Customer Reviews

Bones

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I just recently discovered the Irene Kelly series, and am quickly becoming one of Jan Burke's devoted fans. This book is a suspense filled, spine-tingling read. Just don't read it late at night when you're home alone. Ms. Burke has created a memorable, charismatic serial killer in Nick Parrish, who is as devoted to his work as Hannibal Lecter. Irene Kelly becomes the focus of his attentions after he engineers a horrific escape from his captors in a scene of unbelievable carnage. Kelly is a reporter married to a cop, which causes many complications in her life. She's a remarkably likable, well rounded protagonist who has a strong marriage, good friends and lovable pets. Burke's portrayal of the cadaver locating dog, Bingle, is worth the price of the book. She's a fine writer who has created believable characters and has made me care about them.

I have read the whole series and watched Ms. Burke's writing become stronger and more enticing. This one was almost a bit too much for me. People have said cruel things such as the only interesting character is a dog, too many characters, killer not developed, etc. I can't agree with any of that. This book is superb. Complex, compassionate, interesting, surprising, capitivating. I wanted to put it down because it was making me scared. This killer became too real and she went too far into his personality for my comfort, but the book was so good I couldn't stop. Yes, something startling happens in the beginning of the book, and I wonder what would happen next because there was so much book left. Burke gives us our money's worth to the VERY END, and it's a long book. My only complaint, is that she brought me a little too close to the motivations and pleasures of the killer for my comfort. Where did she learn to do that? Too much information for my enjoyment, but it's a talent I have to admire. I fear now she won't be able to go back. All of the books will be this scary. Yes, it did seem odd that Jan Burke would create such a perfect killer and then work the night shift in a dark, deserted building, but her Irene Kelly is an independent cuss. She deserves a break of good luck in the next book. My favorite one of the series was HOCUS. Burke matured from the earlier books, developed her characters, and her story line, and didn't scare the BEJESUS out of the reader the way she did with BONES. I hope she'll go back to the intelligent book that's not so scary. This killer really gets it though. Perfect punishment. Perfect book. Too perfect. :) I'm still scared.

Irene Kelly, newspaper reporter, is invited on a search for the mountain grave of a woman killed by convicted sadist Nick Parrish. Surprising and unexpected events leads Kelly down a road of psychological torment and self doubt. She experiences survivor guilt and other symptoms of post-traumatic stress as she attempts to heal herself and avoid being found by Parrish and victimized in a more brutal and tortuous way. The story actually had two seperate climaxes both of which were realistic. There was enough well-modulated suspense to move the story at a brisk pace. The ending was a surprise but at the same time believable. The value of reading the book reviews of editors and the readers' comments at the Amazon website has once again been fruitful. Having seen titles by Jan Burke but never having read one of her books I decided to after seeing all the 5's put up by the readers. I can now add my 5 to the rest. In fact, this story was good enough to pique my interest and persuades me to read another Irene Kelly Mystery.

This was the first book I have read by Jan Burke and I was very impressed! The first couple of hundred pages are fabulous and have many good twists and turns. The last couple of hundred pages are similar to other mystery/thrillers and are a very servicable conclusion to the story. Nick Parrish is a great killer and Burke does a great job at making him very scary. I really couldn't put this book down and read it in a couple of days. I am really looking forward to reading more of the Irene Kelly novels and seeing what else Jan Burke has in store.

I have often wondered where Ms Burke comes up with her ideas and how she can describe the complex mind of a killer in such a startling and believable way. This book scared the living daylights out of me. In part because I took the book on a camping trip (not recommended!), but mostly because "Bones" has such an intriguing plot line and more intriguing characters. I wanted to put it down because I was so scared, but couldn't because I had to know what happened next. A must read for true mystery and suspense lovers! All of Burke's books are fantastic, but this one takes the cake.

Burke does a pretty good job of maintaining the suspense of Bones, although I found the Ben Sheridan character more interesting than the protagonist Irene. This is a killer-showing-the-cops-where-the-bodies-are-buried thriller, with the standard turn-around of the villain stalking someone in that group.

The book is easy to read, and you can hurry through it. There are a couple of twists, some predictable. But the bad guy is creepy enough, and the main characters intriguing enough, that you want to finish the book and give it to your best friend.

I really enjoyed this Irene Kelly mystery. It is the first one I have read, but I intend to read some of the others. The plot is fast paced and has lots of twists and turns along the way. I had a very hard time putting this book down. Irene is a likeable and human heroine. Jan Burke is definately top notch in the thriller suspense category! I only have one complaint about the book. There were a lot of "word" mistakes. There were missing words, double words, and extra words in sentences. I found this to be distracting as I read. I think this could be remedied by a good proof-reader. Had this problem not been apparent throughout the book, I would have rated it with five stars.

"Bones" was my second novel that I have read by Jan Burke. The first one was called "Liar." I absolutely hated "Liar!" It was so slow. The main character, Irene Kelly, was a sap to read about. The mystery was just sooo ridiculous and I had to put it down after page 200. "Bones" is much, much different. It is a fascinating novel of suspense and Irene Kelly has turned into a Dr. Temperance Brennan (Kathy Reichs) or Dr. Kay Scarpetta (Patricia Cornwell) character. The whole beginning of "Bones" kept the readers on the edge of their seat on the wild ride with a serial killer through the Sierra Nevadas and into the city of Las Piernas. The climax and ending were both exhilirating and suspenseful! If you were like me and did not any of Jan Burke's older novels, then try "Bones" and "Flight" because that is where Jan Burke shines.

If ever a mystery deserved not to win a coveted Edgar award, Bones is it.I can't imagine what the judges were thinking. After a good start, Burke runs out of steam and ideas well before she's half-way through this mystery. The final 200 pages or so are sloppy, padded, and meander endlessly, crying out for a good editor - do publishers even spend money on them these days?

Bones is also marred by numerous wildly improbable events. For example, a reporter who know that she's being stalked by a deranged serial killer/mass murderer, accepts an assignment to work the midnight shift at her newspaper with hardly a word of protest by her or her police Lt. husband. Well, Duh! The serial killer/mass murder, who has killed police officers and also kidnapped and killed victims in a number of states, seems to only have a couple of cops in one city looking for him - there's absolutely no indication of F.B.I. involvement, a nation-wide manhunt, etc. Several obvious potential victims of the revenge seeking serial killer have no police protection or police stakeouts of their homes.Duh once again!

Finally, you know you're in trouble when the most well-developed and interesting character in the book is a dog.

An Edgar for best of that year? That certainly speaks poorly for the competition for this, at best, journeyman-like effort, an overlong, tedious read. The first quarter of the book is its best, then it's talk, talk, talk, with little suspense, a disappointing climactic scene, and some twists that have been given away long before. The novel is populated with dozens of undifferentiated secondary characters; the most interesting is a search dog who works to Spanish commands. This is cliche all the way with little to recommend it. I also read Burke's FLIGHT, and with two of her supposed "bests" under my belt, I can erase this author from my list of crime writers I was interested in.