Forgotten Bones is a murder mystery book. Derek Ritzeman was driving when his intoxicated girlfriend, Danica was distracting him by trying to perform sex acts on him. He ended up hitting a telephone pole and he thought he ran over a small boy. It was later revealed that the body had been there buried for some time. The cop, Susan was determined to figure out who did the murder. Eric Evans was a college professor who had schizophrenic. He shared how he saw stuff and heard things that others couldn’t see or hear. Eric’s wife, Maggie also cheated on him and messed him up. She chose to have an affair with his best friend, colleague, and older brother, Jim. They told chalked it up to him just imagining and being paranoid. They got engaged and she was pregnant with Jim’s child. This added fuel to the fire. Eric eventually started seeing a boy in overalls and has visions of different murders that are uncovered. The police and the FBI have their own ideas on who did the killings and Susan believes something else entirely is going on.


I liked reading this mystery book and how thrilling it was in trying to figure out who did the murders. At first, we all was led to believe it was a part of a sexual predators committing the crimes and it had gone unnoticed for years. The ending was something I didn’t see coming and I loved the different turns it took readers by surprise. This book had a Criminal Minds fill to the book it just wasn’t as twisted as that show is. I also liked how the author shared how she tried to paint schizophrenic in different light than how it normally is presented. I was excited to learn that this is actually a new series.

Forgotten Bones is a good start to a new series. It does fall apart a bit on the backend, but I'd be willing to read at least one more book.

Susan Marlan has a problem case on her hands and turns to Eric Evans, who has, well special insight. It's a good start to a new procedural series.

I really wanted to like this and be able to delve into a new series! IT starts out good, exciting and you are ready to dive in...then it kind of falls apart. The writing is decent and the storyline has promise, but it gets a bit dull and repeatative. it's drawn out and hard to keep interested.

Forgotten Bones is a good mystery that well written. It does deal with some sensitive material such as child predators. Overall it is a solid mystery.

In a prologue with an interesting car accident that unearths a skeleton starting this book began in such a sweet spot, but with chapter and chapter and page by page this book didn't live up to the beginning and I was sad with my reaction by the end.

In a small town in California, two police officers are used to responding to the random small town things when the skeleton is unearthed and a recently released predator goes missing - SHIT hits the fan! At the same time in walks a man who just moved to town and is seeing visions and decides to see if they are related to the drama in the small town.

I loved the premise. I loved the plot. But I didn't love the execution. I read a lot of mystery thrillers so I know I am extra at looking for clues, but I felt as though I figured out the ins and outs of this one way too early and that always disappoints me. There were moments where I honestly got frustrated that things seemed way too obvious and knew that I couldn't recommend this one to my friends and family who adore this genre. If you are a casual mystery thriller reader this one would be great for you.

The premise with a man who just moves to town and has a disorder that makes him unreliable added to the typical small town police officer book, but it didn't work as well as I wanted it to. I was hoping that this would bring on some creep factor, but it just fell flat for me.

I would read this author again, but would definitely have to really review the plot and premise to make sure that I would be into those things before diving in.

When the bones of a young boy are discovered it leads to a killing field of a serial killer. A convicted killer lives close by and is the number one suspect but he has disappeared also. The story has many twists and turns as the FBI takes over the case and the local sheriff turns his back. Thrown into the mix is a local college professor that sees visions of the victim but thinks it may be part of his mental health issues. A mystery with a shocking ending.

This is a mash-up of a horror novel, a ghost story, and a police procedural, and the result is a hot mess. Little of the procedural part is rooted in reality; the plotting is lazy; and the characters are problematic at best--the author creates a mentally ill protagonist without, apparently, having any understanding of why #ownvoices matters and without consulting actual schizophrenics about their experiences. This might have been an ok book if it had gone through a diversity read and a heavy round of developmental editing, but as it is, I can't recommend it.

4.5 ★ Forgotten Bones is an eerie, entertaining, fast-paced murder mystery!

Eric Evans, a newly divorced, community college professor finds and works on restoring an old foul-smelling steamer trunk he bought from a used shop. He soon begins seeing ghostly visions, although he thinks he’s hallucinating due to his schizophrenia.

