The Lovely Bones

Part 1 of The Lovely Bones

Meet our narrator, Susie "like the fish" Salmon (1.1). She's been dead since December 6, 1973. She was fourteen years old when she was raped and murdered by her neighbor. Here's how it happened. It's a cold snowy afternoon. After school, Susie takes a shortcut through the cornfield to her suburban Pennsylvania home. Mr. Harvey (who she recognizes but doesn't know) is in the cornfield. He's built an underground shelter, with a door that's covered with earth. He piques Susie's curiosity and lures her into the hole. She quickly learns this is a mistake, and he rapes and then kills her. Right now she's in heaven, which she soon learns is her personal heaven - everybody gets one when they die.

On December 9, the detective in charge of Susie's case, Len Fenerman, calls Susie's mom and dad, Abigail and Jack Salmon, and tells them they've found Susie's elbow bone. From her heaven, Susie watches her parents in bed, unable to talk. It begins to storm. The next morning, Jack breaks the news of the elbow bone to his other daughter, Lindsey, who's thirteen. She throws up. Later that day the police try digging up the cornfield, even though the snow and rain have screwed up their crime scene.

Susie's schoolbooks and class notes are found, including a love letter from Ray Singh, Susie's first and only love. He'd slipped it into her books the day before she died. She didn't get to read it when she was alive. Ray has a perfect alibi, but the rumors wreak havoc on his school life. Susie watches with frustration as her murderer, Mr. Harvey, who builds dollhouses for a living, calmly goes on with his life. On December 15th, Len Fenerman tells the Salmons that Susie is probably dead.