The Skeleton Stuffs a Stocking — Leigh Perry

“Mirth and murder blend beautifully” in this tale of an amateur sleuth and her bony best friend (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
 
Dr. Georgia Thackery is back home with her parents after finding a new adjunct position at Bostock College. Everyone is excited for their first family Christmas with nothing to hide. Why? Because Georgia's daughter Madison is now in the know about Sid, their walking, talking family skeleton.
 
But their Christmas cheer is interrupted when the Thackerys' dog Byron goes missing on a cold December night. When he's finally found, he has a femur clutched between his jaws -- and Georgia and Madison race to apologize to Sid for letting the dog gnaw on him yet again. Except that all of Sid's bones are present and accounted for…
 
This bone is from somebody else, and when they trace Byron's trail to an overgrown lot nearby, they find the rest of the skeleton. It's the normal kind, not moving or telling jokes, and when the police come to take charge, they're sure it was murder, and one of Georgia's adjunct friends could be implicated. With tensions stirring at the college and everyone hiding a secret or two, Sid and Georgia must uncover the truth before the ghost of a Christmas past strikes again.
 
“Amateur sleuth Georgia, and her sidekick, Sid, are just plain fun!” -- Sofie Kelly, New York Times-bestselling author of the Magical Cats Mysteries