On a dark stormy night socialite Nina Rai disappeared with a quarter of a million dollars. Her son, Aarav is haunted by memories of a his mother's love, a scream on that fateful night and a cleanup effort of the family living room making him believe despite his father's claims of stolen money that the senior Rai has a hand in his mother's disappearance.
Told mostly through Aarav's viewpoint the author takes readers on a psychological thrill ride that will leave you with goosebumps on your arms and feverishly turning the pages to find the truth not just of that night long ago but the stories that are still playing out beneath the placid surface of the exclusive cul-de-sac which Aarav calls home.
Once his mother's body is discovered hidden in the nearby forest entombed in her car, Aarav is obsessed with finding the truth of what happened that fateful night and who's responsible. In his obsession, Aarav is stirring up a hornets nest of secrets and lies that are buried beneath the placid surface of the exclusive cul-de-sac where his father still makes his home. There is no doubt that the cul-de-sac and some of the relationships and families will no longer be the same once the dust settles.
Aarav is a self proclaimed sociopath who wears many faces and respects few and loves even less. The only meaningful relationship that he seems to have is his young step sister. His paranoia and sketchy memories make for a chilling tale as he tries to piece the clues together and throw bones in the way of the police detectives working the case.
Ms. Singh is a fabulous story teller.  This story further illustrates her range and virtuosity. Told from the viewpoint of a tortured adult who questions his own sanity at times but is feverishly determined to get to the truth of what happened that distant stormy night when his mother disappeared the story will keep readers on edge even as you try to keep track of all the moving parts of the story.
An absolute winner with enough twists and hairpin turns to keep the reader guessing.

Quiet in Her Bones was a thriller with a promising story but with characters that I simply could not connect with.

Aaray was only a teenager when his mother left with $250,000 in the middle of the night. But 10 years later her body is found in her car in the vast, lushness of the New Zealand forestry in the very same clothing she was last seen in. Now Aaray is a novelist and is absolutely determined to find out who killed her.

This was beautifully written, and I absolutely loved all the cultural history Nalini Singh wrote into this thriller novel, but I was unable to connect with the protagonist. Aaray was at times a very unreliable narrator. He had so many of his own demons to contest with and it took away from his determination.

This book was all about secrets and lies and while I know it would work for so many thriller lovers, it simply did not hit the mark for me. I am quite critical with my thrillers, though. I want to most emphatically express that I found Nalini Singh’s writing style to be fantastic and I will happily read more of her thrillers in the future.

I enjoyed Singh’s first suspense but this one didn’t work for me. The setting of the story centered around a neighborhood in a cul-de-sac. I loved the descriptions of the wild New Zealand bush, but I found that there were way too many characters introduced at pretty much the same time. I found myself completely confused about who was who right from the start and this set an unpleasant mood for the rest of the book. I kept flipping back and forth, unsuccessfully trying to keep track of characters, a difficult feat while reading with a kindle. I continued to read, determined to get through this, but continued to get frustrated with so many characters. The mystery was good and so was the ending, but the path to get there was way too convoluted.

I picked up this book because I have heard amazing things about Nalini Singh. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to read a thriller by her and I was not disappointed by what I found. This book is for people who are fans of an unreliable narrator (ex: Memento, Sharp Objects, The Woman in Cabin 10) as you follow along with Aarav as he tries to decipher what he can believe.

Aarav is attempting to solve the murder of his socialite mother, Nina Rai. The book involves discovering the secrets that are kept behind the gates of an elite neighborhood found in a forest in New Zealand. Nalini does an amazing job at providing multiple red herrings (I swear at any point there are multiple believable suspects) before finally revealing the killer.

Aarav is a borderline unlikeable character who manages to pull you in with his determination to solve his mother’s murder and his love for his half sister. But I found myself sucked into his confusion and uncertainty of his memory as he struggled to identify what was real and fill in the missing pieces of his memory.

I loved the detail and description Nalini gave to the forest and the landscape of New Zealand (10/10 makes me want to visit as soon as it’s safe to).

I enjoyed the pacing and mystery of this novel and was pleased overall with the ending. There were several plot twists I did not see coming and it kept me guessing. Overall I would give A Quiet in Her Bones 4.5 stars.

**ARC Provided by NetGalley and Berkley Publishing in exchange for my honest review**

I chose this book based on the popularity of this author, whom I had not previously read. Unfortunately, this book was a big disappointment, I found the protagonist completely unlikeable, and I felt like the mystery kept circling the same ground. When the solution is finally revealed, it feels “tacked on” and unsatisfying. The relationship between Ari and his sister was the only one that was interesting and felt authentic.

This one I got 8 chapters in and just quit. Again, I found I wasn't hooked by the story or the characters, and actually didn't like any of the characters or really care to solve the mystery of what happened to the mom. Meh. Not for me.

I'm somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars on this, as it has the amazing Nalini Singh writing, characters, & pacing that I adore alongside a set of tropes that are not as much my favorites. If you like a domestic thriller or an unreliable narrator, I think you will really enjoy this one. I was hoping for more of a small town thriller, so this wasn't as much in my wheelhouse, but I did very much enjoy the execution overall. I continue to be impressed with Singh's outings with this genre

An enjoyable thriller with red herrings to keep you very entertained, and I enjoyed the peek into upper class Kiwi society. A fun read for sure!