Officer Susan Marlon, first on the scene of a car accident, is startled by what’s found buried nearby. She begins investigating the discovered remains of a small child found in a field, that coincidentally is owned by Gerald Nichol, a felon who’s just been paroled for child pornography.

Eric meets Susan while performing with a local band, both feel an instant spark. Eric meets Susan a second time when he files a report at the police station, he tells her about his visions of a small blue-eyed boy wearing blue overalls. After Susan hears this unreleased detail, she believes he’s telling the truth. Susan also believes Eric’s ghost is Nichol’s missing neighbor from the 1960’s—6 year old Lenny Lincoln, nicknamed “Overalls Boy” at the coroners office who’s remains are still unidentified.
When Susan advises her police chief of her findings related to the case he removes her from it, saying Eric’s record shows he’s mentally unstable. She doesn’t listen, and w/Eric’s help they push forward by digging deeper as more bodies are found on the farm of Gerald Nichol—the FBI and police are resolute that Nichol is their perpetrator because Nichol has disappeared. Susan is not so sure.

Susan and Eric get too close to the truth, ensnaring them in a death trap where they’re the prey and the one person Susan thought had her back, didn’t.
Forgotten Bones is a well written, character driven, chilling roller-coaster ride. I loved Susan and Eric’s magical charisma together, which now of course has me anticipating Vivian Barz’s next book in this new series.



*Thanks to the publisher Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ebook in exchange for my honest opinion*

I have some mixed feelings about this one. For starters I really liked the characters. Susan is smart and tough but still human and likable and I sympathized with Eric and liked him. I found it to be an interesting combination of personalities and the mystery was really interesting. It was very readable and the author did a great job of making the characters and the setting really come alive.

BUT, there's a LOT of setup. Like a lot. It took almost half the book for Eric and Susan to become the crime fighting duo I was hoping for. Prior to that (and some during) we get a lot about Eric's divorce and dealing with his illness as well as Susan's struggles with internal politics. All of this pushed the mystery out of focus at times and made the book just feel too long. Because it is a fairly complicated setup I see why this had to happen but I feel like I'll enjoy the 2nd book quite a bit more because hopefully there will be more focus on the mystery.

A well written and gripping story that kept me on the edge till the end and couldn't put down.
I liked the solid plot, the fleshed out cast of characters and the setting.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview Forgotten Bones by Vivian Barz. This is a police procedural that looks like it may become a series.
The bones of an old crime are found by a police officer - Susan Marlan. There are those who are quick to judge a local man as a possible suspect, but Susan is skeptical.
While a college professor, Eric, is having visions about a young boy, he feels these maybe messages from the grave. Susan and Eric team up to solve this crime and this is not easy as there seems to be those who do not want this murder solved.
Good book - 3 stars.

Forgotten Bones by Vivian Barz had me on the edge of my seat. Did not want to put this book down! I loved both small-town cop Susan and the new professor in town, Eric. Both of them have great personalities and feel like real people existing somewhere out in California solving crimes. Loved the book.

Skeletons, lots of them, are showing up in a field adjacent to where a convicted child molester lives. But they can't find the man. He's missing. The police want answers as more and more skeletons appear. Boys and girls, some are very old and some are newer. It's certainly grizzly and awful.

Susan believes this is her case, and wants to do all in her power as a cop to help the FBI solve it. Problem is, her boss is keeping her away. Why? She wants to move up in the department and be the best cop she can. Susan resolves to find answers in her own way any way she can.

Eric moved to town to escape a painful relationship. He's certainly unique, a schizophrenic who starts having visions of young children dying before his eyes. He thinks he may be crazy but one little boy keeps trying to get a message across to him.

Susan and Eric start to work together for answers. Nothing in this small town is what it seems. Grab this book, it is a really excellent mystery. Five stars all the way!

Wow! Just Wow! This book was amazing! I had seen bookstagramers posting about this book a few months ago and I thought it sounded interesting. I instantly put it on my tbr list. When I saw it on NetGalley I knew that I needed to request this one because I really wanted to read it. I am so happy that I was approved! It was so good. I couldn't put it down. This is one you can not pass up if you love Mystery and Thillers!

Huge Thank You to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for this opportunity!

