Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

In the shadow of New Zealand's rugged cliffs, where gannets soar and secrets lie buried, "The Bone Riddle" unfolds—a tantalizing blend of science, suspense, and a dash of romance.

Forensic odontologist Alexa Glock is no stranger to unraveling mysteries hidden within the enamel and roots of teeth. But when she's summoned to Cape Kidnappers, a place where the ocean crashes against ancient rock formations, she encounters more than just a lifeless body. Beneath the sun-kissed skies, a corpse with an enigmatic secret awaits her—a secret that defies decay and challenges her expertise.

Thank you to Netgally, the publishers, and Sara E. Johnson

When I requested this book I was unaware that it was apart of a series, one that requires you to read the previous books for this one to make sense. I am unable to read all the previous books along with this one before the publish date. Therefore, I will rate this a fair 3/5 stars and will adjust the rating and review when I am able to read all the books in the series along with this one.

Alexa Glock is called in to help assess a scene at a bunker located at Cape Kidnappers. The bunker is owned by an American billionaire, Harlan Quinn, and is next to a high end resort/golf club and a huge gannet colony.

There is some confusion as to the identity of the dead man, particularly as Quinn’s wife and admin tell local police the man is in Germany for business. Also, his wife refuses to send dental records for her husband over to New Zealand.

Alexa contacts Quinn’s local dentist in the closest town to the Cape for records, and conclusively identifies the dead man as the billionaire.

This is just the start to a confusing case, which is determined eventually to be a murder, based on another clue found in one of the Quinn’s teeth. Pretty soon, mistresses, a LOT of guns, and a biker gang all figure in the case.

Alexa’s private life is intruding during the case in that DI Bruce Horne wants to take his and Alexa’s relationship to the next level. This has her off balance, and then she receives news that has her questioning Bruce, her lack of friendships and a longterm romantic partner. We’re left wondering what’s next both professionally and personally for Alexa once the case is solved.

There was plenty of action, peril and suspense in this fourth Alexa Glock mystery. I was fascinated by the forensic techniques and the twistiness of the murder case.

I was a little alarmed by how quickly Alexa could turn on someone, and her lack of understanding of her own issues with making and maintaining relationships.

I enjoyed this entry, and would say it could be read as a standalone, though I enjoyed it more for having read the previous book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Poisoned Pen Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

New Zealand is a great setting for a police procedural, I am looking forward to more in this series. Pacing and plotting were spot on, character development was exceptional, and twists and turns were plentiful.

The Bone Riddle is a good book. It starts a little slow but just keep going to the more exciting part. This book end at a bit of a cliff hanger. There must be another in the works. I recommend this book.

A big thank you to NetGalley and Poisened Pen for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is my first time reading this author. This is the 4th in a series. It can be read as a stand alone but it could have used an introduction. Maybe reading the others would give you information on the main character. I didn't understand her creditionals. Her role was also a little confusing. I did enjoy the story and I love learning about New Zealand. I would read this author again. 3.5 stars

American forensic odontologist Alexa Glock is enjoying her work as a traveling examiner for Auckland’s Forensic Service Center. While identifying human remains is hardly the most cheerful of occupations, she finds great satisfaction in being able to bring peace to grieving families as well as in helping the police apprehend killers. Her growing relationship with Detective Inspector Bruce Horne is also a plus, as is her appreciation for the country where she’s now employed.

Whether fortunately or otherwise, she’s not the only American to become enamored of life in New Zealand. As she’s informed at a barbeque, many of her fellow citizens have descended on the remote nation in peak Ugly American fashion, to the discontent of the locals:

QUOTE
[“]You know about Peter Thiel? He bought up Wanaka.”

“Who is Peter Thiel?” Alexa asked.

A dog barked from a couple gardens over.

“Mr. PayPal,” Aurora said. “New Zealand is the in place to bug out. Your LinkedIn CEO and a biggie at Google are here too. They call New Zealand ‘apocalypse insurance.’”

Alexa hadn’t realized she should be so concerned about the state of the States.

Patch guzzled his beer. “There’s this California-based company that built a three-hundred-person bunker north of Christchurch,” he said. “Their website is all about mass extinction and threat levels. Wish they’d build their bunkers in their own country.”
END QUOTE

Alexa’s latest case actually involves one of these bunkers. A caretaker has discovered a decomposing body in the secure bolt hole belonging to billionaire Harlan Quinn. Alexa is called in to determine both the identity of the dead man and the circumstances of his death. The bunker itself, as well as the estate, are opulently appointed with all the latest high-tech trimmings. So it seems incredibly odd that no one knows who the dead man is or how he got into the bunker in the first place.

