It is hard to let go of this complex and thrilling book.

Ilsa Joubert is an unreliable first person narrator, a woman steeped in tragedy, looking, always looking for what she cannot have. Ilsa takes a job as nanny to a troubled child, Amy, a girl with nightmares and subject to violent outbursts. Meanwhile, bits and pieces of Ilsa's troubled background are gleaned while Ilsa investigates the disappearance of Amy's favorite aunt, Clare.

A cold blooded murderess keeps tabs on Ilsa, but Ilsa is not so innocent herself. The interweaving of Ilsa's storyline in South Africa with the mysterious deaths surrounding Amy's family keeps the reader on his toes. Can Ilsa's narration be believed? Or is she hiding things from us? What excuses does she give herself for the unsavory tidbits she occasionally lets us in on?

Couple with the author's poetic descriptions of both the Karoo in South Africa and the typical English country manor, Deep as Bone is a haunting and fascinating tale of deep seated emotional dysfunction that spirals into a climatic and tragic ending.