This suspenseful tale had wit, twists and turns, and action. The writing is very atmospheric and the plot well crafted.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

Thomas & Mercer, 2021

ISBN-13: 9781542042710 (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1542042712 (Hardcover)
ISBN -13: 9781542042772 (Paperback)
ISBN-10: 1542042771 (Paperback)
ASIN: B07ZJ2G5H9 (Kindle)

Available: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook(Kindle), Audiobook

Eve Ronin and her partner, Duncan ‘Donuts’ Pavone, are dispatched to investigate bones found by a homeowner after a wildfire raged through the Santa Monica Mountains. One-hundred thousand acres of chaparral and houses had been reduced to ash. Detective Ronin had been pushing paper for weeks while waiting for her wrist to heal, broken during her first murder case in Lost Hills. She was ready for action. Duncan was ready for retirement. Only 118 days to go. The bones are the remains of a missing person from a years-old cold case. Eve takes the lead on the investigation and goes down a dark path that only gets darker the deeper she goes. Old wounds are reopened. Her fellow officers are implicated. Mistakes are made. Before the investigation is over, Eve’s career and her life are put on the line.

Bone Canyon picks up right where Lost Hills left off and didn’t miss a beat. The complicated world of murder investigation rears its ugly head and left me wondering how the police can function at all. The plot was good, starting with a simple find of bones that could be nothing and spirals out of control in a complicated display of human nature at its worst. The pace was quick and made for a fast read. The characters continued to grow from where they left off in Lost Hills. Duncan looks at new options in his upcoming retirement, and Eve gets a love interest. The descriptions were just enough without going overboard. I could tell where I was and loved the additional entries of Hollywood trivia. The author also included detailed police procedures that kept the feeling of authenticity going from the first book. There were a few grammar mistakes but not excessively so. The work was very readable. All in all, this was a solid addition to the series. Previously, I have read Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg.

I rate this work as Recommended for adult readers.

Contains: Rape, Swearing, Adult situations, Gore, Violence, Suicide.

Reviewed By: Aaron Fletcher

law-enforcement, forensics, California, corruption, tv-film-industry, family-dynamics, friendship

Eve had found a novel way to get the promotion she wanted in the department but now it was biting her on the backside. She kept being pestered by Hollywood types and even her biological father to sign the rights to a TV series based on her police work. But all she wants to do is to bring justice to the women whose charred remains have been found in the canyon. The forensic bone man proved the time frame and tentative cause of death and her partner did the due diligence to bring proof of identity and gave insight into what a minefield bring the perps to light would be. Then other remains from long before the fires began to turn up and Eve got even more determined to bring the culprits to justice. It's a good but disturbing read, especially in this time of police issues.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Thomas & Mercer via NetGalley. Thank you!

Bone Canyon is the second book in the Eve Ronin series about a young homicide detective in the LA County Sheriff’s Department. It’s not crucial to have read the first book, Lost Hills, as you get the necessary backstory and this doesn’t spoil that one, although events from it are referred to quite often. Unlike the author’s Ian Ludlow series, these are straight police thrillers without the spoof/comedy element, and while they don’t break any new ground, I like Eve as a heroine and they are well plotted and written.

Eve has only just returned to active duty after breaking her wrist on her last case, when she is called to the discovery of human bones on the hillside, uncovered by recent wildfires. The remains are identified as those of a young woman who went missing six years earlier, soon after reporting that she had been gang raped. Already unpopular in her department because of her history, and being hounded by Hollywood who want to make her story into a TV series, Eve will expose dark secrets which make her a target for those she should be able to trust.

I had commented in my review of the last book that it was a bit too much of an homage to Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch series and that I hoped he would have the confidence to develop on his own. By coincidence we just started listening to one of the recent Bosch audiobooks, which highlighted the similarities here once more. It’s not a bad thing - Connelly is a master of the genre but I’m going to run out of his books soon so am happy to have more thrillers like them to read. Eve shows the same grit, disdain for authority and determination to do right by the victim as Bosch.
I enjoyed the scenes with her rather dysfunctional family and even quite enjoyed the romance angle (unusual for me!) It’s not too gruesome or violent and I enjoyed the forensic aspects.

I was slightly disappointed by the reveal - I can’t say too much without spoilers, but I was enjoying this being a cold case mystery - it seems authors can’t help inserting this particular trope wherever they can, but it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. One thread was also left hanging but will hopefully be dealt with in the next book. I liked the references to Hollywood & The Vine from the Ian Ludlow books (meaning that they’re in the same “universe”) and would love to see a crossover between the series - which is totally possible with how things were left!
My thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review. Bone Canyon is published on January 5th 2021.