I read this title weeks ago, but have been waiting to post since it just published this week. It was a solid thriller and I enjoyed it. I really really liked how Eric had schizophrenia, but was not portrayed as incapable or out of control, but as someone who was living his life and dealing with mental illness. The end was a pretty quick wrap up, but overall, it was a great read if you like suspenseful mysteries.

Thanks for my copy to review via Net Galley.

I actually enjoyed this book. Eric is a schizophrenic, moved to a new town and starts hallucinating or is he? Susan is a police officer who goes against orders to solve a mystery. Lots of dead bodies piling up, while the FUN is searching for a convicted pedophile. Seen a lot of reviews on this book about how author told who the culprit was at the beginning, assuming they didn't finish the book. Because the ending was not what I expected,. I really enjoyed the paranormal aspect and will read more from author Vivian Barz.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read and review this book.

After finding the bones of a young child, Susan wants to be the one to bring the killer to justice. When more bodies are found, the FBI is taking over and Susan is ordered to stay away from the case. By chance she meets Eric, a schizophrenic, who sees dead children and a horse. Susan can't let it go and teams up with Eric to ask questions and help solving the case.
I didn't know that there would be some paranormal aspects to the story. I still would have read the book, but maybe it would have been more enjoyable. I liked Eric and how he lives a normal life with a job and friends, even having to battle with mental illness.

I’ve never read anything by this author before but the synopsis sounded good. I was so confused the first part of this book. Eric is a professor who’s wife left him and I’m wondering what this has to do with anything. Susan is a police officer trying to solve a old murder but she gets pushed out at every turn. The paranormal aspects of this book are super creepy. 60% into the book I was ready to give up but then it took off and was fast paced, super twisted did not see that coming suspense to the very end. I would read another book by this author. Hopefully the next one will be as good as the last part of this one was.

FORGOTTEN BONES is riveting! I couldn't take my eyes off the page, so it was a one-day reading. I'm ecstatic to know the series will continue and soon. The "good guys" here are really special and quite unusual. The "bad guys" (a multiplicity) are--to put it mildly--scary. All of them. The implacability, the total disregard for human life and dignity and the right to survive, their "philosophy of life"--chilling!! Author Vivian Barz fine-tunes her characters (where did she "find" some of these villains?!!) so that they are very realistic. Her treatment of Eric's psychology is humane and truthful. I am so eager to encounter these characters (the good guys) again.


Caution: FORGOTTEN BONES does deal with some very sensitive and upsetting subjects, including involving children and predators of children. Be aware.

Skipping over the prologue, which I thought was too long and actually unnecessary since the characters don’t feature again, Police Officer Susan Marlan responds to a road traffic accident where the decades old remains of a child’s body is discovered buried next to a telephone pole that had been knocked down. A local pedophile recently released from prison is deemed responsible for the child’s death although, after talking to the medical examiner and interviewing his mother, Susan isn’t completely convinced.

College professor Eric Evans has recently relocated due to his marriage break up. After a garage sale buy strange things begin to happen. Eric suffers from schizophrenia which is normally kept under control by medication, which he takes religiously. The things he’s seeing and hearing make him wonder if his condition is causing hallucinations or is he actually seeing ghosts.

The story alternated between Susan and Eric, with quite a lot of description and introspection about their lives from the two of them which slows the story. Susan seems to care about her job and is determined to get to the bottom of the case despite being warned off by the FBI who have taken over the investigation. Yet inexplicably she doesn’t hurry to report what she learned before taking four days leave. She and Eric eventually team up to solve the mystery when he reports what he describes as dreams, not wanting Susan to think he was ‘one of the crazies’ that tend to make false claims.

There’s not enough actual crime solving or police procedural work to generate tension or suspense and the clues are fairly obvious, particularly the reveal at the end, nothing misleading or distracting and most of the threads were fairly predictable. I’m not a fan of the villain confessing all at the end to tie everything up before he’s about to kill the one who found him out.

I enjoyed Eric’s character the most, and his developing friendship with Jake. The mental health aspect is portrayed with positivity, showing how Eric copes well with his condition and lives a productive life. The premise of the story was promising, there was just too much unrelated drama and self absorption for me.