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Blood and Bone
Trouble finds rookie coroner Kate Grayson, both on the job and off. Her first important death investigation centers around the puzzling case of a woman found mutilated on a beach. In a case marked by contradictions and confusion, it is up to Kate to uncover the truth. But when she tries to unravel the clues, she learns that things are even more complicated than they first appear. But even that pales when compared to the dilemma she faces when she comes to the aid of a friend. Maggie’s husband has disappeared under disturbing and mysterious circumstances and Kate suddenly finds herself caught in the middle of another troubling investigation. One that sweeps her up in a storm of deceit and betrayal and leaves her questioning everything she knows. The terrible secret she eventually uncovers shakes her to the core and threatens to destroy everyone involved.
292 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 15, 2015
3 people are currently reading
721 people want to read
About the author
Chris Bathory
2 books27 followersChris Bathory holds a Bachelor of Technology in Forensic Science from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and a diploma in Electronics Engineering Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. She currently lives in British Columbia with her husband and two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 23, 2015
I won a copy of this book in a GR Giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book. It's fun, interesting and the murders are perplexing. Also, I really enjoyed that the book took place in Vancouver and I recognized the sights, locations and buildings (most of them).
This mystery is light hearted, yet with substance and intrigue. The mysteries are in the forefront the whole time, while Kate Grayson brings fun and chuckles throughout. She also brings compassion for the victims and their families, reminding us of the impact that can circle out from crime scenes to friends and families.
If there were to be a sequel (or more....this book seems ripe for a character-driven series), I would look into the second novel. This was a fun, intriguing read.
If this is a stand-alone book, I'm glad I read it.
I really enjoyed this book. It's fun, interesting and the murders are perplexing. Also, I really enjoyed that the book took place in Vancouver and I recognized the sights, locations and buildings (most of them).
This mystery is light hearted, yet with substance and intrigue. The mysteries are in the forefront the whole time, while Kate Grayson brings fun and chuckles throughout. She also brings compassion for the victims and their families, reminding us of the impact that can circle out from crime scenes to friends and families.
If there were to be a sequel (or more....this book seems ripe for a character-driven series), I would look into the second novel. This was a fun, intriguing read.
If this is a stand-alone book, I'm glad I read it.
June 20, 2015
Chris Bathory combines a technical knowledge of forensics with a gift for storytelling.
This makes for a very readable and interesting novel.
This makes for a very readable and interesting novel.
August 31, 2015
Great read cover to cover. The author does an amazing job telling the story which made it very hard to put down. Will be looking out for more tiles from this author.
January 17, 2019
I received this book as a tip that it was free thanks to this email list that sends emails every day and so downloaded it on to my machine. With a name like blood and bone, I knew it had to be a great mystery and I wasn't disappointed.
I am a HUGE fan of mysteries told from the perspective of someone in the coroner's department. The Tempe Brennan series has done this and I read a book like that and loved it. I also loved this book.
It was a little rough to start. The burned out nurse now solving mysteries trope got my eye fluttering that it was going to be another vapid cozy mystery, and then Mora's Lululemon yoga pants and Lululemon tank top were mentioned by label-specific dropped name along with cocktails and the flutter turned in to more of a twitch and I almost put the book down. BUT THEN I became incredibly glad that I didn't because we abandoned the whole materialistic boozy bimbos attitude and delved right in to the place where the protagonists were actually going to be smart and focus with methodical precision on the case in front of them and deploy the actual forensic skills that the author clearly did a good job of learning.
Kate has two cases: a woman who may or may not have committed suicide and a missing husband of a friend. The former case plays out without much involvement from her but, I'll be honest, I was nonetheless happy to learn the resolution of. The latter case is where she sticks her nose in, hard, and it unravels in a way that is absolutely worthy of your eyeballs.
This book is not polished in its editing and while I cannot tell you what the errors were and they did not pull me from the flow of the narrative, I did note a small amount (think: two) copyediting errors that snuck in insidiously. For a free Kindle book, that's practically winning the lottery. Definitely not the thing that cost the star.
The thing that cost the star was the author's tendency to over-foreshadow. "Well done Chris," I thought as I picked up on some excellent foreshadowing concerning two young cousins and their summer together, but then the very next line said, "Which was the key to the mystery as I would later discover." Nooooooooo. Don't do that. Do not do that. Take that line out. Just leave it be. Let its prominence come out naturally on its own. SHOW; DON'T TELL. And this happened more than once. You have to trust your audience, Ms. Bathory.
I am a HUGE fan of mysteries told from the perspective of someone in the coroner's department. The Tempe Brennan series has done this and I read a book like that and loved it. I also loved this book.
