Unquiet Bones by David J. Gatward


Unquiet Bones by David J. Gatward
Publisher: Weirdstone Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When move-in day turns fatal, will facing up to his past prove deadly?

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Grimm has the keys to hope. Excited but nervous over claiming his new house, he’s tying himself even tighter to his adopted community. But he can’t contain his horrified surprise when a mutilated corpse in the lounge makes him the owner of a gruesome crime scene.

With markings on the body showing a disturbing link to his time in Afghanistan, Grimm shivers with alarm as his team discovers the victim’s identity. And when he’s taken off the case, the stoic cop pursues answers on his own out of fear he’s about to be shattered by his bloody past.

Will he hunt down the killer…or is Grimm about to become the prey?

Unquiet Bones is the page-turning twelfth book in the DCI Harry Grimm Crime Thrillers series. If you like besieged heroes, races against time, and nail-biting mysteries, then you’ll love David J. Gatward’s restless pursuit.

DCI Harry Grimm has finally taken the plunge and bought himself a small home in the Dales. Happy in his new area and job, with a dog, a girlfriend and his brother all comfortably settled Harry is finding life just grand. Until the new, temporary DSup arrives with horrifying news about his father, and Harry uses his brand new keys to unlock his home and finds a murdered corpse in his living room. Nothing can ever come easily, and Harry is determined to find out what, exactly, is going on.

As the twelfth book in the series, I was pleased with this addition. While there is quite a bit of history now between Harry and his police team, it was lovely to read how well they all work together and yet the author still managed to make it appear fresh and interesting. I feel readers should absolutely be able to pick this book up and not need to have read any of the previous installments – though obviously they’re all good and the series is much richer and deeper with all that background knowledge.

I have to admit I enjoyed the character of the new DSup. She appeared to be quite an interesting and intelligent character and I hope she sticks around for the next few books. I felt she added a breath of fresh air to the storyline, and I really enjoyed her character. I also enjoyed the fact there was a good blend between the faster pace of a murder/mystery novel and the slower pace of the small countryside setting. I do feel readers will need to suspend some disbelief at the high rate of serious crime in such a small and sleepy little area – but that’s a small price to pay for such a picturesque setting for these murder mysteries and the police unit having so many crimes to figure out.

There were a few twists in the plot towards the end of the book – one of which I had guessed somewhere in the middle of the story. That said, the introduction of a new character was something I hadn’t guessed, and I found to be a delightful and surprising addition to the story. I really hope that rekindled friendship continues in the coming few books as well as I’d love to learn more about the history there with Grimm and see if more could be added to the friendship and built into the future.

The author does an excellent job to my mind of balancing all these different elements and making an interesting plot work so well with vibrant characters and I really enjoy this series. This is a good book and one I enjoyed.

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