A shocking discovery of human bones reopens an almost fifty-year-old cold case—and rips apart the lives of a group of friends.
When human bones are found beneath an old chapel in the woods, evidence suggests the remains could be linked to the decades-old case of missing teen Annalise Jansen. Homicide detective Jane Munro—pregnant and acutely attuned to the preciousness of life—hopes the grim discovery will finally bring closure to the girl's family.
But for a group of Annalise's old friends, once dubbed the Shoreview Six by the media, it threatens to expose a terrible pledge made on an autumn night forty-seven years ago. The friends are now highly respected, affluent members of their communities, and none of them ever expected the dark chapter in their past to resurface. But as Jane and forensic anthropologist Dr. Ella Quinn peel back the layers of secrets, the group begins to fracture. Will one cave? Will they turn on each other?
The investigation takes a sharp turn when Jane discovers a second body—that of the boy long blamed for Annalise's disappearance. As the bones tell their story, the group learns just how far each will go to guard their own truth.
Title : The Unquiet Bones
Author : Loreth Anne White
Format : eARC
Page Count : 351
Genre : mystery / thriller
Publisher : Montlake
Release Date : March 5, 2024
Reviewer : Hollis
Rating : ★ ★ ★
Hollis' 3 star review
This rating may be a bit generous but I can't quite round down on it. My struggle here is while I enjoy this kind of mystery -- cold case, new evidence, the unfurling of a past timeline, and the red herrings along the way -- I wasn't all that enamoured by any of the characters; and we had a lot of them.
Jane Munro is a homicide detective and our main POV (but again, not our only one by far) and her connection to this case is unique both because she, too, is struggling with a loss that has no answers, no closure, and she, too, like the body that is discovered, is (was) pregnant. That's where the similarities ended but loss, missing persons, that unending grief and how it redirects the path of one's life, was a main player and popped up for a few different characters, too. So, I sorta kinda liked Jane, or at least found her circumstances sympathetic as they informed at least half of the emotional drive for resolution, but with such a large cast, and with the differing timelines, we never spend enough time with any one character, so it ends up being more about the mystery and everyone is just a vehicle for that reveal.
And it was a big one. Also horrible and sad. But, at the same time, not entirely satisfying in some respects (which I think was an interesting choice) and also not action packed and thrilling (which I think was the right choice, but also maybe not what readers have come to expect).
I don't know if this book is meant to kickstart a series -- I can sorta see where breadcrumbs have been left to do so -- but if so? I'll read it.
** I received an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher (thank you!) in exchange for an honest review. **
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