Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Inherit the Bones
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.emilylittlejohn.com/
CITY:
STATE: CO
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2016/10/qa-with-emily-littlejohn-author-of-inherit-the-bones-comment-sweepstakes
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2016034542
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016034542
HEADING: Littlejohn, Emily
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053 _0 |a PS3612.I8823
100 1_ |a Littlejohn, Emily
670 __ |a Inherit the bones, 2016: |b CIP t.p. (Emily Littlejohn) data view (“EMILY LITTLEJOHN was born and raised in southern California and has called Colorado home since 2003. She worked for several years at the Denver Public Library and is now a library supervisor at the Westminster Public Library. If she’s not writing, reading, or working, she’s enjoying the mountains with her husband and sweet old dog. . . . . and road trips. Inherit the Bones is her first novel”)
PERSONAL
Born in CA; married.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Westminster Public Library, Westminster, CO, library supervisor. Has also worked at the Denver Public Library
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
American writer Emily Littlejohn was born and raised in Southern California. She later settled in Colorado, where she uses the mountains and scenery as inspiration for her story ideas.
In 2016, Littlejohn published her novel Inherit the Bones, which is set in the fictional small mountain town of Cedar Valley, Colorado. Deputy Gemma Moore is assigned to the murder of Reed Tolliver, a circus clown whose body was discovered in a storage tent after his throat had been slit open. Through fingerprint records, Gemma is able to match the clown’s DNA with that of Nicky Bellington, the son of Cedar Valley’s mayor. Because Nicky’s body was never found, Gemma’s discovery could solve that mystery. But as she begins to look into the death of Reed, a.k.a. Nicky, she finds that it’s linked to a brutal crime wave that had happened three decades ago in Cedar Valley and had close ties to her own family.
In an interview on Criminal Element.com, Littlejohn discussed what she hoped that readers would feel after reading her debut novel. “I believe the book packs a big emotional punch, not just at the beginning or end, so I hope readers feel that too,” said Littlejohn. “If they laughed, cried, raged, or any combination of the three, I’ll be happy.”
Reviewing Inherit the Bones, the writer of the book blog Just Let Me Finish this Page commented: “The atmosphere created by Littlejohn is perfect for this dark and riveting mystery. Days after finishing the novel, the town and its inhabitants have stayed with me.” Some readers may figure out the mystery early on, suggested a Publishers Weekly reviewer, who still thought that “the charming setting, engaging characters, and adroit pacing will keep them turning the pages.” In a review at the Curled Up with a Good Book Web site, Michael Leonard described the novel as “a tale literally drenched in the bonds of dark family secrets and frail blood.” Leonard then added: “In deliberative, beautiful prose, Littejohn crafts a story that is as much about the feisty, gutsy Gemma as about the murder mystery.” Comparing Gemma to Becky Masterman’s retired FBI agent heroine, Brigid Quinn, Leonard felt that Littlejohn writes “with the competence of a veteran mystery author.” Also impressed with Inherit the Bones, Cleveland Plain-Dealer writer Laura DeMarco hoped that “this excellent debut . . . is the first of many.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 15, 2016, Karen Keefe, review of Inherit the Bones, p. 31.
Cleveland Plain Dealer, November 9, 2016, Laura DeMarco, review of Inherent the Bones.
Publishers Weekly, September 12, 2016, review of Inherit the Bones, p. 33.
ONLINE
CriminalElement.com, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (October 25, 2016), author interview.
Curled Up with a Good Book, http://www.curledup.com/ (November 1, 2016), Michael Leonard, review of Inherent the Bones.
Emily Littlejohn Website, https://www.emilylittlejohn.com (June 27, 2017).
Just Let Me Finish this Page, http://justletmefinishthispage.com/ (November 21, 2016), review of Inherent the Bones.*
I was born and raised in Southern California but have called Colorado home for over a decade now. The beautiful mountains and open space continue to inspire me on a daily basis.
