I was incredibly impressed with this novel, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did. The plot was interesting and fast paced (thank god). The writing was pretty good, especially for a debut novel; however, it can definitely be improved. The only issue I had with the novel is that it felt a little surface level, it did not go as in depth as I wished it had. It felt like something was stopping the author from really diving deep into the characters and their pasts. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel and would recommend it. I had fun reading Little Bones and am excited to read more work from the author.

Little Bones definitely has one of the most exciting premises in modern thrillers: it is told from the viewpoint of the daughter of a child murderer, who has reason to fear the new life she has made for herself may be in danger.

The topic of digging into people’s pasts is always exciting and can feature many fresh takes, such as what happens when that person actually does have something to hide.

The way the story is told is exceptionally engaging, and the first-person narration really allows the reader to slip into the protagonist’s shoes and empathize with her and with how she sees the world. It’s a believable portrayal of a mother’s world slowly falling to pieces.

The style seems crisp and observant, and some scenes are particularly memorable because of the vivid descriptions and the author’s ability to capture emotions. The successful and highly plausible red herrings thoughout the book particularly add to its charm.

The twist in the end was a clever solution, even though the ending itself seemed a little rushed, and it felt like more clues throughout the novel pointing in the right direction were needed. Maybe this would feel different after a second reading, though.

Overall, it’s really one of the most enjoyable thrillers I’ve read lately.

The book starts with a Prologue showing the reader how ‘easy’ is was for a male serial killer to pick up a small boy, which as the book went on, threw me off the path of what was going on within the actual book. We find out not long into the book about a young boy, Thomas Doncaster, who disappeared outside a newsagent (ironically, it sounds like the same place that the young boy from the Prologue was taken from), and a local woman, Cherrie Forrester feels awful for their family. When Cherrie goes to work later that day, her best friend, Becky, persuades Cherrie to come along with some of their friends to a psychic reading. From the psychic reading, Cherrie was told by Mariah, that she will get hurt a total of three times, her son was in danger and that the shadows of her past will interrupt Cherrie’s present and future.

At this point in the book, I was convinced that the events that occurred in the Prologue were actually happening at that current moment, and that us, as readers, had been able to glimpse a view into the kidnapping of Thomas Doncaster. When looking at the bigger picture, the book is clever by leading you to believe that Leo (Cherrie’s boyfriend) has something to do with Thomas Doncaster disappearing, as he has also been sneaky by building something in the extension of their house. We also know, from this point in the book, that Cherrie has a past that she is hiding from everyone she knows, including her family.

As the disappearance of Thomas Doncaster gets longer, Cherrie stumbles upon a podcast which discusses the disappearance, but also mentions Mr Bones. Mr Bones is the serial killer who killed eleven boys in 1990, using his daughter, Leigh-Anne as bait to draw the boys into safety. It turned out, that Cherrie was the daughter. With the tension of the book rising, I was lead to wonder whether the press, police or local people would think that Cherrie had anything to do with the disappearance. If there was a copycat, no one would know how to copy her fathers murders, than Cherrie herself?

I was also still convinced that Leo was framing Cherrie for the murder/disappearance of Thomas Doncaster. Each bit of evidence was just making this case more stronger, especially when Robin, Cherrie’s son went missing when they were out at the fair together. Leo instantly blamed Cherrie for losing her son, and thought it was her fault because he found out, like everyone else did, about Mr Bones being her father. When the police wanted to search the house, Leo kept the door to the extension locked, and would only let the police look into the room from the doorway …. it’s suspicious.

Towards the end, it became clear that Thomas Doncaster was actually killed by his brother, Harry, as he was jealous about his brother having new trainers; the scene from the Prologue was from Mr Bones kidnapping on of the boys he murdered; Robin had been kidnapped by Mariah, who did the psychic reading at the beginning of the book; and Cherrie’s life went back to normal and she found out she was expecting a baby girl.

Overall, I have to admit that I was a little disappointed with the way that the book turned out. It was obvious that the plot was leading the reader to believe that Leo was the kidnapper/murderer, but the characters frustrated me an awful lot. The plot was building really well until around the middle. There were parts in the book, that I did find disturbing, which lead to a sleepless night, so please be aware of that before you read this book.

