This book has been on my Kindle for a while, I just never got to reading it. It is more of an urban myth than a police procedural but the fast pacing kept me engrossed. I failed to like the characters, especially DC Louise Henderson, there was just no empathy there. it's a bit of a dark read and a little far fetched, which left me a bit disappointed with the ending. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

This book had a meticulous plot and smart execution, but it left me feeling unsatisfied. The main characters, DC Louise Henderson and DC Shipley, led the murder investigations well, but I didn't connect with them; they felt a bit dull.

The story alternates between 'Then' and 'Now', with each chapter focusing on different characters. It wasn't a light read, and I had to stay focused to keep track of the plot and character connections, which sometimes got confusing.

Despite its cleverness, I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story due to the disconnect with the characters. It required more effort to stay engaged, and that took away from the overall enjoyment.

It might be a hit for those who enjoy intricately woven plots, but for me, it fell a bit short.

I can definitely see what so many people enjoyed about this book but it didn't come together for me. I was thrown from the outset because the prologue was strong but then it didn't maintain the pace. I also didn't feel like the FMC was overly convincing

The Bone keeper by Luca Veste.
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. 
A gripping and creepy read. Couldn't put it down. 5*.

I love the title and concept for this, but the actual story was a bit of a disappointment for me. It didn’t grab me, and I found the characters uninteresting and the prose too plain. Not a bad book - just not for me.

This a creepy thriller that I thought was fantastic. I had heard so much about this book and it certainly lived up to its expectations.

The Bone Keeper is Luca Veste's first standalone creepy thriller and is best read with the lights on and when you are not alone.

A creepy but brilliant book!

The switching between timelines and characters in the book does mean you have to pay attention when reading, but it's worth it.

A great book that has prompted me to read more from the series and author. Highly recommended and a 5 star read for me.

A crime novel that's difficult to categorise - part police procedural but with influences from horror and paranormal genres. Definitely creepy in places and very well written.

The plot line leads to a lot of exposition and character development suffers a little because of that, but the author is skilful in diverting attention from that problem.

It would be remiss to reveal much of the plot but if you can imagine Mystic River written as a paranormal thriller you would be on the right track.

Definitely worth reading.

The Bone Keeper’s coming. The Bone Keeper’s real. He doesn’t stop. He doesn’t feel. He’ll snatch you up And make you weep. He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.

What a chilling opening! A childhood dare gone wrong along with a sinister rhyme. This opening chapter definitely sets the level of creepiness for this tales. I’m one of those people who gets images in their head as they read and for me, there was a permanent dark cloud over Merseyside.

Now DC Louise Anderson, I didn’t know what to make of her to start with….she has some issues including anger management. But despite the mocking of those around her, she stuck to her guns and I do like that characteristic in my detectives!

The killings are so random and unconnected, I found it so difficult to settle on a suspect. But I think that is the beauty of this book; it kept me turning the pages to the end! And the ending!!! Oh lordy!!

Liverpool crime writer Luca Veste takes a step away from his really good DI Murphy and DS Rossi series with this creepy standalone, which melds local mythology and 'boogieman' stories with a dark and twisted contemporary police procedural. Murphy and Rossi may be offstage in this one, but many of the things I love about that series are present here too: smooth writing, twisted plotlines, a page-turning pace and narrative drive, and the way Veste paddles in the darker end of the crime pool without ever floundering into gratuitousness or drowning in eye-roll moments (as lesser authors do).

I'd heard about this book a long time ago, because I'd won a charity auction a couple of years back to name a character in one of Veste's future tales. You may recognise my surname in one of the supporting characters, though it's not me but instead my crime novel-loving father who I chose to honour with the reference. So keep an eye out for DCI Peter Sisterson. Consequently, I had a high degree of anticipation for THE BONE KEEPER, with the accompanying anxiety that it might fall short of my high expectations. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. It's a really good read.

DC Louise Henderson and DS Paul Shipley of the Merseyside Police turn up on the scene after a woman collapses on the street, badly beaten and sliced up. They assume it's the terrible aftermath of just another domestic assault, horrid and common, but the woman is babbling about escaping from the clutches of the Bone Keeper, a local urban legend immortalised in a creepy children's rhyme.

He’ll slice your flesh,
Your bones he’ll keep.
The Bone Keeper’s coming,
And he’ll make you weep.

