The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste

The Bone Keeper
By Luca Veste
Published by Simon & Schuster (8 March 2018)
I received an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

What if the figure that haunted your nightmares as child, the myth of the man in the woods, was real?

He'll slice your flesh. 

Your bones he'll keep.

Twenty years ago, four teenagers went exploring in the local woods, trying to find to the supposed home of The Bone Keeper. Only three returned. 

Now, a woman is found wandering the streets of Liverpool, horrifically injured, claiming to have fled the Bone Keeper.  Investigating officer DC Louise Henderson must convince sceptical colleagues that this urban myth might be flesh and blood.  But when a body is unearthed in the woodland the woman has fled from, the case takes on a much darker tone. 

The disappeared have been found. And their killer is watching every move the police make.

My verdict
It's been a long time since I read a Luca Veste book (well before my reviewing days) and I really do need to catch up on his Murphy and Rossi series. So I was excited to learn that he had a new standalone - The Bone Keeper. 

The Bone Keeper is the perfect blend of horror and crime thriller - two genres that I love. It begins with a chilling prologue - four teenagers exploring the woods, with only three of them returning. This then leads into the present day, when a traumatised, injured woman is found wandering the streets of Liverpool. Once DC Louise Henderson takes on the case, exploring several disappearances over the years, the pile of bodies begins to stack up. The Bone Keeper is a local urban myth, but could this mysterious 'being' actually be real or is there a serial killer on the loose?

The Bone Keeper is gruesome in some places, creepy in others and overall a fantastic unsettling read. Its unpredictability kept me on my toes, with plenty of surprises in store, and an amazing sense of place leapt from the pages, providing the chilling atmospheric setting. DC Henderson is a mysterious character, and I would love to see more of her in the future, so hope this is the start of a series.

This is definitely a book where it's hard to write a review without giving anything away, as the revelations kept on coming. So all I can say is that if you too love a dark, twisty mixture of horror and crime, pick up The Bone Keeper!