Today I’m joining the blog tour for The Bone Mother. My review is written with thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me on the blog tour and to Orenda Books for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

Rituals
Secrets
A killer who will protect them at any cost…

Martha Strangeways has settled into a quiet life in Strathbran, after the horrific events that traumatised the village a year earlier. But all this is turned upside down when her friend at Glasgow CID, DI Derek Summers, calls on her to help with a disturbing case: a human ear, with an unusual Celtic earring, has been found next to a railway line in the Highlands.

And when the body of a young woman wearing matching jewellery turns up at a landmark church shortly after, the mystery deepens. Why has she been laid out in a ritualistic fashion? Does her trek along the little-known Cailleach Way have anything to do with her death? And who is running the Facebook Group where she posted details of her journey to the shrine of the Bone Mother goddess?

As Martha tries to unpick the threads, she finds herself entwined with a ghost from her own past, and in conflict with the owner of a project that threatens to destroy the goddess’s sacred land.

With Halloween approaching, and someone determined to protect the goddess at all costs, can Martha and Summers catch the killer before they strike again – and this time much closer to home…?

Review:

I loved Crow Moon, so I was delighted when I discovered there would be a sequel. It was great to be back with Martha Strangeways and follow her on a second investigation. She’s a fabulous character who is intelligent and determined, and doesn’t follow instructions, which means she is often caught up in dangerous situations. She has been through tragedy and has an interesting back story, which is developed slightly further in The Bone Mother. Her story makes me root for her as the investigation progresses. 

Suzy Aspley is an incredible writer and I love the atmosphere she creates in The Bone Mother. It’s so dark and foreboding and I love the undercurrent that runs through the novel, particularly towards the beginning as Suzy Aspley sets the scene. 

The Bone Mother is intricately and finely plotted. It does take some time for the author to lay the ground work for all the different connections in the novel, so the beginning is quite slow burning. However, I loved how everything came together and there was so much that I hadn’t been able to guess! The ending was very fast paced and the sense of danger meant I couldn’t turn pages fast enough as I wanted all the answers. 

I hope this series is set to continue very soon! 

The Bone Mother is available from Amazon .

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: