This book was so good! I want to see more from this author in the future!! I couldn't put this book down. What a page turner!!!

I love a good police mystery and add one with a psychic and I'm hooked. This is the 2nd in a series and I saw other reviewers recommend reading the first book before this one. I haven't read the first one (though I will now) and it didn't seem to disrupt the story.

All in all, I was very happy with this book and recommend highly.

honestly, i wasn't really prepared for the whole paranormal subplot, even if you could call it a sub plot. but, honestly the writing was pretty wordy and it just didn't just flow and work together like Barz probably intended. but, thanks for the arc tho.

Four friends on a road trip culminating in a music festival stop off at a small town. Susan and Eric both have a lot to put behind them - Susan her last episode with crime and dead bodies and Eric with his new found ability to see the dead.

When Madison and Clark two of their group go missing, and when the Chief of Police in this town scoffs at the idea of there being foul play the remaining members know that it is upto them to undertake a search operation for their friends.

The entire town of Clancy is downright antagonistic and in several instances dangerous. Their room has been vandalized, all their equipment damaged beyond repair, they've been threatened by goons in the town but they still are adamant they will not leave till they find out what has happened to their friends.

Getting information from the FBI and using that as well to their advantage, they discover a trail of drugs, intimidation by the mayor who was not averse to using blackmail to get the town to do what she wants, they discover so much murder and mayhem and sadly the dead bodies of their two friends.

The atmosphere of the book was always antaganostic and tense. The physical surroundings of Clancy added to the general weirdness weighing down the town.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* yikes what a scary town :o still not sure how much i like the story compared to the first one but not bad

Hidden Bones by Vivian Barz is the second book in the Dead Remaining Series. While Susan and Eric are still coping with what happened at the Death Farm. They decide to get away with friends and stumble upon another mystery when two of their friends go missing. Eric’s gifts and Susan’s police skills work in unison to solve the case.

Overall this was a good read. I do recommend reading the first book before diving in so that you can get a better idea of what happened at the Death Farm as well as a better picture of what Eric’s gifts are. I like the edge of paranormal to the mystery.

Thank you, NetGalley, for my copy of the book. All opinions are my own.

#HiddenBones #NetGalley

4.5 stars

This is the second book in the Dead Remaining series by Vivian Barz.

It took me a few chapters before I got a good idea who the main characters of this story were. Even though the police officer usually leads a story like this, I felt like the teacher, Eric was way more compelling. I loved his uneasiness with his new psychic gift and how it might affect his relationship with Susan.

The story was a bit of a mind-bender but that doesn’t mean it was bad. You just really need to pay attention to all the players and what is going on to get anything out of this. Definitely a great read that I completely enjoyed.

I will look into book one and see how that differs from this one. I look forward to see where the story goes from here. I am surely intrigued.

If you love a good police procedural, detective fiction mystery, definitely check this one out.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

I really enjoyed this book and loved the psychic element. The creepiness of the town was very atmospheric.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

this was a great suspenseful mystery, the characters were great and I really enjoyed reading this. I look forward to more from the author and the series.

I really liked this book. It was well written and made me keep on guessing about what was going to happen. The main characters I love and felt that the plot was good. For me the book flowed well and I ended up finishing it in a 4 day period. I found it very interesting. There was a little bit of everything and the ending was shocking.

Hidden Bones is worth reading, but with a caveat. If you, like me, don't believe in psychics, you will have to suspend your disbelief. One of the main characters, Eric Evans, is a schizophrenic with psychic tendencies. In Hidden Bones, Eric, a college professor, and his girlfriend, Susan, a police officer, join Eric's former student, Jake and his band, on a trip to Seattle where they are doing a gig. For Eric and Susan it is a mini vacation away from Perrick, California, where some truly disturbing things happened to them in the first book in this series. For Jake it is a chance to visit Clancy, Washington, where the band has an on-the-way gig, because it is where his beloved Dylan Kincaid spy thrillers are set.

When they reach Clancy, however, they find a very strange town. People in Clancy seem to dislike outsiders. There are many empty houses. Most businesses have closed. There no people on the streets. Jake's band performs, and although they are becoming nationally well known, the response is less than ecstatic.

The next morning, Eric and Susan decide to go for a hike before they head for Seattle.. As they are hiking, Eric has an out of body experience in which he sees a murder from the point of view of the man being killed. Things go downhill quickly from there for Eric, Susan and Jake. Will they be able to leave Clancy with their lives? Who is behind the strange things going on in the small, desolate town?

Hidden Bones is a slightly above average mystery. Bartz writes well enough; I would read another of her books. Her characters are reasonably well developed, especially Eric, whose schizophrenia and psychic abilities are explored to some extent. The plot will keep you turning pages, if you can suspend any disbelief you may have. So, 3.5 stars. Recommended, with caveats.

