Customer Reviews

Island Of Bones (Louis Kincaid Mysteries)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While there is plenty of mystery, page-turning suspense and all the thriller aspects---more than anything, P.J. Parrish's "Island of Bones" is a marvelously intriguing tale peopled with powerfully motivated characters.

A hurricane deposits a baby's scull at PI, Louis Kincaid's beach bungalow. Days later, a woman's body washes up nearby. Are these two related to the disappearances of seven young women from the area over a thirty-five year period?

Ft. Myers Police Chief Al Horton feels Louis can be useful on the high profile case by "baby-sitting" his Chief of Detectives (Mel Landeta), who appears to be a serious burnout case.

Louis's client fears her father (librarian Frank Woods) is somehow involved with the missing women. Newspaper clippings she finds in his possession and his flight appear to confirm her worries. Is he a serial killer, where are the bodies and where is Frank?

Adroitly plotted, richly textured, a strong sense of place and smartly written, "Island of Bones" seizes the reader and keeps you immersed.

The ending is a shocker as the past melds into the present. The journey is irresistible, compelling and rings true.

Louis is a resourceful, self-reliant, persuasive lead character. As he doggedly follows the trail and clues, he learns not everyone is what they appear to be and surprising allegiances are formed.

"This place is built on skeletons, young man. Millions of humans, millions of sea animals, dead and gone. Florida is just one long island of bones."

I have had the pleasure of reading this book before it was available and I was blown away. From page one this book grabs you and will not let you go until the final page. The opening scene of a young woman fleeing an unknown but utterly terrifying pursuer gave me chills. I actually felt her fear and when she was shot, heard the bullet, saw her stumble and felt the rain as it dripped off her lifeless body. It just gets better from there. I actually hated the new boy on the block, Mel Landata, when he was introduced to Louis. What a pompous, self-involved idiot! Definitely hoped he would meet a very messy end. Boy was I wrong! After finding out what makes Mel tick, he became one of my favorites. Perfectly suited to be a close friend of Louis.

The perilous journey to discover who the victim was brings to light numerous similiar incidents of young women who disappear -- where they are found and their ultimate condition is both a shock and a surprise. The plotting and character development is superb. The red herrings and subterfuge so convincingly laid out you don't see the trap until it's sprang. Nobody is who you think they are -- the real evil is hidden from sight until the final and explosive end.

If I could give this book more then 5 stars I would. I can not recommend this book more highly nor state with more passion my belief it is a MUST for any fan of mystery/suspense novels. Keep them coming PJ! Journeys with Kincaid are always an exciting ride.

This is the second book I have read by this author..It's definitely a must read! Louis Kincaid reminds me of James Patterson's character, Alex Cross..When you read the description on the back of a P.J.Parrish book, you think " this sounds really good", but after reading the book it's way better than how you thought could even be. All of the characters are richly detailed and so are the story lines, they keep you reading to find out more. When you think you have figured it out, think again! Parrish is defintely a new author on my favorites list.. Check this book out, and also Unquiet Graves..You won't be disappointed!!

Once again Florida is recovering from the devastation of a hurricane and Private Investigator Louis Kincaid is in the midst of it. While canvassing the damage that the hurricane has left behind, Kincaid stumbles upon a baby's skull amongst the debris. The skull appears to be old. The police are too involved with regaining order after the devastation of the hurricane to care much about where the old skull came from or to whom it belonged. Yet, Kincaid seems drawn to the remains and is determined to find their origins and give the child a proper resting place.

The skull of a child isn't the only gruesome thing that washes ashore on the Florida coast; during the hurricane aftermath clean up, the police discover the body of a woman. Undermanned, the local authorities call upon Kincaid for help with the murder investigation. Just when it seems that things could not get any stranger, a woman seeks to hire Kincaid to investigate her father, whom she believes may be involved with the murder of the discovered woman. However, Kincaid soon discovers some hidden secrets of the man he is investigating that go beyond his wildest dreams. At first Kincaid believes that he has three separate cases on his hands until he slowly uncovers the shocking truth that links them all.