Eve Ronin, a young detective in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, is called to a scene where human bones have been discovered. The impacts of a wildfire in the Santa Monica Mountains has laid the ground bare and pushed a human skull into the garden of a local resident, and soon enough more bones are being found. It seems that these are the remains of a young woman who went missing some years ago, a woman who had reported that she’d been raped by a group of men a short time before her disappearance. Then a second set of bones is found.

Eve’s experienced partner, Duncan, is seeing out his last months before retirement to a condo in Palm Springs. He’s busily showing her the ropes whilst also attempting to help her navigate the internal politics of the department. He is conscious that Eve’s rapid rise to her current role is a result of her off-duty arrest of an abusive movie star which was filmed by a bystander and posted online. It went viral, turning her into a popular hero and prompting the powers that be to award her a promotion. Unfortunately, this is the cause of much tension amongst her colleagues, many of whom feel her actions to have been publicity seeking and self-serving. So when evidence in the ‘bones’ case points a finger in the direction of some of her colleagues it’s clear she’s going to need all the help she can get.

Like a young <i>Harry Bosch</i>, Eve is eager, intense and pushy. She’s good looking and her story has attracted attention from some intent on turning her life into a television series. Despite the lure of riches that would follow she’s not interested – she wants to be a good cop: to erase uncertainty and achieve justice for the dead. This all leads to some great exchanges and the story really bounces along with the various threads vying for attention. I’d really enjoyed the first book in this series and I loved this one too. Everything here appeals to me from the setting of this stories, in an enclave of the rich who have escaped nearby LA, to the well-structured plotlines and especially the punchy Eve. I can’t wait for the next episode.

There is so much I like about this book even though it doesn't have the same edge-of-your-seat excitement as "Lost Hills". I loved how the author interjected just the right amount of humor into even the most serious of scenes and also brought in aspects from his other book, "True Fiction" with Ian Ludlow, and bits of Hollywood lore.

Eve Ronin is a great protagonist who, although she has a well-developed and strong sense of justice, is still full of vulnerabilities and greatly misjudged by her fellow officers. At the same time, I thought the mystery of Bone Canyon didn't keep me fully engaged and was cleared up abruptly in just a matter of pages.

I did enjoy the relationship between Eve and her partner, Duncan. He is her mentor, teacher to her student, and he supports her every "perilous" step of the way. He never hesitates to tell her exactly how things are, even what people have to say about her, but always with humor and kindness.

I can't wait for the next installment of this series to see what is in store next for Eve! I want to thank Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a truly great book, with fantastic characters, a very good plot and an excellent story. It's got a very fast pace, and at the same time there's just the right amount of descriptions and situations to make it very entertaining, with a clear timeline and without any nonsense. If you are thinking about writing a book, read and learn.

A Jigsaw Collection of Bones Leads To Eve Ronin’s Mortal Danger

A homeowner surveys his property that was miraculously untouched by a recent fire that took every other home around his. In the backyard, he discovers what appears to be a bone. To his horror, it was part of a human skull. The novel opens with Detective Eve Ronin and her soon-to-be-retired partner, Duncan Pavone, driving to where the bone was discovered. The owner is in the entertainment industry and recognizes “Deathfist” that was a nickname that Eve received after a video went viral of her subduing an actor, known as Deathfist, from a popular martial arts TV series. She had parlayed that fame to become the youngest Homicide Detective in the Los Angeles Sheriff Department. Since nothing was going to happen until the Crime Scene Unit to process the whole hill behind the owner’s property. Since the bones were not recent, damaged from the fire, and probably scattered by predation and rains, a forensic anthropologist, Dr. Daniel Brooks, is called in to act as a consultant. Finding a metal plate screwed into the radius leads to the victim’s identity. The investigation starts to advance focused on the victim, until literary equivalent to an IED went off on the hill. Dr. Brooks decides to one last far reaching search before the scene is released. He found bone from a finger. Ronin did not believe it was important to find every last victim’s bone. Dr. Brooks tells her that they had found all the finger bones from the 1st victim. At this point, I was hooked. The main storyline has plenty of twists and turns to maintain my interest throughout the entire novel.

The main storyline unfolds within a rich B-storyline. For her injured wrist, Eve must see a physical therapist that was recommended by her sister. He seems to want more than a professional relationship. Eve and Dr. Brooks hit it off. Eve’s mother is pushing even harder to get Eve to agree to work on a TV series based upon her. The mother even brings in Eve’s father into the effort. Eve does not want any of it no matter lucrative it could be. Much of the B-storyline consists of the master/apprentice relationship Eve has with Duncan who she believes might be the only person on her side professionally.

