A good mystery!
In a quiet cul-de-sac, where everyone has secrets, is a son who is hunting his mother's killer.
The writing is very atmospheric and creepy. When Aarav was isolated and talking to a neighbour ... maybe the killer .. I wanted to yell at him to get out of the shadows to where other would see him.
This book kept me going right to the end.
Great job Nalini Singh!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to @netgalley and @BerkleyPub for my review copy. So this one was actually quite intriguing. A Cul-de-Sac with many interesting people, a body of a women is found crashed 10 years later when everyone believe she fled with money, an asshole husband, and a son whose memory is a problem. Set in New Zealand!
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Aarav is back at home living with his dad and stepmom after he has a car accident and suffers a leg and brain injury. After the car accident he seems to be forgetting things and seems to be sleep walking. Shortly after he arrives law enforcement is at his fathers house telling them that a car was found and his mother was thought to be believed in the car. Everyone thought she has taken money from her husband and then fled. Now 10 years later she’s found and it seems to be murder. Who did it? Aarav remembers a yell and then his mother leaving. He remembers an argument with her. He also remembers his parents arguing. Then there might have someone else she’d been seeing. Not only that but all his neighbors seem to have secrets of their own. Is it connected to his mom? Did he do it? His father? Her lover? A neighbor? Aarav was a very unreliable narrator and these type of characters or hit or miss for me but in this case it totally worked for the story and I actually liked him.
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Overall, I found this book interesting. Some parts I found really slow and had a hard time remembering all the characters (neighbors) but it kept my attention. Some twists and turns. It wasn’t until almost the end that I was able to catch onto what was happening which I appreciated. TW: mentions of Suicide, physical abuse

I love this author in all her many genre forms. From contemporary romance to PNR to urban fantasy romance, and now it appears I fallen for her mystery/suspense voice.

As much as I enjoyed A Madness of Sunshine, I do believe I liked Quiet in Her Bones even more. This is an ambling, suspenseful book, quiet in its own way, as it’s laying out all the potential suspects, introducing the complicated Rai family dynamics, and leading readers on a journey into what happened in Nina Rai’s life in the days leading up to her disappearance and murder.

The narrative is strictly told from her son Aarav’s point of view. His memories play a big role in the storytelling and Nina comes alive as he remembers bits and pieces of their interactions over the course of his childhood He is at times an unreliable narrator as he himself has issues with both his long-term and short-term memories. Some of this is due to a car accident he is recovering from and some of it is from other reasons. I wasn’t sure what to think, at times wondering if he himself had some fault for his mother’s untimely death.

The ritzy neighborhood where they all live is almost a character in and of itself with its intriguing descriptions, and one can only imagine it the perfect place to hold so many secrets. The potential suspects are many and I honestly had no idea how this book would wrap up. This book kept me on my toes, and the pages turning, until the very end.

Another winner from one of my favorite authors, highly recommend.

Quiet in Her Bones is an excellent read! I was hooked from the beginning and spent most of the book baffled as to where the story was going. Our unreliable narrator, Aarvav, was going through it!! trying to figure out what happened to his mom, and the way his understanding of that night 10 years ago starts to come into focus was excellent. Singh does a great job holding the tension in the story and keeps you guessing on what is real and what isn't. I did think the ending was wrapped up a tad too quickly, but that felt minor to what was overall a really fun reading experience.

Also, it's just really fun to read a thriller with some Hindi thrown into the dialogue. And the New Zealand setting was great.

The bones of Aarav Nai's mother turn up 10 years after her disappearance and it becomes apparent that she was murdered. Aarav, recovering from an injury becomes obsessed with solving the crime. This is the first book set in New Zealand that I have read. While the story itself was very well done, it was the setting and atmosphere that really grabbed me. I am American and really felt as if I were right there in a New Zealand forest. But back to the story. Great characterization and I enjoyed seeing into Aarav's mind, although I didn't always want to be in there. This was a very dark tale. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will look for more from this author.

Thank you to #NetGalley, Berkely Publishing Group and Nalini Singh for this ARC.

Well, damn! I'm convinced that Nalini Singh has magical abilities because how else can you explain how she excels in every genre she writes? Having loved her suspense debut, A Madness of Sunshine, I was really eager for Quiet in Her Bones. This book was very different from A Madness of Sunshine, but it was still one of the most thrilling reading experiences I've had. I'll try to keep this review as vague as possible because I would hate for anyone who is interested in reading the story to be spoiled.

