Bag of Bones is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new
love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible
crossfire. Bag of Bones recounts the plight of best selling novelist Mike
Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death
of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his
word processor.
His nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of his summer house by the lake.
Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara
Laughs.
He finds the town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath - held
in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric
of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away
from her widowed young mother. Mike is drawn into their struggle, he falls in
love with both of them and he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs,
now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden
recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed
here - and what do they want of Mike Noonan?
| ?, Angelina |
Snake Woman that was in Mike Noonan's
dream of the early 1900's |
| ?, Audrey |
Village Cafe's short order cook |
| ?, Bryn |
Johanna Noonan's friend who with
her on a trip to Ireland |
| ?, Florence |
Mattie Stanchfield's aunt - she
lived with her for 2 years when after parents died |
| ?, Francine |
Mike Noonan's aunt - his mother's
sister |
| ?, Kelli |
Waitress in Key Largo that Mike
Noonan to a liking to while on holiday there |
| ?, Nola |
Harold Oblowski's Literary Agency
employee |
| ?, Willy |
Boy in Mike Noonan's dream of the
early 1900's. Hit a baseball over the fence |
| Alpert, Dr |
Patrick Noonan's doctor when he
had his appendix removed |
| Amudson, Bonnie |
Johanna Noonan's friend who co-owned
a travel agency in Augusta |
| Arlen, Frank |
Johanna's oldest brother who was
50 in 1994. He organised Johanna's funeral for Mike |
| Arlen, Mr |
Johanna's father, spoke at Johanna's
funeral |
| Arlen, Mrs |
Johanna's mother |
| Arlen, Nick |
Johanna's brother |
| Arlen, Peter |
Johanna's youngest brother |
| Arlen, Victor |
Johanna's second youngest brother |
| Armbruster, George |
Worked with Jared Devore and was
one of the group that raped and murdered Sara Tidwell |
| Auster, Benton |
Bridget Auster's husband and father
of Harry Auster |
| Auster, David |
Kenny Auster's son and brother of
Kisha, born 1970 |
| Auster, Harry |
Part of the group that raped and
murdered Sara Tidwell and also the one that murdered Kito Tidwell. Son of
Bridget and Benton, and father of Normal. Born 1885 |
| Auster, Helen |
Kenny's wife and co-owner of Slips
'n Greens garden supplies |
| Auster, Kenny |
Lived near Dark Score Lake and owned
Blueberry the dog. Husband of Helen, brother of Kerry and father of David
and Kisha. Born 1940 |
| Auster, Kerry |
Normal Auster's son, born 1943 and
drowned by his father in 1945 |
| Auster, Kisha |
Kenny Auster's daughter and sister
of David who was born 1974 and then adopted out |
| Auster, Normal |
Kenny and Kerry' father and son
of Harry Auster, born in 1915. Drowned his son Kerry and then committed
suicide with a shotgun |
| Avery, ? |
Partner in a law firm Avery, McLain
and Bernstein that employed John Storrow |
| Babickis, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Bannerman, Nehemiah |
Castle County sheriff circa 1901 |
| Banning, Patty |
Went to school Johanna Arlen and
called her a Booger-Hooker |
| Batchelder, ? |
Owners of a summer camp on Dark
Score Lake |
| Beaumont, Thaddeus (Thad) |
Writer also known as George Stark
who committed suicide in Castle Rock. He wrote the book "Steel Machine" |
| Belliveau, Sonia |
Owner of the car that was stolen
and used when Mattie Devore was shot and killed |
| Bernstein, ? |