THE ISLAND OF BONES by P.J. Parrish is a compelling thriller that takes many delicious twists and turns. The character of Private Investigator Louis Kincaid is a refreshing change from the brooding stereotypical investigator so often found in novels. Kincaid is a complex, three - dimensional character with realistic flaws. The novel itself is also one that is outside the box of the "typical" mystery. The characters are vivid and the story line unique. Although ISLAND OF BONES is the fifth installment in the Louis Kincaid mysteries, it surely is a standalone novel that will please both long standing Kincaid fans as well as those new to the character.

Reviewed by L. Raven James
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers

P.J. Parrish has once again written a great Louis Kincaid mystery/thriller. I've been hooked on Louis' story from the beginning and just continue to enjoy with each novel. He's such a fascinating, likable character, whom I enjoy reading about through each adventure. His relationship with Landetta, while at first was a bit tough going turned out to be something good for both of them. I certainly hope they come together again in future novels to solve cases. As for the story of the family on the island, after a while I kind of figured some things out, but not the "why". I never saw the "why" coming. It was so compelling and in many ways sad, but a very interesting plot twist.

For me, this isn't the best from P.J. Parrish, but it's definitely a great addition to the Louis Kincaid series. I look forward to more...hopefully soon.

Island of Bones is a winner.

This book hooks you from the first page and doesn't let you go until the very last word. Just when I thought I was ahead of Louis Kincaid in figuring out what was going on, I found out that both he and I were way off. There are no cheats in this story--the intricate and unexpected plot twists will make you feel like you're on a roller coaster, and you won't want the ride to end. I literally had to make myself put the book down occasionally so I wouldn't get to the end too soon--I wanted to savor the experience as long as I could. Island of Bones is the best mystery/thriller I've read in a very long while, perhaps the best I've ever read. Although each book in the Louis Kincaid series can stand alone (reading them in order is helpful), this is the best yet from the writing team of P.J. Parrish. I look forward to reading much more from them in years to come.

I was totally spellbound and frequently found myself racing to turn the page. The style, the mood, the setting and the extremely well-drawn characters are top rate. I swear I could smell the Gulf Coast of Florida's swamps and wanted to wipe my brow from the humidity coming right off the page. The dialogue snaps, the family secrets were fascinating and unfolded in a way that made me want to know even more. But most of all, the writing is excellent and the characters stay with you for days after. The ending is superb. Don't miss this!

It seems that the book has been summarized several times, so I will just say that this book is PJ Parrish's best book yet, and I have read them all! The first book, Dark of the Moon, was good, Dead of Winter, the second book, really grabs you and doesn't let go until the end and you get a real feel for the character, Louis Kincaid, Paint it Black, was even better with a unique serial killer and Louis Kincaid going from cop to P.I. and moving to Florida, then the 4th book, Thicker Than Water, was excellent, hard to put down, and gave you even more background on Louis, and now Island of Bones is so fantastic that you can't put it down! Louis works closely with the cops on this one and doesn't let go even when the cops think the case is closed. He uncovers a mystery that is so good that you end up going on the internet to check out if it could possibly be true, and best of all....it is!!! WOW, read this book!

P. J. Parrish just gets better and better, and Louis Kincaid does, too. More details about his background add depth to his already interesting character, and the other characters were real and sympathetic and seemed to belong on the Florida coast where the story is set. The plot, with all its twists and turns, kept my attention throughout, and near the end, I literally couldn't put it down. Highly recommended. Sign me up for the next one!

The sisters writing under the name P.J. Parrish have a winner on their hands with Island of Bones, and I look forward to backtracking through the rest of the series.

In the wake of a hurricane, a baby's skull washes up on a Florida beach and the bullet-ridden body of a young woman is found in the roots of a mangrove tree. As P.I. Louis Kincaid tries to make sense of these seemingly disparate discoveries, he uncovers a web of dark family secrets carried from the old world to the new, secrets with grave implications for a series of long-lost girls.

This is a finely-wrought novel with a great deal of quirky, intriguing, and highly original detail. Parrish has a wonderful feel for the islands off the Gulf Coast of Florida, and the characters who inhabit them, from the spry local historian whose house on stilts can only be reached by boat to the cranky local cop trying to keep a lid on the secret that will destroy his career.

For my taste, Kincaid flashes back several times too often to a youthful passion ended over an unplanned pregnancy, but those moments of heavy-handedness are few and don't greatly tarnish the solid appeal of the novel. I look forward to recommending Parrish to my mystery-fan buddies, and to reading the earlier books in the series.