The second book in the Rockwell and Decker series has some seriously creepy vibes.  In the first book, readers met Olivia Rockwell, a forensic psychologist working with the Fog Harbor, California Police Department and her police contact, Detective Will Decker.  They each have personal story lines that run through both books so you will get much more enjoyment from reading them in order.  The main story in this book is a body, a long dead body, found in the basement of a home in Fog Harbor.  As the investigation moves forward, Olivia will recognize some clues that tie to her personal story.  There is a lot going on in this book.  It moves quickly and will leave you looking back for clues missed along the way.  BUT, it's a thriller's thriller and my reading circle all agree, it's well worth your reading time.

Her Perfect Bones is the second instalment in the criminal psychologist Olivia Rockwell and Detective Will Decker series set in Fog Harbour, California. The book opens with a prologue from 1985 when a seventeen year old pregnant teen boards the greyhound bus in order to run away from home. She travels to Fog Harbour believing it is the change she needs in life to make a fresh start. Fast forward nearly four decades and as Will is tending to his garden he sees Sam Weatherby frantically running towards him. He informs him that as he was clearing out his grandfather Jack's old cabin next door to Will's home he came upon a barrel too heavy to move complete with gruesome contents. Will ascends the basement stairs to try to find out what exactly the barrel holds and discovers the body of a mummified young woman with a ring around her fourth metacarpal and packed into the steel drum with sand, confirming what Sam had described. He awaits the arrival of partner Detective Jimmy Benson (JB) — who had a serious change of mood after giving up both nicotine and sugar in the past few weeks. A short time later JB and medical examiner Chet Clancy turn up to surveil the scene. Via the autopsy they identify the body as that of Shelby Mayfield and uncover a Nikon FA camera with a cracked lens and an undeveloped roll of film from the sand surrounding her corpse with the stonewashed jeans, high top sneakers and 1984 summer olympics t-shirt pointing them to the time period she was killed. 

She seemingly died from multiple skull fractures as a result of three instances of blunt force trauma to the head with one of them causing an intercranial hematoma. The team find themselves with a thirty-five-year-old cold case on their hands and must comb through the evidence to attempt to bring closure to the case once and for all. But soon they have more than one murder on their plate. This is a compulsive and thoroughly engrossing police procedural with plenty of fast paced action, twists and turns, and a large pool of suspects with possible motives for the team to check out but with very few clues it's hard going and each step forward is earned through blood, sweat and tears. There is never a dull moment with the main thread of the plot being accompanied by several more minor threads primarily related to the personal lives of Decker and Rockwell. Decker's brother Ben, who is also a cop, resides in prison after committing the unlawful shooting of a woman that Decker witnessed and that resulted in his transfer to Fog Harbour PD. He has been threatened by the notorious Oaktown Boys which results in a move to FH prison for his safety. Whilst Olivia's father is also incarcerated but is up for parole. He was a member of the Oaktown Boys and was convicted of killing a prostitute but has always maintained his innocence. However, most don't believe him with the damning evidence that her body was discovered under his roof. A riveting, intense and well conceived read. Highly recommended.

Thank you Netgalley and Boukouture for the ARC!  
3.5 stars - rounded up.
Publication Date: February 16, 2021

This is the second installment of the Rockwell and Decker series, but can easily be read as a standalone.  

In the first book, Will had recently been transferred to Fog Harbor as he was no longer welcome at his former precinct for testifying against another officer, who also happens to be his brother, for shooting/killing an unarmed woman.  In Fog Harbor, he was partnered up with JB, who at first appeared to dislike Will and be somewhat petulant, but as the book continued I found him to be hilarious and deceptively intuitive.  By this book, it seemed like their relationship grew to a point that they trust each other more as partners and JB, though a side character, remains one of my favorites.  I also love that Will's relationship with a stray that adopted him continues to grow; be still my heart!

The murder mystery moves forward at a fast pace and although this book is on the longer side, the chapters are short and the story never drags- maybe in part due to subplots.  The characters are complex and continue to be developed throughout the case.  The mystery itself kept me guessing with several viable suspects and I enjoyed the resolution of the case. 

This is the 5th book I have read by this author.  She is not only brilliant, but she applies insights from her career as a forensic psychologist into her writing resulting in realistic criminals and fascinating cases. 