Riveting and disturbing, Quiet in Her Bones focuses on the skeletons in people's closets. In a rich neighborhood where money is not flaunted, each family has a dirty secret they want to hide.

This tragic tale is a turbulent trip ... an acid trip. For those who liked the movie, Memento, this story is for you. Aarav is the first and only son of his Indian parents. Being a first child who is also a son carries great weight and expectations. It does not matter that they live in New Zealand, the cultural norms and India society expectations are still held up. For Aarav, it matters not because he does not care. He hates his father with a passion and will go his own way to spite his father.

I have been reading Ms. Singh's books since her Psy-Changeling books, about a decade and a half. Her writing style has grown and matured into something dark and more thought provoking. Her stories have always been good but now, they are meatier with these new novels that are standalones. I am impressed. In this book, Ms. Singh drags us through confusing confrontations, hopeful interactions and stressful delusions. What is reality and what is a hallucination?

This all centers around Aarav's mother, Nina disappearing a decade ago. When her car is finally found with her decomposed body in it, questions arise that unearth more than just the secret of who killed her. What I like about the writing voice in this story is that there is no omniscient perspective. We never learn what happened and who caused the situation until the end. During this entire story, Aarav is trying hard to piece together not only his memory, but what happened to his mother. I did guess several of the secrets that neighbors were trying to keep buried. Some are sad and others are heinous. The more questions Aarav asks and answers uncovers, the less picture perfect each family becomes in this neighborhood. The multiple subplots are well woven together through one common denominator - Nina. She is larger than life and unapologetic. She goes to extremes to defend her friends and always fought back against those she felt wronged her.

Nina is an interesting character because we only see her through the memories of each person. She is something different to each of them and her impact whilst alive and dead is huge. She is one of those people who operates on her own gravitational pull. People are attracted to her whether they want it or not. And when she decides to withhold her presence, it feels as if the sun never rises again. It is ironic Nina loved Aarav above everyone else yet she exhibited some very ugly behaviours under the influence which has long term effects on him.

Aarav is a man who has experienced great loss and trauma. Whilst the conclusion came fast and Aarav received the vengeance he wanted, the ending is still melancholic and ends in a sad note. I loved it. This dark thriller is recommended to readers who enjoy suspense, angst and bittersweet endings.

Aarav’s socialite mother’s body has been found, ten years after disappearing along with $250,000. This newfound discovery awakens a host of emotions in Aarav, who is at home recovering from surgery and living with his titan father. Aarav’s memory issues cause him to be a deliciously unreliable narrator. He’s seeing a therapist, trying to work through his emotions about his mother’s body being newly discovered. And to add a layer of intrigue, he also happens to be bestselling mystery writer whose storylines tend to overlap with his own life. This is an engrossing, atmospheric psychological thriller that is full of tension and deals with family secrets. Aarav’s interiority takes center stage as he works through memories, fragments of his life, trying to piece together how his past informs his identity. This is a gripping read set in New Zealand with twists and turns at each corner, and even though the reader won’t necessarily trust every thought Aarav has, they will certainly want to follow him to the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Berkeley Publishing Group for this advanced review copy.

My mother vanished ten years ago with a quarter of a million dollars, well that is a good way to catch a reader’s attention!

When socialite Nina Rai disappears without a trace everyone writes it off as another trophy wife tired of her abusive wealthy husband.

Now her bones have been found in the shadowy area of the forest that surrounds their elite and gated neighborhood. The neighborhood where everyone is rich and everyone has secrets.

Rich people and all of their staff live here and someone must know what happened 10 years ago to Nina. Her son Aarav heard a bone chilling scream that night, and he is determined to figure out the truth of what happened to his beautiful mother and what ugly truths it may uncover.

This was a wonderfully atmospheric novel. I loved the setting of New Zealand and found it unique. I also loved the use of the Hindu language and all of the delicious food mentioned throughout the novel (minus the sweets) I enjoyed the POV of the main character. I enjoyed that the author used past and present tense throughout the novel to really throw off the readers from finding out the truth of Nina.

I did find it a little bit farfetched and outlandish. I also felt it dragged a bit in parts where I was checking to see how much was left. All in all the twists were very well hidden and I appreciated that as the avid arm chair detective I am.

Thank you to Netgalley, Nalini Singh and Berkeley Publishing for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is the second thriller written by prolific author Nalini Singh. I was a huge fan of her first thriller, A Madness of Sunshine, and was delighted to learn that she had published this second one. Although the story started strong, I felt it soon became repetitive and never really reached its potential. Also, I was expecting the fact that the book was set in New Zealand to be more important to the story. I did, however, enjoy the abundance of intriguing characters and the various relationships, both past and present.

My copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to the the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review it

3 stars

If you love a thriller/mystery with an unreliable narrator who appears to have some pretty essential memory gaps, this novel will be up your alley.