Partner in a law firm Avery, McLain
and Bernstein that employed John Storrow |
| Bissonette, Romeo (Rommie) |
Lawyer from Lewiston hired for Mike
Noonan by John Storrow |
| Blindermeyer, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Bliss, Gerry |
Stenographer in the custody hearing
for Kyra Devore |
| Blueberry |
Kenny Auster's Irish Wolfhound dog |
| Bowden, Kissy |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Bowie, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Breedlove, Denise |
Pete Breedlove's mother |
| Breedlove, Pete |
Cut the Noonan's grass and sang
at the funeral of Johanna Noonan. Denise Breedlove's son |
| Brickers, ? |
Previous owners of the Washburn
house on Dark Score lake |
| Briggs, Lindy |
Bill Dean's sister-in-law and head
librarian at Four Lakes library where she works alongside Mattie Devore |
| Brokaw, Tom |
Mentioned in passing |
| Brooks, Richard Jr (Dick) |
Owner of the Garage in Lakeview |
| Bundy, Adria |
Girl in Nu You health gym that took
a liking to Mike Noonan |
| Bunter |
Nickname given to the moose head
by Johanna, over the fireplace at Sara Laughs |
| Bunter, ? |
Character in a novel by Sayer. Butler
of Lord Peter Wimsey |
| Carville, Dennison |
Mike Noonan's creative writing
teacher |
| Chaney, Lon |
Mentioned in passing |
| Croce, Jim |
Mentioned in Passing |
| Croyden, Mr |
Drunk in Dark Score Lake that Brenda
Meserve used to clean house for |
| Cullum, Arlene |
Looked after Kyra Devore when her
mother was working |
| Dahmer, Jeffrey |
Murderer mentioned in passing |
| Danvers, Mrs |
Mentioned by Mike Noonan in a dream,
who he was afraid of, although she is not a real person |
| Day, Douglas |
Owned the meadow that Sara Tidwell
bought |
| Dean, Carla |
Bill Dean's twin sister who was
murdered by their father Fred at 3 years old |
| Dean, Fred |
Bill and Carla's father who was
seen in Mike Noonan's dream of the early 1900's, and was one of those involved
in the rape and murder of Sara Tidwell |
| Dean, Hilda |
Fred's wife and mother of William
and Carla |
| Dean, William (Bill) |
Caretaker of Sara Laughs |
| Dean, Yvette |
Bill Dean's wife who liked Mike
Noonan's books |
| Dearsey, Irene |
An elderly woman from Barrett's
Orchards who was in the car with Esther Esterling when it was involved
in an accident with William Fraker, the one Johanna Noonan died while
running to |
| DeCinces, Carla |
Worked at Lakeview General post
office |
| Delancey, Cam |
Character in Mike Noonan's "All
the Way from the top" |
| DeMille, Nelson |
Writer that wrote The Charm School |
| Denbrough, William (Stuttering Bill) |
Writer liked by Johanna Noonan |
| Devore, Jared Lancelot |
Great Grandfather? of Max Devore
who was seen in Mike Noonan's dream of the early 1900's and was the ringleader
involved in the rape and murder of Sara Tidwell |
| Devore, Kyra Elizabeth |
Three year old daughter of Mattie
and Lance Devore, saved by Mike Noonan when she was walking to the beach
up the middle of the road. The centre of a custody battle between her mother
and grandfather |
| Devore, Lance |
Mattie's husband, Kyra's father
and son of Max Devore who died in 1997 of a broken neck when he fell from
a roof |
| Devore (nee Stanchfield), Mary (Mattie) |
Kyra's mother, married to Lance
Devore until he died. Worked at the library |
| Devore, Maxwell |
Crazy multi-millionaire that lived
on Dark Score Lake. The father of Lance and owner of a computer company
called Visions who committed suicide |
| Devore, Roger |
Homosexual son of Max Devore. "married"
to Morris Ridding |
| Devore, Rogette |
Max Devore's daughter who was thought
to be in a mental asylum but had actually taken the name of Rogette Whitmore
(mothers maiden name) and worked for her father as his personal assistant.
