Old Bones begins when a teenager finds the ruins of a very old pick-up truck in Christina Lake. After half-a-century, water levels of the lake have dropped to reveal the wreck. Curious and excited, the boy named Rudy swims out to investigate. Inside the vehicle he finds old bones. Old Bones is called a mystery on its front cover, but New Zealand-born scriptwriter and first-time novelist Ron Chudley says he doesn't really write mysteries. "It appears that the publishing business always needs to categorize,"; he says. "All I wanted to do was write a tale about a group of people interacting with each other.";
The local police officer, Jack, investigates the bones. He can't find any record of a missing person in the area from fifty years ago but Jack's partner, Margie, has a childhood memory of an old farm... Jack plays a hunch and checks with an elderly couple who have lived in the town for most of their lives. They, in turn, recall a school girl from long ago. Jack and Margie track her down and she reveals the identity of the skeleton, but not the full story behind why it's there. Jack becomes further enmeshed in a mystery when a gardener named Emily discovers more bones on her own property. Jack's own origins as an adopted child enter the picture. Plus there's a gay couple, Joseph and Ray, who become integral to the plot. So Old Bones is what might be described as fusion fiction. There's murder, morality, coincidences, love and redemption. It's as much about reconciliation as it is about crime.

There aren't any 'bad guys' in this story. Much of the narration is philosophical, or romantic, but Old Bones is fueled by Gothic elements.
The 'skeleton' angle arose from a newspaper article that Chudley read years ago, very similar to the one that starts the book. Chudley admits he's "constitutionally incapable"; of not trying for some mystery and suspense.
Chudley's world is a moral one, where family is important, resolutions are available and answers can be found. Readers who love the "deus ex machina"; devices of Greek plays and the mistaken identity intrigues of Elizabethan comedy, will find it easy to fall between these covers. Others will have difficulty accepting the deliberately colossal coincidences. "In the end, telling stories is what it's all about,"; says Chudley. "I just want to tell them about folks and situations that interest me. "As to classifying it as a mystery-if that is an inducement to have my work read, then so be it."; 1-894898-33-8

-- by Cherie Thiessen

[BCBW 2006] "Mysteries"