3.5 stars

While I loved the premise (the young daughter/assistant to a serial killer grows up to be mother to a boy who is kidnapped by a serial killer), and sometimes appreciated Cherrie's call-'em-like-she-seems-'em sense of humor, Little Bones was sometimes a chore to read. Forward movement and suspense were at times sabotaged by stilted writing, as well as characters whose responses to situations were unbelievable and/or offputting.

I couldn’t resist that synopsis. I mean, could you?? Two of my favorite tropes are podcasts, and following the child/spouse of a serial killer. It plays into my interest in the psychology of killers. So this was right up my alley. I thought it was a compelling read but I wish the “Little Bones” side of the main character had come out more. She ended up looking kinda stupid IMO. I also wish the podcast piece was done better. We would only get snippets of the podcast as Cherrie was listening to it, and then she’d summarize the rest while interspersing her thoughts. Not my favorite. But still..overall, I did like this one.

A great read, full of twists and turns and due to the way the chapters ended, kept me turning the pages to find out what happened next.

Sometimes a story is long forgotten the day after you finish reading it... this will not be the case for Little Bones. A clever story about the daughter of a serial killer. I love thrillers and suspense and there are some excellent serial killer books out now but this is different. This is such a beautifully written story that you can’t help but get sucked in by the words! Cherrie is an average every day mom with a dark and twisted past... the end will not be something you can just guess. Enjoy the ride as long as you can!

An amazingly written story that had me hooked. Full of twists and turns and also heartbreaking at times. I loved the main character and how she had tried to continue leading a normal life after a shaky start.

Cherrie has a normal life, boyfriend, son, job; but a very unusual past as her father was a convicted serial killer. Then a boy goes missing, a podcast starts to reveal her hidden past and her life comes crashing down.

The book verges on the point of being incredible - a woman teetering on the edge, and the reader wonders whether she will fall into the abyss and fulfil the destiny so many people assume should be hers, given her past, or whether she will overcome her nurture to be a better person. But somehow it misses a little. We see Cherrie bounding around, trying to locate missing boys, threatening and intimidating suspects; but somehow it just doesn't quite ring true.

The story is a good read, there are some clever red herrings and the final reveal was both surprising and not, as the clues were there. Its well written, and certainly kept my attention. Overall I enjoyed it, I just felt it could have been a little deeper and the characters a little more rounded (especially Leo).

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a story that will stay with me!

I have to shamefully admit that the sleuth in me fell for most of the red herrings that the author left for us in the storyline. Close to the end, before the big reveal, I finally saw The Light but also only because like the main character in this book I was starting to run out of suspect! When I finished the book my first thought was.... a very clever start to this book but I'm not going to give more details because I think you need to find out for yourself. One thing that I struggled with is the main character, Cherrie. I cannot decide if I like her or not. I found her quite irritating at times and I don't know if that is because of the writing or BECAUSE of the writing. It can be because the character wasn't written that well but I think it is the fact that the character WAS written that WELL!  I found myself throughout the book speaking out loud to the main character telling her off, yelling at her and pulling my hair out of the head because of her actions so a big thumbs-up to the author for creating that emotional connection that I made with Cherrie.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Leigh-Ann, Little Bones, Cherrie. When crimes begin happening near Cherries home, isn’t it easiest to assume the daughter of a famous serial killer is to blame? Cherrie doesn’t know how the person behind the new podcast knows about her past, but she is less than happy to know he begins pointing fingers are her for the disappearance of a child. With his rumours and the town rumours, many people begin believing that the apple doest fall far from the tree.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written, it kept me on my toes and interested throughout, and it had me wanting to stay up past my bedtime to finish it. Even though Cherrie is the narrator, you find yourself questioning everyone in town, including her. Who is being honest, who is out to help her and who is out to hurt her?

I didn’t love the character of Cherrie and that’s why it isn’t 5 stars for me. She did some incredibly reckless things in order to clear her name and ended up making things worse for herself in couldn’t get behind her for some of her actions.

The ending was clever. Well done on this book.

N V Peacock and Little Bones. With such a creepy and intriguing synopsis I just had to read this book.

