Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for an ARC of The Bone Queen.

When I read the description of this book I had high hopes for a great read, but for a book with so many murders it was actually quite boring and not at all scary. My biggest problem was the characters didn't have enough dimension for me to care about what happened to them and the ending felt anticlimactic. A unique idea for a story, but one that definitely missed the mark for me.

2.5 stars

This was a hard read. Not a page turner. Too many characters for any kind of development. I easily figured out the twists. It was confusing at times and I felt like parts of the plot were missing.

Jenna’s daughter Chloe has disappeared & the only clue she left behind is an island called Athelsea. As Jenna embarks on a journey to find her daughter & bring her home safely, she can’t help wondering if everything is truly as it seems or if there’s something much more sinister going on. Can she find Chloe in time or will she be another victim of the Bone Queen?

The story jumps back and forth between time periods - 2003, recent past 2025 and present day 2025 - mainly from Jenna & Chloe’s POV with the exception of the 2003 timeline. It’s easy enough to follow, although I did kind of wish that it could’ve been told chronologically so that I wouldn’t have to think back as much and make sure I was connecting the pieces properly. There are a few twists you see coming and some that you don’t which I really liked. Overall, spooky story that leaves you guessing.

**Thank you NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC**

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler is a suspenseful thriller that consistently engages the reader. It is both compelling and well-written.
Jenna’s teenage daughter Chloe is missing, and she does some investigating until she finds where she is. Jenna traces Chloe to an island where strange events unfold. Chloe believes she has been “marked” by Athelsea's legend, "The Bone Queen," and has to find out how to remove the curse. The atmospheric setting of the island adds a layer of depth to the narrative, making the reader feel the isolation and the uncanny presence that haunts the characters. Each chapter builds on the suspense, unraveling secrets and dark histories that keep you on the edge of your seat.
If you enjoy suspense and creepiness, I recommend this book for you! Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books for this ARC.

The Bone Queen feels like a nightmarish take on The Wicker Man meets The Ring and it had me reading with ALL the lights on. 🫣

In this story, Jenna's world implodes when her teenage daughter Chloe vanishes from their London flat. The only breadcrumb? A ferry ticket to some remote island called Athelsea. Armed with nothing but desperation and a mother's intuition, Jenna follows this thread to what might be the creepiest village since…The Village (whatever, you get it). 🏚️

But here's where things get DARK. The locals whisper about something called the Bone Queen, a vengeful spirit who apparently has a very specific type when it comes to her victims. The deeper Jenna digs into this folklore nightmare, the more twisted everything becomes. Shindler’s pacing is EVERYTHING because we’re sent right into the fold of this story and we never hit pause. Every revelation hit harder than the last, and just when I thought I had it figured out, another layer peeled back to reveal something even more sinister.

It was tough watching Jenna's grip on reality slowly unravel. Our girl is seeing things, hearing things…and with an atmosphere this thick, we start to wonder if she’s losing it or if the island is eating away at her. Shindler really plays with your head in the best possible way. I really connected with Jenna’s desperation and unshakable will, especially when you add in the emotions stirred up by having her sister with her on this horrifying adventure. I never stopped rooting for them (or Chloe). 🤞🏼

I'm still processing what was real versus what was myth, and I think that's exactly what the author intended. This story leaves you with breadcrumbs in your brain and you just might find yourself following them long after you’ve finished reading.

Tropes to die for:

👻 Supernatural/folk horror meets psychological thriller
🦴 Vengeful folklore spirit
🏝️ Isolated village with dark secrets
🔮 Unreliable narrator/questioning reality
📚 Ancient curse/legend
🤐 Locals who know more than they're saying
⚰️ Death comes for the deserving

Will Shindler just announced himself as a force to be reckoned with in the horror space. This one's perfect for anyone obsessed with atmospheric horror, folklore gone wrong, or that delicious blend of psychological and supernatural terror.

You can snag your copy of his debut novel on February 3, 2026. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

I enjoyed this novel a lot. I loved the atmosphere, the paranormal element, and the haunting writing. The ending was FANTASTIC!

