From the moment I cracked open the book, I was transported to the mesmerizing world of Kaumaha Island, a remote paradise with a dark and mysterious past.

Following Winnie Te Papa, through the twists and turns of the investigation, I found myself completely immersed in the story. Winnie's determination to uncover the truth, coupled with her sharp intellect and unwavering courage, made her a captivating character to root for.

The author painted a vivid description of the island's landscape from the towering cliffs to the hidden caves and pristine beaches. I could almost feel the warm breeze on my skin and hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the shore as I turned the pages.

This book is filled with unexpected twists and turns that kept me guessing until the very end. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, Burgess threw in another curveball that left me on the edge of my seat.

But it wasn't just the mystery that kept me hooked; Burgess's exploration of Hawaiian culture and folklore added an extra layer of depth to the story. Learning about the island's ancient legends and traditions added an immersive element to the narrative that I found utterly captivating.

If you're a fan of mystery novels with richly drawn characters and immersive settings, then I highly recommend giving this book a read. You won't be disappointed.

A murder mystery diving into the racial and cultural divide on a remote Hawaiian island between landed elite and villagers. Total White Lotus vibes but at times I was a bit confused trying to piece together the mystery.

An interesting Hawaiian mystery with a main character who is a distinct callback to Miss Marple. While it did a good job of digging into indigenous issues and had a great suspicious cast of characters, the pacing of the plot felt a little off which made the mystery reveal a little unsatisfying.

"A Legacy of Bones" by Doug Burgess is a captivating murder mystery that skillfully navigates the intricate dynamics of a remote Hawaiian island. Set against the backdrop of a contentious land dispute and steeped in the island's rich cultural heritage, this novel weaves a compelling narrative that unravels the complex web of secrets, rivalries, and motivations.

The story kicks off with a well-timed explosion that ignites an investigation, immediately hooking readers into a suspenseful journey of unraveling the truth. At the heart of the mystery lies Kaumaha Island, a place with a dark history of massacres and secrets, guarded by a statue of Amyas Lathrop. As the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear that the island itself holds a malevolent legacy, and the question of who would kill to protect or expose this legacy becomes the crux of the plot.

Central to the story is Winnie Te Papa, a cultural expert and the novel's own version of a modern-day Ms. Marple. Her sharp intellect, kindness, and dedication to justice make her a compelling and relatable protagonist. Her involvement in the arbitration panel brings her face to face with a cast of intriguing characters, from greedy developers to protestors, each with their own agenda. Burgess deftly navigates the diverse personalities, allowing readers to engage with a rich tapestry of motives and backgrounds.

The dual timeline narrative structure adds depth to the storytelling, as it traces the consequences of the island's past through generations. This approach not only enriches the mystery but also provides insights into the island's evolution and the characters' motivations.

Burgess's writing is both evocative and engaging, transporting readers to the lush landscapes of Hawaii and immersing them in the cultural nuances that shape the characters' actions. The incorporation of Hawaiian lore and beliefs adds authenticity to the narrative, enhancing the overall reading experience.

The novel's ability to evoke the classic mystery sensibilities of authors like Agatha Christie while infusing it with a modern twist is a testament to Burgess's storytelling prowess. "A Legacy of Bones" keeps readers guessing until the very end, with unexpected twists and revelations that maintain the suspense throughout.

What happens when history, family, and culture meet an Agatha Christie style murder mystery? This amazing book. Set in the islands of Hawaii and drawing on its cultural and colonial history to weave in a beautiful story of family legacy.

We follow Mrs. Winnie Te Papa, an expert in Hawaiian culture and people, as she is called to join a tribunal deciding the future of a statue and an island, Kaumaha. This island has a history of missionaries and traditional culture clashing, both then and now, as the family who owns the island butts heads with the villagers brought to work and settle the island. Once someone ends up dead (and the contrary statue conveniently blown up) history explodes forward with its secrets.

I loved this book. It was a beautiful weaving of cultural stories, mythology, and history of Hawaii and it’s people. I admit to also being tickled that an Anthropologist was the bad guy. So many times in books like this the Anthropologist is the savior… I don’t think that’s true a lot of the time especially in the history of anthropology’s dealings with colonialism. This felt like a comeuppance for the field as we fight today to decolonize and explode truth forward.