The main character has struggled with the disappearance of his mother for years, not only for the obvious reasons, but also because he heard her scream on that fateful night. Ever since, he has been processing his loss and uncertainty in therapy, through hiring a private investigator, and (for me most interestingly) through his writing. He wants answers, and it is enjoyable to travel with him as those answers come to light.

While I appreciate the mystery component AND the uncertain narrator, I struggled with the descriptions of so many different kinds of abuse in most of the relationships. There is not much discussion around this abuse being positive or acceptable, but I also did not feel like there was as much denouncing of it as I would have expected. There's even - to some degree - a bit of romanticizing. Admittedly, I'm surprised by how disturbing I found that and how much it detracted from what should have been (and likely are for most readers) more essential components of the work.

This is an entertaining read and a solid thriller, but it didn't work for me as well as I'd have liked.

Such a fantastic book! This mystery novel was great. The characters were just amazing and the author did a great job at portraying them. I found it hard to stop reading at times. This book has a list list of suspects which made it a lot of fun.
Overall this was a great book and um happy I was able to receive an ARC!

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This story was pretty hard to put down at times and I absolutely loved the unreliable narrator! The back and forth from memories to therapy sessions to the present added a nice touch to the mystery aspect and to the overall sense of not being able to trust anything or anyone.

This truly was a lot of fun and one I'm glad I took the time to read.

#QuietinherBones
#MustReadMystery2021
An wonderful mystery set in New Zealand, where the setting becomes almost another character in the story, it has great characters and a solid whodunit.

Q: what “read” percentage of a book makes you stay up to finish it? When I’m reading a romance on my Kindle & hit 65% I almost always finish it that day.

My husband wanted to watch Schitt’s Creek last night & I said sorry, my friend, I’m 81% into a thriller & I have to find out who the killer is. Especially since throughout the course of this charismatic book I suspected probably 7 different from people. (I am a suspicious reader 🤣.)

Nalini Singh’s Quiet in Her Bones is seductively creepy, much like the characters themselves. It’s got twists & turns & it all revolves around the reality that people are complicated, to put it mildly, capable of kindness & care & harm & secrets & for at least one of the people in the book, murder.

Famous writer & personality Aarav Rai is recovering from surgery at his father’s home when he receives word that human remains have been found in a Jaguar car in a forest & all signs indicate that they are those of Nina Rai—Aarav’s tempestuous & also, as he says, loving mother who disappeared 10 years ago.

Aarav is determined to solve her murder & summarily continues watching neighborhood going-ons from his window, interviewing the same neighbors who lived amongst them 10 years ago, & trying to piece together his own memories.

A carousel of suspects offer themselves up to Aarav & the reader, including his toxic father. The tension is high, the paranoia is sublime (unreliable narrator who also repeatedly refers to himself as a sociopath, anyone?), the Auckland imagery is atmospheric & used to great effect.

I have to say, while I generally stick to the HEA side of things this was great fun. In that uncomfortable, everyone-could-be-a-murderer kinda way.

4.5 ⭐️. Quiet in Her Bones releases on 02/23/21. Thanks to Berkley Publishing & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

A solid mystery with a wide pool of suspects and an unreliable narrator who keeps you guessing until the very end.

Aarav's mother Nina Rai and $250k disappeared without a trace 10 years ago, but she's now turned up dead in the vehicle she left in the night she disappeared. Aarav, now a bestselling mystery author living at his father's house while recovering from a bad car accident, is determined to solve her murder and avenge her death. He knows the killer must be someone from their exclusive neighborhood, possibly even his own father, and he's determined to do whatever is needed to uncover what happened that night 10 years before.

Without giving away any of the plot, there were so many twists and turns and neighborhood drama that led to potential motives that I felt like I was in a soap opera at times, but it was very well written and had me staying up late to find out who the killer was. Aarav was an interesting narrator- a self-proclaimed sociopath who wears masks to get what he needs, and I enjoyed his interactions with his neighbors and the police detectives. Unlike Nalini Singh's other books, there is no romance, but it worked perfectly without it.

Setting the story in New Zealand was fantastic both because it's unique (to me at least) but also how the landscape ties into the plot and characters. Every location felt completely real and like I was there seeing what the characters saw. Except for the murder and rich people backstabbing, it's a great travel advertisement for the country.

Overall, almost too many potential suspects and an unreliable narrator kept me guessing and left frustrated at times, but I think this will be popular with standalone mystery readers and people intrigued by what goes on behind the neighborhood gates of the wealthy.

Full review to be published online in February.

QUIET IN HER BONES is a standalone RS by the always fantastic Nalini Singh. Arab Rai is currently recovering from a car accident, which left the famous author with a bum leg and serious head injury. While recovering at his family home, he tries to delve deeper into his mother’s history and tries to recover his own memories of the night that she was last seen.

This novel started off a bit slow but picked up fairly quickly. I enjoyed the writing and the perspective. The only thing I found off was the transcript sessions (listed at the start of each chapter) were never fully explained. Good read, a nice thriller by Singh, who has been exploring new genres the last couple of years.