Book: The Bone Queen by Will Shindler
Reviewed by Halliday in the Books
Jenna’s teenage daughter has gone missing. The local police have dismissed the disappearance as a runaway case, but Jenna at least needs to know her daughter is safe. As a journalist, she has her own investigative skills to put to use. With her sister’s support, she digs up all the clues she can from her daughter’s bedroom and follows the trail to the island of Athelsea. There, she uncovers more mysteries, all tying back to the gruesome legend of the Bone Queen. At first, she’s convinced it’s no more than a local ghost story, but the more connections she makes, the more terrified she becomes for her daughter and the more desperate she becomes to find her.
This one starts off slowly, but the pace picks up rapidly. Overall it becomes a very quick read. Even as the action intensifies, it remains a suspenseful mixture of a crime procedural and a supernatural thriller. The short chapters and the jumps in time and perspective help to keep you turning pages, wondering where the next twist will come from. While I was proud of myself for predicting some reveals, others blindsided me and had me flipping back looking for any hints I’d missed. There were a couple of times where these jumps happened so fast that it became slightly confusing, but those pieces become easier to put together as the story progresses.
I enjoyed watching each of the characters growing more complex as the reveals came. Everyone appears simple and straightforward at their first introduction, but their layers of backstory and motive slowly peel back. That’s where all the intrigue lies. The use of atmosphere really intensifies the story’s unsettling feel. It’s easy to feel how isolated characters become in a thick, fog-filled forest where their phone has no signal. Likewise, the descriptive language has readers practically smelling the rot in some scenes.
Readers may have mixed feelings about the ending. Personally, I liked it, but could understand how others might find it unsatisfying. I did struggle somewhat with the inconsistency in the Bone Queen’s described motives. The author could have leaned further into this and highlighted the variable nature of urban legends, but it’s subtle enough that it doesn’t feel intentional. One other hang-up that US readers may face is that since the narrative is set in the UK, the dialogue reflects that. Those unfamiliar with the regional differences in the language may need to look up a few definitions along the way.
I really liked this one. For the author’s first foray into the horror genre, I think they’ve done a great job. I’ll be looking forward to hopefully seeing more like this from them in the future.