If you want to learn, be dazzled by paradise, and be thrilled by a mystery- this book is it!

A Legacy of Bones by Doug Burgess is an intriguing murder mystery set in Hawaii. Its full of secrets, racial tension and hostility amongst family. I've heard it compared with a mix of Agatha Christie and White Lotus and I definitely would have to agree to that!

Synopsis:
Some legacies are best abandoned...
A well-placed stick of TNT ignites a full-blown investigation in A Legacy of Bones, a provocative murder mystery exploring the racial and cultural divide on a remote Hawaiian island between landed elite and villagers. On Kaumaha Island (est 1850), the statue of Amyas Lathrop conceals a terrible secret—a legacy of massacres and madness that infects the island itself. Some will go to any lengths to keep it hidden, others to set it free. But which of them would kill? Cultural expert Winnie Te Papa, our very own Ms. Marple, will sift through the pieces to track a ruthless murderer through a tangled maze of family alliances, greedy developers, scholars, protestors, and gangsters. Told in dual timeline, Doug Burgess’s intricate puzzle box mystery traces the consequences of an island’s frenetic beginnings as they snowball through generations. Fans of HBO’s White Lotus will be intrigued by the ever hotly debated questions: what happens next and who get to decide?

⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Legacy of Bones by Doug Burgess is a captivating murder mystery that explores the cultural and racial divide on a remote Hawaiian island between the landed elite and the villagers. A well-placed stick of TNT ignites a full-blown investigation, leading to the discovery of a terrible secret hidden behind the statue of Amyas Lathrop.

Cultural expert Winnie Te Papa takes on the task of tracking down the ruthless murderer through a maze of family alliances, greedy developers, scholars, protestors, and gangsters. The story is told in a dual timeline: present day and journal entries from the 1850s, which worked seamlessly to trace the consequences of an island’s frenetic beginnings as they snowball through generations.

I enjoyed this book a lot; it was well-paced and had great writing. The mystery itself was well-crafted and kept me engaged throughout. I loved how well-developed and intriguing all the characters were. The inclusion of legend, history and ghosts added extra depth and intrigue to the story that made it even more interesting.

One thing worth mentioning is that this book has a beautiful cover!

Overall, A Legacy of Bones is a thought-provoking murder mystery with richly developed characters and intricate plot twists that will keep you guessing until its satisfying conclusion.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

This was exceptional. Every plot twist I thought would be the last yielded another one. The characters were well fleshed out, pacing was great, and the story was compelling. Already recommending this to SO many people. More tropical gothic mysteries please!!

A little bit Agatha Christie, a little bit who-dunnit-clue, this murder mystery takes place on a Hawaiian island that is anything but the tropical paradise it seems to be.

Full of racial tension, family hostility, long held secrets and even the Yakuza’s involvement, this story dives into some deep issues while still managing to be engaging and even make you smile.

The characters were perfect. Winnie Te Papa, channelling Christie’s Ms. Marple, is the perfect sleuth, putting together the pieces and solving the mystery while coming across as everyone’s favorite Grandma. The rest of the characters come second to her but each has a unique and well crafted role.

I appreciated a book set in Hawaii and filled with Hawaiian culture - it felt fresh and rich - while the historical elements added another layer to the story that made it more than “just” a puzzle to be solved.

Thanks to net galley and Sourcebooks Landmark for my e arc in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! This was a great murder mystery and a creepy ghost tale! I thought it has a unique storyline that kept me hooked while reading it. I also enjoyed the cultural links that were in this. It was overall an enjoyable fast paced mystery!

Me. Marble rides again! This struck me as a cozy mystery, with so much more at stake. Burgess has written a delightfully complex tale of generational trauma, genteel poverty, the struggle to find what happens next and who gets to decide that. Hawaiian native culture wars with Christianity, American colonialism, and fanaticism in the past on this paradise island. The ripple effects are felt in the present and ultimately lead to murder. Despite the murder mystery element, there never seems to be any doubt that one of our beloved characters is truly in danger. Instead, culture, identity, legacy and what we owe to each other are what’s at stake and the answers Burgess provides surprised and intrigued me. The twists were unforeseen, imaginative and ultimately left me feeling content with the solutions presented.

