Thank you to MB Communications, Montlake, #partner, for the finished copy of The Unquiet Bones in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Montlake
Published: March 5, 2024
Summary:
A shocking discovery of human bones reopens an almost fifty-year-old cold case—and rips apart the lives of a group of friends—in a riveting novel by Loreth Anne White, the Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestselling author of The Maid’s Diary.
When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen.
Homicide detective Jane Munro—pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life—hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl’s family. But for a group of Annalise’s old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago.
The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?
The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body—that of the boy long blamed for Annalise’s disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.
My thoughts:
This is the third book I’ve read by Loreth Anne White and I am most definitely a fan! I really liked the previous two books I read by her and as soon as I heard about this one, I couldn’t request it fast enough!
Knowing this was inspired by a true crime that occurred in North Vancouver, Canada in 1976 immediately drew me in. I love cold case mysteries and the police procedural aspect of this one really was done so well. It’s told from multiple points of view and also flashes back in time to when the disappearance actually happened. I loved this structure as it really helped to build the suspense and tension in the story, while also introducing all the players involved. So many secrets are slowly revealed and everyone has a motivation.
There are a lot of characters and the use of so many points of view does take a bit to get used to, especially since the author changes how she refers to the characters. Sometimes she uses first names, and at other times, she uses nicknames and initials. But eventually you are able to put it all together and work out who is who.
This book is so cleverly plotted and it kept me fully engaged from start to finish. The twists were expertly placed, with plenty of red herrings, and led to quite a shocking conclusion…I definitely did not see any of that coming! This is a highly addictive, binge-worthy read that I definitely recommend!
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