Surely it's just the ravings of a badly abused woman. But what if it's not? Henderson and Slater have their doubts, but the urban legend snags at communal fears. As the police comb wooded areas of the city, they begin to wonder just what horrors they'll find. Man or myth? When a body is discovered and more murders occur, it's clear someone is using the Bone Keeper as a mask for their own purposes. Or has the urban legend been true all along?

Veste does a terrific job beckoning readers into the dank, tangled recesses of his city. He sets the scene brilliantly, with descriptions that goosebump your flesh and leave a sense of something menacing lurking just off-screen. At the same time there's a gritty authenticity to THE BONE KEEPER - it's crime that veers towards horror without ever feeling fantastical. Dark but realistic.

And that can be even scarier.

The characters in THE BONE KEEPER are fascinating. DC Louise Henderson keeps a lot of secrets, from her colleagues and readers, and this draws us in in some ways while also keeping her somewhat at arms length in others. She's a volatile loner with a troubled past, and not particularly likable. But she is interesting. Shipley is the straighter man to her unorthodox maverick, and there's an intriguing tension in their interplay and relationship, something that feels relatively fresh and atypical.

This is a clever, dark and twisted read that keeps you gripped from start to finish. If I was to use Hollywood tagline parlance, think Mark Billingham meets The Blair Witch Project.

Heard so much about this book and I was desperate to read it...omg it did not disappoint. Loved it so much I didn't want it to end!!

This is my first introduction to Luca Veste, a fellow scouser, and I have to say that I’ll be seeking out his previous titles. From the opening creepy rhyme to the explosive climax, this book is the very definition of page turner. The story tells of an urban legend make real and the hunt for a serial killer. Two Liverpool detectives take the lead on an attempted murder which the escalates to include a murder. As you turn each page, the bodies pile up and secrets are revealed in a skillfull way by a master storyteller. A highly recommended read.

The Bone Keeper is a creepy, at times downright scary, mysterious and original serial killer thriller.

“I didn’t think you could be that scared and still live, you know”

The story starts with an atmospheric, albeit terrifying, prologue, Before, then jumps to Now and continues to move back and forth throughout the book gradually piecing together what has occurred. Now is no less terrifying as a woman is found wandering a Liverpool street, having been hideously and gut-churningly tortured, and claiming that The Bone Keeper did it.

Most of the story follows Detective Constable Louise Henderson and her immediate superior Detective Sergeant Paul Shipley as they investigate, but soon it becomes clear that this is a much bigger and murkier case than either of them could have predicted.

The story plays out in an engaging way and is well-plotted, showing how the investigation moves forward and grows, getting closer and closer to a very unnerving and unpalatable truth. The book has a quick pace for the most part although, at times, it did feel a bit like we were going round in circles – there was some noticeable repetition – and the ending, after such a pacy and exciting story, felt a little drawn out and overlong.

There is a lot to enjoy here: it is creepy, some parts are particularly scary; it mostly moves along at a cracking pace; I really liked Louise and Paul; I enjoyed seeing how Before and Now came together; and there is a neat little surprise at the very end which will not help you sleep any better at night!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK Fiction for the ARC of The Bone Keeper.

Everyone grows up with their own bogeyman - that shadowy scary figure that haunts the darkness, instilling fear into your soul.. For me, growing up in the 60s and 70s my Bogeyman was Bible John, the Glasgow serial killer who terrorised women for a year and then disappeared off the face of the earth leaving behind a legacy of questions and fear.
In The Bonekeeper, Luca Veste has created a modern day Bogeyman that to my mind rivals the likes of Bible John. The dark, foul smelling abductor and killer who haunts the streets, woods and wastelands of Liverpool, striking fear into the heart of the city is a larger than life Urban myth ... or is he? Perhaps he's real!
When a young woman is discovered, flayed and delirious singing the catchy Bone Keeper song, DC Louise Henderson and DS Paul Shipley are assigned to the case.
Louise whose hazy secretive past appears to impact on her ability to form relationships, is drawn to the young woman and feels sure that she has more to tell than she is prepared to reveal ... But how does it relate to The Bone Keeper?
Determined to hold onto the case, even when it's spiraling right into the hands of the Major Incident team, after a mass grave is discovered, Shipley is sceptical of the existence of The Bone Keeper, but strange symbols and an increasing body count make it difficult to discount the theory.
Vesta, through flashbacks and skillful narrative grips you by the throat. This is not the sort of book to read in a remote location, in the dark, on your own - a well lit friendly cafe didn't stop me jumping when the waiter delivered my coffee to the table ... so be warned!
It was more than just the enigmatic, scary lurking idea of The Bone Keeper that kept me hooked. Louise's emotional journey added a human touch that juxtaposed the 'other worldly' monster. I really felt her pain and was fully on board as Veste took me on a journey to explore her past. Well written, edgy and damn scary!

