Local Author, Vanessa Lillie, presents her book "The Bone Thief"
- 8 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840
- Newport County
- November 14, 2025
Vanessa Lillie - The Bone Thief
We are excited to host local bestselling author Vanessa Lillie for her latest book "The Bone Thief," a riveting mystery about a Native teenager who vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society.
Vanessa will be in conversation with Kristin Offiler, local RI author of a thriller book, “The Housewarming.”
This event is Free and Open to All, we kindly ask you to RSVP and share with your friends.
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In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family's fears.
As Syd investigates both crimes, she's drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it's not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.
The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren't isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society's doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town's most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed.
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Vanessa Lillie is an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation and the author of the USA Today bestselling Blood Sisters and suspense novels Little Voices, For the Best and coauthor of the Young Rich Widows series. Vanessa hosts an Instagram Live show with crime fiction authors and was a columnist for the Providence Journal. Originally from Northeast Oklahoma, she lives on Narragansett land in Rhode Island and is proudly Two-Spirit.
Kristin Offiler holds an MFA from Lesley University. Her short fiction has appeared in the Raleigh Review, Waccamaw Journal, The Bookends Review, and The Bookends Review Best of 2020 print anthology. When she’s not writing, she can be found reading on the porch of her 130-year-old house or exploring charming corners of New England. She lives in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and dog. For more information, visit www.kristinoffiler.com.
Date: Friday, November 14th
Time: 6:00 - 7:00 PM
Place:
Charter Books
8 Broadway
Newport, RI 02840-2938
Additional Information
- Presented By: Charter Books
- Dates: November 14, 2025
- Location: Charter Books
- Address: 8 Broadway, Newport, RI 02840
- Time: 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
- Price: Free