Quinn’s family and closest staff back in California insist that he’s in Germany for a series of meetings. His wife Audrey is so adamant that he’s alive that she refuses to even release his dental records so that Alexa can rule out a match. But Alexa doesn’t need records to realize that the dead man didn’t come to his end by misadventure. As she examines his remains, she discovers that regardless of who he might actually turn out to be, he was definitely murdered.

The plot thickens as a stash of deadly, illegal weapons is discovered on the estate. With the body count rising and gang members beginning to terrorize our investigators, Alexa must race against time to stop a killer from getting away with an almost perfect murder.

Complicating matters further for Alexa is the fact that Bruce wants to take their relationship to the next level:

QUOTE
Bruce was spending this coming weekend in Rotorua with his daughters Denise and Sammie. Last night, while he was frying steaks, he suggested she come with him. She choked on her beer. Meeting Bruce’s daughters reminded her of meeting Rita, her stepmother. She’d been about the same age as Bruce’s youngest, thirteen. Alexa hadn’t spoken, smiled, or made eye contact with Rita. “Your daughters don’t want to meet me.”

“Sure they do,” he said. “Sammie loves <i>CSI</i>.”

“That show gets it all wrong,” she said.
END QUOTE

Alexa’s baggage makes it difficult for her to think clearly on the subject, so she flings herself into her work instead. She’s a good investigator, as The Bone Riddle’s meticulous attention to detail makes clear. Our protagonist loves nothing more than geeking out over the latest advances in her field. Between that, her utter lack of knowledge on anything she doesn’t care about and her often awkward responses to social cues, she’s a poster girl for high-functioning neurodiversity, an often under-represented trait in fictional heroines.

I also appreciated the accurate representation of how Americans are often viewed abroad, and how clueless Alexa is as to not only what’s going on in her own country but the international ramifications thereof. It’s easy, living in America, to center only our domestic news and to consign the rest of the world to an afterthought. News and opinions abroad take a much more balanced view of the issues that affect our planet. This novel serves as an excellent reminder that there's a much bigger, deeply interesting world outside of our own petty interests, and that we ought to act with thoughtfulness, empathy and good manners while exploring it.

This is the first book i read in this series and won't surely be the last as it kept me turning pages and guessing.
A solid mystery full of surprises, an interesting MC
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

In the latest Forensic Odontologist Alexa Glock mystery our protagonist is called in to identify a corpse found in a survivalist bunker. The bunker is on the estate of American billionaire Harlan Quinn. Quinn's wife says her husband is in Germany, but Alexa is able to identify the corpse as Harlan Quinn through dental records. It is determined that he was strangled and Alexa begins to investigate the murder with her boyfriend DI Bruce Horne. There are multiple suspects including his wife, his mistresses and the locals who are upset with Quinn's destruction of the land.

The author gives us well developed characters, an intriguing whodunit, some romance (between Alexa and DI Horne) and the beautiful New Zealand landscape. Although this is the fourth installment in the series, it can be read as a standalone. I would recommend reading the others in the series to get a sense of how Alexa became a "traveling Odontologist " and the previous adventures she has had. The entire series makes for a great read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an ARC. The review is my own.

Sara E. Johnson’s fourth book in the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries series, The Bone Riddle , blends state-of-the-art forensic technology, a beautiful setting, suspense and a mysterious death along with a bit of romance between Alexa and Detective Inspector Bruce Horn. It is set in Cape Kidnappers and nearby Hastings, New Zealand.

Overlooking a huge gannet (large seabird) nesting colony, American businessman Harlan Quinn has built a luxurious estate that includes an underground bunker. The cleaning staff find a body inside with facial decomposition making him unidentifiable. Both Quinn’s property manager and his wife say he is in Germany on business. If it’s not Quinn, who is it and how did they get into the locked bunker? Quinn’s wife won’t allow the police to check the house to see if there are signs that the billionaire was on site. Forensic odontologist Alexa Glock is called in from Auckland to identify the body via dental records. More discoveries lead to ramping up the investigation and bringing in additional back-up police help including Bruce.

The characterization is well done for the most part. Readers get a great feel for the several of the characters including Bruce as well as new Detective Inspector Mic Steele and several of her team. The one quibble I have with the characterization is how Alexa can automatically believe something she is told that affects her personal life without going to the source and seeking the truth. That bothered me for most of the last third of the book.

