Reading Write Now: The Bone Room by Shane Scollins with Giveaway

Synopsis

Roman Stone is a cop who has spent the last few years of his life trying to rebuild the career he nearly destroyed.

He gets called to Alexandria Bay, NY to help the small town police force find a popular missing teenager. While investigating the case, random human bones start washing up on the shores of the St. Lawrence River and two major cases collide.

Looking for help on the case, Roman asks local historian Becca Quinn to show him around one of the local castles in the area. Becca works for the Thousand Island Preservation Society and spends her days working to restore some of the old abandoned mansions in the area for a new tourism initiative.

But what they find is more than anyone expects…

Something strange is lurking under the surface of the murky waters of the river.

Review

First let me say this story is not the most common genre I review. It is a mystery/thriller and took me back to a time when psychological thrillers were all that I read. I enjoyed taking that moment back in time, and not worrying how hot the guy was, or when the sex would explode.. instead I was wondering what would happen next and will they catch the bad guy.

Roman Stone (Rome) is a cop whose past caused him to have some action taken that ended his normal policing career – luckily he was good at his job, and was essentially able to be a consultant. Rome is called in to a small town to help solve the kidnapping of a young lady, whose parents are significant members of the town community.

While on the case Rome calls in his old partner, to assist with the investigation. Primarily because at each turn another mystery unravels – missing girls, washed up bones, strange elements at each scene. Rome also seeks help from Becca, a local historian. It is once Becca comes on board that the action starts to pick up.

So ultimately, I enjoyed this book. I thought Rome was an engaging character, if not a little closed. His backstory certainly filled in some blanks the reader might have about him, but I guess there could have been a little more. I read this story thinking I should have known more about Rome and what makes him tick – almost wondering if there was another story when Rome was a featured character. Rome is good at his job, in the early stages, his easy ability to stumble across the evidence at every turn annoyed me. I questioned how anyone intuition was that bang on the money every time. The author managed to make Rome seem more human as the story progress with his judgement leading to a number of situations that had less than perfect endings.

Becca is a likeable character, she becomes actively involved in Rome’s investigation and seems to take it in her stride, yet she shows a lot of vulnerability. Her back story and relationship dynamics were slightly odd, but on the whole they worked for her, and this story.

The drama was action packed, and intense, but was a little left of centre, a little bit out there! The intrigued for me was not necessarily how the crimes would be solved, and who the perpetrator was, but more about how the perpetrator was linked to all the characters, and what the connections would reveal. I also felt the plot dragged on a bit too long, so I started to lose interest in the unfolding story, and there were some definite red herrings thrown in too. The author can be commended on the intricacies of this story, the relationship dynamics and the rationale provided for the actions taken, but it was still not perfect for me.

Oh and we can’t forget there was a bit of sexual tension which helped keep you guessing, I mean – will they or won’t they?

I am going to rate this story 3 ½ hearts – it was a good story, there is no question about its delivery either, but it did not quite cut if for me. I did not feel the adrenaline rush of a great mystery, the story behind the bad guys was a bit over the top and lost me at some points, there were a few errors throughout the book – not many, but enough for me to notice (and gripe about).

If you are looking for a story that is complex, but easily read, and is not filled with sex, sex and sex, oh and of course you like a mystery/thriller – then give this book a try – you may find you really enjoy it!

3 1/2 hearts!

About the Author

Shane Scollins is a freelance writer and Amazon best selling author. Originally from New Jersey, he now resides in Upstate New York with his wife, Heather. He has a degree in computer science and has worked as an automotive service manager, a website developer and a computer network engineer. In his spare time he enjoys playing ice hockey, riding his mountain bike, and strumming on his guitar. Primarily a SciFi and paranormal novelist, Shane enjoys taking readers on surprising and unexpected journeys that twist reality. He is currently working on his next book