Ten years ago, Nina Rai, trophy wife of a billionaire, left her home only to never been seen again, leaving behind her young son, Aarav. Now her bones have been found in the forest area surrounding their elite neighborhood, clad only in the clothes she disappeared in. Aarav, now 26, has fuzzy memories of the night, but he is determined to find out if his abusive father was behind his mother's death.

Quiet in Her Bones is told in the 1st person POV of Aarav and wow! What a jarring experience that was! You see he comes across as an unreliable narrator with a chaotic mind as he is not only biased, but his memories were fractured as a result of his post-traumatic stress disorder from his mother's death and his girlfriend's suicide as well as his life-threatening accident that has left him on crutches. Not to mention, the man is also hallucinating. Through the therapy transcripts that the author share, we do begin to form a clearer picture of who Aarav is as a person - smart, arrogant, miserable, and deeply aggrieved - but you're never quite certain about the potential role he may have played in his mother's death. I never truly formed an opinion about his character. There were moments when I sympathized deeply with him as he had gone through the wringer, but there were also times when I was fearful and suspicious of him. Throughout the book, his love and devotion for his mother humanized him in a lot of ways, but it also turns into somewhat of an obsession as he becomes determined to figure out what truly happened that fateful night.

Socialite Nina Rai, though long gone at the time of the book, is an ever-present, living, breathing personality. It's brilliant how we get to know her as intimately as we get to know her son. I wasn't sure what to make of her at first. She seemed like a convoluted woman whose agenda was never quite obvious, but as we learn more about her and her background, it became apparent that this was a woman in an unhappy abusive marriage, but someone who cared deeply about others, particularly Aarav. Honestly, I found her to be admirable for how she handled her gross husband, and for the confidence she exuded. In the end, Nalini Singh made me feel devastated at her passing.

Nalini Singh's mysteries tend to be slower-paced, which I actually like because it gives me the opportunity to scrutinize every character who is introduced into the tale. It also helps to build up to the reveal quite nicely, amping up that tension as the book progresses. The whole book is just very atmospheric and I was definitely flipping through the pages as fast as I could. I was convinced that I knew exactly who the killer was, but the author surprised me with the reveal, so that definitely made the book even more exciting for me.

Anyways, if you can't tell, I had a blast reading Quiet in Her Bones. It's a quiet (ha!) and intense story, and what a riveting tale it is. I can't wait to read more thrillers from Nalini Singh. I will for sure be recommending this one to my suspense-loving friends!

Years ago, Nina Rai disappeared without a trace leaving behind her husband and son. Now, her body was found clothed in the same attire as the day she went missing. Her son, Aarav, is disturbed and determined to find out who murdered his mother. He goes on a series of interviews and questions to discover the truth.

I have been on a domestic thriller kick recently and Ms. Singh’s latest book just hit the sweet spot for me. This is set on a small cul-de-sac with an interesting variety of character’s whom all seem to want to uphold their prestige image and keep all their secrets hidden. As the main character goes down the rabbit hole interrogating each person including his own father, you start to see how the authors carefully weaves the story in chaotic and distrusting manner.

The pacing is good and if you have read any other book by the author than you know that the way she world builds and write is so descriptive. It is almost as though you are long side the characters experiencing the world as they do. There are a lot of characters in this book so readers need to pay attention.

The main character Aarav is such an interesting character as he suffered through a lot which is expected after losing his mother the way he did. The problem is that he is the narrator of the story and I had a hard time following his thought process. As mentioned earlier, Aarav brings his own share of drama and chaotic behavior which leaves readers really guessing as to what is going on. I will admit that the person I thought had did it, was not the person.

Overall, a very intriguing and well written thriller. Fans who like mysteries with a lot of details and twist, will definitely appreciate this.

~ Samantha

A son's love for his vanished mother sets him on a dangerous quest to discover the truth in this thriller set in New Zealand.

