A chilling thriller, The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste is a police procedural that will keep the reader turning pages from beginning to end. A young woman is found with numerous knife wounds, claiming to have escaped from the Bone Keeper, a local urban myth, a monster who lives in the forest and makes people disappear so that he can harvest their bones. Local detective Louise Henderson has grown up hearing the stories, and now faces a struggle to convince her superiors that there may be some truth behind the myth, before more people get hurt or killed.
The story is told from several perspectives, though mostly from that of Louise, and the victim Caroline and moves from the past to the current day , and this jumping around in both timeline and perspective can be a little confusing at times. I enjoy a mystery as much as anyone, but in this case it just didn't quite work. The characters fell a little flat for me, especially Louise, which is a shame as the central idea behind the plot of the book had a lot of potential and some of the writing is exceptionally creepy and atmospheric. With Louise, her character seemed a little obvious, and some of the foreshadowing of the end reveal was a little heavy handed. It all seemed to fall apart a little at the end , which is a shame .
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

The Bone Keeper was my first read by Luca Veste but after seeing it everywhere on Instagram, I was excited to get an ARC from the Publisher via NetGalley. It seemed like a promising thriller about a serial killer trying to bring to life an urban legend of the Boogeyman. Unfortunately, I thought the story fell flat. The constant flipping between the storylines ended up being confusing at times. I usually love when a thriller goes back and forth in time to give the reader a little bit more information as the story goes on but with this one, it got confusing for some reason.

Although I thought the book lacked in depth with the characters, it did give me the heebie-jeebies with the urban legend that plays on people's fears as well as the creepy children's rhymes. Think of The Bone Keeper as a cross between the boogeyman and the worst kind of killer.

It was still an enjoyable read and I would still recommend it to readers who love a good scary and creepy story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this more than I expected to. My first book by this author and it was well written and kept you guessing. Thought I had the end figured out but I was way off.

The Bone Keeper was a great thriller! It had a little bit of everything; a (literal) killer ghost story, cop/crime drama, murder, mystery and betrayal.

When I first started to read it, I literally had chills at the first page; "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." Seriously, I felt a cold chill on my spine. The imagery that comes with Luca's writing is intense and you can imagine the scenery very well.

The Bone Keeper starts off with 4 young kids (Lee, Faye, Matty and a young girl who isn't named) egging each other on to go through a creepy tunnel in the woods. These tunnels are supposed to be inhabited by the Bone Keeper (which is pretty much the boogeyman). Faye decides to go first and Lee follows. The young girl goes third and hears something stirring in the tunnel. She is gripped with fear at first, and then she smells the horrible smell that comes with the story of the Bone Keeper, she then hears 'it' whistling the song. She races out of the tunnel and turns around expecting to see Matty. Matty never comes out.

The story then goes back to present day and we are introduced to DC Louise. She is called to a scene of a woman who was found in the street brutally attacked. She is beaten and stabbed down to the bone. While the woman is driven away by ambulance, she goes store to store to ask for any witnesses in where the woman appeared to be coming from. A young boy tells her that the woman was singing the song of the Bone Keeper. Louise and Paul Shipley go to meet with the woman sometime later. Caroline tells them how she was attacked but cannot remember most of it, just that there was a dark inhuman looking shape, the smell of death and then he attacked.

The story delves deeper into the Bone Keeper's tale and the bodies keep piling up, with one grisly scene after another. Throughout all of this, Louise is fighting her own demons of the past. Is this really the work of a supernatural boogeyman or something far more sinister?

Just when you think you have figured out the entire story, there are lots of twists. I really enjoyed the book and the only complaint I have is that it did feel slightly rushed at the end. If you like gore, mystery, suspense, creepy stories and feeling unsettled, then give this book a read!

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for this ARC.

The Bone Keeper is CHILLING and CREEPY and I really enjoyed it.
The Book Opened with this poem:

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

That poem was enough to take hold of me from the beginning. The plot was so marvelous. The Bone Keep is a local urban legend, who doesn't love a great urban legend? Is it an urban legend? Honestly this books has everything a good thriller needs and so many twists and turns my mouth was open half the time reading it.

I could not put this one down, and look forward to more books by this author.

