The Skeleton Man

Reporter Philip Dryden is participating in a live fire exercise with the Territorial Army.  Their objective is the abandoned town of Jude’s Ferry.  Unfortunately, the artillery was off and hit some targets that they weren’t supposed to.  The action is called off, and the troops advance into the town to put out fires and assess damage.  Inside one cellar they discover a body hanging from a hook.

The major that Dryden is with is sure that the body is a woman because at the time of the evacuation an older woman had gone missing.  When Dryden looks at the army maps, he notices that there is no cellar indicated in the pub where the body had been found.

Dryden begins an investigation into the missing woman.  He learns a lot about her from her daughter.  Two days later, a fisherman discovers two severed fingers in his net.  Who do they belong to, and could the person still be alive?  As Dryden is working on that story, news comes in that the skeleton was a man.  They have also found the man to whom the fingers belong, and he is still alive.

Deciding to focus on the skeleton man, Dryden goes to the army to check their records of the removal of the people from Jude’s Ferry.  He creates a list of eight men who could possibly be the victim.

The following day Dryden receives a phone message from a group threatening a local farm where guinea pigs and rats are raised for academic studies.  When he speaks to the owner, he doesn’t seem overly concerned, plus the police are aware.

Shortly after this, he meets with DI Peter Shaw, who is in charge of the case.  Shaw presents Dryden with details of another incident, which is shocking.  It is related to an animal rights group.  Dryden understands now why the police want him to sit on the story.  But, are all the incidents tied together?

Dryden feels that they are, however will his quest for the answers lead him to the solution or will DI Peter Shaw solve the cases first?  Author Jim Kelly has a very convoluted storyline in this mystery which will leave the reader wondering where they are being led.  A good, enjoyable read.