Wisdom of the Bones

Set amongst the Kennedy assassination, though it really deals very little with that whole can of worms. Of course that doesn't mean that Hyde didn't take some interesting detours down a conspiritorial trail in dealing with that aspect of Dallas in November 1963. Ray Duvall, a retiring Dallas Police Detective with heart disease in its final stages, and a bad case of father issues and sybling rivalray to match, must track down a serial killer with a penchant for young black girls. With all eyes and man hours focused into finding and prosecuting JFK's killer Ray must fight against his remaining time on Earth to catch a killer of young Black Girls in Texas 1963. Searching through Dallas' seedier side of Dallas our intrepid Dectective runs into Jack Ruby, and Hyde's plot line sometimes mirrors Oliver Stone's JFK with searching for a killer amidst secretive, and highly placed homosexuals.

Dallas, November 1963To most people these words mean one thing - the JFK assosination.But surely you don't think, that no other crime was commited in the city at the same time? This is the story of one of those crimes. On November, 20 a mutilated body is found in a dump. A detective, who is days from retirement, due to declining health (he only has months to live) is assigned the case. And Ray Duval is not going to leave behind an open case. But two days later all hell breaks loose in Dallas, and no one cares about a dead antiques dealer and a black girl... Ray takes a one-man crusade to track his killer, who may be connected to Jack Ruby and some other shadowy figures. Hyde gives a wonderfull feel of time and place, weathing the historical element into the story, making it a sub-plot and not the main one. Ray is a great character - he starts out as a big bully, but as the book goes you start to see more of him, making him one of the most rounded characters in recent thrillers.

If you're looking for an exciting, interesting and informative noirish police procedural that will take you back in time to the days just before, during and after the Kennedy assassination, I very much recommend Wisdom Of The Bones to you. The story is about a Dallas homicide detective's attempt to solve one last case involving a young kidnapped girl before he loses his own life to a terminal heart condition.Hyde is meticulous in his research and is terrific in describing this period with accuracy, grit and lots of color. Further, Hyde's suspenseful thriller is filled with real-life characters, about which he provides interesting and many little-known facts (at least to me) that enables this book to rise above the average historical thriller. Of particular interest to me (and I think will be to you, too) were the "factoids" Hyde provides about Jack Ruby. Wisdom Of The Bones is a book that succeeds on many levels ... plot, narrative style, multi-dimensional characters to name just a few ... and is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat and make you want to read on and on. Christopher Hyde's latest is well worth reading and one that should be near the top of your to-be-read list. Also, I'd recommend that you try Hyde's previous historical thriller, The Second Assassin.

This was my first Christopher Hyde book, purchased prior to take-off from an international airport and finished (all 400-some pages) upon landing six hours later.Needless to say, it won't be my last.Hyde seamlessly integrates fact and fiction during that fateful weekend in Dallas nearly forty years ago. Having said that, this is _not_ a book about the assassination of an American president, per se. It _is_ the story of horrific events that occur before, during and after one of the defining moments of our time, and the mindset and priorities of our segregated society during the early '60s.Hyde essentially picks up where history left off--the extremly careless investigation of mutilated African-American girls by a serial killer--and spins his tale from there. There was no justice for these girls then--that much is fact. Through Hyde's wonderful imagination and storytelling, they have their justice now...if only in the belief of what _should_ have been.It's always amusing to read fictional situations involving real people. Put that in a hair-raising thriller by a storytelling master, and you have the literary equivalent of a drug addiction.The afterword by the author helps us out some and highlights his skill; he teases apart the historical and the fantastical for us, letting us in on what was real and what wasn't.This was one of the best books I've ever read. Fantastic job.

Quite simply, I found this book to be one of the best novels I've read in a year!It's well written and engaging with an excellent plot, historically based, gritty, hardboiled, noirish, atmospheric and hard to put down -- all with the Kennedy assassination serving as background to the time and setting. The historical base is not just the Kennedy assassination, but also the serial killings of the story itself. The hero of the story is also unique: a little rough around the edges, but likeable, and dying from congestive heart failure which is described in some detail. A warning though: some scenes are graphically detailed, but these help the story. Never a dull moment in this Christopher Hyde masterpiece!