Now for some brutal honesty: The main characters, though attracted to each other, continue to deny the obvious due to mutual unresolved personal issues in their past.  It is understandable and mature not to jump into a relationship unready. However, their relationship in Book 1 was downright childish at times due to nicknames like "Dr. Smarty Pants" used repetitiously through0ut the text.  Thankfully, they moved past that by this novel and while still unwilling to deal with the tension, it was no longer a cringeworthy distraction from the investigation.  I do hope that they either work past their issues like the adults they are or at the very least, acknowledge that big ole elephant.  I like them very much individually and think their diverse perspectives can lead to a highly efficient team, like Booth and Bones, if they get to know each other in any real way.

Thank you to Bookouture for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for letting me take part in this tour. I loved the first book in this series and I knew I had to continue this series. 

Will Decker is a complicated character. He is a good man but he is haunted by his past. He is starting to settle in to the small town of Fog Harbor. His partner JB has is back while ribbing him daily. I love their relationship. It's full of banter but you know at the end of the day they would do anything for each other 

Olivia Rockwell worked with Decker and JB in the first book. Olivia has a lot of walls up and she is slowly bringing them down and letting Will in. It's good to see her opening up. I can't wait to see more of this in future books. 

You know the problem with a body that's decades old? Everyone has moved, the evidence is degraded and peoples memories are fuzzy. Obviously, Will and JB do not let that hold them back. This case is full of action, suspicious characters and hidden motives. It was a thrilling ride. 

I liked the side story into Olivia's dad. This follows on from the first book and is a good background story to keep those who read the whole series coming back. There's more going on with this and I want to know all about it! 

I liked the case files and the scripts for the morning show. Little quirky things like this make me smile.

Another suspense-filled mystery from this author. She weaves one heck of a story. 
We have a murder to solve, and Decker and Olivia both are dealing with their pasts. 
A female body found in a barrel, a rigged justice system, and an attraction between two broken souls that may never find the light of day. Wow! This story is a rollercoaster ride of murder, secrets, and family drama so hang on.

This is the second book in this series and it’s a great read. 
Detective Will Decker is called when a body is discovered in a barrel of sand. 
They determine that it’s a young woman who has been mummified due to the time she had been buried there. She was also heavily pregnant when she died. 
At the same time, Olivia is at her father’s parole hearing when tragedy strikes and her and her sister want answers. 
In the first book we learnt of their father’s past, and this book looks further into things. 
Decker asks for Olivia’s input on the murder case and once again they both feel the attraction, but won’t do anything about it. 
We learn that there’s links between Decker’s father and Olivia’s father and this opens a whole can of worms. 
With the hunt for the young woman’s killer taking Decker and JB in different directions, another murder takes place and a reporter is seriously injured. 
This is a very clever crime thriller that certainly kept me guessing who the killer was. 
I loved the banter between Decker and JB and felt like I’ve got to know all the characters better in this book. 
This is a gripping read that will have you racing through the pages. 
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Thank you to Bookoutoure for having me on the blog tour for this second book in the Rockwell and Decker series.  I did not read Book 1 before Her Perfect Bones as it was stated this could be a stand-alone book. The author brought in information from Book 1 if it was needed for context in relationships or to review events, so Book 1 is not necessary to read first.

However, I felt very little connection to the characters throughout the book, which makes it challenging to stay engaged throughout the story.  I was constantly getting sleepy as I read this story or my mind would wander, because I just didn’t feel connected.

The story itself is interesting. The murder and subsequent investigation was creative and the pace moved along throughout the book – no slow spots!

I also love that this author writes in short chapters. It reminded me of a James Patterson book where the chapters are kept to a couple of pages in most cases. You can really race right through and won’t get stuck in overly long chapters.

Overall, this is a good police procedural mystery/thriller.  I do think that reading Book 1 first might create a stronger tie-in for the reader to the characters and increase the overall enjoyment of the story.

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing this book. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy and all views expressed are only my honest opinion.