I wrote Inherit the Bones over the course of two years, in the evenings and on the weekends. I've always had a fascination with all things mystery, horror, and the macabre. Bones was inspired by a vision I had of a clown, found dead, in full costume. I wondered who was the man behind the make-up?
And just like that, a story was born.
I hope you enjoy spending time in Cedar Valley with Detective Gemma Monroe, her partner Finn Nowlin and the rest of the people that bring the town to life.
I'd love to hear from you, so drop me a message on the Follow Me page or send me an e-mail at emilynlittlejohn@gmail.com.
Happy readings!
EMILY LITTLEJOHN was born and raised in southern California. She has called Colorado home since 2003. If she’s not writing, reading, or working at the local public library, she’s enjoying the mountains with her husband and sweet old dog. She has a deep love of horror stories, butter pecan ice cream, and road trips. Inherit the Bones is her first novel.
Q&A with Emily Littlejohn, Author of Inherit the Bones
CRIME HQ and EMILY LITTLEJOHN
Read this exclusive Q&A with Emily Littlejohn, author of Inherit the Bones, and then make sure you're signed in and comment below for a chance to win a copy of the book!
What do you want readers to think or feel after finishing this book?
I believe the book packs a big emotional punch, not just at the beginning or end, so I hope readers feel that too. If they laughed, cried, raged, or any combination of the three, I’ll be happy.
What would be your murder weapon of choice?
I think an icicle would make the perfect murder weapon. It melts and then can never be traced back to the killer! But that would only work in the winter. In the summer, I’d go with botulism from a can of tomatoes or a lawn mower “accident.”
What are you currently reading?
I’m reading The Hatching by Ezekiel Boone, but it’s starting to get too scary to read before bed. Be warned—if you have a fear of spiders this book is not for you!
Describe Inherit the Bones in 5 words.
Colorado: Pregnant cop tracks killer.
If you could team up Gemma Monroe with any other detective, who would you choose?
This is a tough question. I’d love to see her travel down to New Orleans and spend some time with Dave Robicheaux from the James Lee Burke mysteries. Dave’s been around the block a few times and has dealt with some really bad people … but he’s kept his humanity. Gemma could learn a lot from Dave.
What's your favorite line from Inherit the Bones and why?
My favorite line is the first line of the book: “In my dreams, the dead can speak.” Why? Because it sets the tone for the entire story. Gemma Monroe is haunted by this terrible, unsolved crime; she seeks justice for the dead, the victims, and those who can no longer speak. Plus—in my biased opinion, of course—I think it’s just a really beautiful line.
How do you think the staff of the Fellini Brothers' Circus of Amazements would feel about the current “creepy clown” phenomenon?
I think they would be as freaked out as I am. If I saw a clown coming down the street on any day but Halloween, I would probably pass out from the fear. Honestly. There are, of course, nice, sweet clowns that want to put a smile on your face … but let’s be real: those clowns exist in two places—birthday parties and circuses. Clowns anywhere else are just wrong. My thoughts on this are, of course, heavily influenced by Stephen King’s fantastic novel It, one of my all-time favorite books.
Is Cedar Valley, Colorado inspired by any particular place?
Cedar Valley is inspired by a number of places in Colorado: Breckenridge, Crested Butte, Vail, even Ouray. But it’s definitely unique in the number of murders it sees!
What's next for Gemma Monroe?
When we next see Gemma, she’s just returning to the police force after being out on maternity leave. She’s a little shaky and a little off-balance after three months of domestic life with Grace and Brody. Of course, her return coincides with a murder, which finds her, Finn, and Chief Chavez tracking a killer during a series of brutal winter storms. Book Two is not only a thriller, it’s a chiller.
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Inherit the Bones
Karen Keefe
Booklist.
113.2 (Sept. 15, 2016): p31.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Inherit the Bones. By Emily Littlejohn. Nov. 2016.336p. Minotaur, $25.99 (9781250089397); e-book, $12.99 (9781250089397).
