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Book Review: Skeleton in the Cupboard by Ruskin Bond

Skeleton in the Cupboard is a short story covered in the book ‘Secrets’ by Ruskin Bond. The story is all about solving a mystery that revolves around a skeleton found in the old storeroom of the Hotel Green’s. That time the young Ruskin was away in Shimla at his boarding school. He communicated with his mother, who was the manager of the hotel, through letters to gain extensive knowledge about the skeleton. Through letters it became clear that the skeleton was of a woman’s and some newspapers were found wrapped around it circa 1930.


The question was who could be that woman? The hotel’s first owner Mr. Green was a lady killer: he had charming persona and polished manners. He was into extra-marital affairs. His wife one day disappeared. Mr. Green died in a ship accident while going to England during the Second World War. Thus, Ruskin and his mother assumed that the skeleton was Mrs. Green’s. It was concluded that Mr. Green killed his wife to get the love of other women or he paid someone to do the dirty work. With the help of Padre Dutt, they gave a Christian burial to that skeleton thinking it was of Mrs. Green’s.

Well, after some days an English lady walked in the hotel and began inquiries about Mrs. Green’s burial. Then, she said that she was Mrs. Green. She narrated her tale that Mr. Green was a Casanova kind of person but not a killer. She was tired of him thus she fled to West Africa to live with a cousin and there she fell in love with a black man.

About the skeleton, she revealed that it was for a medical college purpose because Mr. Green wanted to start a medical college in Dehradun. So that skeleton was brought from Delhi and probably it belonged to a roadside poor woman. Well the irony was that Mrs. Green would have two tombstones in one birth. All efforts of child detective Ruskin went in vain to solve the mystery. It’s a fun read.
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  1. Optimum SizeJune 2, 2022 at 6:28 AM

    Such a wonderful Book. I have read this and I think it is worthy to reading this.

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