3.5 stars

Her Perfect Bonesby Ellery A. Kane is the second in the Rockwell & Decker series.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Bookouture, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


Series Background:  (Warning – May contain spoilers from previous books)
Olivia Rockwell is a Criminal Psychologist working at Crescent Bay State Prison, in her hometown of Fog Harbor, California.  Her father is in another prison, serving a life sentence.  Detective Will Decker moved to Fog Harbor after his brother was convicted of shooting a woman, ending up in prison because Will turned him in.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
When the body of a young girl is found in a barrel of sand in the cellar of an old cabin, there are few cues as to her identity.  She has a piece of film around her neck.  She was pregnant.  Tracking down the former owner of the cabin, the detectives find that a movie was shot in the basement of the cabin, which included a girl in chains.

Olivia's father is up for parole, but the end result is not what she was expecting.  Olivia is about to find out more about her family than she ever knew.   She will also have to do some investigating of her own if she is going to find out the answer to her most important question.  This will put her life in danger.

Meanwhile, Will is having family problems of his own.


My Opinions:   
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the last book.  The plot was still good, but it just seemed there was so much going on with the two main characters, and none of it good.  It just got depressing instead of exciting.

With reference to the characters, I still like both Will and Olivia, and I have really begun to like JB.  Emily was a little less annoying.

I am just rather sick of all the family issues, and wish the book would just concentrate on one good plot instead of so many side-stories.

I will continue to read the books in this series though, as the books are relatively fast reads, and the central plot/mystery is always good.

I can't wait for the next book! 

A pregnant teenager's body is found in a barrel of sand, mummified after 35 years. Who was she? What could have happened? 
Deck and his partner JB investigate,  taking Deck back to San Francisco and his family. 
Olivia's dad is up for parole - found hanging from a pipe in a holding cell minutes after the hearing ends. Olivia refuses to believe the suicide ruling.  
Together Deck and Olivia work to solve the murder of the pregnant teen,  their personal lives weaving on the edges. 
Excellent plot,  fast paced. Great characters,  humor and twists. 
I did not read the first book in the series- didn't hold me back.

Her Perfect Bones by Ellery Kane
This is the 2nd book in the series but does and can stand alone. Decker and Oliva are once again thrown together to solve a murder mystery and still have their attraction to each other that neither one wants to admit to....this story grabs you from the start and keeps you guessing till the end.  Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this book! Looking forward to book 3!

When the body of a young woman is found stuffed in a barrel in a cabin in Fog Harbour, the local police find themselves with a thirty five year old cold case. The body turns out to be that of Shelby Mayfield who ran away from home in 1985. Detective Will Decker (Deck) and his partner Jimmy Benson (aka JB) are assigned the case and their investigation of how she came to be held captive in a cabin in Fog Harbour and who murdered her and stuffed in a barrel is the focus of the novel. Olivia Rockwell, the prison criminal psychologist, who worked with Deck on a previous case also becomes involved in the investigation when Deck asks to pick her brain on what she thinks happened. A photo of a rag doll Shelby had with her sends shivers down her spine as she recalls where she has seen such a doll before.

There are a lot of side stories in this second book in the series, some continuing on from the first book and not yet resolved, so paving the way for a future episode. Olivia's father in jail for killing a prostitute, although he has always claimed to be innocent. However, as a member of a notorious gang, the Oaktown Boys, he is not generally believed, especially when her body was found in his home.  Deck's brother Ben, also a cop, is in jail for an unlawful shooting that Deck witnessed. He also has been threatened by the Oaktown Boys and Deck is worried enough to have him moved to Fog Harbour prison. I was expecting this book to pick up where the last one finished up with the escape of serial killer Drake Devere from Fog Harbour prison, where he was one of Olivia's most challenging patients. However, this is clearly on hold for another book.

I find I'm warming more to the characters in this second book than in the first. They initially appeared somewhat stereotyped and overburdened with their tortured pasts and trust issues. However, they are starting to round out more into warmer individuals focusing more on the present and less on the past, although that is never far away. Deck and Olivia are still behaving like teenagers, failing to admit that they are attracted to each other, but there is less sniping at each other than before and hopefully their relationship can move on in the next book. JB is a welcome member of the team with his easy going nature and his banter with Deck. I'm curious to see where this series is going to go next with not only the development of the characters but also the various unresolved threads introduced so far.

