Reviews

The Bone Field by Simon Kernick

jacki_f's review against another edition

3.0

The first half of this book is Simon Kernick at his best, with an intriguing mystery and diverse characters who you know are going to link up but you don't quite know how. In the second half however it descends into nonsense and an endless killing fest. If you didn't like Lee Child's "Make Me" because the villains were so unpleasant, I'd suggest you also give this one a miss.

And the ending - a total cliffhanger, setting up a sequel - means either I have to read more of this inanity or settle for just not knowing. Either way - NOT HAPPY.

chacha4869's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

marsetta's review against another edition

3.0

Thank you to Simon Kernick, Random House UK, Cornerstone and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

When the bones of a 21-year old woman who went missing without trace in Thailand in 1990, are discovered in the grounds of an old Catholic school in Buckinghamshire, an enduring mystery takes on a whole new twist. Her boyfriend at the time, and the man who reported her missing, Henry Forbes, now a middle-aged university lecturer, comes forward with his lawyer and tells DI Ray Mason of the Met’s Homicide Command that he knows what happened to Kitty, and who killed her.

So begins a hunt for the truth that will focus on a ruthless crime gang, a rich, dysfunctional family with a terrible past, and a highly ambitious man so cruel and ruthless that he must be brought down at any cost...

I have read a number of Simon Kernick's books and as with the rest of them, this book is high energy and action packed from the start. I like his style of writing and it maintains a consistent pace throughout.

I haven't read the previous book with Ray Mason but have read several with Tina Boyd. Whilst I knew Tina Boyd's backstory, I knew nothing of Mason and this lack of background make it more difficult to understand him and his methods. As for Tina, she is the same type of character, as before, always ending up in the deep end of trouble from the start.

There is several story threads and once these start to come together, the body count starts to rise. I did become riveted by the ongoing action but unfortunately the constant use of "which, as it turned out, was to prove a very big mistake" or 'thinking that, right now, things couldn't get much worse for me" was extremely annoying and unnecessary.

Overall the book is incredibly easy to read, I finished it within 3 days, which is particularly quick for me. The continuous action will keep you glued to the pages and leave you wanting to pick up the next instalment, The Hanged Man, which is out on 16th November 2017.

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yasdnilr's review against another edition

3.0

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT YOU BASTARDS

Also was this edited? Because Ray contradicts himself - were you or were you not a smoker, Ray????

snoakes7001's review against another edition

4.0

In The Bone Field, Simon Kernick serves us up another helping of highly entertaining nonsense. Fans will be happy that plenty of characters from the previous books (such as Tina Boyd) are back. The plot has its roots in the horrific trade of human trafficking, but it fast descends into a marvellously ludicrous and unlikely setup with plenty of thrills and spills.
All in all it's an undemanding and riveting page-turner - but be warned, it ends with the most preposterous cliffhanger that will have you clamouring for the next book in the series.

kirsty147's review against another edition

3.0

I like Simon Kernick, I really do, but this wasn't one of his slickest novels. The writing was off somehow, particularly at the end of chapters where Kernick seems to have got into the habit of ending with a sentence that basically says 'this is important, take note, something will happen next ...' The reader is not that stupid. Ending chapters like this is very much an amateur thing to do. I'm surprised at Kernick.
I had several moments of disbelief when reading, too. When Charlotte had found the surveillance camera in her home, been warned there were more and the bad guys are watching, she then goes and starts packing her bags to escape. Really?! A seemingly intelligent woman would not give it a thought that the bad guys would be straight round to kill her if she starts packing her suitcase? Please ...
When Ray told Dan that he would travel to the farmhouse he suddenly switched to using 'we', yet Dan didn't know who he was with. Why didn't Dan, a police office, enquire who was going to be put in danger?
Overall, it was an average read. But I did finish it, which usually says that it wasn't THAT bad!

syren1532's review against another edition

4.0

A missing woman’s body is found in the grounds of a school the only problem is she went missing in Thailand. The man who was with her at the time of her alleged disappearance contacts Detective Ray Mason - he wants to tell him what happened but wants immunity. Before Ray can find out the truth the man is killed. Ray and Private Detective Tina Boyd investigate the case and that of another missing girl and in their search for the truth put themselves in grave danger. A great read.

quietlyreading_'s review against another edition

mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

andreahorton's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

3.0

rachyc85's review against another edition

5.0

I think Simon is definitely on my favourite author list after reading this. I couldn't put it down. Something about cold cases always piques my interest so I had a feeling I would enjoy this. After reading a guest blog post by Simon I was in equal parts horrified and excited to discover that The Bone Field is just the start of the story with the remainder split over several books to come.
I was unsure how this would end and whether I would be left bereft waiting for the rest of the tale. Simon wrapped it up satisfyingly enough but with a humdinger of a cliff hanger! The Bone Field was the first of Simon's novels for me but definitely won't be the last. I loved his style and flow and found this book unpredictable which was a refreshing change from predicting the ending. One to watch out for in 2017 and eagerly anticipating the next installment.