Aarav Rai, a bestselling author, is recovering at his family home after a car accident that has left him with limited mobility and some neurological damage. As he convalesces, he's reminded of when his mother disappeared ten years previously along with $250,000 of his father's money. No trace of her has ever been found and she's never been in touch with Aarav. His father divorced Nina Rai and subsequently married and had another child. Aarav is haunted by his fractured memories of what happened on the night he saw his mother for the last time. When her bones are found in her damaged car at the bottom of the Waitakere Ranges Regional Park right near his home, Aarav is determined to find out what really happened the night she walked out and slammed the front door, got into her car and almost immediately crashed and died. Aarav is convinced that someone in their exclusive cul-de-sac of private luxury homes knows more than they're telling. Turns out that many of them have been keeping some big secrets. NO SPOILERS.

I really wanted to like this and was glued to the pages with a narrative that irritated me but kept me guessing up until the disappointing ending. REALLY? That's what you've got for me? I stuck through the trope I hate most in fiction -- memory loss -- and really thought the payoff was going to be worth it. Despite the lush descriptions of the forest and the area, I felt let down. I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters, especially the unreliable narrator, Aarav, and the story is told from his point of view with an abundance of red herrings. This definitely is geared toward fans of psychological suspense who appreciate a slow pace and a wrap that ties up all the loose ends and answers the questions.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for this e-book ARC to read and review.

I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this book and decide how I feel about it. I found the premise of the title very intriguing and couldn’t wait to jump in to it. The book starts with the discovery of a car that had been crashed into the forest a decade ago. The car contains a set of human remains, also seemingly from a decade ago. It is this discovery that sets the scene for the story as Aarav, a best-selling author and protagonist of the story, is recovering from a serious automobile accident at his childhood home. The home from which his mother disappeared on a stormy night a decade ago. Aarav is obsessed with figuring out what happened that night and what, if anything, was his role in the event.

The story was interesting and well-crafted but I had a hard time sticking with it. Somehow, it felt like there were too many words telling the story. I found myself wanting to skim, to get the main points, rather than falling into the story and immersing myself in it. Even so, I was compelled to finish and find out for myself what the heck was going on with Aarav (I did nail one of the “twists” but was wrong about who was behind it) and what had really happened to his mother that night. The story is set in and around Auckland, New Zealand, an area that is completely foreign to me. I don’t know if the setting and being unfamiliar with the culture found there, especially among those of Indian heritage, contributed to my difficulty in getting through the book. I did pop over to google several times throughout to look up a word or idea that I didn’t understand.

The last quarter or so of the book picked up considerably and kept me interested and reading through to the end. It did feel a bit like the ending came very suddenly. I will admit that it was not an ending I saw coming, especially in terms of motivations of the villain of the piece and certain things I hadn’t foreseen that unfolded at the very end. Other than seeming to just pop up without warning, the ending was quite satisfying. It was definitely an interesting read.

"Nalini is a genius at everything she writes, but Quiet in Her Bones takes it to another level. I felt if I were visiting New Zealand from the safety of my reading nook and couldn't put the book down. Another winner that kept me guessing until the end!" ~ NYT Bestselling Author Carrie Ann Ryan

Of course I'll read anything by Nalini Singh, but her mysteries always surprise me with the moodiness of the setting. You can just feel the ominous atmosphere as her characters work to solve these complex and heartbreaking mysteries. I liked this book a lot and look forward to her next thriller!

I absolutely adore Nalini Singh's contemporary writings and was very excited to read this psychological suspense thriller. The blurb gives a good overview of main aspects of the story so I'm not going to get into the plot so I don't spoil it for anyone.

The story is set in New Zealand which makes this so very interesting from a US reader perspective. I love how I feel transported to a new location when I read Ms. Singh's work. This is a world so unlike the one I live in, especially the diverse aspects of the characters and region in the story. It's like looking into new world and kept me hooked throughout the story.

As a suspense thriller, the story works very well. There's just enough information shared so that the reader is kept guessing about the details of the story and what is really happening. Add a questionable unreliable narrator and that just ups the ante when it comes to building suspense and tension.

I thought the pacing was for the most part good for me as I've come to expect some slower spots to catch a breath in this type of novel. The mystery was expertly crafted and left me guessing. The ending was quite exciting and left me feeling satisfied.

Overall, if you are looking for an interesting adventure along with a nicely crafted mystery, you might like Quiet in Her Bones.

A complementary copy was provided by the publisher. This is my honest review.

