| Title | : | The Bone Keeper |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 147114142X |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 418 |
| Publication | : | First published March 8, 2018 |
He'll slice your flesh.
Your bones he'll keep.
Twenty years ago, four teenagers went exploring in the local woods, trying to find to the supposed home of The Bone Keeper. Only three returned.
Now, a woman is found wandering the streets of Liverpool, horrifically injured, claiming to have fled the Bone Keeper. Investigating officer DC Louise Henderson must convince skeptical colleagues that this urban myth might be flesh and blood. But when a body is unearthed in the woodland the woman has fled from, the case takes on a much darker tone. The disappeared have been found. And their killer is watching every move the police make.
The brilliant new police procedural from Luca Veste, featuring series characters Murphy and Rossi - a guaranteed page-turner.
The Bone Keeper Reviews
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I have never read anything by Luca Veste before, but have heard his crime books are popular and, as they are set in Liverpool and I am insanely fond of the Beatles, anything set in my favourite city has to be worth investigating. “The Bone Keeper,” is a stand- alone novel and seemed a good place to start. The story opens with four children in a wood, daring themselves to go through a disused tunnel which is said to house a local legend, known as ‘the Bone Keeper.’ Four children go into the tunnel and only three emerge…
We are then introduced to D.C. Louise Henderson, who is having a panic attack in her car, when her partner, D.S. Paul Shipley calls. A woman has been found, assaulted and injured, wandering the streets. On investigation, she was singing a local rhyme about the Bone Keeper and she later claims that was who captured her.
One of the things that struck me about this book was that, although this was a stand-alone novel, written after several novels in a series, it really felt like a debut – a trifle unsure of itself. Whether that was because the author is going outside of the comfort zone of his series characters (and to be fair I haven’t read those), but this was often stilted, slightly confused and the characters, and dialogue, a little wooden. The crime escalates, but the tension doesn’t and, although there are various twists and turns in the plot, I found it hard to maintain any real interest in events.
Crime novels can be gripping, intense, sometimes scary, or emotional. This felt like quite a dry read to me – it went from plot point to plot point, with the various character secrets unearthed and the, slightly implausible plot, uncovered, but I never really cared enough and it became a bit of a slog. I would still like to try his series, but this sadly didn’t work for me. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review. -
Sometimes as an avid reader of crime thrillers I could kick myself, some authors are on my radar but I never find the time to get to their books due to an overwhelming TBR pile. Lucas Veste is one such author and the reason I’m kicking myself? I picked up The Bone Keeper expecting a run of the mill crime thriller, but boy was I wrong this book has all the ingredients I love in a crime thriller, but it also holds an element of surprise as this book actually gave me the heebie-jeebies with its creepy children’s rhyme and an urban myth that plays on people’s fears, think the bogey man crossed with the worse kind of killer and your half way there.
All you need to know about this seriously creepy book is in the book description, all I’m going to say is The Bone Keeper is a stand-alone which means no missing out on a back story or character development. Some books convince you from the opening chapter that you are in for a hell of a read, but I was hooked way before that the chilling rhyme at the start of this book captured my attention and then I just had to read on.
As this is the first book I have read by Lucas Vesta I can’t compare it to his previous books but I’m very impressed with his writing, it’s descriptive and my god he knows how to set the scene, from the off the reader is on tenterhooks, the sense of something dark lingering in the shadows adds more than an air of menace to the plot. Although a crime thriller I think The Bone Keeper also has elements of horror running through it, infusing the two together added to the overall tension.
The authors writing was so convincing I found myself constantly checking the doors were locked, I do love it when an author is able to make me paranoid and terrified about my own safety through their descriptive writing! This review may appear vague regarding the plot and characters but it’s a book I feel you will appreciate more for not knowing to much about it. The Bone Keeper is definitely a book I would recommend to crime thriller readers, especially if you like me you prefer the darker more gruesome variety.
All my reviews can be found at
http://thebookreviewcafe.com -
4.5 Stars
The Bone Keeper's coming
The Bone Keeper's real
He doesn't stop
He doesn't feel
He'll snatch you up
And make you weep
He'll slice your flesh
Your bones he'll keep.
This is the stuff of every child's nightmares. But what happens when the nightmare continues as you become an adult? Is it a myth .. or is it real?
The opening chapter describes how 20 years ago, four young teenagers wandered into the woods, daring themselves to face The Bone Keeper. Only 3 came out on the other side and have never been seen again.
DS Laura Rossi believes in the myth. She knows there have been many deaths. She knows that The Bone Keeper wants her to come to him.
She has a secret ... one that she cannot share. And then the bodies are found.
This is a creepy crime thriller that will send shivers down your spine .. especially if you had a boogie-man when you were a child. Once started, I found it hard to put it down for any length of time. There's this sense of fearful apprehension underneath the palpable suspense. The story premise is excellent with a stunning ending.
Many thanks to the author / SOURCEBOOKS Landmark / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime thriller. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. -
The premise of this book sounded really creepy and one of those books where you may reconsider turning out the light before bed. The story opens with four children daring each other to go through a disused tunnel. Four children go into the tunnel and only three emerge. The one who never comes out has been allegedly taken by a local urban legend, the Bone Keeper.