3.5 stars rounded down.
It took me quite a while to really get into this book, probably because I struggled with the author's style of writing. It was really too disjointed for me and I found it quite to follow what was going on for quite a lot of the book as it flitted in time and pov. But, although I didn't get on with the way the book was written, the storyline and most of the characters were compelling enough for me to read through my discomfort and get to the end. Which I have to say I am mostly glad I did.
So we have a childhood bogeyman, stories of whom have been frightening the local children for many years. But fiction and fantasy turn swiftly into possible fact as a young woman is found wounded in the street chanting the verse that goes with said bogeymen; the really rather chilling Bone Keeper. Is he really just an urban myth or is he real and, if so, how does all this fit into the timeline of things? Copycat? Unconnected incidents? Or could it be something even more chilling?
Enter DC Louise Henderson to the investigation. A local girl who has grown up with tales of the Bone Keeper and who actually believes there is certain truth in the rumour. Like most cops in this genre of book, she has her own demons and things from her past she is trying to forget, ignore, run away from. She starts off as a bit of a cliche and, for me, by the time we learn the truth, it's not quite enough to turn me from my initial feelings towards her. Her partner in crime however, DS Paul Shipley, was much easier to take to. Again with connections to his own childhood and belief in the Bone Keeper, he is a tad more level headed and I guess provides the yin to Henderson's yang quite well.
The ending, although not at all unique to me (I did have an inkling from about half way through) was well done. Most of the narrative did end up pointing in the right direction and I was left on the whole, mostly satisfied. There were a few things that I didn't see coming though which did give me a few shocks along the way.
All in all, this was a pretty solid story that, for me anyway, just fell a little short in execution. Whilst this experience would not put me off reading more from this author, indeed he has a series that looks quite interesting to me, I would definitely make good use of the sample service and "try before I buy" so to speak.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The Bone Keeper is a figure of childhood nightmares and local legend. He is a mythical being, most certainly not real. At least, that's what four teenagers believe when they enter local woods in search of him, whilst trying to scare each other.

But that was Twenty years ago.....

So when DC Louise Henderson and her colleague DS Paul Shipley are called to the scene of a young woman fighting for her life, claiming to have fled from the Bone Keeper, they are more than a little bit sceptical.

Louise does think that there is something in the local legend though. Too many people have claimed to have seen it for there not to be something. Paul is not so easily convinced and thinks he can identify a prime suspect straight away.

As the woods are identified are a prime area for the investigation, it quickly becomes clear that the attack on the young woman; Caroline, was not a lone one. It is also very clear that she was not supposed to survive.

As the police realise they are looking for a serial killer, Louise is convinced that the Bone Keeper, whoever he/she/it is, is their perpetrator. But can she convince her colleagues of this before they strike again?

I was scared I might miss Murphy and Rossi when I learnt that Luca had written a stand-alone novel from his regular series but DC Louise Henderson and DS Paul Shipley are two characters that I would really love to see feature in a future novel.

Luca has gone for a darker, scarier novel than usual with the Bone Keeper. It is creepy, chilling and thrilling and I couldn’t have loved it anymore.

I am a huge fan of Luca Veste’s books, not just because they are set in Liverpool, but because they are truly gripping crime fiction books. He also has a fantastic podcast with Steve Cavanagh, Two Crime Writers and a Microphone, that I very highly recommend you check out. It is hilarious but also hugely entertaining and informative for book fans. Anyway, enough about how much I love Luca, his books and his podcast and on to why I enjoyed The Bone Keeper so much.

