Review: Little Bones by N.V. Peacock

 I was really excited to read Little Bones by N.V. Peacock for two reasons. The first being that the plot was unique and stood out from the average missing child thrillers I often read. The protagonist is the daughter of Mr. Bones, a serial killer who murdered little boys and used their bones to create macabre works of art. Cherrie has given herself a new name and a new life in an attempt to escape her previous life as "Little Bones," the nickname she received at 8 years-old when the public discovered she was a potential accomplice in her father's crimes. Considering her involvement in the kidnappings of eleven young boys when she was a child, Cherrie is not the typical protagonist.  The second thing that lured me in was the mention of a true crime podcast that stirs up Cherrie's life and leads to the subsequent abduction of her young son. I enjoy listening to true crime podcasts myself, such as "Serial," "Teacher's Pet," and "Up and Vanished" to name a few, so I was interested in seeing how the author incorporated her own version of this popular media into the story.

The book had me hooked from the beginning and I was not able to put it down for the first 60% or so. I was rooting for Cherrie to find her son and was very intrigued by her relationship with her serial killer father. Unfortunately, the last 40% of the novel did not live up to the beginning and I was left feeling disappointed and confused. While there were several red herrings introduced, the "bad guy" wasn't a huge shocker. I had suspected the culprit multiple different times throughout the story so the final reveal was less than shocking. My other complaint is that I lost my connection with Cherrie as soon as she switched into vigilante mode. I'm all for a bad ass protagonist, but Cherrie almost came across as being manic where she'd be frantically plotting and scheming on how to run her own investigation into her son's disappearance and the next minute she's sitting on the couch eating a bowl of cereal and watching Grey's Anatomy. Thankfully, my child has never gone missing, but if she did, I could promise you that I would NEVER be able to chill out and watch mindless television just a few days into her disappearance. One minute she'd talk about not being able to sleep because her mind is racing with fears for her son and the next minute, she's calmly going to bed early as a way of passing time as she waits for developments. It just seemed so unlikely to me that a mother in this position would act the way she does. Her actions made me dislike her which was frustrating because I didn't start the novel feeling that way.

Overall, this was an entertaining enough read, but the inconsistent characterization of Cherrie ruined it for me in the end.

My Rating: ★★★ 1/2 out of 5

*Thanks to the author, Avon Books, and Netgalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review!

At the time of this review, this title will be available to purchase on October 31, 2020.