Bones of the Barbary Coast: A Cree Black Novel

In this thrilling novel set in two periods of San Francisco history, Cree Black confronts the mystery of one of the strangest victims of the Great Quake. Bert Marchetti, a friend and homicide inspector, asks Cree to help investigate a human skeleton recently unearthed in the foundation of an old San Francisco home, supposedly the bones of a victim of the 1906 earthquake. The bones have been sent to UC Berkeley for analysis, where their peculiar characteristics and anatomical deformities have intrigued the forensic anthropology team. They call the skeleton Wolfman. So who was the Wolfman? What caused the deformities, and how did he end up in that grand hilltop home? Cree's historical research takes her back to the unholy glory days of the Barbary Coast, old San Francisco's infamous red-light district.As she assists at the forensics lab, she also begins to realize that Bert Marchetti's involvement with the case is more complex than he has let on. Her narrative is illuminated by entries from the 1889 diary of Lydia Schweitzer, a Victorian woman with her own secrets--and her own compelling interest in the person who would come to be known as the Wolfman. A vivid and elegantly plotted thriller that reveals San Francisco's hidden face across two centuries, Bones of the Barbary Coast tells the story of two women determined to face human nature's darkest aspects with courage and compassion.

About the Author :
Daniel Hecht was a professional guitarist for twenty years. He took up writing in 1989 and received his MFA degree from the Iowa Writers' Workshop in 1992. His first novel, Skull Session, was a bestseller. He lives in Montpelier, Vermont.

Review :
"A satisfying adventure." -- "Booklist" "Anna Fields' narration precisely delineates [the] two women. She slips into working-class Brooklynese when Cree is angry and effectively expresses Lydia's incredulity when she enters a brothel where patrons are entertained by deformed humans fighting feral dogs. When Fields narrates Black's own encounter with the dogs, her reading is haggard, gasping, and entirely believable." -- "AudioFile" "Bones of the Barbary Coast is one of those rare books that is both a thrill ride and a cerebral study of relationships. A subtle, mature, and enticing novel from one of the most exciting novelists around." -- "Laurie R. King, award-winning author"