Ivory Bones is an engaging and well written forensic archaeology/history/art mystery by Dr. Sara Winokur. Released 4th Feb 2025, it's 308 pages and is available in paperback and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free.
Told in a dual-timeline during Viking times and the modern day, a medieval diary ties together the protagonist, a forensic scientist, and long lost priceless missing chess pieces. MC Brynja is intelligent and honest, and dealing with personal issues from her own family's past and she makes an appealing foil for the unscrupulous forces who seemingly have no qualms against committing murder to gain the artifacts.
The author (who is a geneticist) manages to convey the necessary technical information for the function of the mystery without getting overly bogged down with technical jargon or unnecessarily complex info-dumping. The inclusion of the diary as a literary device was slightly more problematic (Anna, a slave, has and keeps writing in the diary, which was not taken from her, writing openly and frankly about her circumstances. Books were *highly* valuable at the time; she was captured by corsairs...).
The actual mystery is well constructed. It's not at all derivative, but the style reminded me of Kathy Reichs, Karin Slaughter, and similar genre authors. There are some brutal descriptions in the book, specifically the realities of the slave trade, and some violence in the modern era.
Although it's the second book featuring the main character, the mystery is self contained in this novel, and it works fine as a standalone.
Three and a half stars. It would make a good choice for forensic science mystery fans, and potentially a good buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
No comments:
Post a Comment