Search This Blog
2025 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2025 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)
2025 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona (2)
- Arkansas
- California (6)
- Colorado (3)
- Connecticut
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (3)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana
- Maine (3)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (1)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (7)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (1)
- Oklahoma (2)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (1)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (3)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming (1)
- Washington, D.C.* (1)
International:
- Australia (3)
- Canada (3)
- England (14)
- France (2)
- Italy (1)
- Japan (1)
- Norway (1)
- Puerto Rico (1)
- Scotland (1)
2025 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
2025 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge
Booklist Queen's 2025 Reading Challenge
2025 52 Club Reading Challenge
2025 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
2025 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge
2025 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge
2025 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge
2025 Mount TBR Reading Challenge
2025 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge
2025 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge
The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge
The Life Skills Reading Challenge
Thursday, August 09, 2018
New Bell Elkins Mystery Hits Me Right in the Feels
5:26 PM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
Note: While this review will not contain spoilers for Bone on Bone, it may inadvertently reveal plot surprises from previous Bell Elkins mysteries. As always, I recommend reading books in a series in order.
After insisting on serving a jail sentence for killing her abusive father, Belfa "Bell" Elkins has paid her debt to society but lost her job. Although she's been fired and disbarred, Bell retains her loyalty to her "small, poor, done-in county" (34). When a local banker is murdered, she can't help looking into the case. With Rhonda Lovejoy—Bell's long-time friend and successor—and Jake Oakes—a former deputy sheriff who's reluctantly adjusting to life as a paraplegic—by her side, she's determined to figure out who killed Brett Topping. As the usual suspects fall by the wayside, however, Bell will have to look uncomfortably close to home to find the murderer.
While Bone On Bone (available August 21, 2018), the seventh installment in the Bell Elkins series by Julia Keller, isn't as unique as some of its predecessors, it's still a poignant, compelling novel full of everything I love about this series. Keller excels at bringing Acker's Gap, a worn-out Appalachian town, to life in all its problems and pleasures. While some of the Bell Elkins books rely more heavily on plot, Bone On Bone is definitely about the characters. I always love our understated hero and it was fun to get to know her and her compadres even deeper. Although the killer becomes fairly obvious in this one, the book's finale still caught me by surprise—and hit me right in the feels. Now, I really can't wait to see where this series goes next!
(Readalikes: Other books in the Bell Elkins series, including A Killing in the Hills; Bitter River; Summer of the Dead; A Haunting of the Bones [novella]; The Devil's Stepdaughter [novella]; Ghost Roll [novella]; Last Ragged Breath; Evening Street [novella]; Sorrow Road; and Fast Falls the Night)
Grade:
If this were a movie, it would be rated:
for language, violence, depictions of illegal drug use, and disturbing subject matter
To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Bone On Bone from the generous folks at Minotaur (a division of St. Martin's Press/Macmillan). Thank you!
6 comments:
Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.
P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Rabbit Rabbit by Dori Hillestad Butler and Sunshine Bacon
Listening
The Morning House by Maureen Johnson
Followin' with Bloglovin'
Followin' with Feedly
-
The Unraveling of Julia by Lisa Scottoline20 minutes ago
-
C Is for Courting (Amish ABCs)3 hours ago
-
-
-
Keeping the Countess by Lille Moore9 hours ago
-
-
Top 5 Tuesday ~ Times of Day11 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
Top Ten Tuesday...14 hours ago
-
A Royal Family Found in Book Titles14 hours ago
-
-
TTT – Its An Honor-ific17 hours ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Week in Review #283 days ago
-
-
Clean teen books for Summer2 weeks ago
-
Books read in June2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
No Roundup this month2 months ago
-
-
Sunday Post #5682 months ago
-
-
February 2025 Reading Wrap Up4 months ago
-
One Big Happy Family by Susan Mallery4 months ago
-
-
-
I'm Still Reading - This Was My October7 months ago
-
Review: The Duke and I10 months ago
-
Girl Plus Books: On Hiatus11 months ago
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?1 year ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?2 years ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Design by:
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
- ► 2019 (197)
- ▼ 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge
2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
2023 - Middle Grade Fiction
2022 - Middle Grade Fiction
2021 - Middle Grade Fiction
2020 - Middle Grade Fiction
I love that cover. Glad you enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteI need a yearlong reading sabbatical just so I can read all these good series you keep reviewing. :)
ReplyDeleteI read a couple in this series and have this one from NG, but I think I have the previous one also unread, so I only lightly skimmed through your review. I do find that many of the times I agree with you on book selections. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI am so, so, so looking forward to reading this one very soon. I love this series and I'm ready for 'all the feels'. Nice tease here - and I'll add my recommendation for the series. It's a good one indeed!
ReplyDeleteI love that phrase, "hit me right in the feels." What a great way to say it. I also like reading a mystery or detective series that has lots of books so we really get to know the main characters as more and more is revealed.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good series. Also great when a book can still surprise you when you know who the killer is !
ReplyDelete