The Bones Remember is a mystery that made me want to go to the scene of the crime. It begins with Alexa Glock traveling to an island off New Zealand to identify a cadaver that had recently been found by hikers, though everyone expected it to be a missing man who disappeared a year earlier. While she was there, another person needed to be identified after a frenzied shark attack. Alexa specializes in forensic odontology so this is all right up her alley. Surprisingly, both people were murdered.

So, two murders in a small village isolated from the rest of New Zealand. They must be related, right? Alexa would not be the lead character in a mystery series if she were content to stay in the lab looking at teeth. Nothing stops her from following her nose, even when it puts her in jeopardy. One of the most harrowing instances of lead character jeopardy ever is in this book. I won’t spoil it, but it was hair-raising.

The Bones Remember is a good, fair mystery. I liked Alexa and felt real anxiety when she was in jeopardy. I admire her quick-witted competency but was disappointed that her specialty, odontology, played such a minor role in solving the case. When someone is a forensic scientist, I want there to be some forensics needed in solving the case. I think Sara E. Johnson did a spectacular job of creating a sense of place. She did so well I want to go to Stewart Island now. I also want to read Molden Mud Murder (What a title!) which is the first in the series.

I received an e-galley of The Bones Remember from the publisher through NetGalley.

https://tonstantweaderreviews.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/the-bones-remember-by-sara-e-johnson/