Then enter DC Louise Henderson, who has a tragic backstory which slowly emerges, through panic attacks and flashbacks to something tragic. We come to realize she has a tenuous link to the legend.
There is a fine line between dragging out a secret in the past (of the protagonist) and building suspense. The risk is losing the reader and arousing a type of frustration and continually peeling an onion that never goes anywhere. The reveal at the end, which wound together several of the plots, came too late for me as I kind of lost interest in finding out who or what the Bone Keeper was. -
DNF at 30%
I might pick this back up again? Regardless, I’m not feeling it and keep thinking of other thrillers that did better versions of what I’m reading as I read. I’m probably just not in the right mood. Until next time! -
The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste is a crime thriller.
First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Sourcebooks/Landmark, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
My Synopsis:
The Bone Keeper is a myth that has been around Liverpool for decades. A boogeyman to frighten children to keep them out of the woods. A monster that has been blamed for almost every missing person in the last 30 years.
When Caroline Rickards comes out of the woods with numerous injuries and slices of her skin missing, no one believes her when she says she escaped from the Bone Keeper. But Caroline is hiding something. Her past is tied to The Bone Keeper, and she has never shared that information with anyone.
When a body is found in the area where Caroline was found, things start to get strange. But only DC Louise Henderson is convinced they shouldn’t give up on the theory that a monster is out there. She has a lot of convincing to do. Her past is also tied to The Bone Keeper, but those memories are buried deep in her mind. She may have to allow them to the surface if she wants to solve this case.
Meanwhile more bodies are discovered, and more murders are occurring. The public is getting a little nervous.
My Opinions:
WOW. This is the first book I have read by this author, but will be looking for more. Apparently there is a series out there calling my name. This book however, is a stand-alone novel.
Touted as a crime/mystery/police procedural, I am tempted to add horror. This book had it all.
The characters had their secrets, which really kept the reader guessing. The boogeyman myth was handled really well, so that the reader felt he was right around the corner. Suspense was non-stop, with an air of creepiness never far away.
The writing was good, the plot great, and the overall result was riveting. Loved it.
For a more complete review of this book and others, please visit my blog:
http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/ -
The Bone Keeper is the latest book from Luca Veste, the author of the Murphy & Rossi series. I was more than a little excited to be able to read a very early copy of this one last year and I can finally share a review with you all.
The Bone Keeper has one of the creepiest openings I’ve read in a while. I don’t tend to scare easily while reading, but there is something threatening in those first few pages that made me uncomfortable and really set the tone for the rest of the book.
A legend, an urban myth, we’ve all heard them. The Bone Keeper takes people, and never gives them back. Yet someone has escaped and its up to Louise and Paul to investigate what happened.
Cynical about things like this, Paul Shipley doesn’t pay heed to the references to the Bone Keeper. But Louise, she’s different. Something in her gut is telling her to watch out, but there is so much more to come.
I loved The Bone Keeper. It creeped me out in places, but I had to keep reading. I was hooked from those opening pages. Luca Veste has done an excellent job with this highly addictive and supremely unnerving novel.An excellent premise with a fast paced plot means the reader won’t be able to tear themselves away until the very end.
The Bone Keeper is a chilling crime read. Full of tension and with a sinister undercurrent, it will definitely get under your skin. It gave me the heebie-jeebies for sure! An absolutely banging plot, with great characterisation made it throughly unputdownable!
Highly recommended! -
3.75/5 stars for this chilling police procedural! (Yes, getting very specific with my star ratings for this one haha.) This book is part urban legend, part classic detective story. If you're a fan of slow-burning, layered mysteries, this one will likely be up your alley; though it can be a touch too familiar in some respects, this is overall an engrossing, chilling book that will work for fans of police procedurals with horror touches.
Read my full review on the CBTB blog!
http://crimebythebook.com/blog/2019/1... -
I love the theme of including urban myths in contemporary mysteries, so as soon as I read the premise of The Bone Keeper, I knew I had to read it! The Bone Keeper refers to a sinister presence in a local woodland near Liverpool, who is rumoured to steal children, kill them and keep their bones: “He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.” Creepy or what???? I remember similar legends in our area that had us utterly terrified but were a good deterrent to keep us out of certain places in the neighbourhood. Like the old lady next door, who repeatedly had to tell us off for climbing her fence, until the rumour spread that she was a witch who would poke out children’s eyes – and no one ever climbed that fence again. *clap, clap, good thinking 99* But I digress ....
Urban myth meets real life when a horrifically injured woman is found wandering near the woods, claiming to have been attacked by a horrible “presence”, only just escaping with her life. DC Louise Henderson, who seems to have a personal connection to the belief that something evil is prowling these woods, relating to a secret in her past we are not privy to, takes the woman’s claims seriously, even if the other officers scoff at the whole story of the “bone keeper”. Until other disappearances and deaths are suddenly being linked to the same area ....
