Alright, first things first, that cover is awesome and that’s what made me get it in the first place, also the title, how promising does that sound?!
Okay, onto the good parts now. I learned quite a bit from this book. Tbh, I didn’t know New Zealand was such an exotic country, with so much wildlife conserved and protected like that, all the descriptions made me want to google some of the rare birds mentioned in this book. And the whole part about Shark cage diving was really interesting, possibly the best part in this whole book, I picked up a few facts about it all, and also the whale beaching. Cool!

The not so good part is, this story is too much detailed, like, seriously, I don’t want to know, what objects did the characters pick out of their pockets, in what order, and in how many seconds and how their wrists moved, and which angle the rolled eyes and what though accompanied them while they were at it! I might have exaggerated it a bit there, but really, I love details, but that was a bit too much at every turn and kinda threw me off of the real story. Also, a nitpick here, but the main character “jumped” at every opportune moment every so often, and I got bored, good thing she had brains, and asked all the right questions too! Another nitpick is, I kinda found the title a bit misleading, I think it was more about the flesh than the bones in this one!
But it’s really good if you’re looking for a gripping and well-detailed read, like a 3hr movie going on in your head.

As far as mystery/thriller/suspense books go, this was okay, but definitely not a favorite. I hate jumping into series without usually starting the first book and going in chronological order, but I received this one for an honest review. Maybe if I had started at the beginning, I could have connected with the characters more and felt like I knew them a little bit better.
This book is the 2nd in the series about forensic investigator Alexis Glock. She finds herself on islands outside the coast of New Zealand, where the locals and shark cagers are in disagreement whether or not this is ethical practice by teasing shark with chum, basically ground up fish. Alexis finds herself in all kinds of scenarios, the most memorable being on the boat where a local shark cage tour guide is murdered on his own boat and she is forced to jump overboard, where she almost becomes the shark bait herself. She is there to solve not one, but two murders at a time, the other being a missing hunter introduced at the beginning of the book.
There seemed to be way too many characters and things going on to help keep my interest and concentrate on the story at hand. I liked the fact I was not able to guess who the responsible murderer was, but that was due to the number of extremely shady characters in this book. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to give another honest review.

This was a quick and thrilling read. The characters were beautifully flawed and sometimes I wanted to yell at them, but that's what makes a book enjoyable. This is a murder mystery set in New Zealand. Initially Alexa Glock is sent there for a recovered body, at first assumed to be self inflicted, and then shortly after she examines the first body, another body turns up. The mystery deepens. I learned a few things about sharks that I didn't know before and about the cage diving industry as well. The cage diving industry has this whole island in uproars so Alexa must solve this mystery before it results in even more deaths. There were some very sad parts in this book, I won't spoil it for you, but just be warned. The descriptions were beautiful and horrible and refreshing and disturbing, Johnson is really great at setting the scene. I haven't read the first one, but I had no problem following everything that went on in this book. I'm definitely going to read the first book in this series.

This is the second book in the Alexa Glock forensic mystery series and it did not disappoint! The case is interesting and I loved that the setting is in the beautiful New Zealand.

The Story: Alexa Glock now works as the forensics investigator for Forensics Science Center, Auckland. Her expertise is needed when a decomposed body of a hunter who went missing ten months ago was found at the remote Steward Island. It looks like a straightforward accident case, but the bullet that is lodged in the skull suggests a homicide. Soon after, a second body was found washed ashore at the Ringaringa Beach. Again, it appears to be a straightforward shark attack case, but things quickly turns complicated when the autopsy revealed a bullet damage in the victim's abdomen. Meanwhile there is an ongoing dispute between the shark cage diving operators and paua divers in this island. Are they connected to these murders?

My thoughts: I do enjoy a mutilayered murder mystery and this book delivered that! The plot is interesting and it kept me guessing till the end. I loved that I learned quite a bit about sharks, shark cage diving, paua diving and forensics! Once again, I was transported to the beautiful NZ by the author's descriptive writing! It was really well done! I also enjoyed reading the investigations aspect in this story and I appreciate that the author made you feel like you're a part of the team, investigating these deaths. However, compared to this first book, this aspect in this story feels overwhelming, too much details and it slowed down the story. Fortunately, things picked up again later on. There are also a lot more characters in this story which I struggled to keep up with.

Overall, this is still an interesting murder mystery and if police procedural and forensics are something you enjoy, this is the book for you. I enjoyed this series so far, and looking forward to read the next book in this series. I am curious to see how the friendship between Alexa and DI Horne will develop as the series progresses.


Pub. Date: 8 Sept, 2020

***Thank you Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this gifted review copy in exchange for an honest review.***

procedural, New Zealand, forensics, law-enforcement, PTSD, cultural-exploration, cultural-assimilation, murder, murder-investigation, dental

This one is even better than the first! Alexa is a forensic odontologist from the US working and continuing to study in New Zealand. She continues to learn the customs and also the idioms used which are different from what she grew up with. The first body is months old, but the forensics need doing and she is even able to arrange for an unofficial autopsy to be done by a qualified tourist. The main learning I took from this is a lot of marine biology, Maori customs related to marine life, local unemployment factors complicated by short sighted and shady business practices. My nose was glued to the pages! The due diligence nearly costs her life on more than one occasion and she comes into contact with an aggravated Great White Shark! I love the realistic detailing of this beautiful country including sand flies and violent weather.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Poisoned Pen Press via NetGalley. Thank you!

