The Dark Bones was an excellent novel.  Though the second in A Dark Lure series by Loreth Ann White, The Dark Bones is completely stand alone.  That said, I'm now looking for #1.  I enjoyed these protagonists, and want more of them. 

We do a little flip-flopping between events taking place a little over 20 years ago, September of 1999, with high school lovers Whitney Gagnon and Trevor Beauchamp, and Rebecca North and Ash Haugen. We also see through the eyes of teenage lovers Tori Burton and Ricky Simon, and again from the viewpoint of Rebecca and Ash in the dead of a super bad winter, 2019. Location is a small town in Cariboo Country Canada called Clinton, a town that is so small it has an official Royal Canadian Mounted Police Force of just a couple of officers, and anything complex - like mayhem or murder - has to be investigated with personnel from outside.  And as in most small towns everywhere, everybody knows everybody's sins and secrets. 

Sargeant Rebecca North, now a detective with the commercial crime branch of the Canadian federal police force in Ottawa,  is the daughter of a former RCMP police detective of Clinton, Noah North, who suffers a bit with paranoia and alcohol abuse and sheer boredom in his retirement.  He has been undertaking the investigation of cold cases he was not able to solve on his watch and is currently focused on the disappearance of two teenagers a little over 20 years ago.  Whitney had left her mother a note before she disappeared September 27, 1999, telling her she was heading to LA in the US.  Trevor disappeared at the same time.  Whitney's Mom Janet Gagnon doesn't begin to worry until neither she nor Whitney's best friend hears from her over the Christmas holidays. By then, the trail is cold.  What is known is that Whitney and Trevor did not take the bus as was supposed, but a witness from Devil's Butte comes forward who saw the couple hitching, and getting into a white panel van with Oregon  US plates. Again, the ball is dropped. 

But Noah has made a breakthrough in the case.  Ash had lied in his testimony way back then.  And so had Rebecca. His call to Rebecca is ill-timed - she is in court, about to testify in a white-collar criminal case, but agrees to call him back when she can.  Her next phone call is from the Clinton RCMP, notifying her of her father's suicide.  But Rebecca knows that Noah did not commit suicide.  This has to be murder.  And she will have to return to Clinton to handle it.  The place that for the last twenty years wasn't big enough for both her and Ash.

I received a free electronic copy of this mystery novel from Netgalley, Loreth Anne White, and Montlake Romance publishing.  Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

Very engrossing from the beginning.  It was full of unexpected twists.  Although this novel is part two of a series, I had no trouble getting into the story.  I will definitely get the first book of the series.

The Dark Bones is an excellent mystery!  Definitely a book I did not want to put down. Excellent characters- including a strong woman, Rebecca. Her childhood boyfriend Ash was his own mystery. I loved his storyline with Ricky. I could read a whole book just about Ricky! If you love police procedurals and down and dirty detective work, this is the book for you.

I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving this honest review.  This 2nd book in the Dark Lure series is awesome.  It’s a fast paced psychological thriller full of mystery and suspense.  The storyline is very well written and entertaining.  I really enjoyed it

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) provided by the Author and Publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an fair and honest review. 

I loved the first book in this series and am so happy to see another. "The Dark Bones" grabs you on page one and doesn't let go. I recommend you block some time off for reading because I guarantee you will not want to put this one down. This book is dark, moody and foreboding. Nothing is ever black and white in LAW's books. Always shades of gray with her situations and characters. This is simply Mystery-Suspense at its' very best.

Detective Sargent Rebecca North is part of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) white collar crimes division and has been involved with high profile cases. She is successful and driven. When she left home, she wasn't coming back. When her father dies of a self-inflected gunshot and his cabin burns to the ground, Rebecca is forced to return and face her past.

Noah North was a retired RCMP officer who made moonshine for a hobby and chased cold cases, and drank himself into oblivion, if possible. The cold missing persons case he was working was 20 years old and hit very close to home for him. The deeper he dug, the more someone got nervous. Now, Rebecca must piece together not only the pieces of the cold case, but prove her gut instinct that her father didn't kill himself.

In coming home, Rebecca must face her own past and mistakes. Her young love, that ended very badly, Ash Haugen, is the last person to see her father alive. She still has deep feelings for him. Ash is in the middle of her father's cold case, but she needs help even though she knows Ash is hiding something. There are others hiding things too and tracks lead Rebecca and Ash to the Broken Bar Ranch, Olivia West and her daughter, twelve year old Tori.

Whatever happened to the two missing teens, Whitney and Trevor, twenty years ago is having an impact today. Someone is not willing to let what happened to them be uncovered and is willing to kill to prevent it.

