… This bone is from somebody else, and when they trace Byron’s trail to an overgrown lot nearby, they find the rest of the skeleton. It’s the normal kind, not moving or telling jokes, and when the police come to take charge, they’re sure it was murder, and one of Georgia’s adjunct friends could be implicated. With tensions stirring at the college and everyone hiding a secret or two, Sid and Georgia must uncover the truth before the ghost of a Christmas past strikes again. “Amateur sleuth Georgia, and her sidekick, Sid, are just plain fun!”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times-bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries

“Whodunits don’t come much funnier… Fans of offbeat comic mysteries will be richly rewarded.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) Georgia Thackery is feeling pretty good about her summer job teaching at prestigious Overfeld College, and she’s renting a rustic cabin right by a lake for herself, her daughter, Madison, and her best friend, Sid the Skeleton. Together again, the trio are enjoying the quiet when a teenager named Jen shows up looking for her friend. Georgia doesn’t recognize the name, but she learns that the person Jen was looking for is actually Sid. Sid reveals that he and Jen are part of a regular online gaming group that formed locally, and one of their members has gone missing. Sid admits that he might have bragged about his investigative prowess, enough so that Jen wants him to find their missing player. Given that Sid doesn’t have many friends offline—none, really, unless you count the Thackery family—Georgia agrees to help. They manage to discreetly enlist Jen, who lives in town, and follow the clues to... a dead buddy. Now they've got a killer on their hands. Probing the life of Sid's friend, they realize a lot is wrong both on campus and in the seemingly quaint town, and someone doesn't want them looking deeper… “You'll love the adventures of this unexpected mystery-solving duo.”—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author

No bones about it, this death is suspicious…“Amateur sleuth Georgia, and her sidekick, Sid, are just plain fun!”—Sofie Kelly, New York Times-bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries Georgia Thackery, adjunct English professor, has a new job teaching at Falstone College of Art and Design, known as FAD to its students and faculty. Living in a borrowed bungalow during winter in the snowiest part of Massachusetts, Georgia feels her isolation weighing as heavily as the weather. Then she receives a package containing her best friend, Sid, a walking, talking skeleton who has lived with the Thackery family since Georgia was six. With Georgia working out of town, Sid was lonely too. The two of them make plans for a cozy semester together, and it might have worked out that way if Sid hadn’t snuck out in the middle of the night to play in the snow and spotted a crashed car. When he drags Georgia out to investigate, they find the driver behind the wheel, apparently dead from the collision. Initially, police think it’s an accident, so Georgia and Sid think that’s the end of it—until Georgia finds out the body hits closer to home than she’d realized... “Dr. Georgia Thackery is smart, resourceful, and determined to be a great single mom to her teenager. Georgia is normal in every respect—except that her best friend happens to be a skeleton named Sid. You’ll love the adventures of this unexpected mystery-solving duo.” —Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author “A very touching and entertaining whodunit. The mystery is intelligent and nicely done with fun insights into academia and anthropology.” —RT Book Reviews on A Skeleton in the Family

Sid the Skeleton bones up on clues to solve a Haunted House homicide in this mystery from the author of The Skeleton Takes a Bow… What holiday could bring more warmth to a skeleton’s chest cavity than Halloween? And when you’re a living skeleton who’s not supposed to be seen outside the house, it’s a welcome chance to get some fresh air and rub bony elbows with people. That’s why Sid doesn’t mind wearing a full-body dog suit and going as Scooby-Doo along with Georgia Thackery’s Velma to the Halloween Howl. Sid can’t wait to go through the Haunted House—but he gets rattled for real when a genuine dead body is discovered. Trapped inside as the police quickly seal off the crime scene, Sid makes no bones about dropping the dog suit and posing as an actual skeleton. This murder is a skull-scratcher, but as long as Sid is on the inside, he might as well case the joint to figure out who used the cover of darkness to commit the perfect crime…

Award-winning author of the Laura Fleming mysteries and the “Where Are They Now?” mystery series Tilda Harper, a freelance entertainment writer who specializes in tracking down the formerly famous, has a weekend gig moderating discussions at a Sherlock Holmes convention. She’s hoping to pick up some new scoops, but gets more than she’d bargained for when an ex-TV star is murdered during a panel Tilda is in charge of. The police think it’s an accident, but Tilda isn’t convinced. With the help of Vincent, a devoted Sherlockian who knows even more about the fan world that she does, Tilda has to match wits with not just one master detective, but six different incarnations of Sherlock Holmes. “The Adventure of the Six Sherlocks” is an exciting return to the Where Are They Now? series for Agatha Award-winner Toni L.P. Kelner. Where Are They Now? series Book 1: Curse of the Kissing Cousins Book 2: Who Killed the Pinup Queen? Book 3: Blast from the Past Short Story 1: "The Adventure of the Six Sherlocks"