Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Wegert (The Coldest Case) blends police procedural and psychological suspense in this entertaining spin-off from her Shana Merchant series. In Upstate New York’s Thousand Islands, housekeeper Nicole Durham is thrilled to land a job with retired NHL star Mikko Helle at his recently renovated waterfront home. Her excitement turns to horror, however, when she hears unsettling noises while working alone and discovers a woman hiding in the ceiling vent. After authorities conclude that the woman, who says her name is Jenny Smith, has been secretly squatting in the homes of several wealthy locals, Jenny reveals another shock: she’s found a skeleton in Nikko’s basement. The coroner concludes that it belongs to a young woman who most likely died within the last year. Sheriff Maureen McIntyre—Nicole’s sister—investigates, working alongside officers Shana Merchant, Tim Wellington, and other minor figures from Wegert’s previous books. The narrative features a large cast, but Wegert deftly juggles their voices and points of view, with each perspective shift adding crucial context to the central mystery. Copious cliffhangers and red herrings set the stage for an explosive finale. It’s a shrewd shocker that should win the author new fans. Agent: Chris Bucci, Aevitas Creative Management. (Nov.)

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Wegert launches a new series exploring the seamy underside of Cape Vincent, a village in New York’s Thousand Islands. It begins with a rash of inconsequential burglaries from vacation homes whose owners have just returned for the summer—a bikini and two pairs of jeans from one house, a bottle of wine and a jar of peanut butter from another. Although it’s hard for New York State Police Investigator Tim Wellington and his colleagues to take the outbreak seriously, things seem very serious indeed for housecleaner Nicole Durham, whose Realtor friend Stacy Peel has helped land a big fish new client, ex–hockey star Mikko Helle, who’s about to move into a princely place contractor Terry Martino has renovated for him. Like Mikko’s girlfriend, Eva Ki, Nicole hears suspicious sounds as she moves from room to room. Then she finds a message scrawled in the dust she’s cleaning: “I’m watching.” When Tim arrives and flushes out the intruder, who calls herself Jenny Smith, she leads them to an even creepier discovery in a secret compartment in the basement—the decaying body of another woman—before she disappears again. As Tim marshals his forces to track her down and find out what else she knows, Nicole struggles to put on a happy face for Blair and Alana, her teenage daughters, and Woody, the husband who’s jeopardized the family’s future by engaging in all kinds of questionable behavior that are slow to emerge. Wegert expertly casts suspicion on one character after the next, but the climactic reveal is likely to take even the canniest readers by surprise. The piercing family melodrama and all-too-human detective provide deep roots for the mystery. Here’s to the promised sequels. Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

Nicole Durham is a cleaning woman whose friend Stacy, a realtor, helps her get the best jobs. When a celebrity hockey player comes up to their small town in upstate New York's Thousand Islands and renovates an old farmhouse to live in for the summer, Nicole, struggling to keep her marriage together and paying for a kid in college, does her best to get the job. When she does, however, she discovers someone secretly living in the ceiling—and a months-old body in the basement. Horrified by the idea of a killer living in their midst, Nicole, her family, the sheriff, and even the hockey player must find out who in their idyllic New York town is responsible for the murder before they are next. In the Bones is the first book in Wegert’s North Country series, following her Shana Merchant mysteries (most recently, The Coldest Case, 2024), and carries all the hallmarks her fans have come to expect: tight prose, relatable characters, and an edge-of-your-seat mystery that carries the reader all the way to the final page.