I must say that the story started off very strong for me, and the image of the children daring each other to enter the dark dank tunnel in the woods to prove how brave they are set a terrifying scene. Perhaps because even as an adult it still touches on our most primeval fears of something evil coming to get us. It gave me the chills!
However, I admit that after the strong start, the book did not fully deliver for me. Firstly, I thought Louise to be a difficult, obstructive character I found hard to relate to, and her constant lies and omissions somewhat went against her role as investigative officer. The story also lost a lot of steam for me when multiple POVs were introduced,
About 2/3 into the book it all went a bit overboard for me and there was so much suspension of disbelief that I nearly abandoned the book, because everyone knows that I am very, very bad at doing that. But that’s just my personal preferences, and I am sure that the book will work well for other readers, who will enjoy the mounting body count, the unreliable narrators and the evil thoughts of the killer loose in the woods. Personally, I would have liked a more pronounced and relatable main character to lead the story, and fewer other POVs. I also think that the mystery had all the spooky elements that made The Chalk Man so creepy for me, but that they somehow got lost in translation with too many other side stories happening that took away a lot of suspense. It was almost as if the author tried to add more and more elements that ended up working against one another – a simpler plot with more mystery would have worked better for me. Again, my own personal view only, and I’m sure others will disagree.
With a strong start and an ultimately disappointing latter half, I’m finding this book difficult to rate. Personally, I struggled in parts to keep my interest but was invested enough in the story to be curious to find out the answers. It’s one of those stories you will have to read and judge for yourself – if you like a mystery that includes an urban myth and don’t mind several plotlines and a mounting body count, then you should definitely read it – you may find it works a lot better for you! For overall enjoyment, probably only 2.5 stars for me, but I will round it up to 3 for the creepy beginning which set a terrifying scene and got me hooked immediately.
Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.
*blog*
*facebook*
*instagram* -
I am a huge fan of Luca Veste’s books, not just because they are set in Liverpool, but because they are truly gripping crime fiction books. He also has a fantastic podcast with Steve Cavanagh, Two Crime Writers and a Microphone, that I very highly recommend you check out. It is hilarious but also hugely entertaining and informative for book fans. Anyway, enough about how much I love Luca, his books and his podcast and on to why I enjoyed The Bone Keeper so much.
When I received this book a few months ago, and even before that, when I first read the blurb for it when it was announced, I’ll admit to feeling a little disappointed that it wasn’t a Murphy and Rossi book. There comes a point in every crime writer’s career where they take a break from their main series and introduce us to a new one, or write a standalone. Some are a success, and some fall flat on their face. I won’t name names but even one of the world’s most successful crime authors has released a few duds away from their main series. I suppose I should have had more faith in Luca because The Bone Keeper ended up feeling like a refreshing change from what has came before from him, and ended up being a gripping and immersive read that nearly kept me awake at night picturing the scenes within.
If you didn’t have your own scary myth being passed amongst your friends growing up then I’ll be very surprised. All cities have them, and for me as a child it was the yearly jaunt to Colomendy that was said to be haunted by Pegleg. Many a night was spent awake in the dorms discussing this character, but what if he had been real? Luca Veste does just that and creates a myth that has been passed around Liverpool for years and makes it into a real thing. The Bone Keeper is said to live in the woods, he even has his own song. With bodies starting to be unearthed in the woods, the city is in fear of The Bone Keeper being real and it’s down to Louise Henderson and her boss DS Shipley to enter those woods and work out what is fact and what is fiction.
Luca has proven his worth as a crime writer and has turned his hand to horror here in The Bone Keeper. It’s not a terrifying read a la Stephen King but it’s certainly enough to get the blood pumping and to make you think twice about whether you really want to take that shortcut through the park at night (even before reading this book I wouldn’t be walking through Liverpool parks at night, but anyway). I grew up addicted to the Haunted Liverpool series by Tom Slemen and The Bone Keeper is a thing that could have been written about in those books. I think I enjoyed the book more because it was set in Liverpool. I love recognising place names and easily being able to visualise the places being described within. I love the way Luca always adds little asides into his writing about the city and how he shows the good, the bad and the ugly. Personally for me too much time was spent in the south of the city, but that’s only because I’m from the north and very rarely venture south.
Louise Henderson is a mysterious character who is hiding something for the majority of the book. I found her to be quite cold and standoffish and so whilst I didn’t ‘like’ her per se, I liked this mysterious persona that she had and I wanted to know just what it was that was making her behave the way she was during the investigation of this case. In terms of her relationship with Shipley it almost bordered on being a little cliched, but for the most part I felt they worked well together. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and enjoyed following along with the investigation and trying to work things out before they were revealed. Luca creates just the right amount of tension to keep you intrigued and wanting to read on, as with the residents of the city, I too wondered just how The Bone Keeper could be real and wondered what tricks Luca had up his sleeve as we neared the denouement of the story.
Fearful of giving away spoilers I obviously can’t say too much about how the story ended other than that it was brilliant. Given everything that had come before it, I wanted and needed a believable ending to tie everything up nicely and make the story itself make sense. The ending was truly fantastic and the final scenes had my eyes glued to the page. A cliche, but it’s true. There’s an emotional undercurrent all the way through this story and it’s in these final pages that it all comes to a head. Will we see these characters again? I feel like The Bone Keeper works well as a stand-alone novel, but I can also see how there’s scope to further explore some of the characters featured within this story. Personally I just want Murphy and Rossi back because I miss them but I wouldn’t be against reading about Louise and Shipley again.
