Even better than #1 in the series. I enjoyed “visiting” Stewart Island, which I had never heard of before.

This was an interesting read set in NZ (Stewart Island to be specific). I thought the crime parts of the story were good, but the main character was annoying. Overall, it was enjoyable but felt a bit flat.

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press & NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

Alright, first things first, that cover is awesome and that’s what made me get it in the first place, also the title, how promising does that sound?!

Okay, onto the good parts now. I learned quite a bit from this book. Tbh, I didn’t know New Zealand was such an exotic country, with so much wildlife conserved and protected like that, all the descriptions made me want to google some of the rare birds mentioned in this book. And the whole part about Shark cage diving was really interesting, possibly the best part in this whole book, I picked up a few facts about it all, and also the whale beaching. Cool!

The not so good part is, it is way too much detailed, like, seriously, I don’t want to know what objects did the characters pick out of their pockets, in what order, and in how many seconds and how their wrists moved, and which angle the eyes rolled and what thought accompanied them while they were at it! I might have exaggerated it a bit there, but really, I love details, but that was a bit too much at every turn and kinda threw me off of the real story. Also, a nitpick here, but the main character “jumped” at every opportune moment every so often, and I got bored, good thing she had brains, and asked all the right questions too! Another nitpick is, I kinda found the title a bit misleading, I think it was more about the flesh than the bones in this one!
But it’s really good if you’re looking for a gripping and well-detailed read, like a 3hr movie going on in your head.

Many thanks to the NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Bones Remember by Sara E. Johnson is the second book in her Alexa Glock series. However, if you have not read her first book, Molten Mud Murder, you may find yourself a bit thrown into the world of Alexa Glock. In this way, The Bones Remember doesn't act as a standalone story as other crime novels can despite being part of a series. Regardless, the casual genre reader will find plenty within to keep them entertained.

Alexa Glock, a forensic investigator, travels to a remote pocket of New Zealand to investigate the death of a hunter. When the evidence reveals that there is more to the case than meets the eye, Alexa finds herself caught up in local politics that could wreck the local ecology and tourism which keeps the community afloat.

Johnson clearly did an immense amount of research for this book to establish authenticity and verism. Yet, I found the work bogged down by the technical forensic jargon that was not always explained. Another clunky bit was the irregular reminders that Alexa was in New Zealand and had phonetic hangups when conversing with the locals. This came forward in odd moments like "beast practices" vs. "best practices", etc...It seemed unnecessary and instead of establishing more atmosphere for the story, these minor distractions added up and took me out of it.

Johnson clearly has an eye for detail and an ability to conjure interesting crime stories, but I do not think she has mastered the ability to be objective about which details she chooses to include and why. I would like to see more from her when she has more throughly cut her teeth.

• The Bones Remember at Poisoned Pen Press
• Sara E. Johnson author site