A prank on Trickster's Night sets off a series of murders and reveals contamination in the human and terre indigene populations at The Jumble, Lake Silence, and the human town, Bennett. Crowbones, the Crowgard Hunter is there to find the source and end the contamination. Vicki, who runs and lives at the Jumble, gets caught up in the action when her friends and guests, terre indigene and human are harmed, implicated and even killed in deliciously gruesome ways. The pace moved quickly, the ending was satisfying, and I might have liked more stomping and squishing details on the bad guys, they were truly awful.

Crowbones takes place on October 31 and Vicki has taught the terra indigene the human tradition of wearing a costume and trick or treating. When someone who appears to be Crowbones, an Elder that the Crowgard fear, knocks on the door of the Jumble, things start to go wrong. When mysterious, vicious deaths in the town appear to be connected, the town's police chief Wayne Grimshaw and vampire Ilya Sanguinati must work together to uncover the truth. I enjoyed the mystery in this book, but I felt like there were moments when a "smoking gun" was revealed, and the people investigating just ignored it. The reveal at the end felt somewhat unsatisfying, but I still enjoyed the book. Fans of cozy mysteries and fantasy will love this book. Nonetheless, I loved returning to the World of the Others. Although this book could be read as a standalone, it helps to have read Lake Silence by Anne Bishop first.

Crowbones by Anne Bishop continues The Others series following Vicki DeVine, with new complications and confrontations directly threatening both the human and other population. The tone of this volume is darker, with more sinister consequences due to human manipulation of some of the nonhuman residents. Heavy handed reminders abound: humans are not at the top of the food chain, the Others are.
Familiar characters are still engaging, with the mystery mostly suspenseful. Recommended for readers of urban fantasy in an interesting world setting.

I have a bit of trouble rating this series because on the one hand, I read every new book immediately and quickly. On the other hand, there are a lot of flaws in Bishop's writing and plotting that become more obvious over time. "Crowbones" is a return to Bishop's world of the Others, and a follow up to "Lake Silence". The central mystery involves a series of mysterious deaths that once again center around Vicki's lakeside resort, as well as new attention from a mythical crowguard figure known as Crowbones. All of the usual Anne Bishop tropes are there, including women who are either impossibly pure and almost childish or vicious and corrupt, and humans who are literally too stupid to live (I mean, this is a world where phenomenally powerful supernatural figures are everywhere and have made it very clear that they consider humans little more then prey. Why are there still so many idiots that think they can get away with scheming and blustering??).

Strangely, Bishop seems better at writing rounded male characters then female. The police officers, Sanguinati, and Intuit men who are investigating all come off as mostly reasonable and competent. The women on the other hand tend to come off as mostly one dimensional and in need of epic levels of protection (also, are there any Intuit women who actually travel outside of their communities? Seems like we only ever see the men). I did enjoy the working relationship between Ilya and Grimshaw, which seems to have settled into a more traditional buddy cop sort of thing. As much as I've tried to get invested in Vicki I have a hard time caring much about her as a character. She seems to mostly be a catalyst for the various humans and Others in the area so that they have someone to protect and avenge.

If you like Anne Bishop and have enjoyed the previous books in this series then you will most likely enjoy this one as well. If you are not a fan of her previous work then this will not convince you.

I love Anne Bishop and the Others. I am so glad we're able to get a glimpse into the rest of Thaisia.

An excellent addition to The World of The Others. I love Vicki, Julian, Ilya and Grimshaw. Not to mention other characters. I wish Crowbones had been a little more fleshed out - I would have loved to hear a deeper story about her and this entry felt a little "lighter" than Lake Silence - some of the villains were too easily identified by the reader, which lead to some frustrating moments when you want to reach through the pages and shake some characters. However, that would not stop me from rereading it once a year like the rest of the series.

This was so good. I am pleased though that I reread Lake Silence before hand, made such a difference and had some good laughs as well. Well Done Anne.👏👏📖📖💐💐

Oh I just love anything "Others" related! I was so excited to get this ARC and as usual I was riveted from beginning to end. I love Vicki, Julian, Grimshaw and Ilya. This installment was another great mystery where the terra indigene rule supreme, but also that Vicki is very special to the elders around the lakes. I do feel for Vicki and the role she is thrust into. She tends to want to be a background player but is forced to the fore-front in anxiety-inducing ways. I do hope with time she can come out of her shell and learn to live more!.