I absolutely loved this book - it’s been a while since I have given a mystery the full five stars but this one was just that good. This is one I’ll be giving to friends who love Agatha Christie or Dorothy L Sayers and one that I feel is definitely underrepresented here on Instagram. It is just that good !
It truly captures the spirit of a British Golden Age detective novel in that it is not just about solving the crime or finding the perpetrator but truly about a poetic kind of justice and the questions the quest for true justice brings up.
The cast of characters is magnificent. With a cultural expert and a professor of ethnology among the cast I definitely learned a lot. A second timeline was cleverly introduces through diary entries from the 1850s. The plot was clever and well thought out, the web connecting the characters was very well constructed to have plenty of potential suspects without leaving the realm of plausibility. The setting made a modern day Christie novel plausible - a small Hawaiian island and the descriptions of landscape and flora just made this the best kind of travel by book !
This is a book I’ll be pushing on people !

Not having known much about the history of Hawaii, this murder mystery introduced me to the legends of the islands and the strife between whites (haoles) and the original inhabitants. Well written, if a little long winded, just my opinion...recommended for the history aspects.

A Legacy of Bones is a murder mystery set in a lush Hawaiian landscape that explores the tensions that arise as the result of colonial exploitation. Doug Burgess blends elements of classic detective fiction--Agatha Christie in particular--and figures of Hawaiian legend. The novels feels like a prequel to season 1 of HBO's White Lotus; readers who enjoyed that show will find a lot to like here.

This book blends Hawaiian historical fiction and a murder mystery seamlessly. I really enjoyed learning more about the Hawaiian culture while trying to guess who the murderer is. This book has dual timelines, multiple POVs, and some great twists.

Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for allowing me to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for my honest review.

The Lanthrop family has resided on the island of Kaumaha for generations. Initially driven to the island by their missionary ancestor, Amyas, the family has since gone into the hotel business unsuccessfully and act as landlords to the island's population. To settle a dispute between the family as to whether or not the sale to a rich investor can pass a council is formed to hear the matter. At first it appears someone was against the sale when a body turns up overnight. Then more bodies appear and secrets start to unravel.

A Legacy of Bones is a genre bending historical murder mystery. It’s a generational saga, sure, but it primarily tells a tale of colonialism, brutality and racism from a white colonizer’s perspective and the legacy it has left behind. A member of the Lanthrop family is a part of both worlds and feels she needs to advocate on behalf of the village residents. Yet, we don’t actually hear from the village residents. I think the book could only have benefited from the additional inclusion of perspectives of the island’s non-white residents, particularly because they had the most at stake with the least amount of control.

Characters often made questionable decisions and sometimes took actions that appeared out of character but, I’m not sure we ever really knew them well enough to know what was out of character. We were frequently alternating from different character’s perspectives. Because of this I think it allowed you to even like and root for a notorious gang member. It raises interesting questions of morality and ethics.

The mystery itself is slow to unravel and the direction of the book doesn’t become clear until 20% through and oddly enough by 75% the mystery is pretty much wrapped up. The actual mystery was well plotted despite its short duration and it did keep me engaged. Although the epilogue felt unnecessary, I believe it was an attempt by the author to add some sunshine to a book that otherwise had some heavy content.
It wasn’t perfect but it was still a good read that I have found myself still thinking about long after I finished.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing an advanced reading copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I managed to fit in one more read before the month ended and it was an intriguing one! “A Legacy of Bones” is a Hawaiian murder mystery that is focused on local culture and tradition and the divide that has occurred on Kaumaha Island.

This haunted island has many sinister secrets and is the home to many awful murders/sacrifices that have occurred since the 1850s. Some villagers want to keep the past a secret, while others want to set the past free …

This book is a mash up of Agatha Christie meets White Lotus. If you are interested in Hawaiian culture and history then you will truly enjoy this book!

Thank you kindly to Doug Burgess, Netgalley, Source Books and Poisoned Pen Press for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on February 7, 2023!

A dual time line mystery set on the scenic Hawaiian island of Kaumaha. The Lathrops, who owned most of the land and treated the local population so horribly throughout history, have sold to a developer - except for a statue. And then one of the family is killed. Winnie Te Papa investigates and takes the reader through years of intertwining relationships, myth, and legend as well as abuse of the land and people. It's a lot for a novel that's got a Miss Marple style heroine but there are some gems in here and I learned a bit. Thanks to the publisher for the arc. A good read.