Detective Gemma Monroe is the first on the scene when a traveling circus performer has his throat cut in Cedar Valley, Colorado. Gemma senses
that this crime is somehow tied to two other unsolved cases that stretch back to 1985, and sets about to prove it. Although this is a series debut, it
seems as if the fully fleshed character of Gemma has jumped into an ongoing series midstream. But then, the author drops little crumbs of
backstory that the hungry reader will gleefully devour. A series to watch.--Karen Keefe
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Keefe, Karen. "Inherit the Bones." Booklist, 15 Sept. 2016, p. 31. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464980849&it=r&asid=b6007ba282d06d50be2c6d590e5909d0. Accessed 2 June
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A464980849
---
6/2/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1496450099534 2/2
Inherit the Bones
Publishers Weekly.
263.37 (Sept. 12, 2016): p33.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Inherit the Bones
Emily Littlejohn. Minotaur, $25.99 (336p) ISBN 978-1-250-08940-3
At the outset of Littlejohn's engrossing debut, Deputy Gemma Moore examines the body of circus clown Reed Tolliver, who was found inside a
storage tent with his throat cut. Nicky Bellington, the teenage son of the mayor of Cedar Valley, Colo., was supposedly killed in a fall from a cliff
three years earlier, but no body was found. When a database search of the victim's fingerprints identifies Tolliver as Nicky, Gemma launches an
investigation that reaches back three decades to a summer of crimes that continue to haunt the mountain town--and to which she has a personal
connection. Littlejohn effectively captures the tensions of a community struggling with its demons while seeking to attract tourist dollars, and
Gemma--six-months pregnant with her first child, uncertain of the future with her partner, and paired with a charming bad-boy cop she doesn't
trust--is a compelling lead. Readers may solve the mystery early on, but the charming setting, engaging characters, and adroit pacing will keep
them turning the pages. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Inherit the Bones." Publishers Weekly, 12 Sept. 2016, p. 33. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA464046229&it=r&asid=e536b0c44a7c8661efe1e84b6fb09a86. Accessed 2 June
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A464046229
previous reviewnext review
In her first novel, Littlejohn delivers a compelling thriller centering on Detective Gemma Monroe. In the small Colorado town of Cedar Valley, a vibrant place of “travelling circuses, seedy fairgrounds and age-old family secrets,” three brutal murders are tied to the legend of The Woodsman. Gemma, like many of the townsfolk, remains haunted by the images of two children--the McKenzie cousins, just two years apart--who disappeared in the summer of 1985. The boys’ unsolved murder has defined Cedar Valley; many unanswered questions still continue to take root in people’s hearts. The Woodsman murders are just as much a part of Cedar Valley’s culture as the ski chalets and hiking trails.
Twenty-seven years after the events of 1985, Gemma once again finds herself at the center of a new murder investigation. In one of the hottest August days on record, all are oblivious to the newest spectacle at the Fellini Brother’s Circus: the discovery of 18-year-old Reed Tolliver lying dead in a pool of his own blood. It appears as though the poor kid’s throat has been brutally thrashed. First on the scene is chief forensic specialist Ravi Hussen, who tells Gemma that the blood and destruction were most likely caused by a terrible, pent-up rage.
Although Gemma is pleased when her boss, Chief of Police Angel Chavez, tells her to lead the case, Gemma doesn’t relish the notion of descending into the orbit of Cedar Valley’s powerful mayor, Terence Bellington, a man who had high political aspirations until it was revealed that he had cancer. Still, together with her loyal colleagues, Finn Nowlin and Sam Birdshead (“fresh meat” rookie from Denver), Gemma plunges into the inquiry, desperately trying to sort through the details of Reed Tolliver, only to learn that his life was riddled with secrets and lies. Shouldering the stress of being six months pregnant--and with Bellington about to breathe down her neck “every step of the way,” Gemma is forced to balance her investigative skills against the “political shit storm” that is going to hit if she doesn’t wrap the case up nice and neat.
