Member Reviews

I enjoy Kathryn Lasky’s children’s novels. However, I was pleased to listen to the author’s adult mystery novel. This was a very fun mystery that involved Georgia O’Keeffe! This audiobook not only has a clever mystery plot, but it has some fascinating details on Georgia O’Keeffe! I also love the narrator. She had a very lovely voice that was full of emotion. She made each character unique! I recommend this for fans of The Muralist, The Masterpiece, and The Fifth Avenue Artists Society!

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I was given a NetGalley widget for this one a year ago and I just got around to reading it and dangit it was so good. I am so thankful for the opportunity to have consumed this wildly relevant fictional tale, which felt not at all fictional, more like historical fiction, due to the times. The cover initially was what drew me in, but I'm so thankful to have stuck with it because the outcome was magical. I always love listening to audiobooks and when they sweep me off my feet, I'm just utterly captivated! I always really enjoy multi-cultural thrillers, for I embark on a journey through a land unknown to me, while still getting spooked.

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Well narrated and a fun mystery including Georgia O’Keefe and the author’s beautiful descriptions of New Mexico. A fun book.

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A mystery with Georgia O’Keeffe being the main protagonist. The writing is above average, as well as the plot. One might find there are too many characters to keep track of especially when listening to the audible version which is what I did. I have no complaints in that department. Spoiler alert? There are three murders and they are not necessarily correlated. As such, I think that is one murder too many for a mystery. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed listening to Light on Bone. I didn't know much about Georgia O'Keefe before reading this book.. But a good book makes you want to learn more and this one made me look her up and read more about her. I felt like I was in New Mexico at the Ghost Ranch while listening to this book. The characters and plot were well developed. Lasky keeps you guessing and the plot twists keep on coming. I recommend this book to people who love mysteries and historical fiction.
I also enjoyed the narrator. She did a fabulous job.

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This book was a bit slow and had some fabulous writing describing the beauty of the desert, art, and painting. I liked the story and the espionage aspect of the book but it left me wondering how the story ends with her husband the spying people.

#LightonBone
#NetGalley

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Thank you so much to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for my copy of Light on Bone by Kathryn Lasky Narrated by Nancy Peterson in exchange for an honest review. It published September 6, 2022.
First of all, I thought that the narration was well-done, and Peterson is quite talented.
I have to say, I was very excited to read this book, because I really enjoyed Kathryn Lasky growing up, and my daughter reads her books now. Unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I felt like the mystery wasn't the main plot of the book, and honestly, I just didn't care about all the rest of the story. Georgia was an unlikable character, so I really didn't care about what her issues were.
I think for someone who is really interested in Georgia O'Keeffe, this book will be a winner, but for me, it just didn't work.

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This is an historical novel about the painter Georgia O'Keeffe, who one day goes out to in her beloved southwest to view and appreciate the landscape and comes across a dead body. As it was written for the 1930s there is a lot of history about Hitler, Charles Lindbergh, Model T Fords, and the lack of a telephone! Thus begins the search for the killer.
I enjoyed the story and Lansky's beautiful prose. Her description made me remember how beautiful this area of the US is.
Thanks to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for allowing me to read this book early.

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amateur-sleuth, triggers, murder, murder-investigation, artist, law-enforcement, mystery, false-identities, historical-fiction, historical-research, historical-figures, New-Mexico, new-series, espionage, infidelities, 1934****

The publisher's blurb does a pretty good job of simply summarizing the story. The whodunit is good, but I think that there are too many societal negatives crammed into this one story. That being said, this IS the first in a brand-new series and things will only get better. (This is not TV or films, after all.) Even when some aspects of law enforcement history irritated me, I just reminded myself that this is FICTION after all. Listened to the whole thing in one day.
Nancy Peterson really exhibits her talents as a voice actor with this book!
I requested and received a free temporary audiobook from Tantor Audio via NetGalley. Thank you!