I can’t believe this effortlessly classic murder mystery isn’t part of a series, and sincerely hope it soon will be!

Winnie Te Papa is cultural director for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, but is well known throughout the islands for her wisdom and, more importantly, kindness. Though she’s getting on in years, his mind is a steel trap, so it isn’t a surprise when she’s asked to sit on an arbitration panel regarding the controversial sale of the privately-owned Kaumaha Island. David Tanaka, the president and CEO of the company looking to develop Kaumaha into a resort, has personally invited her to help settle the dispute.

Ordinarily, Mrs Te Papa has little time for corporations wanting her as a figurehead, but her assistant Marybeth points out that the issue has all the elements she usually enjoys getting involved in. Kaumaha Island has sacred ruins, predatory developer interest and a squabble between the native and <i>haole</i> inhabitants. Mrs Te Papa has to concede the point, so the intrepid duo journey out to the remote locale to see what’s what.

The situation at Kaumaha, as Mrs Te Papa and Marybeth soon discover, is more complicated than either had anticipated. The island was considered cursed by locals and avoided altogether until a Baptist missionary, Amyas Lathrop, brought his flock of native converts to build a settlement there in the 1800s. His descendents still live in a large house on the hill, as does a hardy village of his congregation’s, whose interests are represented by Lani Kapiaho, granddaughter of the Lathrop’s matriarch, Eleanor. Given the dispute between the Lathrops and the villagers regarding the sale of the island, an arbitration panel has been called in, consisting of Mrs Te Papa, anthropologist Robert Ackerman and Judge Rosalind Chan. This formidable trio quickly manages to sort things out to the best of their legal, cultural and historical knowledge, but a murder soon mars the proceedings.

When someone is arrested for the death, Mrs Te Papa senses that something isn’t right, and is moved to interfere. But the more she investigates, the more she worries that the truth will prove damaging to someone whose reputation she wishes to protect. She confers with an old mentor:

QUOTE
[“]But what if the truth hurts her memory even more?”

Duke nodded. “She deserves that truth, whatever it might be. You are not her judge. Nor do you judge those who harmed her. When you uncover an ancient site, do you shrink from interpreting its meaning even if it seems barbaric to us now? Of course not. What use would a scholar be who made up stories about the past just because they sounded pretty? You are simply the vessel. You uncover the truth and let others judge as they will.”
END QUOTE

Girded with this advice, Mrs Te Papa throws herself into uncovering the secrets of Kaumaha Island, as well as the secrets of those present at the fateful arbitration, in hopes of bringing a murderer to justice. While certain of her suspects fit the expected stereotypes, others prove entirely more complex than expected. Take, for example, the property developer who originally invited Mrs Te Papa to participate. Instead of using the strong arm tactics too often defaulted to by those of his ilk, he pushed for arbitration, specifically requesting Mrs Te Papa because of her impact on him when he was graduating high school:

QUOTE
[“]I was valedictorian that year. You gave me an award and told me how proud you were of me. I’d never heard those words before. And that’s why I whispered up at you, ‘Does diversity mean other things besides skin? Like who we love?’ And you leaned down–I was a lot shorter then–and said, ‘Yes, little ‘anela, diversity means you may love whomever you want, and tolerance means everyone will accept that love.’ I never forgot it. So when I needed advice on whether I was being a true Hawaiian, you were the first person I thought of.”
END QUOTE

Mrs Te Papa must work her way through a tangle of secrets from the past and present as she tries to solve both the modern murder mystery and an alarming new conundrum with very old roots. With her keen eye and indefatigable commitment to justice – as well as her strong connection to the lore and beliefs of Hawaii – she makes for one of the most impressive and interesting sleuths I’ve had the pleasure of recently encountering.

But A Legacy Of Bones doesn’t just stand on the charm of a single character. It’s a very solidly constructed novel that is reminiscent of the best classic mysteries, a la Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers, and is chock-full of Easter Eggs alluding to its predecessors. Perhaps it was this classic construction that had me marveling at how this book is not already part of a series, so easily does it slip into the established canon. With assured and lived-in prose, this novel is a delight for anyone who enjoys a mystery that refuses to trade on the expected, while also showcasing the vibrancy of life in modern Hawaii.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

A slow moving story that I struggled to stay involved with.

2☆