Quiet in her Bones by Nalini Singh is a standalone mystery thriller. Aarav Rai, our hero, is a well-known famous author who writes thrillers. 10 years ago, his mother disappeared, as well as a quarter of million in cash; and he has never gotten over his mother leaving him. Aarav, who was 16 years old at the time of her disappearance, continues to have nightmares of that night; he goes to two doctors for his multiple issues with a broken foot, as well as a brain injury that causes him confusion. To his shock, a body was discovered in the nearby forest area of the elite area for the rich where he lives. Turns out the body (totally in bones) was his mother, wearing the same clothes from that night; which means she never left the family, but was murdered.

The story revolves around Aarav, as he is determined to find the truth of what really happened. Even though he is the hero in this story, he is very much fragmented, with his physical and mental issues (memory loss, delusions, forgetfulness, etc), causing confusion as to what is real. Aarav loved his mother, though despite her love for him, she was a passionate, but hard women who drank and cheated; which is not surprise as the father was the worst of them, equally hated by wife, son, and all the cul de sac neighbors. Who killed Nina and why, especially with many people being suspects?

Aarav becomes obsessed with solving the crime, questioning everything he remembered from that night years ago, and questioning all the neighbors who were possible suspects. There were so many twists and turns along the way, that at times was riveting and holding our breaths; but also confusing with all the mind games. I will say for the most part, I did not care for most of the characters, as they were difficult, with only a select few being nice. I did like Shanti, Par, Lily and Diana; the detectives on the case were good. Aarav was a good hero, but his issues were really wacked out, making me question what was a dream or real.

What follows is an exciting, challenging mystery that was changing the game quite often. I can’t say too much more, as it would be spoilers and that would ruin it for you. Nalini Singh created a mindboggling mystery that held our attention throughout. If you like mystery thrillers, I suggest you read, Quite in her Bones.

Wow! The ending just left me kind of speechless.

I truly did not see that coming. I had my votes pegged for “who done it” totally in the wrong corner. Everything led me to believe that the killer was the wrong person which made the end to be a great twist.

I liked the setting of this book. It is based in a high-class suburb in New Zealand. I have never been but from the detailed writing could picture being submersed in the green bush of woods and forest.

While I truly enjoyed this story I thought the many characters that were detailed and introduced throughout the story provided a little confusion for me. This is a book I feel you need to focus on to get the full picture/story. Clearly, I do not get that here 😂.

Either way, I was looking forward to reading this book and I’m so glad I got the opportunity to. I’ve missed reading my favorite genre. A good psychological thriller is always a go-to for me.

QUIET IN HER BONES by Nalini Singh is a stand alone, contemporary, adult thriller focusing on the potential murder of socialite Nina Rai.

Told from first person perspective Aarav Rai (Nina’s son) using present day and memories from the past, QUIET IN HER BONES follows ten years after the disappearance of Aarav’s mother, a disappearance under mysterious circumstances in the wake of his parents’ numerous affairs. Aarav was only sixteen years old when his mother went missing from their family home. A late night fight between his parents saw Aarav’s beloved mother leave, never to return until, ten year later, a search crew found her remains, along with her car, buried deep within a ravine now covered in branches and leaves. A now famous mystery author whose only book became a number one best seller turned movie, Aarav begins an investigation of his own only to realize that everyone was suspect including his father and himself.

Aarav Rai’s life is spiralling out of control. An accident that left our hero recovering at the family home finds Aarav suspicious of everyone and everything, bordering of paranoia, psychosis, heart break and pain but as Aarav’s search for the truth begins to reveal a disturbing possibility, there may have been more to his mother’s disappearance than anyone could have ever imagined.

QUIET IN HER BONES is a slow building, intricate and complex story line of mystery and suspense. The Rai family live in a well-to-do Cul-de-sac where infidelity is rampant, and secret and lies are the order of the day. Similar in feel to Peyton Place, and former American prime time television series Knot’s Landing, and Desperate Housewives, QUIET IN HER BONES reveals the soap-operaesque lifestyle of the rich and famous whose scandalous lives are fodder for gossip and lies.

The back and forth between present day and memories is a little difficult to navigate at times as there is no delineation between the present and the past, often addressed within the context of the same paragraph. The slow build reveals a mosaic of possible suspects, their lives, their loves, their secrets and sins.