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Netgalley Review - Released September 6, 2022

This is a historical fiction novel in that the main character is fictional version of Georgia O’Keefe and takes place during her time in the desert of New Mexico during the 1930s She is there to seek solitude and paint in a time of recovery from traumatic events in her life. It blends real life events of her life with a series of crimes that take place around the resort that she is lodging in, where she teams up with the local sheriff for some amateur sleuthing.

The prose itself beautifully written and the author definitely captures the “artist eye” when describing things from O’Keefe’s perspective. The pacing a little slow for me butthe dialogue is decent.

Unfortunately i don’t think this came together as a novel well enough for me to truly enjoy. The plot is all over the place with a variety of crimes all happening in this small town New Mexico resort that would surely require additional police to be called in but don’t worry Georgia is there so it’s all good. There are too many characters for the story she’s telling and a lot of random plot point that i think are meant to misdirect or maybe even be clues that just go nowhere.

On top of all the other crimes going on they must also put a stop to Hitler’s plans, how could i forget to mention that.

It’s narrated by Nancy Peterson which may be the reason I stuck it out instead of DNFing it, as she provided a great performance.

I guess I may not have been the intended audience for this book, it’s very atmospheric and i’m sure some people will really enjoy it, but it wasn’t my favorite.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tantor Audio for providing me with a chance to get in on this book early. I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

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I throughly enjoyed listening to the Audio version of Light on Bone by Katheryn Lasky, performed by Nancy Peterson. Thank you to Net Gallery and audio publisher Tantor Audio for this complimentary copy. I absolutely could not put this book down ! The true sign of a great book to me is… when you forget you’re listening to a book and become lost in the story. Here, Georgia O’Keefe , one of my favorite artists, becomes an amateur sleuth trying to find out “who done it” alongside a cast of very interesting characters in the desert of New Mexico. Filled with historical figures of the time, Lasky weaves a wonderful story full of mystery, murder and even a bit of romance. I highly recommend this great new mystery!

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This book was a bit of a mixed bag.
Synopsis: Georgia O’Keefe is at a resort in the desert in New Mexico. She is healing from a recent hospital stay after an emotional breakdown. She wants to be alone and paint and regain her strength. On an early morning walk she finds the body of a murdered priest with evidence that the priest was looking for her. O’Keefe begins amateur sleuthing and stumbles upon a multitude of crimes among the equally famous resort guests.

Positives:
1. Interesting main characters. Georgia O’Keefe is well-developed and likable, and her love interest, the local sheriff has a strong backstory and is engaging.
2. Smart and well-explained artist inner dialog and thought processes
3. Descriptive scenery
4. Well written with good pacing, realistic dialog and emotional responses, quality writing and good use of language

Negatives:
1. Wow. A lot of unrelated crimes and murders happening at this resort!
2. Repetitive discussions of non-events being implied as CLUES
3. Too many supporting characters, too many people coming and going, too many side crimes which impacts the readers attention and investment in the main story line.

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Thank you for the ARC
I loved the setting and the characters. The narration was fantastic and the romance was spot on. I felt like overall it was okay. I was lost in all the various plots, spies, Hitler, racism, and other things that fit in the timeline. I guess I kept getting lost in those plots, which were interesting, and it distracted me from the other parts of the story. I am just not smart enough to follow this many things.
But it was good.

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🌟Audio Book Review🌟

🎧📚 Light on Bone by Kathryn Lasky

A historical murder mystery full of art and espionage.

In the 1930s, while in residence at New Mexico's Ghost Ranch, artist Georgia O'Keefe comes across the body of a murdered priest and is subsequently swept up in the investigation. With many twists and turns, Georgia isn't simply trying to find a murderer, but also finds herself surrounded by Nazi sympathisers and international spies.

Light on Bone was a beautifully written, weaving together a multifaceted story that had me hooked from the moment I pressed play. Nancy Peterson did a wonderful job with the narration. Her voice perfectly captured the gorgeous prose and Georgia's spirit.

Do be sure to check the trigger warnings for this novel as it deals with some heavy and dark topics and there are racial slurs and racism typical of the 1930s. My one criticism of the novel is that Georgia very much falls into the category of a white saviour.