4.5 🌟 Don’t be like me and read this book in a dark room at 1AM. When I tell you I was creeped out, I had to put it away before the Bone Queen marked me too. I loved it, I audibly gasped at points or said yesssss below my breath. There was many layers to this story, some layers that you didn’t even realize was cooking until he served it up for you. What kept it from a whole hearted five star was that I wished the end gave me a little more. He did such a good job at building up the whole story that I feel like the end wrapped up too quickly. This is Will Shindler’s debut US book and I’m looking forward to reading more from him.

Thank you NetGalley & St Martin’s Press for allowing me to review this ARC.

Thank you too st martins press/ Minotaur books and NetGalley for this arc!

I really enjoyed this once! It was a nice palette cleanser in between all the romcoms I’ve been reading. The atmosphere was super eerie. It was very suspenseful storyline that was very well developed. There weren’t any characters that drove me crazy. Overall, I really enjoyed this read!

The Bone Queen had some solid moments and a cool dark fantasy vibe that kept me reading, but overall, it didn’t fully hit the mark for me. While the world-building and characters were interesting enough to carry the story, it started to feel dragged out in the middle. Certain parts could’ve been trimmed without losing anything important, and that slowed down the pacing more than I would’ve liked.

The story was entertaining at times, There were definitely a few twists and eerie scenes that stood out, but when it finally reached the ending, it didn’t leave much of an impact. After all the buildup, the conclusion just felt a little flat and underwhelming. Not a bad read, but I wish it had kept the same energy throughout and landed a stronger finish.

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley and the author, thank you! This was a really good book! Has a few POV’s which i wish would have been on each chapter to where it changed characters because it could be a bit confusing at first. I love how it still leaves you wondering at the end whether the bone queen is real or just a folk lore! I wish it would have been more of Chloe’s POV. Most of it was from Jenna’s POV. My jaw dropped to the floor when i realized Hattie wasnt even really there! So wild! Will definitely read more books from this author!!

I really enjoyed this book! I loved the mystery and found it intriguing. The storyline was unique and it really lived up to expectations on the thriller, horror and suspense front! I think this is an amazing debut novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.
This was a great eerie and suspensful read. The storyline was well written and i connected with each of the characters. This book kept me wanting to keep reading and I had a hard time putting it down. Alot of twists and turns and a ending that I could possibly see carry into another book. This is definitely going into one of my top picks for 2025!

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC, all opinions are my own.

An overall enjoyable story about a mother trying to save her daughter from an unknown evil ends up twisting itself enough times to be more confusing than interesting.

The idea of a small town being the source of where a righteous fury lives and metes out justice is quite interesting and I found myself turning page by page to learn more about the mystery of the Bone Queen and how she captured people's attention and bodies the way she did across the internet.

However, as the story unraveled I found myself getting less and less interested in the truths that were being showcased.

~~ spoilers below

When learning that Ruth had brought up the abandoned child Josh Nicks and that he was heading up the little cult that got Chloe's, that entire plotline felt a little out of place, like the breadcrumbs were put there halfway but when finding the truth it felt dull and not very exciting. Additionally, the Bone Queen herself being a presence that seems to use a human host did unfortunately reduce some of that supernatural tension that we were feeling in the beginning of the book. It did a good job making me afraid of this ephemeral Bone Queen, but by making her corporeal in a way, it kind of took away that fear.

There were also some sentences that felt a bit run-on, or convoluted they could be edited better, such as in Chapter 2. "Jenna knew it wasn't Chloe on the deck of that boat because there's no way of telling a strange that their daughter was dead which began with a smile of any kind..." it took me a few tries to understand what was being said there.

Here and there there's some line editing that can be done. Like in chapter 15, there's dialog of two people which is in the same paragraph and no space where there should be: "he's still missing; those weren't children's bones we found in the sea-they were too big." "And you really think they're Adam's?" said Jenna.He looked at..."

Or chapter 32, where a quotation mark for dialog is missing," 'I'm sorry,' she said, but that's not good enough,' and his eyes.."

