The Hungry Bones is the fifth title in this excellent series by Sara Johnson. I love the New Zealand setting, the knowledge of customs, the characters and the mysteries themselves. This time, though, in a twist Alexa considers traveling to Scotland. What will she find there if she goes? What will happen in her personal relationships? Turn the pages and hope that all will be revealed along with the solution to the murder mystery. That is about a number of skeletons found in a former gold rush town and a missing educator. Alexa’s forensic dentition specialty will come into play as the case is solved.

One interesting feature of the story is the way in which it moves between time periods. Readers get a sense of the history behind the events.

Note that this title can be read on its own. Still, readers may enjoy making their way through all five books.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for this title. All opinions are my own.

THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT!!!!

I realized it was a series before I started and went and got the first 4 books before I started!

It holds up as a standalone every easily but I am so glad I went and learned all about Alexa before I got to this installment.

It's fast paced. It's twisty and it will keep you on your toes until the very last page!

Loved all the forensic stuff!

I cannot wait for the next installment 4 stars

Thank you to @netgalley and @poisonedpen for my gifted copy

The phrase "lying through your teeth" takes on a whole new meaning in the fifth installment of the Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries, The Hungry Bones. From romantic entanglements and tough career choices, to mysteries that span time and continents, the odontologist returns with all the sarcasm and suspense that fans have come to know and love. Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and Poisoned Pen Press for the advanced copy to review.

As mentioned above, this is not the first book of this series, so if you're reading any of the previous ones and don't want any spoilers, STOP HERE.

The plot immediately thickens as we find Alexa at a crossroads, both personally and professionally. As a matter of trust stalls her love life, she begins to explore new avenues for her professional development by way of New Abertay University in Scotland and one Dr. Ben Odden―quite the change of pace from her current residence in New Zealand. As intriguing as all of this is, this reader will admit that it made for a more sluggish start to the narrative than I'd initially anticipated. That's quickly remedied, however, by the discovery of a human skeleton in a town that once saw a gold rush and that features one too many holes in the skull, then another nearby that Alexa believes to have suffered a rather violent death once upon a time. Between the implications of historical, systemic racism, the cold case she reopens, and the school's missing principal, Alexa may just have bitten off more than she can chew with this one.

Amidst all of this drama, The Hungry Bones does a wonderful job of making readers feel like they can immerse themselves in the culture and scenery of New Zealand, which helps to both offset and accentuate some of the darker themes present in a good murder mystery in which the protagonist has a propensity for paying a lot of attention to teeth and bones. The history of the place also takes center stage more than once, and not just in relation to one of the many puzzles Alexa has to solve; it colors the backdrop everywhere she goes and contributes to a veritable kaleidoscope of sensory details that will only draw the audience further and further into the story itself.

Of course, as she digs into these complex cases, more players enter the game and the juicy bits of gossip she uncovers make Alexa less than popular with those who stand to lose something with each new discovery. Even without reading the other books of this series in order to get a more complete analysis of her character overall, I found Alexa's demeanor to be one that sets her up to take all of this in stride, at least for the most part. Johnson has written a heroine who leans less on physical confrontations and more on her smarts, which do indeed come in handy when the plot picks up the pace and each of the mysteries present their own twists and obstacles.

For crime fiction and suspense lovers, as well as those who enjoy seeing the past meet the present in unexpected ways, The Hungry Bones will fit in nicely on your bookshelves alongside Lois Duncan's rapid-fire narratives, Sherlock Holmes classics, and other more recent thrillers like When She Was Me by Marlee Bush.

This was an "ok" read. Not the best book I have read this year, not the worst.
I had a hard time getting into it, but it did pick up about half way through for me.

I really loved this book!! ❤️ Our FMC is a forensic odontologist while working on one case, gets entwined in another and discovers a long history of racism along the way. 😢

This book makes me wish I would have gone into forensics, I’m such a nerd!! 🤓 The genealogist side of me is really intrigued with the concept of forensic genealogy too, which this book touches on briefly. 🤔

I had not read the first 4 books in this series, so I read this as a standalone and it worked out well!! 🙌 Now I need to go get the first 4 books!!! 😅

Highly recommend it if you enjoy forensic mysteries!!! ❤️

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Sara E. Johnson for the opportunity to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



✨ New Zealand
✨ Suspense Thriller
✨ 5th book of the series but can read standalone .
✨ Two timelines



✨ Alexa was the focus on this story. The plot was mix into two different timelines so be aware of some confusions .
Alexa is a forensic odontologist. She discover a skull sets of the chain and started to re open a cold case .
✨ apart from the story being fictional , it’ actually gives us an open eye for someone happened before. The refreshing feeling too of writing what New Zealand to offer is a good touch to remove any burden with a wide eye topic.



✨ I got to admit that the story was not my cup of tea. But I enjoy it.
It is a 5th book of a series but can read standalone.



Thankyou @poisonedpen press for the arc copy of this book for a honest review .




🫶🏼shaye.reads

I saw this book on Netgalley and thought it sounded interesting and I love most everything that Poisoned Pen Press puts out there.
Now that I finally came onto Goodreads to write my review I learned that this was the 5 book in the series which I had no previous knowledge of and didn’t read lol. So as for that I’m going to assume you can read these books not in order. I really enjoyed this story. I found the content so interesting. My brother and sister in law are archeologists, so not the same but close enough that I could draw some comparisons. Also I used to look after. Residents whose daughter was a forensic archeologist so again maybe similar. Anyways, I thought it was super cool and interesting and gave great details. I liked learning about things I hadn’t previously known. I liked that there were 3 murders going on at the same time that all ended up kind of connecting.
I enjoyed the characters and learning. More about the ones that were no longer living. It’s sad that such racism ever existed and unfortunately still exists. I’d definitely check out the whole series to see what else is going on in Alexa’s story. I just can’t believe the reasons the murders took place, people are wild.
I’d recommend this read. I’d even buy the whole series for myself.