The audiobook will be published on September 6th! If you're interested in a well-written, multifacited historical mystery, give Light on Bone a listen.

Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this ALC.

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Georgia O’Keefe, famous American artist, has left her family and everything she knows behind to spend the summer at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico to paint and recover from a nervous breakdown. But one morning, she discovers the body of a priest in the dessert, a victim of murder. She finds herself interested in the case, and as the investigation progresses, she also becomes interested in the sheriff. But as the investigation stalls, other dangerous and dark things catch Georgia’s attention and tensions rise at the Ghost Ranch.

There were a few things that I enjoyed about this work. The author did an excellent job at incorporating Georgia’s artistic eye and talent throughout the story. This was especially evident in many of the descriptions of the landscape, which really brought the setting to life. It was also easy to tell how much historic research went into this work – there were random historical details included that were relevant to the story and helped to ground the story in a meaningful way.

Unfortunately, I found this read be painfully boring overall. The story was told from multiple POVs. Several of these POVs were relatively minor characters and I had no real attachment to them; this detracted from Georgia’s story. Similarly, there were so many subplots that didn’t start to come together until about 75% through the book. Between that and the multiple POVs, the first three-quarters of the book felt disjointed and disconnected.

Aside from the first murder that occurred at the very beginning of the work, no action occurred on-page until after 70% through the book. There was a lot of Georgia’s inner dialogue, which gave her plenty of depth, but slowed down the already almost non-existent plot movement. Quite honestly, it took so long to get to the reveal that I didn’t really care about the solution, I was just excited to have made it to the end. Also, I found the resolution of the final confrontation to be absolutely absurd, and not in a good way.

I wanted to like this work, and it was highly promising, but it just didn’t do it for me. I think lovers of historical fiction and slow-burn murder mysteries would enjoy this. My thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for allowing me to read and review this work, which will be published September 6th, 2022. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Light On Bone by Kathryn Lasky. I really enjoyed this atmospheric novel. This is a historical fiction/mystery. Thriller set back in 1934. Georgia O'Keefe went to New Mexico after having a breakdown to paint. A mystery ensues by murder quickly and the narrator did a great job too!

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Gonna have to DNF this one. I simply couldn't care less about Georgia and her droning judgements of those around her. I was gonna stop at 10% and thought that was too soon, listened for a few more hours and I'm done.
I can't place any specifics for not finishing it, 100% personal preference here. It cannot be done

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This book held such promise from the beginning. I loved the premise of a fictional account of a time in Georgia O'Keefe's life. This book definitely had "The Christie Affair" vibes. However, I ended up being very disappointed in the author when she used a racial slur (n-word) to describe an African American when there was no reason that we needed to know the race of the person referenced. Further, using the racial slur did not add to the story in any way since this book was not touching on themes surrounding the treatment of African Americans at that time in American history. I did not finish the audiobook after the use of the slur.

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Light on Bone is such a terrific mystery! And oh-boy, Kathryn Lasky really knows how to dish the dirt! Between the political climate of the 1930's, the cultural aspects of New Mexico, and the company Georgia O'Keefe is keeping, Ms. Lasky paints a truly vivid picture.

The audio version of Light on Bone is performed by Nancy Peterson. Her rich, warm voice compliments the tale, and serves to enhance the sensation that Georgia O'Keefe is telling us her story.

Wonderful!

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Book Title: Light on Bone
Author: Kathryn Lasky
Audiobook Narrator: Nancy Peterson
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Pub Date: September 6, 2022
My Rating: 3.6 Stars

In 1934, Artist Georgia O’Keeffe moved from New York to her Ghost Ranch retreat in Abiquiú, New Mexico, as she loved the desert landscape as many of her painting revealed.

In this story our clever author has her uncovering murders and wrongdoings.at Ghost Ranch.

Although there were parts I didn’t love, the story was interesting and I loved the epilogue.

Plus~ Narrator Nancy Peterson did a beautiful job of performing the characters.
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Want to thank NetGalley and Tantor Audio for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 6, 2022.

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