The Skeleton Makes a Friend (Family Skeleton Mystery #5)

 The Skeleton Makes a Friend is the 5th book in the Family Skeleton series by Leigh Perry. It's due out 6th Nov, 2018 from Diversion Books and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

I'm a huge fan of paranormal cozies and this series just keeps getting better.  There is a large chunk of necessary suspension of disbelief going in; the main character Georgia has a best friend who's a walking talking skeleton. That being said, there are so many things to love about this series, here are a few:

The protagonist is smart, funny, nerdy and capable but she's not superwoman. She's very down to earth and in some ways vulnerable.  She's very much an everywoman character and easily related to (and darned likable).  If she were real, I'm pretty sure we'd get along very well.  Would love to grab ice cream with her sometime! :)

The dialogue and plotting are spot on.  I've read all of the books in the series so far and I've yet to read one bit of honestly clunky or unfortunate dialogue.  The author is prolific and experienced and it shows.  I've long said that quality is important and writing 'light' mystery or fantasy (or romance) is no excuse for shoddy work.  This is a solidly readable, writerly, thoroughly enjoyable mystery.

The author makes some wry and unflattering observations about academia in the USA and she does a good job of describing the system in a lot of places without being strident.  It is what it is. 

There are a lot of topical in-jokes and references, so I'm not sure how this series will read in 20 years, but they're here now and they're delightful. I recommend this series and this book in particular without any reservations.

This is a very light read.  I think it would be fine as a standalone, but I can heartily recommend the other books in the series as well.  The language wouldn't make anyone blush.  (Incidentally, Georgia and Sid (the skeleton) use alternate anatomy related curse words 'coccyx', 'ossified', 'sacrum', etc etc. it's just another quirky bit of the series).

Four and a half stars.  I can't imagine it being better, honestly.  I'm looking forward to more from Sid and Georgia (and co.).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.