From the gannet colony to the dramatic coastal views to the bunker to the forensic technology, I was transported to New Zealand. The idea of a traveling forensic investigator was unique. The book has a good mix of suspense, action, and police investigation. It also did a great job of portraying how locals might feel about foreigners building mammoth estates and adversely affecting local wildlife.
Phenomenal world-building and diverse characterization blended with a well-written narrative making this a novel that I advanced through effortlessly. The storyline is compelling in this unsettling thriller that has some alarming moments. With twists and turns, the story builds momentum and suspense. Themes include death, family, gangs, technology, a bit of romance, and much more. The real-world issues added depth to the narrative.

Overall, this was a story that intrigued me. The author did a great job of building suspense throughout the story and weaving the threads together. I look forward to seeing what is next for Alexa. Readers of mysteries, crime thrillers, and police procedurals will likely enjoy this series. By reading the series in order, the character growth and the relationships that develop over time are better understood. However, this novel can be read as a stand-alone.

Poisoned Pen Press and Sara E. Johnson provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Publication date is currently set for June 13, 2023. This review was originally posted at Mystery and Suspense Magazine.

Alexa Glock is an American forensic odontology expert living in New Zealand. She is called in to investigate the case of an American billionaire found dead in his doomsday bunker. With no obvious cause of death and no one even aware that he was in the country, every small clue is important. This is the 4th installment in the series and as in previous books, there is a lot of interesting forensic detail and police procedure. There is also a good supporting cast of new and recurring characters and Alexa's fraught personal relationships add another layer of complications . However my favorite part of these books is all of the background information about the history, landscape, and culture of New Zealand and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

The Bone Riddle is the 4th book in the Alexa Glock forensics mysteries and while you don’t need to read the previous 3, it might help to get down the other characters (I did not do this).

Alexa Glock is a forensic odontologist - she looks at facial structure and teeth to solve crimes. She’s been tasked to solve the murder of an American billionaire who lives on a lavish estate with an apocalyptic bunker. Things go a bit sideways with another murder and theft and it’s suspenseful throughout.

The most interesting (and true!) bit was that this is set in New Zealand and there have been many billionaires from the US that have been buying lavish estates and installing bunkers because they see New Zealand as a safe space.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this eARC. The Bone Riddle comes out June 13.

American forensic odontologist Alexa thought she would only be in New Zealand for one case but she's building a life, including a romance with Bruce, a detective, In this latest installment of the series, she's called in when a body is found in a bunker at an estate owned by Harlan Quinn, an American billionaire. His wife says it's not him but Alexa's exam says it is. So who killed Harlan? And why? It's a well crafted mystery with good characters and I'm a fan of the New Zealand setting, That said, this likely will be best enjoyed by those who have read one of the earlier books, Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC, I'm looking forward to the next one.

***** Publishing June 13, 2023******

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ The Bone Riddle is the 4th in the series of the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries, but can easily be read as a stand alone.

Set in New Zealand, Alexa Glock is a forensic investigator whose speciality is odontology (teeth). She always gets herself in unexpected situations while investigating, which makes for a fun and entertaining read!

Alexa Glock is investigating a female skull found in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. As she was in the middle of this investigation, Alexa was informed she is needed to investigate another death, but this time it was in a bunker and thought to have been a wealthy CEO. Is it what it seems? What will be uncovered? Will Alexa be able to uncover the truth?

Sara Johnson does a great job of immersing the reader into her stories, so it feels like you are right there along with Alexa. This makes for a great page-turning mystery that keeps you guessing until the end! I loved all the facts about New Zealand and the forensic investigation! So fascinating! A perfect book to take on your next vacation!

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press, I was provided an ARC of The Bone Riddle by Sara E. Johnson via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Bone Riddle is the #4 book in the Alexa Glock Forensic Mysteries by author, Sara E Johnson. Even though it’s part of a series, you could read this standalone. I picked this one as I’d not seen a forensic crime novel set in New Zealand before and was eager to see what it held. This book reminded me a little of the Temperance Brennan series by Kathy Reich’s due to the forensic science elements. Our main character here, Alexa Glock (yes like the gun) is a forensic odontologist who job is to identify some remains based on dental records. I loved the NZ setting and found myself feeling quite at home while reading (I’m Australian). I enjoyed the cultural elements. I’ll probably go back at some stage and read the rest of the series from the beginning. I’d recommend picking this one up if you’re a fan of forensic science, police procedurals or romantic suspense.