This novel also had a noticeable C-Story. I do not mean that Eve keeps saying that she is making rookie mistakes, but near the end of the novel, she expresses that she is learning.

The level of objectionable language is not insignificant. For those who object to such level of this language, this may be an issue. It did not bother me, and it appeared to be context appropriate. There are not any intimate scenes, but there definitely some activity going on. While there is not any hand-to-hand violence, there is violence. It is described as it happens so it is more edgy. The novel is adult content.

I believe the major complaint from some reviewers is that this novel is over-the-top and not realistic. Well, my answer is that this novel is not true crime. It is a novel that I have read for entertainment. I definitely was entertained. I read this novel in three days when my usual is nine to twelve days for a novel of this length. It was a fast, easy read but with all the twists and turns to grab and maintain my interest. The B-storyline is more than just background but consisted of interesting storylines in and of themselves. I can say that after requesting an Advanced Reading Copy of this novel, I checked the first novel in the series. I was so intrigued that I purchased it and enjoyed reading it before this novel. Overall, I rate this novel with five stars and strongly recommend reading it. I know that I am eagerly waiting for the third installment of this series.

I have received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Thomas & Mercer with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Once again Goldberg surprised me with a well-written and well considered story with a bunch of interesting characters.

I read this book shortly after I finished the first in this series. But it's not really necessary, you can read this one even if you don't know the previous one. Although if you read the first book beforehand, your experience will be even more complete. This is because Goldberg's stories are very consistent. This applies to both the storyline in individual books and the consistency between books throughout the series. In this book, the case Eve is working on is tied to information that we already know from the previous book. This makes the world in which the book is set very coherent and planned.

But this consistency also applies to the plot of this book. This is a very solid story, with no holes or obvious omissions. Goldberg can also give you that great feeling when all the little things you used to think only as background suddenly pop into place and form one intricate but fascinating whole. Even if the first half of the book is a bit slow, the later twists fully make up for it.

The author knows his craft very well and is able to build pretty nice characters. His characters behave rationally, and they do not lack intelligence. They are multidimensional and non-obvious. Just look at Duncan, who is seemingly a lazy cop waiting to retire, but shows all his experience and cleverness in the suspect interrogation scenes.

The author is able to make great use of stereotypes when he needs them to give his characters a bit of a comic face and make fun of them when it suits him. This is not a book that I would put on the "funny" shelf, but there is no shortage of subtle, light humor. The author winks at the reader from time to time and it works great. This gives the effect of good, effortless humor.

Finally, this book will appeal to everyone who likes when the setting is almost an additional character in the book. There is no randomness here. This story is set very well in the Los Angeles area.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to seeing more Eve and Duncan stories.

Once again Goldberg surprised me with a well-written and well considered story with a bunch of interesting characters.

I read this book shortly after I finished the first in this series. But it's not really necessary, you can read this one even if you don't know the previous one. Although if you read the first book beforehand, your experience will be even more complete. This is because Goldberg's stories are very consistent. This applies to both the storyline in individual books and the consistency between books throughout the series. In this book, the case Eve is working on is tied to information that we already know from the previous book. This makes the world in which the book is set very coherent and planned.

But this consistency also applies to the plot of this book. This is a very solid story, with no holes or obvious omissions. Goldberg can also give you that great feeling when all the little things you used to think only as background suddenly pop into place and form one intricate but fascinating whole. Even if the first half of the book is a bit slow, the later twists fully make up for it.

The author knows his craft very well and is able to build pretty nice characters. His characters behave rationally, and they do not lack intelligence. They are multidimensional and non-obvious. Just look at Duncan, who is seemingly a lazy cop waiting to retire, but shows all his experience and cleverness in the suspect interrogation scenes.

The author is able to make great use of stereotypes when he needs them to give his characters a bit of a comic face and make fun of them when it suits him. This is not a book that I would put on the "funny" shelf, but there is no shortage of subtle, light humor. The author winks at the reader from time to time and it works great. This gives the effect of good, effortless humor.

Finally, this book will appeal to everyone who likes when the setting is almost an additional character in the book. There is no randomness here. This story is set very well in the Los Angeles area.

I definitely recommend this book and look forward to seeing more Eve and Duncan stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The second in the series featuring Eve Ronin, its certainly an improvement on the first one, but not without its faults.

This time Eve is involved in investigating some human bones that are found on the hills of Los Angeles. Soon after another set of human bones are found nearby. Both deaths may be connected or totally unrelated.

