The Bone Parade
Author's Comments:
The Bone Parade came to me in the voice of Ashley Stassle. He was irrepressible, and his words poured out with barely a pause. Typically, I rewrite a great deal; but when I started buffing Ashley’s first person account, he wouldn’t hear of it. So he appears to you pretty much as he appeared to me. He remains one of my favorite characters.
Praise for Mark Nykanen’s THE BONE PARADE:
“In the creepiest page turner since 'The Silence of the Lambs,' an art professor
and her reporter boyfriend search for a missing student. Parts of the story are
told from the perspective of a serial killer, a sculptor whose masterpieces
are cast from molds of his victims. Smart and Sca-a-ary!”
US Weekly's "Hot Book Picks: Thrillers!"
The Bone Parade is an "...irresistible suspense thriller... Outstanding is
Nykanen's deep look into modern sculpture, which gives the story its
weight, relish and richness." Ashley Stassler's "...chokehold tale is
told from his own crazed mind. Pages bronzed with horror."
Kirkus starred review
"When half of a thriller is written from the perspective of an egomaniacal
sculptor--cum--serial killer who methodically tortures whole families, takes
casts of their bodies at the height of their terror, and turns them into
acclaimed works of art--well, it's a lot for any reader to swallow. And
yet Parade goes down easy. Real easy...Diamond
Girl's brazen, perverse, and just enough of a mystery to keep her
captor, and us, wickedly in her thrall."
Entertainment Weekly
"Nykanen won an Edgar for television news coverage. That background shows.
He has a great eye for description, and uses his narrator as a camera.
Since his narrator is Ashley Stassler, a highly successful sculptor, that
eye is highly trained and the descriptions are vivid and emotional...This
novel has so many twists even the most jaded readers will stick with it."
Toronto Globe and Mail
"...the novel is deeply unsettling and exciting--a testament to the
author's skill as a storyteller."
Booklist
"A longtime television investigative journalist...continues his impressive
transition to thriller writer with a harrowing serial killer tale in which
the murderer happens to be a world-renowned sculptor of bronze works
featuring families in distress."
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"You won't be able to stop reading. 'The Bone Parade' is soul-deep in
nerve-wracking detail. Nykanen speaks directly to the reader--simply and
without guile. He'll scare the life out of you."
Salem Statesman Journal
“Nykanen's methodical killer [Stassler] shines as he feeds off the family's
emotional breakdown from their captivity and body ‘shaping.’” Stassler
says, “‘I give everything to my art. Everything.’ Clearly Nykanen has
followed suit. What results should satisfy anyone hungry for a clever
psychological thriller."
Philadelphia Inquirer
"...if you like thrillers, this one is not just chilling, but clever,
insightful, and even has an eerily funny serial killer."
King Features
"The outcome of this book--besides wanting to sleep with the light on--will
be you'll never let someone 'just come in and have a quick look around...my
old house.'"
Portland Oregonian
"Artful and well written, the complex, macabre
tale The Bone Parade, will leave the reader
frozen in his chair feeling like a bronze statue.
Don't plan any trips to the museum."
Ridley Pearson, New York Times
best selling author
