Precious Bones [Kindle Edition]

Irina Shapiro (Author)

Book Description

When the skeletal remains of a young woman and her baby are found entombed behind the kitchen wall of a historic Tudor house, Cassandra is overcome with grief. She seems to know who the young woman was, but not how she knows or how she came to be there. Cassandra becomes inexplicably drawn to the house and the mystery of the "Bones of Blackfriars." As she begins to learn the truth about the Thorne siblings who occupied the house during the reign of Elizabeth I, her own life takes an unexpected turn and she finds that her fate is linked to the Thornes in ways she never imagined.

Product Details

• File Size: 385 KB
• Print Length: 221 pages
• Publisher: Merlin Press LLC; First Edition edition (November 14, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0067R48QW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,835 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Needs Work January 10, 2012

By Keri M. Peardon

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I find this story and the characters compelling enough to keep reading--I think there is talent there--but Ms. Shapiro is still learning her craft... and it shows.

Parts of the book get bogged down in unnecessary detail; it makes her main character's life sound boring and mundane. Ms. Shapiro would be aided in her revisions by the thought that every sentence is precious and needs to either move the plot forward or develop the characters. Lengthy descriptions of a house or doctor's office are boring; a sentence or two is adequate. Pick out those things that your character would be most likely to notice, because what she finds interesting speaks to her character.

Also, Ms. Shapiro needs to read her dialogue aloud. If she did, she would notice that it doesn't flow naturally. Real people (including people in the Elizabethan period) speak in contractions; her dialogue is stilted and unnatural due to a lack of contractions. She also needs to use "she said" (or "mused," "replied," "asked," etc.) more often because it sometimes becomes confusing as to who is speaking.

But the major complaint are the errors. Ms. Shapiro would be well-advised to hire an editor before taking her next book to press. There are numerous typos, grammar mistakes (most notably the inability to maintain the correct tense, great lack of commas, and poor paragraph breaking), and historical errors.

For instance, the main historical character is the orphaned daughter of a master stone mason and the family is starting to fall on hard times. She ends up marrying a titled nobleman of wealth. This would have never happened in the Elizabethan period. Marriage was a business contract only and Constance had nothing valuable to offer. Love didn't count as a ware.

I could have believed the situation if she had been his mistress--certainly that could have been a love match--or if she had a high title but money issues, or he had money issues and she was a wealthy, but common, heiress. But as it stands in the book, the marriage would have never taken place. And even if it had, she would have become "Lady Carlise" or "Lady Constance," (depending on if Richard had taken his full title and inheritance yet) and would no longer have been referred to by her common title, "Mistress."

She would not have borrowed a fine dress and jewels to go to court; the wearing of diamonds by someone like her was against sumptuary laws, and to do so in the presence of the other nobles and the queen would have been very ugly. She could have been imprisoned for dressing above her station.

Chest of drawers did not yet exist in the Elizabethan period; people were still storing their clothes in chests.

Pippa would have never been wearing a high-waisted dress; I have never seen any evidence of such a style in the late Elizabethan period.

The pistol Richard would have used would have been a matchlock, which means he would have had to light the match and position it just so before he could fire it. He would not have stuck it through his belt to pull out and use whenever he wanted.

Writers who are interested in creating historical fiction are warned of this in advance by other authors: make sure your historical elements are correct. Be fastidious about it. People who like to read historical novels are well-versed in the history and customs of their preferred time period, and they absolutely will call you out on any mistakes. For my first historical novel, I went so far as to add historical notes at the end to detail where history ended and fiction began--and why I chose to deviate from history.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Written Historical Novel With A Fascinating Twist December 28, 2011

By Bonnie Jo Davis VINE™ VOICE

Format:Kindle Edition

I loved this book and can't wait to read everything else by the author. This story is about a modern woman with an inexplicable link to a mystery that took place in another century. Cassandra is an author who writes best selling novels and lives in London. One day she sees a news story on television about a house in Blackfriar's where the bones of a young woman and an unborn infant are discovered during a renovation project. Cassandra feels very real grief and immediately realizes she knows who the story behind the bones. She visits the house, purchases a few days later and moves in right away. This action takes her boyfriend, friends and family by surprise because Cass can be impulsive but she is not reckless. After moving into the house Cass begins to have visions of another time and records the story for her next novel. The book then alternates between Cass and a woman named Constance who lived during the reign of Elizabeth I. The story is well done and although there is some violence and six it is very tame compared to every other book I've read. The ending of the book leaves open the possibility of a sequel and I hope the author considers writing it. As they say in England "Well done, Irina, well done!"

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting historical sections, didn't like the modern story December 26, 2011

By Christine E. Henderson

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am a huge historical fiction fan, especially anything set in the Tudor era. And those are the sections of this book I really enjoyed. Anything that was historical was well done, interesting, and drew me in. When the story moved back and forth to the modern sections is where it lost me. I felt that either story would have been interesting, but I didn't think they went well together. And (without giving any spoilers) I really disliked the ending...I felt like it was an excuse to tie the storylines together and although you saw it coming by about halfway through I kept hoping I was wrong. Not a bad read, but the ending made me regret the whole book. Would have been better if it was all historical fiction or all modern fiction, the separation felt disjointed and contrived.

More About the Author

There is nothing I enjoy more than a good book that takes me away from my everyday stresses and problems. I particularly like books that are set in the past, where the characters must navigate the volatile political climates of their time, while still managing to live, love, and cause mischief.

I've always had a particular fascination with the paranormal, and I explore some of these themes in my books. I believe that nothing is truly impossible. A true love can transcend space and time, and live on forever.

Please visit me at www.irinashapiro.com