Little Bones (Gibney)-BoT-Crime Thriller -Available Now

Lottie Parker is back for her tenth (wow!) crime investigation. At this point, faithful readers know what to expect from one of her investigations, and it’s safe to say that you’ll get what you expect.

But, as always, this can be read as a standalone also, because the author does a great job of giving enough information for a new reader not to be lost while keeping old readers “in the loop.”

That being said (again, as always), if you know the history from the past books, you’ll understand the relationships and have a better grasp of the characters’ motivations. You don’t need them, but they greatly enhance the story.

Lottie’s investigations walk the line between being just this side of “ripped from the headlines.” I don’t mean that in terms of you could find these stories in the news. I just mean that they’re realistic and intricate, just like a real-life investigation would be.

The team works together efficiently, although I didn’t feel like Lottie was as strong as she has been in the past few books.

I’m chalking that up to personal reasons because there are big things going on in her life in this book. Both she and Boyd have been through the wringer lately and just when you think things might even out for them…well, you’ll have to read it to know what happens.

As I mentioned, the case itself is good. I will say that it involves kids and abuse – so if those are triggers for anyone, be warned. But any good crime thriller needs to have absolute villains…it doesn’t get viler than that.

There were a few times this felt formulaic, but I think it was more that I was familiar with the characters and had expectations that were met rather than the author being boring and calling it in. The latter was not the case at all.

With any series that reaches a certain point, there are going to be times that a consistent reader will feel like they’ve seen it before. To me, it just means that the author is doing their job.

Standalone or series fan, this entry can appeal to anyone. And with Lottie’s personal cliffhanger, I look forward to seeing where it all goes in the future.

About the author

Patricia is the million-copy bestselling author of the DI Lottie Parker series. She yearned to be a writer after reading Enid Blyton and Carolyn Keene and even wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. She has now grown up (she thinks) but the closest she’s come to Nancy Drew is writing crime!

In 2009, after her husband died, she retired from her job and started writing seriously. Fascinated by people and their quirky characteristics, she always carries a notebook to scribble down observations.

Patricia also loves to paint in watercolour and lives in the Irish midlands with her children.