A surprise revelation involving Reed’s true identity brings Gemma and her team directly into the trajectory of the Bellington family and the mystery surrounding their son, Nicky, who disappeared after a tragic slip and fall three years previously. Are the two incidents connected? As Gemma’s thoughts dance between two big questions, she comes to the realization that murder is usually never as complicated as it first seems. Who might have killed Nicky, and what really happened on that beautiful July day? Both Gemma and Finn wonder how Nicky’s supposed death connects to Reed Tolliver, the McKenzie boys, and the other tragedy that rocked Cedar Valley in August 1985: the discovery of a woman’s body snagged in reeds in the Arkansas River.
In deliberative, beautiful prose, Littejohn crafts a story that is as much about the feisty, gutsy Gemma as about the murder mystery. As the investigation progresses, Gemma is haunted by dreams and nightmares. Bit by bit, a portrait starts to emerge centering on Ellen, Terence Bellington’s beautiful wife. As “cold as an arctic queen,” Ellen is still anxious to find her long-lost son even as she assuages her daughter, Annika, whom Gemma suspects knows more about Nicky’s disappearance than she initially lets on. Meanwhile, Reed’s girlfriend, Tessa--feisty, driven, and beautiful--can shed little light on Reed’s final moments. Neither can Tessa’s friend, the furious, perpetually stoned Red, who points the finger at Darren Chase, the basketball coach at Cedar Valley high school. The implication is that there was something more to his relationship with Nicky than strictly coaching. Tessa confides to Gemma how Reed went to extreme measures to change his appearance--the tattoos, the piercings, and the hair dye--yet clearly Reed was a boy who didn’t or couldn’t change his personality.
With only her dog, Seamus, for company, Gemma remains plagued by the people in Nicky and Reed’s lives, characters who circle her thoughts like “like vultures in the sky.” As Gemma digs deep into her past, she remembers the afternoon she and her husband discovered the bones of the McKenzie boys. She has spent the last four years living in the shadow of The Woodsman: “everywhere I turned seemed to point right back to the past, to the Mackenzie boys and to The Woodsman.” Gemma’s dreams seem to provide clues, haunting her three or four times a week, and she finds herself hijacked by a creepy, mysterious stalker.
Writing with the competence of a veteran mystery author, Littejohn fashions her hero in the same vein as retired FBI agent Brigid Quinn of the Becky Masterson series. Both women are outsiders, driven by their relentless and likely self-righteous pursuit of “putting the bad guys away.” As the narrative rushes along, full of Gemma’s messy but principled choices, the invisible lines of paternity and the invisible strains of legacy are eventually tested in a tale literally drenched in the bonds of dark family secrets and frail blood.
The world's best mystery writer returns, and other fall releases (mystery reviews)
Print Email Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer By Laura DeMarco, The Plain Dealer
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 09, 2016 at 10:55 AM, updated November 13, 2016 at 4:31 PM
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Tana French's "The Trespasser" (459 pp.,$27)
Viking
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Strong female detectives, Irish thrillers and the death of a clown make for hot November page-turners.
Tana French
The Trespasser
Viking, 459 pp., $27
Tana French may be the best mystery writer of our era. Her series based in the Dublin Murder Squad is smart, visceral, thrilling, humane and often tragic - and filled with some of the best characters in crime fiction. She's a great story teller AND a writer whose commentary on modern life, as with "Broken Harbor," about the crash of the Celtic tiger, rises to the ranks of literature. This time she returns to detectives Antoinette Conway and Stephen Moran, who are called upon to take a seemingly open-and-shut case of a striving young woman allegedly murdered by her boyfriend. But Thomas, who is also dealing with severe harassment at work, thinks there's more to the case, and the victim. She pushes herself and the department to dig deeper - with shocking consequences that send shockwaves through the squad in this thrilling, powerful read.
Grade: A
Inherit the Bones
Emily Littlejohn
Minotaur Books, 336 pp., $25.99
When the face paint is wiped off a murdered clown and he's identified as the long-missing son of a small Colorado town's mayor, shock waves ripple through Cedar Valley. That's because the son had long been presumed dead. This shocker is far from the only one revealed as heavily pregnant detective Gemma Monroe's investigation uncovers the terrible dark secrets beneath the mountain town's bucolic facade. Monroe, a fantastic, fallibly human and fierce protagonist, soon realizes the case may even have roots as far back as the unsolved Woodsman child murders that have haunted the town for decades. Here's hoping this excellent debut from Colorado writer Emily Littlejohn is the first of many.
