Book: The Bones of You

 

Author: Debbie Howells

 

Genre: Fiction/Thriller/Mystery

 

Summary: I have a gardener's inherent belief in the natural order of things. Soft petalled flowers that go to seed. The resolute passage of the seasons. Swallows that fly thousands of miles to follow the eternal summer. Children who don't die before their parents. When Kate receives a phone call with news that Rosie Anderson is missing, she's stunned and disturbed. Rosie is eighteen, the same age as Kate's daughter, and a beautiful, quiet, and kind young woman. Though the locals are optimistic - girls like Rosie don't get into real trouble - Kate's sense of foreboding is confirmed when Rosie is found fatally beaten and stabbed. Who would kill the perfect daughter, from the perfect family? Yet the more Kate entwines herself with the Andersons - graceful mother jo, renowned journalist father Neal, watchful younger sister, Delphine - the more she is convinced that not everything is as it seems. Anonymous notes arrive, urging Kate to unravel the tangled threads of Rosie's life and death, though she has no idea where they will lead. Weaving flashbacks from Rosie's perspective into a tautly plotted narrative, The Bones of You is a gripping, haunting novel of sacrifices and lies, desperation and love. - Kensington Books, 2015.

 

Rick told Charlotte a woman had been brutally attacked and left for dead. The woman had been in a coma when she awoke all she could remember was her name was Evie and she had a three year old daughter named Angel. Evie was left in the middle of a field. Rick was Charolette’ lover when he was around. Rick was a surfer and came and went as he wanted. Charolette could surf but not as well as Rick. Rick told Charlotte everyday she spent in the house not really doing anything.  Charlotte recognizes the woman who said her name was Evie.  But Charlotte knows her as Jen from college. Charlotte and Jen had not been friends but she knew her from the the girl who was babysitting three year old Leah who disappeared and never was found. Evie said her three year old was missing. Then Charolette calls the police and talks to Detective Abbey Rose and tells her she recognized Evie but as Jen. Detective Rose asks Charlotte to go to the hospital the next day and she agrees. Then the police check and can find no proof that Jen ever had a daughter named Angel. The police and even Jen herself is starting to believe that she is loosing her grip on reality but she hears angel’s voice in her mind and another voice telling her not to trust anyone. The police also wonder if Jen is confusing Leah with an imaginary daughter named Angel. One police officer named Jack who had lost his own son was one of the few who believed Jen.

I liked this story it had a good plot. tHis was fairly short but a good read. But it did drag for me at times. I don’t think the cops were very good at all i wouldn’t want them for anything I might need a cop for. lIke why didn’t they find the kids picture behind the refrigerator if the checked the whole house where Jen had been living? I felt bad for Jen especially when she questions her own sanity. This kept my attention all through the book. I wanted to know how things were going to turn out especially for Jen. I thought Charlotte was cold other than when she stuck up for Jen against Abbey. And I felt she was holding something back. L loved the twists and turns of this story and felt this was well written. I loved the ins and outs and twists of this story and I recommend.

Published by: Kensington Books (July 26 2016) (hardback)

 

ISBN: 9781496705983

 

Source: NetGalley

 

Rating: 5*

 

Description:

"I was fourteen when I fell in love with a goddess. . ."

So begins the testimony of Noah Calaway, an ex-lawyer with a sideline in armchair criminal psychology. Now living an aimless life in an inherited cottage in the English countryside, Noah is haunted by the memory of the beguiling young woman who left him at the altar sixteen years earlier. Then one day he receives a troubling phone call. April, the woman he once loved, lies in a coma, the victim of an apparent overdose--and the lead suspect in a brutal murder. Deep in his bones, Noah believes that April is innocent. Then again, he also believed they would spend the rest of their lives together.

While Noah searches for evidence that will clear April's name, a teenager named Ella begins to sift through the secrets of her own painful family history. The same age as April was when Noah first met her, Ella harbors a revelation that could be the key to solving the murder. As the two stories converge, there are shocking consequences when at last, the truth emerges.

Or so everyone believes. . .

 

Review:

I devoured Debbie Howells' debut, 2015's The Bones of You, so when I had the opportunity to read a review copy of The Beauty of the End, I jumped at the chance.

 

Upon meeting Noah, I was a little wary as I wasn't sure whether he would turn out to be trustworthy or not. He comes across as quite needy and clearly still has very strong feelings for April. Strong, verging on the obsessive. He finds out impossible to resist trying  prove her innocence, the pull of her is just too strong, even lying in a coma.

 

The chapters tell the story from different perspectives: Noah's; Ella's; and the young Noah, who tells of his love of April. I found this confusing in a couple of places and had to double check whose point of view it was, but that's likely nothing to do with the writing and everything to do with my compromised attention span!

 

I enjoyed the way the story built, layer upon layer, with twists along the way, but I did manage to work out a couple of things from the clues and words left unsaid. Having said that, the final twist was something I'd not forseen - it was quite a shock! 

 

Ella's story, told via sessions with her therapist, added more depth and structure, and of course I was trying to guess how she fit in. 

Once again, Debbie Howells' masterful storytelling and great attention to detail make for a deeply compelling psychological  that I highly recommend.

Special thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book, in return for my honest opinion. 

#THEBEAUTYOFTHEEND  @Debbie_Howells  AVAILABLE 7/26/16  4 STARS!  This book took a little time to get into, but after I did, I really enjoyed it. I really felt sorry for Noah and for that matter April, as well. It's a story of a man with wealth and indulgence using his friends their whole life without them knowing it until the end. It's a sad story, a beautiful story and a story that will rile you up when reading it.

I can't really say a lot without giving out a lot of spoilers. Let's just say that Noah does a lot of growing up not necessarily during the book, but definitely at the end.

While slow at first, I do still recommend the book, just give it a little time.

Thanks Kensington Books and Net Galley for the free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life.

I have so many mixed feelings about this book. I remember that I really wanted to see how things would work out for the characters. So much so that I had a hard time putting it down. The whole time I was reading, I was also thinking about how nothing in the story really rang true to me. In the end, it was rather disappointing.

I read this book several weeks before I actually had a chance to sit down and write my review. I hate to say it but I remembered very little of the book at first. It was really that forgettable. After reading over the summary and checking my notes, I did recall the story but I am still amazed that I was able to completely wipe the plot from my mind in just a few days.

I didn't really care for any of the characters in the story which is a pretty big problem for me. In most cases, I really need to like at least one character in a book in order to connect with the story. I didn't understand Noah. It didn't make sense to me how he was able to always think so highly of April. Nobody is as perfect as he felt April was. April was probably the closest to be likable but we never got to hear her voice and she also made little sense to me. I wasn't even sure who Ella was or why I should care about her portions of the book.

I thought the plot was incredibly far fetched. The story jumped back and forth in time which took away from the flow of the story at times. There were also random sections of the book that came from Ella's point of view that did not appear to be linked to the main plot in way. I just really had a hard time believing that otherwise intelligent individuals could be as clueless as everyone seemed to be in this story.

On a more positive note, I found the book to be easy to read. I found that sections of the book were rather exciting and I did want to see how everything would work out. I was hoping for a big finish based on the title but felt that the ending fell flat. It was a book that I had no trouble getting through but I found myself thinking about all of the problems in the story more than the actual mystery.

I can't recommend this book to others. I think that there are too many great options out there for anyone looking for a great mystery thriller. This was the first book by Debbie Howells that I have read and I would be willing to give her work another try in the future.

I received a copy of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley for the purpose of providing an honest review.

Initial Thoughts
I am not really sure what I think right now. It had some problems but I found it hard to put down.