If you like your crime fiction with a helping of horror and a dash of humour alongside some gripping and immersive storytelling then I highly recommend The Bone Keeper. And I highly recommend all of Luca’s books, they are I believe usually on offer on Kindle. I’ve never seen them cost more than a large coffee and they bring far more enjoyment than an overpriced drink ever could. Having followed his author journey since his debut I am constantly in awe of his success and weirdly feel kind of proud witnessing a local author do so well and I sincerely hope that The Bone Keeper is a huge success because it deserves to be. So go and buy it and enjoy. -
The Bone Keeper, by Luca Veste.
BLURB
He'll slice your flesh.
Your bones he'll keep.
Twenty years ago, four teenagers went exploring in the local woods, trying to find to the supposed home of The Bone Keeper. Only three returned.
Now, a woman is found wandering the streets of Liverpool, horrifically injured, claiming to have fled the Bone Keeper. Investigating officer DC Louise Henderson must convince sceptical colleagues that this urban myth might be flesh and blood. But when a body is unearthed in the woodland the woman has fled from, the case takes on a much darker tone.
MY THOUGHTS
My word! Luca Veste has to be one of the best storytellers around at the moment and this time, things have gone a little spooky! Having read Luca's previous books with Di Murphy & Ds Rossi, which are brilliant and some stand-alone, I had very high expectations for this book. Unsurprisingly, It didn't disappoint!!
Welcome, Dc Louise Henderson & Dc Shipley.
This book has all the ingredients you become to expect with a crime/thriller novel. But with the added twist of a local Myth - The Bone Keeper. Then bodies are discovered in the woods and Louise's memories start to unravel. It seems the past and the present are going to collide.
He'll slice your flesh.
Your bones he'll keep.
This book is most definitely creepy and The Bone Keeper adds a great mystery to a very well crafted piece of crime fiction. It had me turning the pages at 3 am, and I didn't put it down until it was finished. If I'm honest, I didn't want to turn the light off!!
Scary, compelling, tense... it has it all, but I wonder if the author could've gone even darker with this one - who knows, but I'll certainly be picking up another encounter with Dc Louise Henderson & Dc Shipley, two great characters that I'd like to read about again.
Solid 4* ~ a must read! -
The Bone Keeper is a horror story to scare children, or is it not? A great thriller, a page turner. It is my first book from Luca Veste, but it is not going to be the last.
Thanks Netgalley for this nice story. -
If you go down to the woods tonight you're in for a big surprise...
You certainly are with The Bone Keeper, one of the most enjoyable crime thrillers I've read this year. I'll make no bones about it, (pardon the pun) but I LOVE a creepy thriller and I knew right from the first page that The Bone Keeper was right up my street. From the deliciously eerie cover to the poem on the inside page, my hackles were rising from the very first page. Luca Veste is a great storyteller and he does not hold back with this book. The characters were well rounded and fully fleshed out... indeed, some poor unfortunate souls had great trouble holding on to theirs as The Bone Keeper caught up with them and tore strips (literally) off them. Having said that there is no gratuitous violence or gore, which I'm quite pleased about. I'm not going to spoil the story by giving away the plot, only to say that if you like a good creepy crime thriller with lots of meaty characters and a murderous storyline then you won't go far wrong with this book. A highly recommended read that will get under your skin. I can't wait for the next one. -
I would honestly give it a 2.5. It started off strong with some great ideas and menacing scenes. However, it devolved into a muddled, longwinded plot filled with pages of forced characterization and melodrama. Oh, and of course the main character has amnesia... sigh.
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The first few chapters did really intruiged me but after that I lost interest in the story more and more. Wasn't as thrilling or exciting has I had hoped. The whole bone keeper myth started out fun but after a while wasn't as thrilling. Might try some other books by Luca Veste anywho
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I really enjoyed this book. It started off creepy and supernatural and then changed into more crime thriller. The story of both Louise and Caroline wasn’t what i was expecting. There was a lot of unexpected turns and revelations in the book which had me on the edge of my seat.
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The Bone Keeper – A Brilliant Scouse Noir Thriller
The King of Scouse Noir, Luca Veste, who has become well known in recent years for his Merseyside Police Thrillers that centre around DI Murphy and DS Rossi, is now back with a standalone thriller. Once again using Liverpool and Merseyside as the backdrop to this excellent thriller, not only a thriller but a brilliant thriller built around a serial killer.
Louise Henderson is a detective constable in the Merseyside Police and tends to work alongside Detective Sergeant Paul Slater, but Slater is aware that Louise is not telling him the whole story about herself. She has a reputation for exploding sometimes but that is something many in the force are capable of, especially when dealing with the dregs of society.