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC. I take my description from the title page because it is impressively succinct:

"At first, Alexa Glock's initial case as a traveling forensic investigator seems straightforward—her expertise in teeth helps her identify the skeletal remains of a hunter found on the remote Stewart Island in New Zealand. But when she realizes the bullet lodged in his skull was not self-inflicted, and then a second, shark-ravaged body washes up on Ringaringa Beach, it's clear that something dangerous is lurking in the beautiful waters surrounding the island.
The disturbing sight seems to confirm what locals have hashed out in the pub: shark cage-diving, lucrative for owners and popular with tourists, has changed the great white sharks' behavior, turning them into man-eaters. Tensions between cagers and locals mount as Alexa dives into the harrowing case. While measuring bite patterns, she makes a shocking discovery that just might lead her to who—or what—is behind both deaths."

Alexa Glock is a maverick - she knows what needs to be done and breaks rules and ignores orders to make sure her crime scenes are preserved and investigated properly. Her forensic specialism is odontology - when everything else comprising a body is gone - the teeth remain for identification. Ordered from Auckland to remote and inhospitable Stewart Island off New Zealand's South Island she battles the terrain in company with Sgt. Kipper Wallace and Rangers, to the decomposed body of Robert King. He had disappeared ten months previously whilst with 2 friends on a hunting trip, and discovered by hikers. What is staged to look like a suicide turns out to be a murder.
When the shark-ravaged body is washed-up on the beach Alexa takes every precaution to preserve the evidence available. Kana Duffy - a famous celebrity within shark biology, is brought in to decide on whether a cull of white sharks should be ordered.

When the PLB (personal locator beacon) of Robert King is activated during the course of the investigation, things get complicated; not least when a visiting coroner examines the corpse of the shark attack victim only to discover the original thinking on cause of death was rather wrong.

Alexa's risk-taking gets her into life-endangering trouble, but she has a romantic interest to keep her going in the form of DI Bruce Horne.

There are "heart-in-the-mouth" moments as Alexa reaches the climax of her investigations. There is tension alongside camaraderie between herself and the local police department. "Edge of your seat" stuff at times.

This starts off a little pedestrian, but the characterisations are building, and it's well-worth persevering. I really enjoyed this. Will we read more of Alexa Glock and perhaps Bruce Horne? Hope so.

An interesting book. I learned a great deal about forensics. However, it was s little long and predictable. Well written and picked up halfway xxx

Set in New Zealand,a gritty murder or two for our main character who was dogged and determined. Very slow to get going,but I learnt a lot about sharks.

3 stars

The setting for this book is beautiful New Zealand.

After a very frustrating and slow start, the book picks up. Alexa spends the first few chapters with an “Oh, my gosh,” attitude that drove me crazy. She complained about the environment and the animals in the woods at every step. Grrr....

Once the story picks up, it turns into an interesting and colorful mystery/police procedural. The book is fairly well written and plotted. I didn't enjoy the quasi-romance between Alexa and her boss Bruce. I thought puleese...She didn't listen to instructions and although in the end her running off proved fruitful to the investigation; she irritated me. The small island off of New Zealand proper sounded wonderful. It was teeming with wildlife and engaging characters. The caging versus the divers controversy was certainly interesting. I learned some more about sharks, too and found that it added to the story greatly.

I want to thank NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the digital copy of The Bones Remember. I was happy to see that Alexa Glock, forensic investigator, was still in New Zealand. Her home is in the United States but she wanted to prolong her stay in New Zealand. The Bones Remember reacquainted me with one of my favourite places in the world. The author, Sara E. Johnson, has vividly described two very different NZ settings and environments.

I enjoyed the previous book, Molten Mud Murder, also featuring Alexa Glock who specializes in odontology (the study of teeth). She previously worked around Rotorua, and this time she has been called on to identify two separate bodies on a small NZ coastal island while helping to determine the cause of their deaths.

The first body belonged to a hunter whose body was discovered in the thick muddy bush after being missing for months. He had been shot. Soon a second body was found on the beach. This man had been savaged by sharks.

One of the local tourist attractions was shark-cage diving, an endeavour that divided the town. Some appreciated the added revenue brought in by tourists for the thrill of viewing sharks close up from the safety of their cages. Others deeply resented the fact that ground meat was being dumped in the sea to attract the sharks. They feared the Great Whites we’re increasing in number and becoming more dangerous.

While examining both bodies, Alexa makes a startling discovery based on her expertise in teeth and bite patterns. This was an easy to read mystery story with a likeable protagonist and an atmospheric setting.
I hope that there is another book forthcoming and that it finds Alexa having more adventures while working in beautiful New Zealand.