Her Lonely Bones, book six in the Detective Madison Harper series, delivered a hard hitting and fast-paced police procedural. Despite it being the sixth book in the series, it works well as a standalone. However, reading this instalment left me wanting to read the previous books.
The house is deathly silent as the summer sun starts to creep in through the dusty windows. The children should be waking up, the parents should be cooking breakfast. But they all lay still, their heads on their pillows, lifeless eyes staring at nothing, their bodies waiting to be discovered … I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links you can use to purchase the book. If you buy the book using that link, I will receive a small commission from the sale.
Title: Her Lonely Bones
Author(s): Wendy Dranfield
Series: Detective Madison Harper #6
Published by Bookouture on October 5, 2023
Pages: 417
Genre(s): Crime Fiction, Mystery
Source: Publisher
Format: eArc 
Purchase: Amazon|Audible
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When a couple and their young twin boys are discovered brutally murdered in their beds, everyone suspects this is a home invasion gone tragically wrong. But as Detective Madison Harper walks into the run-down house that is eerily empty, she isn’t so sure.
Talking to the neighbors, Madison soon discovers that the family only recently moved to the small town of Lost Creek, Colorado. No one has met them, and no one knows their names. With nothing to identify them in the house, or even to show that the house belonged to them, Madison is suddenly faced with not only having to find a cold-blooded killer, but needing to identify the victims too.
Then, Madison’s heart stops in her chest when she discovers a small yellow t-shirt in the back of the family’s vehicle that says Daddy’s Girl . The couple must have had a daughter as well as the twin boys, but where is she? Madison suspects she’s been abducted, and vows to find the missing little girl before it’s too late.
But as Madison makes a breakthrough in identifying the family, she discovers they had a secret that changes the whole course of the investigation. Madison knows with every second that passes the chances of finding the girl alive get smaller, but she’s prepared to risk everything to find her, even her own life…
An absolutely gripping and twist-packed read that will make your jaw drop! Perfect for fans of Lisa Regan, Melinda Leigh and Kendra Elliot.
Readers love Wendy
“ Wow!!!! … LOVE, LOVE, LOVED!!! … I was absolutely hooked… Make sure you clear your schedule because once you pick it up you are not going to want to put it down!!!!… My heart is still pounding .” Bookworm86 , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“ Absolutely amazing !… a rollercoaster of a read. I absolutely loved it… I didn’t want to put it down … addictive ” Between The Pages Book Blog , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“ OMG! … The BEST BOOK I have read this year! … Had me gripped, I stayed up all night reading.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“ Phenomenal and I could not put it down … Amazing … Took my breath away… I gasped out loud.” Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“ I was totally blown away … OMG! … I barely had the time to pick up my jaw from the floor and my mouth fell open once more.” B for Bookreview , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“ Wow wow wow … amazing … I was hooked from page one … so full of twists and turns and doesn’t slow down for a moment. I was kept guessing until the very end … fantastic ” @a_likely_storie , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Her Lonely Bones encompasses all the ingredients needed to make for a compelling story. Interesting and relatable characters, an intriguing and twisty plot, and a mystery that keeps the reader guessing.
The main characters, Madison and her love interest Nate, had hard hitting backstories. Wrongly accused and forced to serve time for crimes they did not commit. A situation which changed their lives and still has an impact even now.
The mystery featured in this instalment to a crime has connections which occurred fifteen (15) years ago. The story provides readers with flashbacks to the events which occurred 15 years ago. I suspected from the start that both cases were connected. Unravelling their connection revealed surprising and brilliant plot twists. The story pulled me and had me reading into the wee hours. For readers who have a weakness for dogs will be happy to know the story feature an adorable canine who plays a role in unravelling the mystery.
The story hidden in the pages of this book shows how the evil actions of one person can adversely affect the lives of many. This is one of those books that fans of the genre will want to add to their reading list.
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About Wendy Dranfield
Wendy is the bestselling author of the Detective Madison Harper crime series. She is a former coroner’s assistant turned crime writer who writes a mixture of standalone thrillers, crime series and short stories. Some of her books have been shortlisted for various writing competitions and awards, including the Mslexia novel writing competition and the International Thriller Writer Awards.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
