In the Bones by Tessa Wegert @tessawegert @calliebeaulieu @dmontooth @dmontooth.bsky.social @tantoraudio @tantoraudio.bsky.social #NorthCountry #InTheBones

the setup…
Cape Vincent is part of New York’s Thousand Islands peninsula and the town is preparing for the “summer people.” Nicole Durham is a house cleaner and used her connections to get newcomer Mikko Helle to hire her on to care for his newly renovated waterfront home. He’s a former NHL star who likes to party and she has a reason to want access. But while Nicole was in the home, she discovers an intruder, a young woman who was “phrogging” homes in the neighborhood and hiding in Mikko’s attic. When police search the entire home, they find human bones in the basement crawl space.

the heart of the story…
This is more than a police procedural as the lives of some of the townspeople are also center stage. Nicole and her husband Woody are at a crossroads, with their daughter getting ready for college and finances strained. Sheriff Maureen (Mac) McIntyre is facing a formidable challenger and investigator Tim Wellington is seeing the world differently now that he’s the father of toddler daughter. The list of suspects kept growing as the investigation progressed and I had a good time developing theories.

the narration…
Callie Beaulieu and Danny Montooth made this feel like a full cast narration because of their many voice distinctions and great storytelling. I’ll be listening to the series going forward.

the bottom line…
I really enjoy character driven police procedurals as the story then has so many layers. This one has lots of twisty turns and my theories kept changing. I also was deeply invested in the characters and am glad this is the first in a series. I will also go back and read the Shana Merchant series as this is a spinoff, though I lost nothing by starting here. Now I know what all the fuss is about the author as she’s excellent at plotting.

Book Info

• Release Date: November 4, 2025
• Series: North Country #1
• Narrators: Callie Beaulieu & Danny Montooth
• Audio Length: 9 hours, 27 minutes
• Publisher: Tantor Audio

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(Thanks to Tantor Audio for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.)