How many urban legends feature a creep like the Bone Keeper? A lot of them. In this procedural, however, the Keeper might be real. Or someone wants you to think he is. Louise Henderson is a detective with a LOT of issues but she's the one who is going to untangle this mess. There are bodies, there are missing people, there's a sense of unease. This starts off strong but fades a bit in the middle before coming back in the end. Set in Liverpool, it makes good use (I think) of local atmosphere. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Growing up we tend to hear a lot of stories. As children we nestle down in any available lap, book in hand, presenting our treasure, hoping someone will enjoy it with us. Stories evolve, changing as we do over time. The magic fades from “Happily Ever After’s” and older children to start to hear the underlying tone of “warnings” in stories. Some stories you won’t find written in any books, just the traditional “passed down” stories. Some are made into children’s rhymes, a playground chant seeming innocent, yet full of foreboding. Imagine the childhood stories, (you know, the ones with a warning) you grew up with. Imagine every year the story coming more to fruition; the warnings, the signs, the unexplained disappearances. How much of the story would have to happen for you to believe in it?


The panic attacks are becoming more frequent for Louise Henderson. Even driving, Louise is bombarded with thoughts of fire and fighting for air, yet no recollection of when or how it happened. Her only distraction comes with a phone call- a woman has been found wandering the streets in torn clothing. Assault seems likely. Regaining control, Louise drives to the scene of the crime to meet her partner, Detective Sergeant Paul Shipley. Arriving at the scene, Louise makes an educated guess that the woman escaped through the woods. While interviewing the surrounding crowd, one testimony stands out the most, a little boy’s. He saw the woman walking by and singing.

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.

And just like that, Louise’s stomach drops. Memories of a childhood traipsing through the forest. The stories that were told to young children to scare them. Only Louise’s story has grown wings and come to life. As the Detectives hone in on the case, the only plausible story is The Bone Keeper. Louise struggles between what is fiction and what is fact, making it a possibility of being kicked off the case. Can she put away her blocked past, and focus on the task at hand? Or will she try and connect the dots and make a fictional story come to life?



Note: While I may not look upon some of the things I say as a spoiler, others might. It is never my intention to spoil a book for anyone.


The Covers
Usually, I do not have a problem telling you which book cover I prefer. I could only find two covers of “The Bone Keeper”, and I have to say, both look pretty good! If I had to pick one, I would probably choose the yellow-worded one. Aesthetically it is the one that I would pick from the shelf. There’s also something to be said about a black book cover- it just seems to make everything else on the cover pop.


Book Set-up
In The Bone Keeper, we see the book switch back and forth from ‘Before’ and ‘Now’. I know some readers do not care for this type of set up, however, it is a key element to the book. Don’t worry, it doesn’t get confusing at all! The book does start in the ‘Before’ (which, I’m not going to lie, scared the CRAP out of me!) but it is an integral part of the story. Without it, you do not have the foundation of the myth the entire story is built around. Once you get into the story, enough detail is given in the ‘Now’ that readers are BEGGING to go back to the ‘Before’ just to hear more of the story.



The Characters
There are quite a few characters in The Bone Keeper. Whenever there’s a multitude of people to keep track of it can go two ways:

Everyone is introduced all at once. The reader is unable to decipher (at times) who is speaking, unable to get a handle on a character’s back story and chronologically put it into place- thus getting details mixed with other characters and making it a huge possibility of complicating the book, essentially messing up likability.
Characters are introduced in a timely manner. Readers have a pretty good handle on a character’s personality, and maybe some backstory by the time the next character is introduced. Even if two characters are introduced at the same time, enough detail is given that a reader is able to move on and retain the pertinent information.
Luca Vesta definitely is a gifted writer when it comes to characters. He has a knack for giving you limited, but important details that stick with you throughout the entire book, and slowly introducing the next set.

Main Character: Louise Henderson- Detective Constable. We meet Louise in the ‘Now’ part of the story. First impressions mean everything, right? We find Louise pulled to the side of the road having a panic (anxiety?) attack. All we can glean from this scene is that she’s remembering a fire, and gasping for air. My immediate impression of Louise is that she’s weak (not because of having panic/anxiety attacks, but just that she’s susceptible of breaking down over the tiniest thing.) Veste definitely proved me wrong with this character. As the story builds, so does Louise. What seemed like a tiny main character, grew into the main character that stormed the pages of the book, demanding attention.