Louise and Slater are called out to an incident where a woman who has been badly beaten and sliced up has turned up, running a long a street where she collapsed. Both get to the scene thinking they are dealing with a routine domestic assault that has spiralled further out of control. Little did they know what they had just walked in to, especially when the victim tells them it was the Bone Keeper. Both are sceptical, as they know that the Bone Keeper is nothing more than an urban legend.
Little do they know that as they head into the woods, what they will uncover, as it begins to give up its dark secrets. Louise has a strange feeling about what they are finding, and Slater is sure she is not telling him something that might be vital to the investigation. Both, the live victim and Louise know there is something they must do while at the same time not revealing that important detail to the rest of the world.
As the bodies begin to stack up, they seem to have a prime suspect, but cannot find him but when people are being murdered in their beds that suspect needs to be found. As Louise faces her own private hell and her history the killer becomes clear, but she knows she will always have to keep silent, even if she is afforded a new change to start over.
The Bone Keeper will keep you on edge throughout the course of the book, and as you get deeper you want to know the skeletons that Louise has hidden. Will that skeleton be her downfall or a key to solve the case?
This really is one of the best thrillers that you can read this year, as it is dark, disturbing, sick and twisted. Digging deep in to the twisted psyche of a serial killer on a journey of discovery, with bodies piling up. The Bone Keeper will keep you gripped from beginning to end, highly unpredictable well-constructed thriller. -
All over the country, children are warned away from certain areas, with tales of horror and the bogeyman. These stories are told to keep the children safe until they become street-wise. But what if those stories told to control children were true and the bogeyman really did exist?
The Bone Keeper is a mixture of horror and your regular, police procedural crime thriller. The story features real locations around Liverpool and Merseyside. As Luca puts it…
“All the locations found in this book exist; however, some minor details have been changed or expanded to better tell this story.”
I liked how this book started with the song chanting among children…
The Bone Keeper’s coming. The Bone Keeper’s real.
He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t feel.
He’ll snatch you up. And make you weep.
He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.
… echoes of this song repeat throughout the book and they had a creepy, taunting effect on me. I stop reading the book and the song suddenly springs into my mind. I found the song both catchy and haunting at the same time. The Bone Keeper’s home and patch is in the woods, any woods that are dotted around urban landscapes. These haunts are very easy to picture anywhere in Britain and are very popular with dog walkers like myself. The Bone Keeper is very easy to relate to, especially when I am daydreaming with Charlie the Pug as we stroll through woods together.
I thought The Bone Keeper developed the urban legend really well. I loved how it played out a culture and a cult following. There was plenty of danger and horror along the way. I found it creepy with lots of feeling woven into the plot.
The central character is DC Louise Henderson but this is not your usual Police story. Character development of Louise was very good and there are many surprises along the way.
I found this book to be creepy and imaginative, yet for all the knife-wielding action it was still a fun, horror read.
The Bone Keeper has a great ending, all the seeds have been sown and if the homeless population appears to be shrinking, you read it here first! This urban legend was a great idea for a book, it was well developed and thought out. I think The Book Keeper is a GOOD read which gets 4 stars from me.
So you may think, I have listed all these good things about The Bone Keeper, how come I have not given it 5 stars? Simple, I found this book GOOD but not outstanding. Sometimes an author throws so much content into a book, it makes your brain buzz rather than simply entertain. Classic books get 5 stars and rightly so. The Bone Keeper is very worthy to read and would make a good film. I think Luca Veste has a lot of talent and I would be happy to read more from him.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review. -
Oof. I struggled so hard to finish this book, but I’m a sucker and always hold out hope that the ending will make all the rest worth it.
Sadly, this wasn’t the case here. It’s hard to imagine that the events of the book took place over, what, four or five days? It felt like four or five years because of how much this book repeated the same situations over and over and over.
I couldn’t stand Louise. The entire book centers around her waffling between feeling guilty for not sharing “what she knows,” and insisting to herself that she knows nothing, that her past is an enigma, blank, forgotten. So...which is it? This lack of consistency through the entire novel drove me insane. It seemed like the author tried to end many of the chapters on weird cliffhangers that really fell short of inspiring any sense of mystery. The one that comes to mind is when they’re in a murder victim’s house, and Louise is heading down the stairs, and the final line of the chapter is something to the effect of, “every step she took felt like betrayal.” I literally laughed out loud at that line! What?? It makes no sense. A betrayal of what, since she has amnesia and can’t make up her mind on if she actually knows things that could help the case? I also didn’t like that she tiptoed around different clues throughout the novel and left them like little breadcrumbs for the other officer to “discover,” instead of doing what she could to help solve the case.
The ending did not seem plausible and asked for a whole lot of suspension of disbelief. The entire premise of the novel asked for this, really. Every situation with TBK makes it seem like some ethereal devil that somehow envelopes the space around it with darkness and uses some outside, evil force to prevent its victims from moving. And then, the grand finale...this urban myth becomes a cult following of serial killers. So, this book was not set in fantasy or reality, which left it a weird mesh of the two that did not work for me. I was not surprised by the “twists,” and guessed a pretty accurate version of them about halfway through the novel.
I hated that the novel would alternate into TBK point of view. It decreased his creepiness factor, to me.