It’s a story about rape, murder, police corruption etc.,so I found it had a lot more meat on its bones than the first, which had a linear single story that was a whole load of nothing really.
This one is a lot more interesting. There’s a lot going on and we are kept guessing for a long time.
Eve is a pretty interesting character overall who I think just about has enough weight to carry a novel.

What I didn’t particularly enjoy was the constant insistence from family members that she should sign up to have a tv show made about her, despite her not wanting that in any way(if you read the first book you will find out why). Her siblings especially just lay it into her about it, not listening a jot to what she has to say. Felt totally unrealistic.

Her mother(who features in both books)is also incredibly irritating and unbelievable as a character. A failed Hollywood actress who projects it all on to her daughter. She is tedious in the extreme to read and a completely one dimensional, cliched character that adds nothing to the series.

When the book is concentrating on the police work and investigating, it’s much more interesting. That’s when you are “in” the book and being swept up with a good story. Such a shame you are yanked out of it on so many occasions with the “Hollywood”nonsense. It ruins any flow the book begins to create.

Look it’s an improve the on the first, which I felt was a novella padded out into a short novel, and it’s certainly going in the right direction but there are too many flaws here to ignore and I can’t score it any higher than three stars like I did the first.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Thomas & Mercer and Lee Goldberg for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book in this series. Eve Ronin is still a rookie detective but she is not afraid to ruffle feathers that’s for sure. Wildfires uncover the bones of several missing women and the investigation leads in a shocking direction.
Hollywood and the movie industry is prominent in the background. Her Mother and Father are constantly trying to make money off her through there connections.
This is a great follow up with lots of action and craziness going on. Eve is a super strong female character. She even gets a bit of a love interest in this story.
I’m looking forward to what comes next.

I was super excited when @netgalley picked me to review Lee Goldberg’s new book Bone Canyon, to be released in January. I’ve always enjoyed his fast-action thrillers, which usually feature quirky characters and are full of hilarious dialog. He wrote and produced the TV show Monk—so that gives you an idea of how fun and engaging his books are. Usually. This one was a little dark though since the crime being investigated is a gang rape by police officers. Hard to be light-hearted about that. Bleh. I did like the main character Eve Ronin, a tough rookie homicide detective, although her stubbornness to do things on her own instead of being a team player is more annoying than endearing. I also didn’t like that even though there were only a handful of bad officers on the force, the majority of officers were portrayed as bad for most of the book. Good cops would never stick up for rapists or try to cover up that kind of crap. I mean, come on! So my review for this book is that I recommend reading the first Eve Ronin book, The Lost Hills, or the Ian Ludlow series (I loved those books, so funny!) to really appreciate Goldberg’s work — those are all free with Kindle Unlimited.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5 / Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg / Pages: 287 / Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

BONE CANYON by Lee Goldberg is the second book in the Eve Ronin police procedural and crime thriller series and is set in California. Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) Homicide Detective Eve Ronin and her soon to retire partner Duncan Pavone are assigned a case where the charred remains of a woman who disappeared six years ago are revealed after a wildfire has devastated both plants and homes in the area. Eve is the youngest homicide detective in the LASD and she continues to have to prove herself worthy of the position. However, nothing is ever easy.

Eve is an energetic and compelling main character and definitely someone you can root for. She works tirelessly, makes a few rookie mistakes while learning her job, but has clear goals that influenced the plot. Her motivations seemed believable, with well-drawn and appropriate emotions. As a reader, we begin to understand how Eve’s past affects her actions and emotions on this case. Duncan’s character has more depth in this novel as well as some of Eve’s family members. While the case is not straight-forward, Eve and Duncan move forward with seeking justice. Who can Eve trust besides Duncan? What really happened to the woman that died?

Overall, this is a tense and highly readable novel with wit, suspense, and some great twists as well as some violence. It is gritty, fast-paced and action-packed. The imagery (visual, auditory and olfactory) came through vividly. If you enjoy excellent mystery thrillers, then I recommend that you check out this one. 4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars. I am looking forward to reading book three in the series.

Thomas & Mercer and Lee Goldberg provided a complimentary digital ARC of this novel via NetGalley. This is my honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The main character - you g, inexperienced, tenacious, stubborn - is the youngest homicide detective in the department. Eve is also sorely lacking in people and relationship skills. As a matter of fact, she's pretty unlikable..

The plot builds evenly and quickly as Eve rushes to solve a cold case related to two missing women before her partner retires.

I enjoyed the book even though the ending revealed a surprising killer. Totally out of left field.

I read Goldberg's first Eve Ronin book (Lost Hills) in January and enjoyed it.
In this second entry, a brush fire reveals scorched bones and further investigation reveals more bones. As Eve and her partner Duncan investigate, the situation may prove dangerous as secrets are uncovered. The relationship between Eve and Duncan, who is due to retire shortly, helps make this series more engaging. Eve needs Duncan's experience; she is aware of her own inexperience, but she does tend to annoy others and is insistent when she feels she is right.

