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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
Fantastic, gripping read - finished it in two sittings.
**A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Original post link: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-the-bones-of-you-by-debbie-howells/
Debbie Howells has dropped her thriller debut with her new release "The Bones of You". A creepy name to start, Howells draws you in to a story that builds slowly to a surprising ending.
"The Bones of You" follows the story of Kate, a woman in a small village who cares for horses, raises her daughter, and loves her husband endlessly. Life couldn't be more perfect. One day Rosie Anderson, the daughter of a well-to-do family, comes up missing and then found dead. Kate, having known Rosie from the time she spent with her horses, befriends Jo, Rosie's mother, and tries to help her through her grief. Unfortunately for Kate, she finds more than she was looking for. Kate slowly gets drawn into the web of secrets that surrounds the Anderson family and finds it hard to know who to trust and who not to.
This novel is very character driven. While the story does follow the "who did it" path, it also creates characters that have so many layers. I found myself slowly peeling back the layers of each character until the very end when you finally figure out which one is bad. While the characters were well developed, I found myself a little bothered by the interjections from Rosie's point-of-view throughout the book. The book jumps back and forth between real time and Rosie's ghost remembering things from her past. I found these interjections were trying to point us in the direction of who the real killer was, but they seemed to purposefully steer us in the wrong direction. It wasn't until the very end when the author quickly changed the story and gave us the real killer. After that the story ended rather abruptly. We had a very large build up to who it really was and then slammed to an ending quickly. It was almost as if those Rosie interjections were meant to drag the story out longer. The secretiveness Howell was likely going for was there, but could have been done in a shorter version or with a more intense middle to the story to keep us going.
I will say by the end I was convinced thoroughly about the level of crazy one character was hiding from the community. Some people will do just about anything it seems. I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys thrillers or suspense that are on a more slow growing plot line rather than a lot of spikes of intensity. I prefer those spikes of intensity throughout to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, but Howells managed to hold my attention enough to want to know how it finished. Three stars for Howells.
Original post link: http://www.nerdprobs.com/books/book-review-the-bones-of-you-by-debbie-howells/
Debbie Howells has dropped her thriller debut with her new release "The Bones of You". A creepy name to start, Howells draws you in to a story that builds slowly to a surprising ending.
"The Bones of You" follows the story of Kate, a woman in a small village who cares for horses, raises her daughter, and loves her husband endlessly. Life couldn't be more perfect. One day Rosie Anderson, the daughter of a well-to-do family, comes up missing and then found dead. Kate, having known Rosie from the time she spent with her horses, befriends Jo, Rosie's mother, and tries to help her through her grief. Unfortunately for Kate, she finds more than she was looking for. Kate slowly gets drawn into the web of secrets that surrounds the Anderson family and finds it hard to know who to trust and who not to.
This novel is very character driven. While the story does follow the "who did it" path, it also creates characters that have so many layers. I found myself slowly peeling back the layers of each character until the very end when you finally figure out which one is bad. While the characters were well developed, I found myself a little bothered by the interjections from Rosie's point-of-view throughout the book. The book jumps back and forth between real time and Rosie's ghost remembering things from her past. I found these interjections were trying to point us in the direction of who the real killer was, but they seemed to purposefully steer us in the wrong direction. It wasn't until the very end when the author quickly changed the story and gave us the real killer. After that the story ended rather abruptly. We had a very large build up to who it really was and then slammed to an ending quickly. It was almost as if those Rosie interjections were meant to drag the story out longer. The secretiveness Howell was likely going for was there, but could have been done in a shorter version or with a more intense middle to the story to keep us going.
I will say by the end I was convinced thoroughly about the level of crazy one character was hiding from the community. Some people will do just about anything it seems. I would recommend this read to anyone who enjoys thrillers or suspense that are on a more slow growing plot line rather than a lot of spikes of intensity. I prefer those spikes of intensity throughout to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, but Howells managed to hold my attention enough to want to know how it finished. Three stars for Howells.
Bones of You is told from the point of view of Kate, a neighbor to the child, with excerpts from the child’s thoughts leading us up to the crime. The only tension really left in the story was the presence of a second child, who might be at risk. This was an okay mystery, but I found the villain pretty obvious, mainly because the red herrings were heavy handed.
Honestly, this was probably more of a 2.5. I just didn't feel the suspense or clamor to know who did it.
Stunning! One night a girl is brutally murdered and a small town is turned upside down. As Kate learns more about Rosie’s mum, Joanna, she realises that appearances can be highly deceiving. And, while Kate is trying to find answers, Rosie’s memories are shedding light on her messy end.
I actually really enjoyed this! I was a bit hesitant to try this only because I find these kinds of books can often be very similar and predictable, but that wasn't the case with this at all! Multiple plot twists, an interesting writing style and structure (especially with Rosie's flashbacks adding her input) made for a very interesting read that I thoroughly enjoyed - definitely different to these kinds of books which can often get quite bland and same - same. Definitely recommend this, I liked the added complex character backgrounds so that it really shows WHY the characters act like they do, instead of it just kind of 'happening', and as always I love a good plot twist! Thoroughly enjoyed, I definitely would read again!
Although I thought "The Bones of You" by Debbie Howells was a little slow and not much happened during most of the book, I did still enjoy it and found it a nice lazy Sunday read. There's a supernatural element to the story that keeps the intrigue going, since you follow what happened prior to Rosie's death through this side of the story and it made a nice change to the normal flashbacks you encounter in these type of books.
This is the author's first psychological thriller, though I believe she is already an established women's fiction writer. I would read more by her in the future and would happily recommend this book too.
3.5 stars
This is the author's first psychological thriller, though I believe she is already an established women's fiction writer. I would read more by her in the future and would happily recommend this book too.
3.5 stars
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Abortion, Suicide attempt