The “romance” between the two officers felt so very forced and awkward. The attraction was not believable in the slightest.
Overall - obviously - would not recommend. The writing was boring and lazy, the novel was waaaay too long, and none of the characters were compelling. -
When a story begins with children playing and singing something creepy, I usually put the book down, and walk away. I decided, however, to read The Bone Keeper. Was it creepy? Yes. Do I want to walk in the woods by myself? No. Was reading this a mistake? Probably. But, it's actually an intriguing police procedural murder mystery. Serial killer and all that jazz. It's twisty and dark. It's everything you would expect it to be. If you like a good creepy read, this book is for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.
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I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Sourcebooks Landmark. Trigger warnings: death, torture, body horror, blood, gore, rape, necrophilia, abduction, assault, anxiety, mental illness.
The Bone Keeper is the local urban legend of Liverpool, stories told over generations about an otherworldly figure who kidnaps children in the woods and flays the flesh from their bones. When Caroline staggers out of the forest with grievous injuries and claims to have escaped the Bone Keeper, the legend becomes suddenly, terrifyingly real. Louise and her partner are assigned to investigate the case, and they struggle to piece together numerous deaths and disappearances as more bodies turn up in the woods. Is someone using the Bone Keeper’s myth for their own agenda, or is it possible that every story has some truth to it?
I love anything to do with urban legends, but I have lukewarm feelings about thriller/mysteries, and The Bone Keeper falls slightly short of average. The Bone Keeper mythology has a lot in common with every boogeyman story we heard as children, which is part of what makes it accessible and part of what makes it forgettable. Veste’s mythology didn’t strike me as all that interesting or original, and there was never a point where I felt the legend was real enough to be frightening–let alone understand why Louise is frightened by it. The book hinges on the question of whether the myth could be true or someone is twisting it to cover their tracks. Either way, it’s an interesting message about how certain stories never really die.
The book straddles the supernatural and the crime thriller, but this ambivalence keeps it from doing justice to either side. If the Bone Keeper is supernatural, then it’s supernatural done poorly; he’s not terribly frightening, and we have no clear sense of his power. If the Bone Keeper is a human killer, then he’s too otherworldly to be plausible. Numerous people are inexplicably paralyzed by fear when confronted by him or somehow separated from groups of people. Either way, I didn’t buy it. There are also mysteries surrounding Louise and Caroline’s histories with the Bone Keeper that (perhaps purposely) add to the confusion. Rather than thinking it was a good reveal, I mostly just struggled to figure out how Louise’s brother could both have been kidnapped by the Bone Keeper and died in a fire that took her whole family. (It’s explained, but it’s unnecessarily obscure for most of the book.)
Unfortunately, the novel doesn’t offer much else. The writing is distracting and full of ill-placed fragments and modifiers and abrupt transitions. The characters are fairly unlikable. Louise randomly assaults people and manipulates her partner. I think her partner is supposed to be charming, but the dialogue is alternately bland or awkward. There’s no shortage of gory crime scenes or segues into a killer’s POV, which help keep things moving, but there are a number of thriller tropes, including an implausible romance and Louise’s deteriorating mental health over the course the investigation. Strangely, Louise and her partner aren’t even the most important detectives on the case. Fans of the genre might find more to enjoy about it, but I was relieved to be finished. For a similar take on how urban legends interact with reality, I’d sooner recommend Mister Tender’s Girl by Carter Wilson.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com. -
**Four and a half stars**
Look at that cover! That stunning cover plus that incredible sounding blurb made The Bone Keeper a must read for me. This is the third book by author Luca Veste that I have read, previously having devoured book one (Dead Gone) and book two (The Dying Place) in his Murphy and Rossi series (unfortunately both were before the blog so I have no reviews to share. I really MUST find some time to read books three, four and five!).
The Bone Keeper, however, is a cracking standalone and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It has its creepy moments and I am a huge fan of the crime/horror crossover which I think this book wants to be. But for me, it fell firmly into the crime thriller category. It certainly packs more of a punch than your average police procedural and I know other reviewers have said how nervous it made them feel, how creepy they found the story but I, unfortunately, didn’t experience it in the same way. I’ve obviously become immune after reading so much horror and crime over the years. Dangit!
DC Louise Henderson is an intriguing character who I instantly liked. There’s something there that others may not necessarily warm to but I really liked her. I also liked her DS, Paul Shipley and the bubbling undercurrent of chemistry between the pair of them. As investigative teams go, Henderson and Shipley could be new favourites.
The story starts with a chilling scene in the woods. The entire premise of this book is set on a myth, renowned in the Merseyside area. If you live in Merseyside, you know all about the Bone Keeper from a young age. And that’s all it is, right? A myth? Maybe. Maybe not. Four kids dare each other to play in local woodlands. Only three return. Years later, a bloodied woman is found wandering the streets. She’s been brutally attacked and is muttering the bone keeper song to herself. DC Louise Henderson is on the case. Henderson and her DS, Paul Shipley are sent to interview the victim once she regains consciousness. Shortly afterwards more bodies are discovered in the woods; strange carvings are discovered on the trees nearby that make Henderson and Shipley doubt this is the work of anyone other than the Bone Keeper. But Louise knows there’s more to this investigation. She fears the woods and wants to stay as far away as possible. What secrets are they hiding? What’s keeping her away?