Thanks you to both Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the copy.

This is such a factual book, that stood out so much I thought it was a standalone as well. What a great read and the historical aspects were well woven into the plot.

Great story with good twists and memorable characters.

I had no idea this was the 5th book of a series but I read it pretty well as a standalone.

I read this in a day. It’s fast-paced and the story really pulled me in, I really want to read the other instalments and meet these characters from the very beginning. One of the main things I enjoyed in this novel is the forensic bits, well explained but not boring. I even learned a thing or two since I never actually read a mystery book where the main character is an odontologist.

Alexa is a great character and her development throughout the story also very nicely thought of. She makes mistakes, she has her personal struggles and doubts about her professional life. It adds depth to the character, making her more likable and relatable.

The storytelling is fantastic. The plot is complex and the writing made me fall into the story completely. I love that its set in New Zealand, making it a nice break from all the mysteries that happen in the US and in the UK.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

This was a truly fascinating csi style mystery book that I really enjoyed! I found the two cases of Alexa’’s weaving together was crazy but done so well it worked. All the book felt so real and believable and while I successfully guessed the culprits, the story to get there as wildly entertaining. Definitely want to read more from the author.

This was my first book by this author. I’ll definitely have to go back and read the others in this series. This book was fast paced and full of so many good twists. It kept me interested and not wanting to put my book down !

A great book for anyone who likes CSI & murder mystery type books, you had the science behind what they did and why which made it all so much more interesting. We got a lot of history with the Chinese gold miners and what they went through which I had not known and we learned just how much family really means especially to this culture.

A good addition to the series that sees Alexa at a professional and personal crossroads.. She's contemplating taking a position in Scotland, far from New Zealand, because her romantic life has had a blow - and then everything changes when she becomes involved in a murder mystery reaching back to the days of the gold rush. Johnson has a nice way of weaving history with the present and I like that Alexa is a forensic odontologist. Then there's the New Zealand setting. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This might be most appreciated by those who have been following along but it will also be fun as a standalone.

This book was so close to being 5 stars for me and would have been if not for it starting off pretty slowly before finally picking up steam about a third of the way into it. Once the pace picked up, I really enjoyed it. Alexa Glock is working to identify the remains of a Chinese miner for his ancestors so that they can send his remains back to China but when they unearth the skeleton they discover a hole in the back of it. Nearby they also discover another skeleton that appears to have had a violent death as well. While at the police station to inquire about opening a cold case for the 2 skeletons, the ex-husband of the local elementary school principal reports her missing. Alexa is then brought into work that case as well and the story starts to really pick up the pace at this point. And just when I thought I had predicted the ending for both cases early, there were plot twists that I definitely didn't see coming. I really enjoyed Alexa's character and will be going back to read the other four books that came before this one that I didn't know about. With that being said, the book worked perfectly fine as a standalone book and I didn't feel like I was missing anything by not having read the prior ones.
Thank you to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy to review and give feedback on!

I’m a true crime fan through and through and this book caught my attention immediately, i couldn’t stop reading it. I love that history was involved in this book, digging for clues and piecing everything together really kept me on the edge of my seat. The writing was incredible. 5/5

This book is full of twists and turns but spent too much time on characters I didn’t enjoy. This book is part of a series but I think it’s is fine reading it as a stand alone, I wasn’t confused or felt like I was missing key pieces to understand the plot.

Alexa Glock is a forensic expect specializing in forensic odontology. Originally from North Carolina, she has moved to New Zealand where she travels around the country consulting with police departments who request her help. A skeleton has been found in a former gold rush town that had attracted thousands of Chinese miners back in the 1800's A benefactor believes that the remains belong to her ancestor and she wants to repatriate his "hungry ghost" to China. Alexa is called in to examine the teeth and determine the origins of the skeleton. While working at the grave site near an old cemetery, another skeleton is found that clearly died violently as well. Alexa is working with the police to discover if the skeletons are connected when a local woman goes missing and she is recruited to help with that case as well. This novel is full of interesting background on the history of New Zealand's gold mining era, Chinese funerary practices, local police procedure, and tons of forensic details. All of this is woven into a page turning mystery as Alexa manages to unearth details tying together all of the cases in an unexpected way. #NetGalley #TheHungryBones

It was an invigorating mystery with characters that you can actually relate to. While some thrillers tend to focus more on the plot and the characters are forgotten, this does not have that problem. Extremely well written and a very quick read.

This was a good story. I thought that I would enjoy it more, based on the description. I really enjoyed the ending, but the majority of the book just seemed either bland or choppy with the action. I didn’t really get into it until 3/4 of the way through. Still a decent read though.

I was intrigued by the premise because of my Asian heritage. While I knew about the head tax in Canada, I did not realize other countries also had this egregious immigration policy.

I liked how the author intertwined the historical crime with the contemporary mysteries. The author added scientific background to the methodologies used by the characters which was interesting but, I felt, sometimes cumbersome. The mysteries themselves were twisty and suspenseful.

The only thing I had difficulty with was the writing style. I found it to be disjointed - not a smooth read. There was also one slip with the use of imperial measurement. All the other times measurements were used, the metric system was utilized because New Zealand is a metric country