She had leukaemia, and this, plus the wig she wore, made her look a lot
older than she really was |
| Donahue, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Donahue, Susy |
Nick Arlen's sister-in-law who made
a pass at Mike Noonan at a Christmas Party after Johanna Noonan had died |
| Drake, Andy |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Dubay, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Dunbarry, Jill |
Witnessed the car accident between
William Fraker and Esther Esterling |
| Durgin, Elmer |
Castle Rock Attorney who worked
for Durgin, Peters and Jarrette and was appointed as Kyra Devore's guardian
ad litem. Father of 7 children |
| Dvorak, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Emerson, Hugh |
Owner of the the Warrington Lodge
until he sold it to Max Devore |
| Esterling, Esther |
Elderly woman from Barrett's Orchards
who was driving a car involved in an accident with William Fraker, the one
that Johanna Noonan died while running to |
| Failles, Harold |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through - the 19th name on the 19th page |
| Felton, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Fenner, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Filkersham, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Finney, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Finney, Draper |
Part of the group that raped and
murdered Sara Tidwell who died of a broken neck in 1902 after falling down
a cliff while drunk |
| Flaherty, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Floss, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Footman, George Randolph |
Castle County deputy sheriff who
shot and Killed Mattie Devore and now resides in Shawshank Prison |
| Fournier, Doreen |
Mike Noonan's girlfriend when he
was 16 |
| Fraker, Mrs |
William's wife |
| Fraker, William (Bill) |
Public Works employee involved in
the car accident with Ether Esterling, the one that Johanna Noonan died
while running to |
| Framingham, Kenneth P |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Garraty, Raymond |
Character in Mike Noonan's latest
novel "My Childhood Friend" |
| Gauguin, Paul |
Likened to Charles Strickland in
a Maugham book "The moon and the sixpence" |
| Geary, Helen |
Mattie Devore's friend who had twins |
| Goldacre, ? |
Harold Oblowski's lawyer who deals
mainly with contracts law |
| Gooch, ? |
Reverend who married Mattie and
Lance Devore in the Grace Baptist Church |
| Grann, Phyllis |
Putman Publishers employee and helped
Mike Noonan with problems with Harold Oblowski |
| Hando |
Dog faced Boy who was in Mike Noonan's
dream of the early 1900's |
| Hankins, Ward |
Did the taxes for Mike Noonan in
Waterville |
| Harriman, ? |
Owner of a house on Dark Score Lake |
| Hingerman, Darren |
Previous owner of Sara Laughs and
husband of Marie who died in 1971 |
| Hingerman, Marie |
Previous owner of Sara Laughs and
wife of Darren |
| Hopper, Edward |
Artist. Mattie Devore had one of
his prints in her trailer |
| Hughes, Howard |
Compared to Max Devore |
| Jalbert, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Jarrette, ? |
Castle Rock Attorney who worked
for Durgin, Peters and Jarrette |
| Jayhouse, T |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Jefferson, Blind Lemon |
Blues singer that sang one of the
songs written by Sara Tidwell |
| Jellison, Buddy |
Lived near Dark Score Lake and ran
the Village Cafe |
| Kennedy, Frieda |
George's wife and a fan of
Mike Noonan's books |
| Kennedy, George |
Private detective, worked for a
security company and moonlit as a detective who was hired by Mike Noonan's
lawyer to find out information on Max Devore |
| Larribee, Scant |
Father of Scooter Larribee,who had
his tackle shed broken into by Max Devore when he wanted his son's flexible
flier |
| Larribee, Scooter |
Scant's son and owner of the infamous
flexible flier |
| Larribee, Timmy |
Kenny Auster's cousin who cleaned
the outside walls of Sara Laughs |
| Lassie |
Breck Pellerin's collie dog |
| Lattimore, Richie |
Lance Devore's best friend |
| Laughs, Sara |
Sara Tidwell's nickname during part
of her career and name of the house owned by the Noonans |
| LeRoux, Al |
At the fire of Dark Score Lake in
the 1930's |
| McCoy, Jenna |
Helen Geary's friend |
| McCurdie, J M |
Owner of the sawmill that burned
down in 1933 |
| McLain, ? |
Partner in a law firm Avery, McLain
and Bernstein that employed John Storrow |
| Merrill, Ben |
Royce's father and one of the group
that raped and murdered Sara Tidwell |
| Merrill, Royce |
Oldest man (at 90) of Dark Score
Lake (Oldest man), a retired carpenter, with no children whose funeral was
on the day Mattie was killed |
| Meserve, Brenda |
Cleaner hired to supervise the cleaning
at Sara Laughs |
| Meserve, G |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Meserve, Ila |
Oldest resident in the area after
Royce Merrill died |
| Messier, V |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Millhone, Kinsey |
An character name thought of by
Mike Noonan |
| Moore, Kenneth |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Moran, Mrs |
Mike Noonan's first grade teacher |
| Munch, Edvard |
Artist that drew "The Cry".
