Brynn Callahan is damaged. Being a former Marine with PTSD and an alcoholic isn't hard enough, she's also caught between the settled world and the Irish Travelers as a deputy sheriff in her hometown. Brynn is realistically depicted as she fights her enemies--both literal and figurative--and you can't help caring for her as she tries to protect those she loves. A good, gritty story that left me eager for the next in the series.

Another excellent, taut mystery, 3rd in the Bone Gap Travelers series. Brynn Callahan straddles two distinct communities in rural Tennessee, Irish Travelers (also known as gypsies or pavees) and the "settled" communities. Having escaped this hostile and suspicious environment as a teenager, she returns as an ex-Marine with PTSD and with Wilco, her bone cadaver searching dog with his own ear injuries. Previous books painted and exposed the cultural norms dividing the region. This one acknowledges them but dives immediately into a twisty tale. When bloody ears are found, Brynn and Wilco search for the rest of the body and answers, answers that lead straight back to the Travelers. While this book works as a standalone, denying yourself the rich background and pivotal mysteries in the first two books would be your loss. Highly recommended!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I noticed some similarities to the TV show Outsiders.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Irish Brynn Callahan may seem an unlikely choice for a deputy sheriff in Bone Gap, Tennessee, but she’s up for a challenge. She gets a doozy when a pair of human ears is found on a playground, followed by a human tongue in a local park. Hear no evil, speak no evil – the message seems clear, but are these body parts from a murder victim? If so, where is the rest of it? Because Brynn recognizes one of those ears. Facing up to the town’s ugly past where Brynn’s own past as a Traveller may be part of the motive for these horrendous crimes may be the most difficult challenge Brynn has ever faced