It was a little rough to start. The burned out nurse now solving mysteries trope got my eye fluttering that it was going to be another vapid cozy mystery, and then Mora's Lululemon yoga pants and Lululemon tank top were mentioned by label-specific dropped name along with cocktails and the flutter turned in to more of a twitch and I almost put the book down. BUT THEN I became incredibly glad that I didn't because we abandoned the whole materialistic boozy bimbos attitude and delved right in to the place where the protagonists were actually going to be smart and focus with methodical precision on the case in front of them and deploy the actual forensic skills that the author clearly did a good job of learning.
Kate has two cases: a woman who may or may not have committed suicide and a missing husband of a friend. The former case plays out without much involvement from her but, I'll be honest, I was nonetheless happy to learn the resolution of. The latter case is where she sticks her nose in, hard, and it unravels in a way that is absolutely worthy of your eyeballs.
This book is not polished in its editing and while I cannot tell you what the errors were and they did not pull me from the flow of the narrative, I did note a small amount (think: two) copyediting errors that snuck in insidiously. For a free Kindle book, that's practically winning the lottery. Definitely not the thing that cost the star.
The thing that cost the star was the author's tendency to over-foreshadow. "Well done Chris," I thought as I picked up on some excellent foreshadowing concerning two young cousins and their summer together, but then the very next line said, "Which was the key to the mystery as I would later discover." Nooooooooo. Don't do that. Do not do that. Take that line out. Just leave it be. Let its prominence come out naturally on its own. SHOW; DON'T TELL. And this happened more than once. You have to trust your audience, Ms. Bathory.
September 13, 2016
Easy to read, well written, the author brought me into the book! I could imagine everything I was reading! The plot was well built and very interesting. I will be looking for Chris Bathory's next book for sure!!
April 5, 2015
Excellent read! Hard to put down so be sure to make time to read this book. Looking forward to another of Chris Bathory's exciting novels.
September 4, 2015
So... this was interesting.
I'm not really sure whether I liked it or not. I received this for free from the Goodreads Giveaway section (my new favorite pastime!), so I gave it a chance and powered through it all. I must say, if this is a finished copy... then holy cow there are a lot of grammatical errors! I truly hope this is an advanced copy, because this was rife with fragmented sentences, incorrect word usage, misuse of punctuation, and more. That's probably what bugged me the most about this novel. There's also a very disjointed feel to the story itself, as well as a weird chapter break-up, like the author decided that forty chapters weren't enough and made it into seventy plus a page and a half epilogue.
Now, here's where I'm torn. The plot was good. There was a good premise to it: a coroner gets caught up in a murder mystery that hits too close to home, and her curiosity gets the better of her. I can relate to that, and throughout the book I wanted to know where this was heading. There was enough motivation for me to make it to the end just by the actions in the story. I will admit there were a lot of moments of down time, such as Kate going home and watching her cat, or the beginnings of something interesting, but then Kate just goes home and takes a nap or something.
Overall, it was okay. The intrigue and plot was balanced out by the grammar errors, lack of flow, and unnecessary breaks. I'd say try again, and make sure to have a few more edits next time around to smooth out the kinks.
I'm not really sure whether I liked it or not. I received this for free from the Goodreads Giveaway section (my new favorite pastime!), so I gave it a chance and powered through it all. I must say, if this is a finished copy... then holy cow there are a lot of grammatical errors! I truly hope this is an advanced copy, because this was rife with fragmented sentences, incorrect word usage, misuse of punctuation, and more. That's probably what bugged me the most about this novel. There's also a very disjointed feel to the story itself, as well as a weird chapter break-up, like the author decided that forty chapters weren't enough and made it into seventy plus a page and a half epilogue.
Now, here's where I'm torn. The plot was good. There was a good premise to it: a coroner gets caught up in a murder mystery that hits too close to home, and her curiosity gets the better of her. I can relate to that, and throughout the book I wanted to know where this was heading. There was enough motivation for me to make it to the end just by the actions in the story. I will admit there were a lot of moments of down time, such as Kate going home and watching her cat, or the beginnings of something interesting, but then Kate just goes home and takes a nap or something.
Overall, it was okay. The intrigue and plot was balanced out by the grammar errors, lack of flow, and unnecessary breaks. I'd say try again, and make sure to have a few more edits next time around to smooth out the kinks.
February 11, 2016
Loved this book! The author has a sound knowledge of forensics and to keep things light, there was a good plot with great twists, and some great laugh-out-loud moments too. I also love that the main character is a strong but "human" character--one who I can identify with--it makes it more personal. I am looking forward to the next book!
February 11, 2016
If you like Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone books, or Kathy Reich's Tempe Brennan novels, you will like this one. It's like a combination of the two. Fun, and interesting at the same time. Love the Harley character!
April 21, 2016
What a great read. I enjoyed it from cover to cover. I thought the characters were very relatable, not to mention the setting is my backyard. I really recommend this book.
I am very excited to see what this author has in store for us next.
I am very excited to see what this author has in store for us next.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews