Customer Reviews

Bone by Bone

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

In Bone By Bone, Carol O' Connell blends the eccentricities of a small town with a murder mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Beautifully written, it's the story of a man named Oren, who returns to his home town in California after working in the Army's CID (Criminal Investigations), after his father's housekeeper, the omniscient Hannah, sends him a cryptic letter. But he returns to find a horrible scenario is playing out at his father's home- someone is leaving the bones of his younger brother, Josh, on the front porch. One bone at a time. The cast of characters in this novel is reminiscent of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil," with a large, richly drawn out cast of eccentrics. The only character I wish we'd had more information on is Oren himself.

The small town is full of secrets, and people who keep them for various reasons. In a town where everyone knows everyone else's business, this is a crime that has gone unsolved for twenty years. But why? Is it really a difficult mystery, or has an entire town covered up the murder of a young man?

Even when you're sure you know who the guilty party is, you're likely to be wrong. This was a beautifully written mystery, more of a high brow who dunnit, and I'm looking forward to her next book!

An interesting concept, to be sure. Oren and Joshua Hobbs went into the woods one day, and only Oren, the older brother, came out. The younger brother disappeared. After years at school and later working for the CID in the army, Oren returns home - called back after his father's housekeeper writes to him. He then learns that the bones of his brother are being left on his father's front porch, bone by bone.

Most thrillers keep the reader digging and guessing for a suspect. What sets this novel apart is that the author instead inundates the reader with suspects, every one of them with plausible motive to have killed the boy. Josh was a brilliant photographer who followed people, capturing their secrets on film...and how many people would kill to hide their secrets?

You then wonder how you would handle it - could you investigate the murder of your younger brother, and to what lengths would you go to solve it? How much emotional pain could you inflict on yourself and those around you to bring the truth to light and a murderer to justice?

It is an excellent novel, and Carol O'Connell weaves an intricate tale. My only criticism is how quickly she switches between characters is a little over-used. While later in the book, once you are familiar with the characters, it's a great plot vehicle, at the beginning it just makes things downright confusing.

That minor point aside, I highly recommend this book.

Just what was needed after the holidays: a fun mystery with plenty of characters, a new setting, an old crime coming back to life.

Not that there is anything fun about the murder of a 15 year old boy. Because the crime is 20 years old, the other characters are living with old pain, not the fresh "can I go on living" variety. They've had plenty of time to ponder the possibilities without the luxury of being able to put it behind them, since the victim disappeared; his skeleton only now being delivered to his family, one bone at a time.

Our protaganist, Oren, has had the pain of the loss of his brother to live with for more than half his life. It has colored every decision he's ever made. His return to his hometown is not easy. But he's a pretty likeable guy for the reader, and easy to get behind from the beginning of the story.

O'Connell introduces us to a large cast of characters--townspeople of a small town that all know more about each other than they should. Which of them could have wanted to get rid of this funny, quirky 15 year old?

You'll keep turning the pages looking for answers. In spite of the sheer numbers of possible guilty parties, its easy to keep them sorted. And O'Connell throws in assorted juicy tidbits along the way, with plenty of red herrings to throw you off the trail. Some of her prose is laugh-out-loud funny. There is one scene towards the end that brought out a little eye-rolling, but overall, this is a very enjoyable read.

Great literature? Of course not. But this book definitely meets its goal of engaging the reader and entertaining until the end. Highly recommended.

This book starts off with a great premise, but ultimately fails in its execution. It pains me to say this, because I am a fan of this author, but I simply did not enjoy it the way I have her other books.

Two teenage brothers went into the woods one day but only one returned. The missing brother was never found. The surviving son was sent then sent out of town by his father. Then suddenly, twenty years later, bones professing to those of the missing brother suddenly begin appearing one by one on his father's porch.

The surviving son finally returns home after twenty years, having been summoned, not by his father, but by the family housekeeper and general factotum. The surviving son is a former investigator for the army, and he is determined to solve the mystery of his brother's disappearance and find justice.

This is definitely an intriguing story line, but that is about as far as it goes. The characters are neither well-developed nor particularly likeable. The mystery quickly loses steam under stilted and unbelievable dialogue. Reading this book was definitely a hard slog.. Most of all, I was disappointed, as this was the first book by this author that I simply did not enjoy.

Though lacking the tautness of her other standalone psychological thrillers (e.g., the phenomenal Judas Child), Bone by Bone once again demonstrates Carol O'Connell's deft touch with character and plot. Complex and occasionally confusing, the book wraps the story of a former Army CID investigator, the guilt-wracked Oren Hobbs, around the unsolved mystery of his younger brother's disappearance 20 years earlier. Spurred by the appearance of human bones on the doorstep of his old homestead, Hobbs reluctantly probes into the psyches of a gothic cast of townspeople dark and fascinating enough to satisfy readers hooked on O'Connell's Mallory series, and uncovers some painful truths about himself, his father, and his missing brother that threaten to bring the killer out of retirement.

While not her best work to date, Bone by Bone will captivate any reader looking for three-dimensional characters and a masterful sense of pacing rather than the formulaic, one-dimensional caricatures of suspense that try to pass themselves off as "thrillers" these days. The biggest mystery here is why O'Connell languishes among the ranks of the relative unknowns while lesser talents make the best-seller lists with recycled comic books.

I am always leery to read books where the author has made a departure from writing about a serial character; but Carol O'Connell did not disappoint. I have read all of her novels and I have found her characterization of Mallory to be unique - her main character in Bone by Bone has proven to be just as unique and captivating. I found that I was unable to put the book down and consequently read it in one sitting. I especially like the way that O'Connell also develops the other characters in her book - to me, the sign of a good read is one where the reader can immerse themselves into the plot being weaved and O'Connell is a master at pulling the reader into her story. I hope that she continues with this new character - while not abandoning Mallory.

