"At the heart of the 1952 novel Beat Not the Bones is an indictment of violence. Written by Geraldine Halls under the pseudonym Charlotte Jay, the story, which won the inaugural Edgar Allan Poe Award in 1954, is a disquieting exploration of not only bodily horrors, but the darkness of colonialism. After the mysterious death of her husband in Papua New Guinea, Stella Warwick is convinced that the act was a murder, not the suicide it was reported to be. So she travels from Australia to investigate his death for herself. But once there, Stella soon discovers that his untimely death isn’t the only horrific show of violence or unsolved mystery in the jungle, and that the answers she seeks may be more than she bargained for. While the book reflects many of the problematic attitudes toward race at the time, its critique of the horrors of colonialism is urgent, sharp, and surprisingly prescient, making it as relevant today as it was when it was first published". —Cady Lang for Time magazine

Stop by the Reference Desk after the previous month’s meeting to pick up a copy of the title. If this title is not available, we've requested copies of her other works.. There are also ebooks available via Libby.

Supplemental Reading:

Wikipedia overview of the novel and background HERE.

Book Club Background:

Join us in person or online to look at the history of Mystery as a book genre.

It has been almost 200 years since the publication of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue,” and since then, mystery as a genre has exploded in form, length, language, and more. From The Lady in White, Wilkie Collins’ novel that is considered the first of the genre, through the serialized adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the Golden Age of Agatha Christie, the advent of noir, the rise of thrillers, romantic suspense, and an international cast of characters ranging from retired police officers to meddling sleuths, some famous twins, and armchair detectives.

TIME MAGAZINE PICKS THE 100 BEST MYSTERY NOVELS OF ALL TIME

Each month we might read an article, a short story, a book, or a selection from the same author or the same country. We’ll look at award winners and debut novelists, the standard bearers and the rule breakers. We may talk about movies and TV, too.  We’ll work our way through the decades, looking at similar themes, exotic settings, and recent innovations in a genre that is both familiar and new.

Some of the authors we’ll cover: Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, Mary Higgins Clark, Alexander McCall Smith, Jo Nesbo, and more!

Check out the recent Edgar Award winners HERE.

We’ll run this group as hybrid, so anyone can join. Please click below to register for the program, and you'll receive the Zoom link. Returning readers do not need to register unless they need the Zoom link. THE ZOOM LINK WILL BE SENT AT LEAST TWO HOURS BEFORE THE MEETING.

At the end of the day, the butler may have done it, but we’ll decide if he was justified!