The Bones of You

By Debbie Howells

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ISBN: 9781617737664

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: 6/30/2015

Format: Hardcover

My Rating: 4 Stars

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Summary

A Note From the Publisher

THE LOVELY BONES meets BROADCHURCH in this stunning, wonderfully assured psychological thriller that revolves around a young girl's murder and one woman's obsession with uncovering the secrets in an idyllic English village.

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.

Praise

"In British author Howells’s suspenseful and poignant debut. . .the increasingly tense storytelling and astute observations on mother-daughter relationships will keep readers turning the pages." - Publishers Weekly

"Has been compared to Alice Sebold's The Lovely Bones, as they both feature young murdered females as narrators. Indeed, Rosie's voice offers a dynamic narrative. Her disembodied perspective, tempered with other points of view—chiefly Kate's—adds an unusual and haunting layer to the novel." - Library Journal

“An intriguing dark psychological thriller—truly brilliant!” --Lisa Jackson

Debut Author Debbie Howell is set to Become an International Sensation!

THE BONES OF YOU is told from two perspectives. We follow Kate as she comes to terms with Rosie’s murder, but we also see Rosie’s life as it flashes before her eyes when she is killed. The suspense is powerful as we watch Rosie grow up, and see the decisions she made which led her to that point. Through Rosie’s flashbacks we discover that everyone has secrets. But some of them are more deadly than others.

Praise For Debut Author Debbie Howells

“THE BONES OF YOU is one of those books that captivates you from the first page, holds tight and never lets go, a psychological thriller that teases and holds. I LOVED it!” —Lisa Jackson, New York Times Bestselling author

Debbie Howell's Blog Tour Guide

Read Bones of You Chapter Excerpt

The Bones of You Press Release

Q & A with Debbie Howells

About the Author

Debbie Howells is the author of the contemporary women's fiction novel Wildflowers. Debbie lives in West Sussex with her family. Having worked as cabin crew, a flying instructor and then a florist, she now writes full time.

For more visit her Website

and follow on Twitter and Goodreads.

Debbie's Blog

My Review

A special thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE BONES OF YOU, dark psychological suspense thriller debut by Debbie Howells, a haunting novel of deceit and lies. A young girl’s murder and one woman’s obsession with uncovering dark secrets in this idyllic English village, drawing you into this intriguing world of mystery. A taunt chilling novel which will keep you page-turning into the wee hours of the morning.

“Stars are the souls of dead poets, but to become a star, you have to die.” Vincent van Gogh

“It’s true, what they say about when you die. In the final, terrible seconds of my life, eighteen years flash before my eyes. It’s when I understand the difference between life and death.”

Rosie has gone missing. . as the book opens. Rosie is looking at the movie of her life. THE BONES OF YOU, is an intense character driven novel---readers get an inside glimpse into all the people surrounding the life of Rosie Anderson, an eighteen-year-old teen who has been murdered. Their dark secrets, lies, fears, and deceit (and there are many) are slowly unraveled piece by piece.

Rosie “There are always two camps. Good and evil. Beautiful and ugly. Winners and losers. Andersons are never losers, just as they’re never anything less than perfect."

Gripping and tragic, flashing back and forth from Rosie, narrator, as she plays back the events of her life, to Kate, narrator, and sister, Delphine--readers slowly learn of all the suspects which touched Rosie’s short life.

Living on opposite sides of a small village with daughters at the same school, Jo and Kate belong to a group of mothers who meet now and then. Jo is married to Neal, a renowned journalist, who reports from the middle of war zones. They have a nice house and nice cars; however, Kate is drawn to Rosie. She is the same age as her daughter Grace. Rosie is also deeply drawn to Kate and her horses.

Rosie is a shy girl, quieter than Grace and share a love of horses with Kate. A feeling of foreboding hits Kate, a fear, a raw panic engulfs her and she is terrified, and she senses Rosie’s voice screaming her name. Rosie was murdered. Her body was discovered in the woods. Evidence of struggle, suffering several blows to her head, before being stabbed viciously a number of times. She was found in the same clearing where Kate fell off horse Zappa and she did not see her.

Everyone begins to speculate the reasons behind her murder. An unnamed boyfriend, the mother, perhaps the father with many faces, the charming one, or friends? A stranger? Are they all suspects? Behind the façade of constrained smiles and familiar exchanges there is a shift in the village. They could have a murderer in their midst.

A secret boyfriend, Alex, a younger sister, Delphine, Jo, the mother, Neal, the father, Emma or Grace, friends, Kate, perhaps? “Lies are like dough, or malignant tumors. They get bigger.“ Kate becomes almost obsessive about finding the murderer and the Anderson family. While she desires to comfort her friend, Jo, her husband, Angus is not thrilled with her involvement.

My favorite parts were those from Rosie; her words are haunting, yet magical, leading to the explosive finale; the story behind the story. The part of the story no one knows. Hate, lies, toxic behavior, and the truth.

Written in an almost lyrical prose, clever and scary, in the theme of Lovely Bones and Reconstructing Amelia, a haunting debut for lovers of psycho-thrillers and Gone Girl. British author Howells is an author to follow!