All in all, a solid murder mystery, could be a bit more mystery or fantasticalness about the Bone Queen but I did rush through because I wanted to know the ending! Alas, I felt the ending was just a bit less exciting than I wanted it to be

Very eerie and addictive. Small island town with an ancient legend, and so many tragedies over the years. Ceepy locals with secrets they want to take to the grave, literally. I was eating this up. Complex parent and child relationships are always interesting to read I think Schindler did a great job writing Jenna, a recovering alcoholic and fallen journalist, and her teenage daughter, Chloe, who’s gotten herself “marked” by the vengeful Bone Queen.
I was expecting this to be more thriller and not actually paranormal horror, so I was surprised, no complaints though because that means I did not see the final twists coming. I might also have been just a littleeeee freaked out at night, and worried about the Bone Queen slipping through my windows, so, 10/10 for that.
I do wish the ending was bit stronger, everything was wrapped up a little quickly which made it anticlimactic. But overall, this was a great and unputdownable read for any horror fan and I’m looking forward to Schindler’s next books!
Thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions! I have posted the following review to my Goodreads as of 06/17/2025

This was a quick read and enjoyable, especially for anyone that's a fan of horror (me!). I see a lot of inspiration in this book from some of the greats and my favorites, particularly The Ring and It Follows with a dash of The Blair Witch (2016). The premise definitely was not a new concept or anything groundbreaking, but if you're wanting a breezy horror novel to read, this one is definitely good. The description of the Bone Queen is beyond creepy, and it's nice to see a "seven days..." type concept updated for the digital age.

I did have some *very* minor nitpicks, some of the plot points wouldn't actually work out on Instagram itself because of how Instagram functions, for example following links from Instagram comments is not a thing. You also can't see someone's history on Instagram unless they've actively liked it. I don't want to give spoilers but these are things that happen in the story in order for the plot to move, and I think minor details do make a difference because they can take you out of the story.

Overall, not a bad read by any stretch and I enjoyed it. Best wishes to Will Shindler and all their future books!

It you like suspense/horror and some paranormal thrown in for good measure, then this book is definitely for you!

When suddenly Chloe starts suffering from the same haunted nightmares over and over as well as scratching her arms up until they bleed, she finds online a dark tale that claims she may have been marked by the Bone Queen. More research leads her to the island of Athelsea. There, she joins others who have fallen under similar circumstances.

Jenna Tipton has been worried about her Daughter, Chloe's behaviour in the last few weeks. When she suddenly up and disappears, Jenna follows breadcrumbs that lead her the Athelsea. Being haunted by her dead sister's voice, she is given the courage to search a very haunted island, where not only bones are being found, but also residents are being slaughtered one by one.

This is seriously one amazing read from a debut author!
It was gripping right from the start, and had me captivated. The characters fit seemlessly and you never quite know what to expect from any of them. This had a few literal jaw-dropping twists that I never expected and very well placed. A must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for th
ARC.

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler is a creepy, slow-burning page-turner that absolutely hooked me. The eerie idea of a vengeful figure returning to punish the wicked gave me chills in the best way. While the pace simmers early on, the suspense builds beautifully into a full-blown nightmare you won’t want to put down. A must-read for horror lovers who like their thrills with a side of justice.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this captivating eARC.

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler is an imaginative thriller / horror novel.

The side issues (loyalty, loss, love and alcoholism) that are included along with the primary storyline will keep you reading long into the night l. However, (you might be tempted to leave your lights on when you do fall asleep - to keep away scary demon people and other things that go bump in the night.

At the end of this story the author mentioned he typically writes police procedurals, which is my favorite genre, so I will look for more books from this talented author!

Stunning to say the least I love how this story was well written how it all came together brilliant thank you so much for this book

The Bone Queen by Will Shindler is a gritty, well-paced thriller that pulls you deep into a world of secrets, loss, and long-buried truths. From the start, I was drawn in by the unsettling tone and layered mystery. Shindler has a knack for creating atmosphere, and this book had a haunting, almost cinematic quality that made it easy to visualize every scene.

The characters were complex and well-developed, particularly the lead detective, who carried just the right amount of emotional baggage to make him compelling without feeling overdone. The plot moved steadily, with enough twists and revelations to keep me engaged without ever feeling convoluted.

I’m giving this one four stars because while the story was strong, there were moments where the pacing dipped just slightly, and I found myself wanting a bit more urgency. That said, this was a solid read, intelligent, unsettling, and emotionally grounded. I would absolutely recommend it to fans of darker British crime fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I’m definitely keeping an eye out for what Will Shindler writes next.