I found Henderson to be quite mysterious. There are things the reader doesn’t know about her. Hints are laid, here and there but I, for one, never really felt I had the measure of the character until the end of the book. There were MANY things to love but a couple that leapt out at me were; the high number of deaths within the pages (Not normal, I know but hey, that’s me!). This book really satisfied my need for a high body count. Something that has been missing from many of my recent reads. Another thing I absolutely loved was that I could never be 100% sure whether it was someONE in the woods, or someTHING (something not quite human). Brilliantly written and although I didn’t get the sense of creepiness others readers have, I was never quite sure who was killing the lost and lonely souls.
Although I enjoyed this book, it really came alive for me towards the end. What an amazing ending and one I didn’t expect. Veste had convinced me the story was going one way only to totally flip it in a different direction. I LOVED the ending of this book. Dark, malevolent and so wonderfully unexpected. It was a joy to read!
Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. I hope this is isn’t the last we see of Henderson and Shipley. In fact, let’s get this down on paper (or in print!). Luca Veste, I would love to see more of these characters in a future novel. Particularly if they return in a ‘verging on horror’ investigation. When an author creates a character that is a little bit different, a little bit darker than the rest – well, that makes me sit up and take notice. Surprising, different and very compelling. I really enjoyed The Bone Keeper.
Four and a half out of five stars.
I chose to read and review an ARC of The Bone Keeper. The above review is my own unbiased opinion. -
100th book of the year!!! 🎉 3.5/5
“The Bone Keeper’s coming. The Bone Keeper’s real. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t feel. He’ll snatch you up. And make you weep. He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.”
The Bone Keeper was a random find on my B&N birthday shopping trip.
It was an interesting and creepy read, best suited for an atmospheric fall night.
“That’s the thing about evil. It never announces itself. Just festers and lives among the normal. The clean.”
The story follows local detectives as they investigate an injured woman who escapes the woods and can’t remember a thing and some mysterious dead bodies that pop up in the same woods. Are the mutilated bodies and skeletons the work of The Bone Keeper the local urban legend?
This book was a slow-burn and kind of confusing at times, but it was mysterious and intriguing. It gave off an X-Filey vibe and was one of the more unique thrillers I’ve read. -
Well bend me over and smack my arse! THIS BOOK! When I first saw the cover – Eeeeeeek… #MultipleCovergasms ..and now after finishing the book I can add #Bookgasms to that description! And this is just going to add to my “she’s a weirdo” label- but the FEEL of the proof cover… OH- MY-FRIGGIN-GOD… so soft, great texture…ok, I am enjoying myself just a little too much. I’ll get on with my review before I forget it, roll over and have a fag!
Set in Liverpool, the reader faces fear, the past and the present, an urban legend coming to life, heartache, loss, missing children, questioning reality, betrayal, secrets and so much bloody more!
Separated by “Before” and “Now” sections, I thought the opening of this novel was exceptionally clever – fraught with tension and the ever-so-awesome #killerhook that seriously left me gagging for more! You could TASTE the fear in this storyline, so haunting and creepy, the icy chills were not far off as each page was turned. And that song/poem… I had made my own tune and would go around singing it to myself…WTAF? I found the storyline was intriguing, and characters were driving the plot superbly! This is just one hell of a nail-biting, chill-you-to-the-bone kinda read that seriously makes you reluctant to leave your cosy reading chair and venture into other rooms on your own … or was that just me?
DC Louise Henderson is quite a lonely soul. She seems to push people away and other than her police colleagues…or should I say Shipley only, she doesn’t seem to have very many friends! I love her curious nature but also the anxiety and fear that on the one hand cripple her, but also drive her to find the answers. With secrets from her past, she is a bit of a dark horse and some of her thoughts….oh jaysus! But I won’t spoil anything – in short, I adored her!
DS Paul Shipley has worked with Louise for three years, however doesn’t really seem to know her. There is a chemistry there and this pair work well together – I found him to be logical, more grounded than Louise. He needs the facts even if he is slightly open to listening to things which go against his gut. He also is a wee bit of an arse-licker at times…but hey, he wants to go places in the police force and sometimes you just have to follow the politics.
“They thought they knew evil. They have no idea.”
The Bone Keeper – fact or fiction….hmmm…this is the stuff of nightmares my friends! Dead eyes, smells of rotting flesh – if you want the bejesus scared out of you, just try and visualise this mofo! As a reader, you need him to be real for this story but you also hope to dear God that he is not… this is one baddie that I will not forget, that’s for sure. Thank God nothing can fit under my bed…as I would be looking… *shivers*
Crime and horror are my two absolute favourite genres and Luca Veste masterfully intertwines the two to bring us a book that will have you jumping out of your skin. I don’t get the heebie jeebies very often…but I did…so hats off to Mr Veste!