2nd main character: This one I can argue with myself about. At first, I thought she was just a background character, non-essential. Caroline. Although we do not know her name at first, Caroline is the character we start with at the beginning of the book in the ‘Before’. I’m not going to put any more detail about this second main character because I’m not going to ruin the book!

Supporting Characters:

Paul Shipley- Detective Sergeant, and Louise’s police partner. Paul is seen all throughout the book with Louise working the case. There’s a bit of personal interaction as well, but thank goodness that is not the main focus of the book.
The Bone Keeper- what started as a myth and a rite of passage for some kids, time evolves the story and from legend, reality is born. The Bone Keeper story has been around for ages, who could possibly live that long to carry out the dastardly deeds?
The underlying tone
No doubt this book plays on childhood fears and urban legends. Bloody Mary, the hookman, Slender Man, La Llorona, or even movies like The Blair Witch Project come to mind after finishing this book. It goes from hearing them as a child, experiencing it as a rite of passage, and coming to find out the “rumors are true” in adulthood.

The good
I enjoy reading thrillers. These types of books usually keep me reading into all hours of the night just to figure out what is going to happen next. The Bone Keeper actually made me stop reading at night because I was terrified. Yes, you read that correctly. This 31-year-old had to sleep with the light on for the first few nights. It definitely has that creep factor in it.

What else I enjoyed about it was its non-predictability. Don’t get me wrong, there were a few areas in the book where I had the “I KNEW IT!” but upon finishing the book, I am convinced Veste purposely threw those in, like a dog getting a treat, just to make you confident. When it came to figuring out the plot line further in the book, I had several conspiracy theories going- NONE of them turned out to be what I thought! So good job Veste, you bested this reader!

The Bone Keeper is such an easy-going read. Not once did I feel like the storyline or even the characters were forced.

The bad
I’m sitting here thinking of anything that was really bad in the story, and I cannot come up with one single thing. If I had to say something it’s the fact that I had to rearrange my reading time so I wasn’t freaked out by this book while reading at night!

The ugly
Again, I cannot come up with a single thing. The bad and the ugly are more on me as the reader than the author or the story itself. There were times that I felt completely stupid that I couldn’t figure out what was going on. That shows the author’s genius more than anything.

The author
Luca Veste is a new author for me, but he’s already an accomplished author. As far as comparing Luca Veste to other authors I have read, I would put him in ranks with J.D. Barker (4MK series). The Bone Keeper alone has now put Veste on my radar to read other books he has written and books that are to come out. Veste dangles the proverbial carrot, allows a bite, and immediately changes direction- allowing readers to only make assumptions and becoming completely flabbergasted with the end results. Trust me, you’ll lose your balance when he rips the rug right out from underneath you.


“The Bone Keeper” by Luca Veste is available February 5th, 2019! I was chosen by Netgalley to receive a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Given that fact, it has not altered my opinion on the book at all.

When a story begins with children playing and singing something creepy, I usually put the book down, and walk away. I decided, however, to read The Bone Keeper. Was it creepy? Yes. Do I want to walk in the woods by myself? No. Was reading this a mistake? Probably. But, it's actually an intriguing police procedural murder mystery. Serial killer and all that jazz. It's twisty and dark. It's everything you would expect it to be. If you like a good creepy read, this book is for you. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is the first time I read a novel from Luca Veste and I was quite excited to as he is a popular thriller writer. In the end, I have a really mixed feeling about this book. Indeed, as I was reading, I did not get swallowed by the story and the events. I stayed too much as reading from far away, I really did not get into the story of this book. I did not get any real emotion about the characters, nor the story and it was for me hard to maintain an interest in this book, unfortunately.

I was so excited to receive an advanced copy of this book so I would like to start off by saying a massive thank you to the publisher Sourcebooks, the Author Luca Veste as well as Netgalley for the opportunity to read it in return for my honest review 🙂
After seeing so much hype for this one on Instagram I may have let my expectations get a little too high…The cover instantly drew me in however I was so sad that the book itself didn’t fully live up to those expectations.

This was the first book I have read by Luca Veste after wanting to read one of his novels for a while now after hearing great things about his previous series. THE BONE KEEPER is a great novel for those who love a story about urban myths and legends mixed with a lot of mystery, as well as SERIAL KILLERS!! It was carefully plotted and extremely clever in its execution however for me there was something missing. The main characters DC Louise Henderson and DC Shipley were good to follow in the investigations of the murders but I just didn’t resonate with these characters and found them a little flat and boring.