I found the book to be an enjoyable read as I felt a connection to the protagonist. I found her character to be relatable and likable.

The crime that was central to the book was interesting and kept me engaged throughout the story. The author managed to balance the use of suspects, unknowns, and plot twists, adding complexity to the story.

The Bone Riddle is the fourth in the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries series and my first adventure with author Sara E. Johnson. Well, she has me sold! Set in New Zealand with its unique vocabulary and interesting residents, this novel fascinated me from the beginning to the end. Alexa Glock is an American forensics odontologist living and working in New Zealand. Her current case is baffling...a body has been discovered in a bunker but so badly decomposed it offers up few clues. Until his mouth is closely examined, that is. Maggots speak volumes in forensics, too. The corpse is thought to be that of American billionaire Harlan Quinn who owned a luxurious estate complete with bunker and it takes some doing to prove as many roadblocks stand in the way. But after the who and when there is also the why, how and what. Murder isn't the only storyline. Cue DI Bruce Horne and Alexa's relationship.

Science, forensics and the rich New Zealand atmosphere are my favourite aspects. The connection to gannet colonies grabbed me, too. I did not realize that the country is a haven for the wealthy who snap up land and bunkers. The only slight drawback for me is that Alexa seems unusually naive when it comes to knowledge about the country she has moved to. Perhaps it's because I am an expat and an avid researcher. Many will find her endearing!

If you are particularly drawn to procedurals in a dramatic setting with the main focus on science, this is your wheelhouse. I really sank my teeth into the odontology and entomology and learned a lot! Procedurals are not usually my cup of tea but this was a pleasant exception.

My sincere thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this fascinating novel.

A Body Unidentified..
The fourth entry into the Alexa Glock Forensics Mystery series and another case for the expert takes to her to an incredible estate and bird colony where a body lies unidentified. There will be much more to this particular case than meets the eye and Alexa is ever quick off the mark. With a melange of traditional mystery, romantic suspense and procedural this is another wholly engaging instalment in a very enjoyable series.

I really enjoyed The Bone Riddle. It isn't often I pick up a mystery, and when I do I feel like my mother. This time, I am glad that I did.
Johnson is a wonderful writer, I felt in-tune with the characters especially Alexa. I found her generally agreeable and the dynamics she held with other characters were intricately developed.
The crime that Glock takes to solving in this mystery is pretty interesting. The suspects, unknowns, and plot twists aren't overwhelming but are just enough to keep you engaged. The scene was well set, a large wealthy property in New Zealand by the water, surrounded by gannets. Both serene and creepy at once.
After The Bone Riddle, I find myself considering diving into some of Johnson's other books. If you enjoy mystery, don't neglect this upcoming release!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an advance copy of The Bone Riddle, the fourth novel to feature travelling forensic odontologist Alexa Glock, set in Kidnappers Bay on New Zealand’s North Island.

A body has been found in a luxury underground bunker on an estate owned by tech billionaire Harlan Quinn. The face is too decomposed to make a visual identification, so Alexa is asked to use her skills to identify him. The initial cause of death is thought to be natural causes until Alexa finds an anomaly in his dentition and it becomes clear that the unidentified man was murdered.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Bone Riddle, which is an old fashioned murder mystery with enough going on to keep the reader turning the pages. It is told from Alexa’s point of view, so the reader can get immersed in her investigation and try to beat her to the solution. I failed miserably, but, to be fair to my poor attempts at crime solving, the crucial information about motive was not revealed until the debrief.

The novel is easy to read with clear, concise prose and an interesting plot that holds the reader’s attention. There are strategic reveals, red herrings and a bit of personal turmoil, alongside the uncovering of related crimes and the menace of a gangland funeral and its attendees. It’s all go with plenty of forward momentum and puzzles.

Harlan Quinn is an American who has bought himself a slice of New Zealand with his riches. This allows the author to rant about the laws that allow this and the mindset of these incomers. It would appear that mega rich Americans see New Zealand as a safe haven in the case of an apocalypse or any kind of life threatening event to the planet. They are doomsday preppers on an opulent budget. Weird or what? Especially as it’s a real thing.

I have not read this series before and didn’t know what to expect. I was captivated by the strong characterisation and found Alexa very likeable. She has a few tics and I wondered if she is on the spectrum, given her poor social skills and love of scientific articles. Still, the reader gets to know her thoughts, worries and insecurities and her wavering romance with DI Bruce Horne.

The Bone Riddle is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.