The Bones of Bascom Hall

Betsy Draine (Author), Michael Hinden (Author)

9780299349745

Paperback / softback, published 19 November 2024

224 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.3 cm, 0.454 kg

“A rewarding campus mystery bringing the turmoil of the Vietnam era into the present. With a winning blend of art history and Frank Lloyd Wright’s inventive body of work, and two engaging amateur sleuths, Draine and Hinden deliver an innovative plot and complex characters with signature flourish.”—Lynn C. Miller, author of The Lost Archive

Amateur sleuths Nora Barnes and Toby Sandler find themselves caught up in a labyrinth of speculation when they arrive at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for Nora’s faculty exchange. Campus police are baffled by the discovery of human remains in the attic of the university’s administration building. Nora connects the bones to the Vietnam-era bombing of Sterling Hall, but someone doesn’t want her probing the past. She’s side-swiped by a car while riding a bicycle and almost crushed in the art library’s motorized book stacks. Meanwhile, Toby is hot on the trail of lost architectural plans drafted by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Inspired by an event that traumatized Madison and shocked the nation, Draine and Hinden interweave fact and fiction to create an intricate novel sure to delight both mystery enthusiasts and UW alumni.