Thank you to Vivian Bartz, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for the ARC of Hidden Bones in return for this honest review.

This book may be a bit hard to understand at first for those who don’t realize that this is part of a series. I’ll admit that this was why I selected this book after being reeled in from Kindle First a year ago when I picked the first one.

Of course I had to know what was next. I was left a bit let down. The mystery was great but I didn’t need the inclusion of a third person to this crime fighting duo.

It was still a good read and fun for those who love mystery series such as this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This book was such a disappointment! I have not read book #1 so I don't know if that affected my opinion. This book is wordy and skips all over place, unable to keep track of what's happening when and with whom. I'm sure there are others in the reading world that will make up for my dislike. I WAS UNABLE TO FINISH THIS BOOK! 📚

#NetGalley #ThomasandMercer #HiddenBones

"Careful, it sounds like you’re starting to drink the Kool-Aid,”

Hidden Bones by Vivian Barz was an ok read. I thought it was written pretty well and flowed easily from one page to the next once it started moving. There were the main characters: Susan, a police officer, Eric, a psychic professor, and Jake, a former student of the professor.

I enjoyed how the the main characters worked together to solve the mystery. I thought they interacted on a personal level. I liked the setting, in a town called Clancy, in rural Washington. I found it quite interesting, and frankly kind of creepy how the townspeople were so unwelcoming to them. I also really enjoyed the character Eric who was just beginning to come to accept his 'psychic' gift.

With that being said, this one did not do it for me. I felt it had so much potential but ultimately fell kind of flat.

Overall, I would recommend Hidden Bones, by Vivian Barz to mystery lovers who enjoy a light and easy quick read. It was just not for me. This was my first book by the author and I would be willing to try another.

This had too much of a paranormal tone for me to enjoy. It wasn't what I expected and I was disappointed.

I think I would have enjoyed this more had I read the first book. Susan, a police officer, and Eric, a college professor with mental health issues and an ability to see the dead, think they are going to have a nice relaxing break when they join their friend Jake and his band on a road trip of sorts to Washington State. Unfortunately, once they get to Clancy, Eric starts to see things, Jake's mates disappear, and well, the story got a little nuts for me. Those who have read the first book likely will be pleased to see these characters develop but I kept feeling as though I was missing something. Thanks to Netgalley for the Arc. A rare pass from me but you might feel differently.

The second in a series and as always in mystery series the case is solved within each book, but there is character development of the investigators and the characters that carry from book to book, so I suggest going back and starting with book one in this series before going ahead and reading this one.

Police officer Susan Marlan and professor Eric Evans return and in this book they are fully in a relationship and still trying to come down from the excitement that took place in book one. They get invited on a road trip along with a band to help cart around equipment, but drama will begin after the first concert on this intended road trip. Band members go missing, this small town gives off weird vibes and professor Eric Evans starts having the horrible visions that he had in book one.

I am liking this series as it feels different from the many other mystery/thrillers that I read. They can be a little gory with the professor's visions having dead people in it "talking" to him, but it is by no means the goriest thing I have read. This one felt as though it came together a little too quickly in the last few pages, but I still liked it.

I will read the next one in the series when it arrives.

“Hidden Bones” is an enjoyable sequel to Barz’s creepy debut, “Forgotten Bones.” Fans will be pleased with this mystery about a small town with a deadly, evil secret. Eric Evans is a unique hero who sees the ghosts of murder victims. They seek him out for justice. Eric must fight a most diabolical villain in this very suspenseful mystery. “Hidden Bones” is great summer reading for fans of supernatural horror.

For a copy of my complete review, please see the August edition of www.Gumshoe.com.

Schizophrenia, crazy or seeing the dead? I had not read book one, and apparently I am one of the few who had issues. I was lost. Then as I started grasping the premise and plot I enjoyed it much more. Still got lost on all the faces and people, I had to reread some sections a couple of times. I didn't guess the ring leader but I did guess one of her helpers, it was just to obvious to me, following under the two good to be true. It did pull on some heart strings when we find out more about the Sheriff and how that played out. I am curious if the next book will play out more about Susan, and if Eric helps out. That being said I would read book 3. There was potential for me. Thank you Thomas and Mercer, NetGalley and Vivian Barz for the arc, expanding my world. I freely volunteer my thoughts and opinions.

I haven't read previous books and i didn't realize that it's a series.. but i liked that i could read it without needing to read previous books, of course I would love to read the previous one so I can understand better some reference in this book.
Definitely it would be nice if the author would give little bit more information about previous cases in the next books. It's easier to have more reader's if they feel that they don't need to read every book by the author.
Still the book was good,it grab me from the start.. good story, a lot of twists "charming" characters that you can follow easy and interesting ending.

Big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.