The Skeleton Rides a Horse and Other Stories

by Toni L.P. Kelner, Dana Cameron (introduction), Charlaine Harris (introduction)

A collection of short stories.

Genres: Mystery

206 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2024

About the author

Toni L.P. Kelner is the author of the "Where are they now?" mysteries and the Laura Fleming mysteries. She was awarded the 2002 Mystery Series Award from Romantic Times Book Reviews Career Achievement Awards for Best Author for the Laura Fleming series and and her story "Sleeping with the Plush" won the Agatha for Best Short Story of 2006. Kelner has also been nominated for the Anthony, the Macavity, and the Derringer awards. You can find more out about her on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toni-LP...), Twitter (@ToniLPKelner) or her official website (http://www.tonilpkelner.com/).

Reviews

[Craig]

This is a fun collection of short mystery stories, some with a supernatural twist. It includes a dozen stories that were originally published in original anthologies or genre magazines 1995 - 2022. There are a refreshing variety of crimes under investigation, not all murders, from a nicely diverse cast of detectives. The title story features Sid and Georgia (as shown by the cover, which is so very much better than the silly cartoony covers the recent editions of their series has had) but is much closer in tone to her Where Are They Now? series, which I think is the best of her work. I also especially enjoyed the circus, carnival, pirate, and bowling alley stories, but my favorite of the lot is Security Blanket. It's a murder mystery set at a science fiction convention; once upon a time I was on the committee of a science fiction convention at which Ms. Kelner was a guest of honor.... (don't worry: no one died...that time.)

[MagicaCat]

Full disclosure: I only bought this for "The Skeleton Rides a Horse". I love Sid 😊 And that story did not disappoint!
But neither did the fantastic other stories in the anthology, especially (for me) "Skull and Cross-Examinations" and "Bell, Book and Candlepins" - gotta love a pirate courtroom drama and an occult friendship!
Honestly cannot wait for the new Family Skeleton book but this was a lovely little appetiser until it's ready!

[Cheryl]

These aren't the typical short mystery stories. Subjects include a high school kangaroo court where students are punished for bad acts, a bowling alley with a spell cast on it, and several stories that take place at a carnival or circus. If you're looking for mystery stories with unusual twists and turns, this is the one for you.

[Christine Verstraete]

Eclectic collection of stories with a variety of settings and crimes. Plus you can't beat a story with a re-animated moving/thinking/talking skeleton from her notable Family Skeleton series. A fun and entertaining read. Enjoyed it! I give it 5 skulls (or 5 stars!)

[Connie P.]

Fun!

I wanted to read this book because I'm a fan of the "Skeleton" series, having read all of the books in that series. However, I enjoyed all of the other stories in this book, too. Glad I picked it up!

[Vallery Feldman]

This is one fun book. A variety of short stories. Good characters. some stories are in a fantasy vein. Highly recommended.

[Eileen]

Some really lovely stories that show the author's wide range.