When I received this book a few months ago, and even before that, when I first read the blurb for it when it was announced, I’ll admit to feeling a little disappointed that it wasn’t a Murphy and Rossi book. There comes a point in every crime writer’s career where they take a break from their main series and introduce us to a new one, or write a standalone. Some are a success, and some fall flat on their face. I won’t name names but even one of the world’s most successful crime authors has released a few duds away from their main series. I suppose I should have had more faith in Luca because The Bone Keeper ended up feeling like a refreshing change from what has came before from him, and ended up being a gripping and immersive read that nearly kept me awake at night picturing the scenes within.

If you didn’t have your own scary myth being passed amongst your friends growing up then I’ll be very surprised. All cities have them, and for me as a child it was the yearly jaunt to Colomendy that was said to be haunted by Pegleg. Many a night was spent awake in the dorms discussing this character, but what if he had been real? Luca Veste does just that and creates a myth that has been passed around Liverpool for years and makes it into a real thing. The Bone Keeper is said to live in the woods, he even has his own song. With bodies starting to be unearthed in the woods, the city is in fear of The Bone Keeper being real and it’s down to Louise Henderson and her boss DS Shipley to enter those woods and work out what is fact and what is fiction.

Luca has proven his worth as a crime writer and has turned his hand to horror here in The Bone Keeper. It’s not a terrifying read a la Stephen King but it’s certainly enough to get the blood pumping and to make you think twice about whether you really want to take that shortcut through the park at night (even before reading this book I wouldn’t be walking through Liverpool parks at night, but anyway). I grew up addicted to the Haunted Liverpool series by Tom Slemen and The Bone Keeper is a thing that could have been written about in those books. I think I enjoyed the book more because it was set in Liverpool. I love recognising place names and easily being able to visualise the places being described within. I love the way Luca always adds little asides into his writing about the city and how he shows the good, the bad and the ugly. Personally for me too much time was spent in the south of the city, but that’s only because I’m from the north and very rarely venture south.

Louise Henderson is a mysterious character who is hiding something for the majority of the book. I found her to be quite cold and standoffish and so whilst I didn’t ‘like’ her per se, I liked this mysterious persona that she had and I wanted to know just what it was that was making her behave the way she was during the investigation of this case. In terms of her relationship with Shipley it almost bordered on being a little cliched, but for the most part I felt they worked well together. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and enjoyed following along with the investigation and trying to work things out before they were revealed. Luca creates just the right amount of tension to keep you intrigued and wanting to read on, as with the residents of the city, I too wondered just how The Bone Keeper could be real and wondered what tricks Luca had up his sleeve as we neared the denouement of the story.

Fearful of giving away spoilers I obviously can’t say too much about how the story ended other than that it was brilliant. Given everything that had come before it, I wanted and needed a believable ending to tie everything up nicely and make the story itself make sense. The ending was truly fantastic and the final scenes had my eyes glued to the page. A cliche, but it’s true. There’s an emotional undercurrent all the way through this story and it’s in these final pages that it all comes to a head. Will we see these characters again? I feel like The Bone Keeper works well as a stand-alone novel, but I can also see how there’s scope to further explore some of the characters featured within this story. Personally I just want Murphy and Rossi back because I miss them but I wouldn’t be against reading about Louise and Shipley again.

If you like your crime fiction with a helping of horror and a dash of humour alongside some gripping and immersive storytelling then I highly recommend The Bone Keeper. And I highly recommend all of Luca’s books, they are I believe usually on offer on Kindle. I’ve never seen them cost more than a large coffee and they bring far more enjoyment than an overpriced drink ever could. Having followed his author journey since his debut I am constantly in awe of his success and weirdly feel kind of proud witnessing a local author do so well and I sincerely hope that The Bone Keeper is a huge success because it deserves to be. So go and buy it and enjoy.

Well this book certainly gave me the fear! Extremely creepy and scary, this was more than your run of the mill police procedural. I loved the Liverpool setting, I loved the creeping sense of unease and how the bogeyman of people's childhoods seemed to be coming to life. This is the first book of Luca Veste's that I have read, I have a copy of his first book so I am off to start his Murphy and Rossi series now! Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this as an arc, I would certainly recommend it if you want to be terrified!.

An interesting concept but I just couldn't get to grips with the writing style. I enjoyed reading about Liverpool and it's geography but I couldn't connect with the characters. I definitely couldn't get my head around the motivations of the two main females.
It's just a personal opinion and I hope that other people enjoy it a lot more than I did.