This painting's name is actually "The Scream" |
| Munter, Kenneth |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Nearing, Helen |
Lead Character in Mike Noonan's
"Helen's Promise" |
| Noonan, ? |
Sid and Mike Noonan's mother and
66 year old sister of Francine |
| Noonan (Auster), Bridget (Bridey) |
James Noonan's sister, born 1866 |
| Noonan, Jack |
Mike and Sid's father and son of
Paul Noonan. A lobster man, born 1920, who died of cancer. He owned
a boat called "Lazy Betty" that was sold in 1963 |
| Noonan, James |
Great-great grandfather of Mike
Noonan, father of Paul Noonan and brother of Bridget Noonan, born 1868 |
| Noonan (nee Arlen), Johanna |
Mike Noonan's wife, died of a brain
aneurysm while running to a car accident in August 1994 and was pregnant
at the time she died |
| Noonan, Kia Jane |
Name that was to be given to the
unborn child of Michael and Johanna Noonan |
| Noonan, Michael |
Johanna Noonan's husband, born 1958,
son of Jack Noonan. A reporter for the Derry News before becoming a novelist,
and living on Benton St in Derry. Owned a house on Dark Score Lake |
| Noonan, Patrick |
Sid Noonan's son who had an appendectomy
in February 1994 |
| Noonan, Paul |
Jack Noonan's father, born 1892
and son of James Noonan |
| Noonan, Sid |
Mike Noonan's brother and son of
Jack, born 1956 and went on to become an accountant |
| Oblowski, Harold |
Mike Noonan's literary agent |
| O'Quindlan, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Osgood, Richard |
Real estate broker who spied on
Mattie Devore for Max and also drove the car when George Footman shot and
killed Mattie Devore. Burned to death when he could not get out of the car
after it caught fire |
| Osteen, Edward |
Wrote a history of Dark Score Lake
in about 1965 called "Dark Score Days" and later died of cancer |
| Pangborn, Alan J |
County sheriff until Norris Ridgewick
took over and was married to Polly, now lives in New Hampshire |
| Pangborn (nee Chalmers), Patricia
(Polly) |
Alan Pangborn's wife who suffers
from severe arthritis |
| Paretti, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Passendale, ? |
Owners of a house on Dark Score
Lake |
| Peebles, Oren |
Part of the group that raped and
murdered Sara Tidwell |
| Pelkey, ? |
Local person at Dark Score lake
thought of by Mike Noonan |
| Pellerin, Breck |
Owner of Lassie. who worked at the
Castle County airport |
| Perrault, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Peters, ? |
Castle Rock Attorney who worked
for Durgin, Peters and Jarrette |
| Pillsbury, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Proulx, Lila |
Co-Owner of Slips 'n Greens garden
supplies |
| Proulx, Stan |
Collected garbage from the houses
along Dark Score lake |
| Quinlan, Mark |
Manager of Fidelity Union bank where
Mike Noonan had a safe deposit box |
| Quinlan, Mrs |
Mark's wife - she read Mike Noonan's
books |
| Rancort, ? |
Judge who appointed Elmer Durgin
as Kyra Devore's guardian ad litem |
| Randall, Tony |
Mentioned in passing. Had his age
compared to Max Devore |
| Rennie, Kito |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Ridding, Morris |
"Married" to Roger Devore |
| Ridgewick, Norris |
Castle County Sheriff who approached
Mike Noonan after the storm to see if he had Kyra Devore with him |
| Rimer, ? |
Owned a house on Dark Score Lake |
| Roberts, Lois |
Ralph Roberts's wife |
| Roberts, Ralph |
Volunteer at the Red Cross and Lois's
husband |
| Rockwell, Norman |
Mentioned in passing |
| Rosencrief, Ted |