Cherrie is just your average dedicated mum, devoted wife and voracious family oriented young lady leading a normal and happy life. But Cherrie has lived with a dark past that she has fought to keep hidden for many years. A past where she is the daughter of notorious serial killer from 25 years ago, the notorious Mr Bones. All of which she has managed to keep hidden until a simple podcast blows her life apart.

I sped through this book. I was fascinated by her character. She just seemed to be your quiet and to be honest quite boring person who turns out to be the very opposite. I couldn’t put this book down and the author did a fantastic job of creating such a realistic storyline with such realistic characters and so many different story leads that keeps you reading through the night.

I was fascinated at how the author managed to keep me guessing when every time I thought I had the answer. I was always wrong. I loved this! I was completely hooked on the world that was created for Cherrie and was literally speeding through the chapters to find out where I felt I was going after being sucked into this world.

I absolutely loved this book. One of those fast paced thrillers that had so many twists and turns and many different interweaving characters that added even more intense enjoyment to the story. .

Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller and doesn’t see the end coming. Really looking forward to N V Peacocks next book!

A huge thank you to #netgalley and #Avonbooksuk for the opportunity to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review

I was very intrigued by the premise of this book. And overall I liked it. But the beginning of the book, the first 30-ish pages it was a bit boring and I was waiting for the good stuff. At times it was a little bit predictable and I found Cherrie unlikeable as a character.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy In return for a fair and honest review.

I'm weirdly obsessed with serial killers and this book immediately had me intrigued, the child of a serial killer who witnessed the crimes. Sign me up!

I was really into this book for the first half and then the second half started, I figured out what was happening.
I'd definitely read another book by this author, the writing style was easy to read and at times it did give me an eery feeling.

Little bones ultimately was about Cherrie/ Leigh Ann coming to terms with her past and the role she played in her fathers killings.

3.5 Stars

Wow. I loved this perspective - from the daughter of a serial killer... Who has re-invented herself and moved on... until a podcast digs up the past and brings it all back to life... Little Bones kept me on the edge of my seat and I loved every minute of it!

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. The storyline was well executed, moved along at fairly decent pace and the characters were well conceived. To give this novel one more star I would have liked more of a plot twist.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK for sending me this arc in exchange of an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK publishing for the e-arc copy of Little Bones by N. V. Peacock. This book has been sitting on my NetGalley shelf for a bit of time now but I've finally gotten around to it and I am so glad I did. On this lazy Saturday, I managed to devour the entire book within twenty-four hours and I am glad that I did. This is a very unique premise to a book. I've seen serial killer mysteries and thrillers done many ways and while this book does use some popular tropes, it twists them in interesting ways. The description of the book alone is enough to make my skin crawl and the wheels in my brain start spinning. I liked the point of view from which the narrative was written and thought the cast of characters was very dynamic and interesting throughout. I will say that I guessed the end about thirty percent of the way in which isn't necessarily bad but did decrease the shock value I'm sure the author was looking for towards the end of the book. The only other knit pick I have with the book is the character of Mr. Bones himself. As someone who is slightly obsessed with true crime, murder, and serial killers, his cadence and presentation in his scenes did not seem very believable as a man who'd spent about twenty-five years in prison. Other than that, I thought this book was a fresh take on a mystery/thriller genre book and will be looking for more N.V. Peacock books in the future.

The twists and turns just kept coming. The main characters were well developed and I felt like I had a connection with them. Unfortunately for me, I guessed who the culprit was from the first time the character appeared in the storyline. While the ending was not a surprise, I still enjoyed reading the story as the author did a good job of heightening the suspense through telling of the twists and turns in the story.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book to read and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Wow. Cherrie Forrester aka little bones changed her name to escape her past, but when a young boy goes missing, a local podcaster reveals her identity. Then her little boy goes missing. Are the two cases related? Could there be a copycat killer on the lose? Is little bones to be trusted? This is such a gripping thriller, I literally couldn't put it down and devoured it in one sitting. It is a must read!

A good thriller, captivating and a page turner. I found the start difficult to get into but once past the first few chapters I was hooked. A good read for anybody who enjoys crime thrillers