Part historical romance set in the second half of the 1800s, part supernatural mystery, Bone River brings to life an isolated, starkly beautiful area of Shoalwater Bay, Washington Territory from the viewpoint of a woman who loves the area and its dying-out native traditions.
…more Leonie seeks, in her father's footsteps, to preserve what remains through the science of the times, ethnography, though she is also caught between reverence for traditional cultures, wanting to meet the expectations for a scientific career despite the handicap of being a woman, the desire for children that would jeopardize that career, and the inability to conceive. The story revolves around her discovery of a mummified body and her husband's insistence on sending it to a collector. Strangely drawn to the mummy, Leonie wants to be the one to discover its secrets, but she is warned off by dreams and conflicting warnings from two natives. Then her husband's long-lost son shows up. The setting and mood are strongly established, though the supernatural messages were repetitious and the mystery predictable. (less)
