Precious Bones

Meet 10-year-old Bones, whose playground is the Florida swamps, which are brimming with mountain witches, black bears, alligators, and bobcats. Bones's father, Nolay, a Miccosukee Indian, is smart and mischievous. Her mama, practical as corn bread, can see straight into Bones's soul. It's summer, and Bones is busy hunting and fishing with her best friend, Little Man. But then two Yankee real estate agents trespass on her family's land, and Nolay scares them off with his gun. When a storm blows in and Bones and Little Man uncover something horrible at the edge of the Loo-chee swamp, the evidence of foul play points to Nolay. The only person who can help Nolay is Sheriff LeRoy, who's as slow as pond water. Bones is determined to take matters into her own hands. If it takes a miracle, then a miracle is what she will deliver.

MIKA ASHLEY-HOLLINGER grew up in the Florida swamps in the tiny community of Micco and now lives in Hawaii where she runs an exotic plants landscaping business. This is her first novel.