An action-packed thriller, Her Perfect Bones has a gripping opening and fast-paced plot. With short chapters told through the multiple perspectives, the development and writing both improve with this second instalment, focusing on the gritty crime and exciting thrills of the investigation.

The first book ended with some loose ends which I was hoping would get tied up, but the book begins with a new crime and only mentions the previous story briefly to give some context. This means that it works as a standalone book so that you don’t need any knowledge of the first to enjoy it. The relationships are easy to get to grips with so it’s straightforward to follow, but there are some recurring annoyances that I was hoping would have been left behind.

There was a lot I liked about the first instalment, Watch Her Vanish, but my main annoyance regarded Will and Olivia’s childish quips between each other in an attempt to disguise their sexual tension. I was hoping that since they had broken the ice, the pig-tail pulling would stop. But Will and Olivia still have a childish relationship that hasn’t moved passed the stage of snide comments while secretly daydreaming about each other, instead of admitting that they actually respect each other’s input.

Fortunately, the Dr Smarty Pants and Mr Wise Guy nicknames didn’t resurface, but City Boy stuck around and some of the laddish banter continued. Still, they weren’t as overused as they were in the first book so these personality traits didn’t dominate as much this time around. The characters were much more relatable this time, as well, as the author gives her characters much fuller personalities so I enjoyed their company a lot more.

However, while the main story is full of twists and links well with the subplot of Olivia’s past, I feel like this subplot gets left behind towards the end. So while there’s a lot that I feel improves from the first instalment, I was still left wanting to know more.

Rockwell and Decker are back for another round of adventure in Her Perfect Bones... A body is found in a cabin - right down the road from Decker's place... and he is chasing down who could have placed a young woman's body there so many years ago. Meanwhile, Olivia is supporting her father at his parole hearing - and then everything collides together. So many interlocking twists and turns, you'll keep the pages turning on this book! Even though its book 2 in the Series, you can jump right in as the author gives the reader a taste of the backstory... and once this book is done, you'll be diving back into the first one. A great read!

This book was provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  When a mummified body is discovered in the basement of the cabin next door o Detective Decker, he is pulled into a decades old murder.  At the same time, Olivia is looking into her dad's past with the Oaktown boys and his incarceration.  Traveling from Fog Harbor to San Francisco, looking for clues as to who the remains belong to, piecing evidence together.  This is a very good story.  The "catch" of the killer is suspenseful.  Without her wanting to, Olivia's past as a young girl and the day her father was arrested surfaces.  Deck's past between his father, brothers and ex-fiancée are brought to life a little more.  Personally, I like this sequel better than the 1st novel in the Rockwell & Decker Series.  I am looking forward to the story continuing.

What a fantastic second book in a hold on tight, prepare to not sleep, white knuckle suspense, book series!  Keeps you guessing to the end!

Nice thriller. Nothing that stand out of the lot that much, but everything is well done and it was totally enjoyable, and in the end, that's what matter the most!

A good story filled with suspense and heartfelt emotion. It was well written with interesting characters and believable dialogue.

The book is second in the series and I would recommend reading the first book as some of the side plots are a continuation which would otherwise be difficult to grasp. The main plot however is fast paced and runs separately. The suspense and twists are quite predictable given the limited characters. Nothing mind blowing nor bad. 3.5 stars

Have you ever heard the saying, "God works in mysterious ways"?  Well I thought this was book 2 in another series I was reading, so I requested the arc., by accident.  I was not disappointed.  Mysterious ways indeed.  Fast paced, suspense, mystery all rolled into one.  There is a lot going on, different threads being pulled for a multi layered read.  I loved the relationship between Deck and JB it had me laughing out loud, which lightens the murder trail they follow.  I could relate to the push and pull between Olivia and Deck.  The issue with their families and jail is gritty and real.  I personally feel you can read this book without having read book 1, but I think reading book one would give you a little more connection with the characters,  I love a read that takes me on a twisty turn and provides the feels. Check! New author, new series, and will be looking for book 3. Thank you for the arc! I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions!

This is book two in the series and picks up several months after the previous one. This was a fast paced, a little edge of your seat thriller. I thought this book was much better than the first one. I enjoyed this one and look forward to the next one. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy