The Bones of You

May 25, 2015
In British author Howells’s suspenseful and poignant debut, horse-loving 18-year-old Rosie Anderson goes missing and a few days later is found stabbed to death in the woods, much to the shock of the residents of her well-to-do Sussex community. People want to believe that Rosie’s killer was a stranger, someone who committed a crime of opportunity. Kate McKay, a horse-loving neighbor who has a daughter Rosie’s age, attempts to comfort Rosie’s bereft mother, Jo. Also devastated are Jo’s husband, Neal, who’s a famous journalist, and their younger daughter, Delphine. The how and the why of Rosie’s murder slowly unfolds across the dual narratives of Rosie, who, in death, looks over a family life that was far from perfect, and Kate, who’s battling her own demons. Savvy mystery fans will identify the culprit before the big reveal, but the increasingly tense storytelling and astute observations on mother-daughter relationships will keep readers turning the pages. Agent: Juliet Mushens, Agency Group (U.K.).

June 1, 2015

Kate, a likable mother in a quaint English village, learns that 18-year-old Rosie Anderson--seemingly straitlaced, well behaved, and from a good family--is missing. Fond of Rosie, who's the same age as her own daughter, Kate is overwhelmed almost immediately by a sense of foreboding. No one else seems as concerned until Rosie is discovered fatally beaten and stabbed. Kate becomes preoccupied with the murder and gets caught up in the complicated dynamics of Rosie's family, in which nothing is as it seems. VERDICT This second novel by the author of Wildflowers 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. Still, the complex tragedy behind her death is in stark contrast to Sebold's Susie. Kimberly McCreight's Reconstructing Amelia is a more apt comparison.--Erin Entrada Kelly, Philadelphia

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