I was very excited to read this novel. The story line sounded thrilling. I must adnmit that I have never been a huge fan of Carol O'Connell or her Mallory novels. Her acclaim has alluded me. But often in the past I have found that when writers who did series wrote stand alone novels I loved those. That was my excpectation here. Maybe Mallory just wasn't for me but due to Ms. O'Connell's acclaim I hoped for a deep psychological suspense ride which is howe this novel is being promoted.

The beginning is great and the premise is very inventive. 20 years ago 2 brothers went into the woods and only 1 returned - the other never to be found dead or alive. Until now that is. Josh's bones are being left on the house's porch piece by piece. Oren, the brother who survived returns home due to the escalating letters he has been receiving from Hannah, the maid who practically raised him.

There is much mystery here. After the disappearance the father asked Oren to leave for reasons unknown and this 20 year appearance is his first return. And he returns as an ex-investigator from the Army CID and will not stop from solving this mystery or finding justice for his brother. This premise gives the opportunity for some great writing and character development. I find that the author missed the mark here. Every one is suspicious and has a secret, from the townsfolk to the law officials and the family members. This is also a small town where secrets develop a life of their own.

But the characterizations are not well developed. They are introduced sporadically and without much reality or depth to their individuality. In the first 100 pages so many characters are introduced and the story is told from so many different characters perspectives that it is hard to follow who is who. Such a lost opportunity. The novel is not written well enough for the reader to enjoy discovering the depths of the people and working through the many mysteries.

I finished this book but felt that the journey to get there was not worth it. Would have loved this premise done by a better author. I couldn't wait to start a better quality novel after. I was very disappointed. All the suspense, intrigue and mystery I hoped for was very minimal. The latter part did pick up and the ending was ok but only ok.

I don't mean for everyone to avoid this book but I think you should know what to expect. For me it was a grade B novel at best. But if you are a fan you will probably like it. That is why there are so many authors.

Two brothers take a walk in the woods; only one comes home. Then the father sends Orrin, his only remaining child away to finish school in a place where there are no woods in which to get lost. For twenty years, the case is treated as a missing persons case, and no progress is made. Then bone, by bone, Josh, the younger brother starts coming home. A few weeks after the father starts finding the bones on his porch, Orrin returns. He is now a veteran of the United States Army, Central Intelligence division, with many years of criminal investigation under his belt... and, after yet another of his brother's bones is found on the porch, he's suspcious...

When a child dies, the police take a hard look at the parents first. Did the old man kill Josh? As we eagerly turn the pages to discover what happened to the young teen all those years ago, we discover that the brothers argued with each other on that walk before they parted. Has Orrin returned to the scene of his crime, or did someone else commit the murder?

As the story progresses, nearly everyone in town had reason to dislike Josh and his ever-present camera; anyone could be the murderer... Carol O'Connell has created a host of interesting characters and written a compelling novel about them, a page-turner that mystery fans and enthusiasts of criminal fiction alike will not easily be able to put aside. I like the way this book was written because the characters are allowed to tell their story their own way. The point of view makes sense in relationship to the character's actions. The transitions make sense and facts don't seem out of place as with some books I've read lately.

Highly recommended. This review is published simultaneously on Amazon.com, Dragonviews and LibraryThing.

I approached Bone by Bone with some nervousness. I love Carol O'Connell, and her Mallory novels are outstanding; so I wondered about this departure from what I'm used to. Well, I had no cause to worry. While some novelists seem to lose their ability to write when they turn to a new protagonist, O'Connell has no such problem. Bone by Bone is an excellent mystery, and Oren Hobbs along with the other characters are fascinating. And the good qualities that O'Connell brings to her mysteries are still very much apparent. Just as we want to know more about the elusive Mallory in the earlier novels, we want to know more about Oren Hobbs in this one. The mystery about what happened to Oren's brother all those years ago grows more and more intense as the novel progresses. O'Connell has a way of revealing just enough along the way to thicken the plot just right and draw out the suspense. Each of her characters are a pleasure to meet; she gives us enough description and detail that they seem like real, very unique people. And, while I definitely want another Mallory novel, I would also like to meet Oren Hobbs again or any new protagonist that O'Connell may have in mind!

Oren returns to his hometown of Coventry after a long hiatus. He returns at the request of Hannah Rice, the woman who raised him and his brother Joshua. The reader learns that Oren left at the insistence of his father 20 years before after the murder of his brother. The set up occurs within the first few chapters, which is a nice feature of the plot. We learn about most of the characters early on, but beware. There are a lot of them. The author uses some detective work to solve the mystery, but relies more upon Hannah's intuition and use of an occult device called a "witch board" which we discover has become a popular tourist activity since the murder of Josh. Threaded throughout the book is a long-standing love/hate affair between Oren and a "summer girl" named Isabel, whose parents live in Coventry. This relationship is odd and is unrealistic. Several times Isabel tries to kill Oren and no one in the town seems to think this is any big deal. The relationship is used as a vehicle to connect groups of characters who may or may not be involved in the murder. The spying on one another and the gossip stereotypic of small towns is threaded throughout the story, as is Oren's unlikely relationships with the women in the town. The ending is as unlikely as other elements of the story, although the mystery itself was good enough. What makes elements of the story unrealistic is the absolute disregard anyone in the town has for breaking the law. Even Oren, an affable young man, acts strangely in the end and no one seems to find this odd. The writing is good. But in the end, the story doesn't stick with you and I found myself wondering if I liked the book or not. Such a lack of opinion one way or another is a curious reaction so read it and see what you think.