Retired Navy man that sometimes
helped Mike Noonan with research for his novels who lived in Derry |
| Sanborn, John |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Sanders, George |
Mentioned in passing |
| Sayer, ? |
Wrote novels starring Lord Peter
Wimsey |
| Scarpella, Kay |
An character name that was thought
of by Mike Noonan |
| Shackelford, John |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Skate, ? |
Character in Mike Noonan's "Helen's
Promise" |
| Smolnack, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Spruce, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Stanchfield, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Stanchfield, Dave |
Mattie's father, a pulper who drowned
in Kewadin pond |
| Stanchfield, Hugh |
Mattie's brother |
| Stanchfield, Mrs |
Mattie's mother who died when she
drowned in her own vomit when drunk |
| Stanwyck, Barbara |
Mentioned in passing |
| Starbird, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Stark, George |
The pseudonym Thad Beaumont used
when writing the Machine novels |
| Stevenson, Will |
Helped when Mattie Devore was supposed
to be given 80 million in Max Devore's will |
| Storrow, John |
Worked for a law firm Avery, McLain
and Bernstein and took the custody case for Mattie Devore |
| Strickland |
Name that was given to Kyra Devore's
toy dog |
| Taylor, Regina |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Taylor, Tiffany |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Therriault, ? |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Therriault, Barney |
Cindy Therriault's husband |
| Therriault, Cindy |
Barney's wife and a friend of Mattie |
| Therriault, Roland |
Rolanda's brother who went to school
with Brenda Meserve |
| Therriault, Rolanda |
Roland's sister who went to school
with Brenda Meserve |
| Tidwell, Kito |
Sara Tidwell's son, murdered by
drowning in Dark Score Lake when he caught the men raping his mother and
buried with her by the same men |
| Tidwell, Reg Jr |
Reginald Tidwell's son who died
of blood poisoning when he was caught in an animal trap in 1901 |
| Tidwell, Reginald (Sonny) |
Guitar player in Sara Tidwell's
blues band and Reg Jr's father |
| Tidwell, Sara |
Built cabins on the shore of Dark
Score lake and was also a Negro Blues singer, around the turn of the century,
also known as Sara Laughs. She was raped, murdered and buried on the shores
of Dark Score Lake |
| Toothaker, ? |
Local person on Dark Score lake
thought of by Mike Noonan |
| Turgeon, Billy |
Kyra Devore's friend at Bible school |
| Ubeck, Alton |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Udell, Catherine |
Listed in the phonebook Mike Noonan
looked through |
| Underwood, Steffie |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Underwood, Towle |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Washburn, Lars |
Closest neighbour of Mike Noonan
at Sarah Laughs |
| Washburn, Mrs |
Lars Washburn's wife |
| Weinstock, Debra |
Mike Noonan's editor |
| Weyland, Anthony |
Lived on Dark Score Lake |
| Whiting, Karen |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Whiting, Regina |
Character in Mike Noonan's new book
"My Childhood Friend" |
| Whitmore, ? |
Maiden name of Max Devore's wife |
| Wiggins, Butch |
Lived near Dark Score Lake |
| Wilson, Sloan |
Mentioned in passing |
| Wimsey, Lord Peter |
Character in a novel by Sayer |
| Wing, General |
Drove the Micmac indians out of
the area |
| Wyzer, Joe |
Derry Rite Aid owner who later moved
to the Rite Aid in Bangor |