The story goes back and forth from a ‘Then’ to a ‘Now’ and each chapter splits between different characters. It definitely wasn’t a light read and I had to really concentrate to stay on top of the plot/who each of the characters were and how they connected to eachother…otherwise it was pretty easy to get lost!!

This isn’t to say it wasn’t a great storyline because it definitely was and I think someone who loves to read about crime/serial killers and follow the steps of detectives would love this novel.

I thought that this book really lacked cohesiveness in parts and could not really pin down what was going on with Louise through most of the book. It made parts of the story confusing and hard to follow, The Bone Keeper was an interesting concept, however it was hard to determine how they were all the Bone Keeper. I think it needed more solidity and background of how this came to be.

Louise is a police officer who is involved in a case of a woman who is found cut and beaten. The case then deepens to involve several dead bodies and a local legend/myth, The Bone Keeper, which may also have something to do with Louise's repressed memories from her past. It was pretty creepy, and for a while I wasn't sure if this was actually a supernatural-type story or not. I enjoyed the majority of the book, but I didn't like the ending all that much. Overall 3 stars.

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

What an opener, if the poem at the very beginning doesn't grip you, the plot of the book certainly will..... The Bone Keeper a local urban legend made up to frighten children and the likes or is it just a tale? I love a good serial killer mystery and this had everything I enjoy in a book, death, murder, mystery, twists, turns, Oh My God moments..... I thoroughly enjoyed it even if I did hold my breath at parts of it and the twists... sweet lamb of divine, although I am a bit scared to venture back to the woods after reading this!!!! I'm not going to synopsize the story/plot as I am fearful I will ruin it with spoilers but suffice to say I am absolutely 100% recommending this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebook Landmarks for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This Liverpool-based thriller is the new, stand-alone crime novel from Veste, and follows his Murphy & Rossi police procedural series.
Scouse Noir at its finest.
Highly recommended read.

Another excellent and creepy thriller from Luca Veste. I always enjoy his books and this is no different. Full of sympathetic characters, scaring me to death! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

When I started this book I was in need of a good thriller. I was hoping for a really good book, with an intriguing story, fast-paced, with some twists here and there and fascinating characters. Something that would keep me hooked-up from the start to the end, a page-turner, something thrilling and original. And this book delivered all this and something more.

The thing I liked best is the story. It’s gripping, articulated and quite dark. Original, too, even if reading the plot I wasn’t so convinced about the originality of it all. The synopsis is not bad, I am not saying that, but I wasn’t so keen on the original part. But the author surprised me. And he surprised me time and again, because we have some intriguing twists, and there is one in particular that I didn’t see coming, at all. And it’s not a real twist about the story but about a POV, if this makes sense to you.
I can’t say more because it would be a spoiler, and you deserve to enjoy this book and discover the bits and pieces the author reveal slowly by your own, but I appreciated it a lot.

To be honest, it’s hard to write about a thriller, because even if I don’t usually tell the plot on my reviews I can refer to them to say something that I liked or disliked about it, but here… well, I can’t! So yes, it’s a little bit frustrating. But I think I would keep writing reviews for thriller and mystery books until I’ll get better at it, and yes, it’s a threat, sorry about that!

Anyway, the story is good and I quite enjoyed the MC and her partner on the job. This book is a stand-alone, but I hope the author would write some other adventures (or cases, that’s better) for this couple. I’d love to see how their relationship would evolve, and I am not speaking about a romance, but about their relationship as people, because this book has a case quite relevant for the MC, it’s not just some random crime, but it’s related, in some ways, to the story of Louise, to her past, and that was intriguing as hell.
So I’d love to see how she is after all this happened. But in the meantime, while I am hoping for a sequel, I would read some other of the author’s books because this one was good and I really liked Veste’s writing!

I love the theme of including urban myths in contemporary mysteries, so as soon as I read the premise of The Bone Keeper, I knew I had to read it! The Bone Keeper refers to a sinister presence in a local woodland near Liverpool, who is rumoured to steal children, kill them and keep their bones: “He’ll slice your flesh. Your bones he’ll keep.” Creepy or what???? I remember similar legends in our area that had us utterly terrified but were a good deterrent to keep us out of certain places in the neighbourhood. Like the old lady next door, who repeatedly had to tell us off for climbing her fence, until the rumour spread that she was a witch who would poke out children’s eyes – and no one ever climbed that fence again. *clap, clap, good thinking 99* But I digress ....