Grade: A
So Say the Fallen
Stuart Neville
Soho Press, 336 pp., $26.95
Belfast writer Stuart Neville is back with another twisty, troubled tale from his hometown. This time, weary detective Serena Flanagan, reeling from the violence of her last case and a crumbling marriage, investigates what should be an easy case. A severely maimed, very wealthy man has committed suicide in his hospital bed. But has he really? His widow seems awfully chummy with the vicar, and not too upset, either. Despite pressure from her superiors to sign off on the suicide, Flanagan's instinct is telling her something is very wrong with this case. She's right in this twisty, heartbreaking read.
Grade: A
Watching Edie
Camilla Way
New American Library, 291 pp., $26
The latest entry in the trendy unreliable narrator genre - think "Gone Girl," "The Girl on the Train"- is a shocking, edgy novel. Edie is a pregnant, single, 33-year-old down-on-her-luck waitress who is surprised when an old high school pal shows up unexpectedly - and rather creepily. Heather was a high school nerd, Edie the popular one, but they bonded, mostly because Edie felt sorry for her. But Edie's recollections of their high school days prove unreliable, to say the least, as does Heather's offer to help with the new baby in this entertainingly nasty read set in London.
Grade: B+
Book Review: Inherit the Bones by Emily Littlejohn
November 21, 2016 by Claudia
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About the book (from the publisher): Secrets and lies can’t stay buried forever in Cedar Valley.
In the summer, hikers and campers pack the small Colorado town’s meadows and fields. And in the winter, skiers and snowboarders take over the mountains. Season by season, year after year, time passes and the lies, like the aspens and evergreens that surround the town, take root and spread deep.
Now, someone has uncovered the lies, and it is his murder that continues a chain of events that began almost forty years ago. Detective Gemma Monroe’s investigation takes her from the seedy grounds of a traveling circus to the powerful homes of those who would control Cedar Valley’s future.
Six months pregnant, with a partner she can’t trust and colleagues who know more than what they’re saying, Gemma tracks a killer who will stop at nothing to keep those secrets buried.
My review: This is author Emily Littlejohn’s debut and what a debut it is! This haunting and riveting mystery is beautifully written.
Gemma Monroe, the protagonist of this murder mystery, is dedicated to her work and haunted by dreams of two young boys from Cedar Valley who went missing many years ago. Monroe found their bones years later, but no one has ever solved the crime. In the present, a traveling circus is in town and a clown has been brutally murdered. The true identity of the man behind the mask sets off a complicated investigation which has far-reaching consequences for the residents of the town and circles back to the tragic murder of the two boys.
Adding another layer to the story, Gemma is pregnant and she is wrestling with the impending birth, as well as her commitment to the baby’s father, who is temporarily away on a job in Alaska.
Littlejohn does it right. She creates the small town of Cedar Valley so vividly that it springs from the page like a movie. She also writes complex and fascinating characters; the mayor, the police chief, Gemma’s partner, the circus performers. Each one is fully drawn, fully realized. As in any small town, there are complicated, decades-long relationships; relationships that hold secrets long hidden.
She knows how to construct a plot that keeps you guessing until the end. I usually can figure out who the ‘bad guy’ is – not this time! And what a pleasure that is!
The atmosphere created by Littlejohn is perfect for this dark and riveting mystery. Days after finishing the novel, the town and its inhabitants have stayed with me.
This is the first book in a series centering on Gemma Monroe. Lucky us! I recommend it highly.
About the author: Emily Littlejohn was born and raised in Southern California and now lives in Colorado. If she’s not reading, writing, or working at the local public library, she’s enjoying the mountains with her husband and her sweet old dog. She has a deep love of horror stories, butter pecan ice cream, and road trips. Inherit the Bones is her first novel.
Happy Reading.