There is already a good deal of resentment over Eve's promotion, add to that her suspicion about corrupt members of the department, and Eve finds herself in a dangerous position.

I look forward to the next book.

Read in Sept.; blog review scheduled for Dec. 27.

NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer

Police Procedural. Jan. 5, 2o21. Print length: 287 pages.

Yet another series I come to without having read anything previous. This is actually useful, because it allows me to evaluate a book almost as a standalone and see how the author weaves in some of the backstory so we get to know what has come before and who the main character (and some of the secondary characters as well).

Rookie detective Eve Ronin has been called out to a scene where human remains have been found due to a wildfire that exposed them. Her partner, Duncan, is on the edge of retiring, which worries her, as she's not certain that she can do the job. This is a recurring theme, and gets old a bit quickly.

How did she get the job? Based on the pieces of the backstory, she was essentially shoved into the position, leapfrogging other officers attached to the Sheriff's Department, breeding resentment among some of the other LASD members.To add to the pile of simmering resentment - and since it's Hollywood, after all - people are approaching Ronin about a film version of the escapades that happened in the previous book. As we go through the story, Ronin is also rehabbing her wrist with a physical therapist due to an injury sustained in the previous book.

The remains belong to a young woman who simply vanished some years ago. When another set of remains is found, and a jogger goes missing on the hills, Ronin and Duncan have their work cut out for them. While both skeletons have been determined to be female, there is seemingly nothing to tie the two female victims together. The detectives slog through the work of following the trail to determine what happened to these women and who needs to be brought to justice.

Warning: rape and suicide are both in this investigation. While the former is not depicted directly, but only as a recounting of events in the past, the latter is described as it happens, narrative-wise. There is also a blame the victim mentality going on for the rape.

Eventually - and some readers will figure this out before the reveal, as I did - the bad guy will be found and arrested for their misdeeds.

The story flows nicely, and except for a couple of draggy moments that clear up quickly, and the suspension of disbelief a reader will need to believe someone would be promote to homicide investigation in the way Ronin seemingly was, it's well rounded and is a quick read.

Four out of five stars.

This is my first book by this author. I did not realize that this was a series but I enjoyed it anyway. It was fast paced and kept me engaged. I would definitely recommend this author and will be looking for more to read.

Detective Eve Ronin is back in the second book of the Lost Hills series by Lee Goldberg. Several weeks after the events of the first book, Ronin is back on the job and called out to investigate part of a skull that has turned up in the backyard of a horror movie producer. As the investigation proceeds, Eve discovers that the portion of the skull and the other bones that go with it belong to a woman who went missing several years prior. As she digs into the case, she uncovers a gang of corrupt cops operating out of the Lost Hills station. Already unpopular for her unorthodox promotion, Eve is now hated by her fellow officers and her life is in danger, but Eve will stop at nothing to root out the corruption and see justice served.

Lee Goldberg writes compelling stories that are highly readable and entertaining and I flew through Bone Canyon; I'm already excitedly anticipating the next book in the series. If you love a well-crafted police procedural with built in twists and turns, I highly recommend the Lost Hills series.

Eve Ronin ROCKS!! Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg is the second installment to the Eve Ronin Series. I did not read the first book, but you can bet I'm going back to read that one soon! She is a tough, driven, and often-times fly-by-the-seat-of-her pants detective. Paired with the lovable and gruff Duncan Pavone, who always reminds Eve how close he is to retirement... and he's riding out his days... Eve and Duncan are called to a home after a wild fire has destroyed much of the neighborhood terrain. Bones have been found, an anthropologist and coroner have been brought in, and it's up to Eve and Duncan to solve the case... whilst Eve navigates family issues, potential agent issues, and even members of her own department. It's a fantastic read!! I cannot wait for the next Eve Ronin book to be released!!!

It’s hard not to like Eve Ronin, with her accidental viral fame for decking a Hollywood star who totally deserved it. She parlayed the incident into a job as a homicide detective—over the grumbling of more senior officers—and now she has to keep proving herself worthy. Now she’s once again investigating a high-profile case, as a wildfire exposes long-hidden bones. At the same time, she keeps resisting Hollywood’s desire to tell her story. Eve is tough, unrelenting, and totally committed to her work. The action is fast-paced, mixing a juicy procedural involving forensic anthropology with the feeling and action of a thriller. Highly recommended. Can’t wait for the next in this excellent series!

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for a digital advance review copy.