Would I recommend this book? One hundred ‘friggin percent, I would! If you are looking for a dark, twisted, atmospheric, creepy, send-icy-chills-through-your-veins type of book – then go now…to amazon and download/buy this badass book because I think it gives The Chalk Man a real run for its money! -
When urban myth becomes frighteningly real!
The story starts with four children playing in the woods in the outskirts of Liverpool, looking for the home of the fabled and frightening Bone Keeper. Sadly, only three of them return!
DC Louise Henderson and DS Paul Shipley are investigating a serious assault on a woman found wandering the streets of Melling. She has been beaten, stabbed and strips of her skin have been ripped off! And so, the myth that is the Bone Keeper raises its ugly head again. According to local legend, ‘The Bone Keeper’s coming. The Bone Keeper’s real. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t feel. He’ll snatch you up and make you weep. He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep!’
True to urban myth, whenever anything bad or unusual happens – someone leaves unexpectedly, never to be seen again – The Bone Keeper is responsible.
What Louise and Paul discover in their investigations has far-reaching consequences, not least to Louise herself!
The plot is set out well and rolls along like a steam engine. The main figures are fleshed out and that of Louise is thoughtfully drip-fed to us throughout the book. There is also a little romantic element which lightens the read. The environs of the story are beautifully described and one can imagine that they are deep within a wooded area, close to civilisation but very far from it.
However, I do have some reservations. I feel that the book is a little long – some 420 pages – and I also think that one has to suspend belief in places. To enlarge on that I would be putting in spoilers, so enough said.
Despite this, would I read this book? Yes, I would and have done so, would recommend it.
Sméagol
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review -
This is a creepy crime thriller.
A woman is found walking the streets suffering from bad stab wounds. When the Police speak to witnesses, they say she was singing a song while struggling to get away from the woods.
This song chills the bones of those in the area as it’s the Bonekeepers song.
The Police find it hard to believe he is real but as bodies are found buried in the woods, they have to accept he’s either real or someone is copying him.
Soon more people are dead and Louise and Shipley face a race against time to save more people.
Throughout the book you are given hints as to Louise’s past but I never guessed what actually happened to her.
This is a gripping read. -
The Bone Keeper is a British police procedural that opens very strongly, and is initially flavored with a dash of urban (really suburban or village, rather] horror/legend about the death-bringing Bone Keeper who lives in the woods and...well, you get the idea.
The first three chapters are great--atmospheric and creepy--but then it descends into a mess of telling instead of showing, reveals that are obvious from the go, and a conclusion that I think is supposed to be unsettling but I found tiring and unconvincing.
The biggest problem with The Bone Keeper is the increasing suspension of disbelief that's required to make the whole novel "work," and I couldn't make that leap. -
Trochę nie mogłam się w nią wciągnąć, trochę jest przekombinowana i strasznie dziwna. Generalnie w życiu czytałam dużo lepszych thrillerów i serio myślałam, że nie jest najgorsza, chociaż zakończenie to raczej takie wtf i nie wierzę w nie kompletnie.
Ale kurde, nie minęło 12 godzin, a ja zapomniałam, że ją skończyłam, także to podsumowuje to lepiej niż tysiąc słów. -
The Bone Keeper’s coming. The Bone Keeper’s real. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t feel. He’ll snatch you up And make you weep. He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.
What a chilling opening! A childhood dare gone wrong along with a sinister rhyme. This opening chapter definitely sets the level of creepiness for this tales. I’m one of those people who gets images in their head as they read and for me, there was a permanent dark cloud over Merseyside.
Now DC Louise Anderson, I didn’t know what to make of her to start with….she has some issues including anger management. But despite the mocking of those around her, she stuck to her guns and I do like that characteristic in my detectives!
The killings are so random and unconnected, I found it so difficult to settle on a suspect. But I think that is the beauty of this book; it kept me turning the pages to the end! And the ending!!! Oh lordy!! -
I would like to thank Netgalley and Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for an advance copy of The Bone Keeper, a stand alone novel set in Liverpool.
Caroline is found stabbed and battered on a street. Her memories of what has happened to her are hazy but she is sure The Bone Keeper is responsible. DC Louise Henderson and DS Paul Shipley aren't sure what to make of this as the Bone Keeper is a local urban myth until it isn't when more bodies are discovered.
I enjoyed The Bone Keeper which is a cleverly plotted read with some excellent twists at the end. I wasn't so keen on the format which constantly changed point of view and time line. I found it hard to engage with the characters as I was never with them long enough to really identify with them and difficult to keep track of the detail.
The novel opens with 4 young children exploring a tunnel and only 3 coming out and returns to it more than once but there is no significance to it until the dénouement so it's a bit of a distraction trying to work out where it fits in. Most of the novel is devoted to Louise Henderson who is keeping secrets and seems to have an uncanny insight into where the case should be going. Some of this is revealed at the end but I'm still struggling to work out how she knows.
The Bone Keeper is an excellent novel in its way and will appeal to many readers but it's not too my taste. I love the plotting but not the execution which is too scattergun for me, the back and forth between characters and timelines does not allow me to sink my teeth in and get immersed, instead it is all too easy to put it down and do something else. 3.5*.
