Review: Silent Bones (Kelly Porter #11) by Rachel Lynch

                               

Print Length: 347 pages

Publisher: Canelo Crime (July 27, 2023)

From Goodreads.com: The discovery of a skeleton in Thirlmere Reservoir has shaken the tight-knit community of Pooley Bridge.

For DI Kelly Porter, the case quickly becomes personal when the bones are revealed to be the remains of an old classmate. Brian Miller was just seventeen when he went missing over twenty years ago.

A day later, another body is found in a caravan park, its head broken and bloody. Jason Cooper had been a friend of Brian’s, and one of the last people known to see him alive.

Kelly suspects these two crimes are linked. But if she’s right, that means there’s a ruthless killer somewhere in her community — someone who will do anything to keep the truth buried…

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5

I came into this novel having not read any of the prior ones because the premise caught my attention. 

And here is what I learned. 

The author tells the story in such a way that you don't need to have read any of the others in order to grasp what is happening. There was just enough background given for each of the main players that I felt I understood them and their relationships to one another (although having two female characters named Kelly and Kate working close together did get confusing more than once as I sometimes forgot just who was actually in charge). 

The second thing I learned is that too much detail spoils the plot.  Seriously. It was a good story, but there were just so many details about absolutely everything that I struggled to stay invested. I don't need to know step by step every thought a character has or every movement that they make. This is especially true when I had things figured out before the detectives. There were times when I found myself wanting to throw my Kindle (instead, I settled for closing it and setting it aside time and time again) because I found myself so frustrated with how things were going. 

Please, authors, I beg you, if you put that much detail into your characters every thought and movement, please make them smarter? 

At the end of the day, this one was not for me for the reasons listed above. However, I can see where it would appeal to others, especially people who have been reading this series longer and therefore have a better understanding of these characters.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

                                                         *******************

                                               

                                                Silent Bones is available on Amazon.com