Title: Forgotten Bones
Author: Vivian Barz
Series: Dead Remaining, #1
Narrator: Julie McKay
Published: August 2019, Brilliance Audio
Length: 9 hours 27 minutes
Source: Publisher
Summary:
An unlikely pair
teams up to investigate a brutal murder in a haunting thriller that
walks the line between reality and impossibility.
When
small-town police officers discover the grave of a young boy, they’re
quick to pin the crime on a convicted felon who lives nearby. But when
it comes to murder, Officer Susan Marlan never trusts a simple
explanation, so she’s just getting started.
Meanwhile, college
professor Eric Evans hallucinates a young boy in overalls: a symptom of
his schizophrenia—or so he thinks. But when more bodies turn up, Eric
has more visions, and they mirror details of the murder case. As the
investigation continues, the police stick with their original
conclusion, but Susan’s instincts tell her something is off. The
higher-ups keep stonewalling her, and the FBI’s closing in.
Desperate
for answers, Susan goes rogue and turns to Eric for help. Together they
take an unorthodox approach to the case as the evidence keeps getting
stranger. With Eric’s hallucinations intensifying and the body count
rising, can the pair separate truth from illusion long enough to catch a
monster?
My thoughts: I love when I discover new authors, and even better when I find out that they are writing series! You all know how much I love my series and this one is off to a killer start!
I liked that in this first installment, time was taken to really introduce us to what I am guessing are going to be the main characters of the series. The book alternates between Eric and Susan and each are quite interesting in and of themselves. Eric is a college professor who happens to have schizophrenia. He has just gone through a divorce and moved to a new town. Susan is a young detective and has been pushed out of a case that she just can’t stay away from.
I loved getting to know these characters and appreciated the way the author gave us just enough of their backstory to give us a solid understanding of who they are. I loved Susan’s “I’m going to do it anyway” attitude and Eric was just an all-around good guy. His
This story is the perfect mix of thriller, mystery, police procedural with a little bit of paranormal thrown in. But with Eric’s mental illness, those ghosts really work and almost become plausible to a certain extent. I found myself completely hooked from the outset of this book and that really never let up. I was desperate to know how things were going to play out and I did not see that ending coming! And you know what…that’s a good thing! I like being surprised. I was so caught up in the story, that I wasn’t trying to figure things out. I was just enjoying the ride and letting things come and that’s not such a bad thing.
I cannot wait to see what comes next for this series. I don’t know if it will follow both Susan and Eric or if we will see a new set of characters, but either way, I have already added the next book to my tbr!
Audio thoughts: This is the first time I’ve listened to Julie McKay as a narrator and I thought she did a fabulous job. She really brought this book to life. Her intonation and pacing were spot on. I hope she continues to narrate this series as I am going to try to listen to as many books as there are in the series!
Books in this series:
- Forgotten Bones
- Hidden Bones – due out August 2020