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I was hooked from the first two sentences of Nalini Singh’s Quiet in Her Bones. Where is Nina Rai? What happened to her that night a decade ago?

I was also completely and totally captivated by the character of Nina’s son, Aarav, whose head injury from a recent accident leaves him with paralyzing migraines and memory loss. A textbook bad boy, Aarav is desperate to know the truth of what happened to his mother, even if he had something to do with it. When even Aarav doesn’t know what he’s done, Quiet in Her Bones makes for an addictive read that you can’t put down until the final shocking page.

This is a mystery with an unreliable narrator. Aarav’s mother disappeared ten years ago on a rainy night and 250k went with her from her husband’s safe. Aarav is at the family home recovering from a car accident when the cops knock on the door to let him and his dad know that his mom’s body has been found not that far from the house in a deep ravine still in the car she drove off in but it seems the money is missing. Aarav is nosey and picks back up his habit on spying on his childhood neighbors in this ritzy secluded neighborhood. He starts questioning everyone that knew his mom and was home on that day of the crash. As the story unfolds you find out more about the unhappy marriage of his parents and that his mom wasn’t always a good person. Things that he remembers don’t always add up and he even starts to doubt himself. The overall story is good and it was refreshing to read and not know what happened until the end.

Digital review copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆☆
I have just spent the whole day reading this book, because once I had started there really was no point at which I could put it down. Thank goodness it is a Saturday, and I could forego all normal obligations.

It is a very clever book, which is tense, but never oppressively so. It has you trying to decide what is memory, what is assumption, who can you believe, and what twist will come next? There are hints, but there is also a definite suggestion that there is a lot more to any one person's truth.

The writing is so precise, flowing so easily through the narrative, keeping us attuned to Aarav's thinking and his viewpoint. Creating the doubt, as he is clearly troubled, but filling in blanks using his family and neighbours. I loved the side-line in crazy rich neighbours and their antics, which all feed into his rational and irrational thoughts on what happened to his beloved mother.

Perfect escapism, thank you so much, Nalini Singh.


Sarah – ☆☆☆☆
3.5 stars

This psychological thriller brings readers a completely new side of one of my favourite urban fantasy writers. Instead of fantasy, this book serves gritty suburban realism as it probes the complicated relationships between a group of wealthy neighbours. The story’s narrator is Aarav Rai, a successful crime writer who has returned to his childhood home while recovering from an injury. When his mother’s body is found, Aarav attempts to piece together the events leading up to her death several years ago.

This is a completely new genre for Nalini Singh. I enjoyed elements of this book. Aarav is a fabulous unreliable narrator and I love the way readers are forced to confront the inconsistencies in his story while he investigates his neighbours. I like the affluent suburban setting and I even enjoyed the juicy gossip and dark secrets that slowly come to light.

Perhaps my expectations are too high. I’m used to consistently excellent writing from Nalini Singh. The author is urban fantasy royalty for a reason. This story lacks some of the polish I expect from Singh. The plot wanders and the pace lags at times. There are too many characters, suspects, and details for readers to follow easily. None of the characters are particularly likeable or relatable. My attention wandered at times. In attempting to write a clever book in a more mainstream genre, the author has lost some of the warmth, the humanity, and the storytelling that usually makes Singh’s stories so satisfying.

Aarav is a young, successful crime writer who has just been in a bad accident when his mother’s body is found, years after she went missing. Aarav vows to find out what happened to his mother, believing that her death is linked in some way to one of the neighbours in their exclusive cul de sac, but can he trust his own thoughts/actions?

Aarav is the perfect unreliable narrator and I really loved this dark and twisty story. The whole book was very atmospheric and I absolutely loved the fact that the majority of it took place in the one, very chaotic street. The story twisted in numerous directions and by the end it seemed like everyone could be a potential suspect. A few times I was sure I’d guessed the killer.... I hadn’t!

This was my first book by this author but it definitely won’t be my last!

QUIET IN HER BONES will open your eyes to a world only author Nalini Singh can produce with mysteries inside mysteries and a lifestyle I am not sure I would care to have. I am probably showing my age here, but picture a New Zealand "Peyton Place" and you have QUIET IN HER BONES in vivid words with a very expressive style of writing.

Reviewed by Annetta Sweetko for Fresh Fiction

Complete review: https://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=73235