Urban myth meets real life when a horrifically injured woman is found wandering near the woods, claiming to have been attacked by a horrible “presence”, only just escaping with her life. DC Louise Henderson, who seems to have a personal connection to the belief that something evil is prowling these woods, relating to a secret in her past we are not privy to, takes the woman’s claims seriously, even if the other officers scoff at the whole story of the “bone keeper”. Until other disappearances and deaths are suddenly being linked to the same area ....

I must say that the story started off very strong for me, and the image of the children daring each other to enter the dark dank tunnel in the woods to prove how brave they are set a terrifying scene. Perhaps because even as an adult it still touches on our most primeval fears of something evil coming to get us. It gave me the chills!

However, I admit that after the strong start, the book did not fully deliver for me. Firstly, I thought Louise to be a difficult, obstructive character I found hard to relate to, and her constant lies and omissions somewhat went against her role as investigative officer. The story also lost a lot of steam for me when multiple POVs were introduced, including that of the killer, which oddly served to take away some of the chill factor. Perhaps because it de-mystified the paranormal aspect that had made it so scary for me? I have read a lot of spooky mysteries lately, and the ones keeping the myth alive and somewhat “vague” in explaining the events were the ones that worked best for me, messing with my mind just the way I like.

About 2/3 into the book it all went a bit overboard for me and there was so much suspension of disbelief that I nearly abandoned the book, because everyone knows that I am very, very bad at doing that. But that’s just my personal preferences, and I am sure that the book will work well for other readers, who will enjoy the mounting body count, the unreliable narrators and the evil thoughts of the killer loose in the woods. Personally, I would have liked a more pronounced and relatable main character to lead the story, and fewer other POVs. I also think that the mystery had all the spooky elements that made The Chalk Man so creepy for me, but that they somehow got lost in translation with too many other side stories happening that took away a lot of suspense. It was almost as if the author tried to add more and more elements that ended up working against one another – a simpler plot with more mystery would have worked better for me. Again, my own personal view only, and I’m sure others will disagree.

With a strong start and an ultimately disappointing latter half, I’m finding this book difficult to rate. Personally, I struggled in parts to keep my interest but was invested enough in the story to be curious to find out the answers. It’s one of those stories you will have to read and judge for yourself – if you like a mystery that includes an urban myth and don’t mind several plotlines and a mounting body count, then you should definitely read it – you may find it works a lot better for you! For overall enjoyment, probably only 2.5 stars for me, but I will round it up to 3 for the creepy beginning which set a terrifying scene and got me hooked immediately.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC for my honest review.
I don't typically read horror stories for a reason, my imagination gets away from me! Though this is a mystery it has the dark sinister feeling of a horror.
The story starts with 4 children playing as children do where they are not supposed to be. An urban legend about THE BONE KEEPER that at first feels just like a story adults tell children to keep them away from places they should not be. Of course this backfires and the 4 go investigating and only 3 return. Told in a then and now manner we are taken on the journey to find THE BONE KEEPER and the missing.
A police procedural with a horror feel, the story draws you in and doesn't let you go.
I recommend this book if you enjoy being kept on edge and not wanting to go out at night alone!

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 skeptical 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.

Luca Veste just took my nightmares and made them real! This was such a scary good book, the detail and description is so vivid it feels like you are right there Liverpool. Plus the cover art is just stunning!

Thanks to #NetGalley for the ARC of The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste
Pub Date: 01 Feb 2019

2.5
There was a really good story in there but it got bogged down in the telling. This was too long, too many details. It does have it share of chilling moments and surprises. I thought of a few scenarios and came up wrong each time.

Louise is an interesting character but she also frustrated me. She was constantly in her own head and came off as quite strange at times. How Shipley would be attracted to that character was also odd.

The story goes to a dark and unbelievable place. Interesting concept but so very unlikely. I know it’s fiction but still. The urban legend laced throughout the story was so creepy. Who it turns out to be was shocking but that was where the story went a bit haywire for me...

This had a great opening and ending. Had it been trimmed down a bit then I would have rated it higher.