This is book 2 in the Dark Lure series with Rebecca North being the main character.  If you start with this book you are able to understand what is going on but to get the complete story I would recommend starting with book 1..  Well written characters that drawn you into their story that has some twists and turns.

This was my first time reading this author.  I did not read the previous book but had no trouble following along.  I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery and the romance.  A very good read!
I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley and voluntarily chose to review it.

In this second installment to author Loreth Ann White's Dark Lure series, "The Dark Bones" is a slow-building mystery that had me completely enthralled from start to finish! It's an intricately woven tale in which past meets present, exposing shocking truths, as well as a series of deadly deeds that refuse to remain buried.

Boasting a complex premise with multi-faceted characters, Loreth Ann White raises the tension slowly, by peeling back each of the layers one by one. As she constructs the story and builds towards a crescendo, there is no rush to get to the finish line. And while my impatience might have had me wishing for a speedier conclusion, the ending was nothing less than completely satisfying.

Another absolutely outstanding, suspenseful murder mystery from Loreth. No one writes this genre better or holds my attention more, it was FANTASTIC. All twisty, turny it made my head spin but it the most amazing of ways. Definitely a must read recommendation from me if you love this genre and something that always delivers the unexpected.
4.5 Stars

THE DARK BONES (Dark Lure Book 2) by Loreth Anne White is a mix of romantic suspense, mystery and thrills with ever increasing physical, emotional and environmental threats. This is the second book in this series, but it can easily be read as a standalone. 

Detective Rebecca North is notified that her father, a retired Mounty has committed suicide. Rebecca has been away from her hometown in rural Western Canada for twenty years and even though she knows her father had problems, she refuses to believe he would take his own life. He called her just that day to tell her he is revisiting a cold case from their hometown and that he believes he is being followed and has had papers stolen from his home.

One of the last people to see Rebecca’s father alive was her ex-high school boyfriend, Ash Haugen. Ash always dreamed of one day marrying Rebecca, but he broke her heart and trust. The investigation is stirring up old feelings and lies. Even as they work together, old friends and relations may once again pull them apart.
While regathering the evidence for the case her father was working on and trying to prove he did not commit suicide, Rebecca and Ash are under increasing threat by someone who is trying to keep the old case cold.

I loved this book! The murder mystery and the cold case keep you guessing, turning the pages and they keep the overall pace continually increasing to the climax. The flashbacks to Rebecca and Ash’s pasts did not detract or slow down the story in any way. I liked the tie in to the first book, but it does not interfere with your understanding of this mystery plot or romance. Rebecca and Ash were complex characters with actions and emotions that were believable. The romance grows at a realistic pace. The secondary characters are fully fleshed out and added depth to the small town, good and bad.

I highly recommend this book and series! Ms. White is an author that I now automatically go to when looking for an intense suspenseful read.

Thanks very much to Net Galley and Montlake Romance for allowing me to read this eARC.

For me this book started quite slowly even though the initial action had devastating consequences. I was drawn in however, and by the time Rebecca had returned to her old home was totally hooked. Some of the storyline was a little cliched but setting things in such a northern location added elements which wouldn't happen elsewhere. The close community connections were brilliantly done and made everyone a potential suspect. 

Rebecca North, Ash Haugen and the location are the main protagonists and all of them work on almost all levels.  I hope there will be another book in this series, just so I can visit with them again. 

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone who read the first book, although it's definitely not a prerequisite and those who enjoy a  little romance in their reading matter.

4. 5 Stars
Detective Rebecca North is shocked to hear her father has committed suicide.  Especially since he called with ramblings of an old, cold murder case the day he supposedly took his life. So, Rebecca heads up north, to a town she’s been avoiding for years determined to find out what happened.  What she discovers isn’t as clear cut as the investigators originally thought, and much of the mystery behind her father’s death is wrapped around her first love, Ash Haugen, the man who shattered her heart twenty years ago. Feelings Rebecca thought she buried deep resurface: the pain of betrayal, coupled with the bittersweet pull she still feels towards Ash as they work side by side trying to sort out what happened both with her father’s death and the cold case he was looking into. 

The Dark Bones is a captivating mixture of police procedural, thriller, mystery, and a second chance romance.  I was hooked from the start!  What went wrong between Ash and Rebecca years ago, as well as the current cases had me devouring the story, eager to unravel all the mysteries!  Loreth Anne White’s cold, wintery small-town setting in Northern Canada was beautiful and haunting. 

The Dark Bones is a sequel to A Dark Lure, but I don’t think it’s necessary to read A Dark Lure to enjoy the story.  The previous characters, Olivia, Cole and Tori do play a part, but it’s only secondary to the main story.

The Dark Bones was so much better than A Dark Lure. I think Ms. White did a great job with the characters and the slow build up of the plot and tying the story together.  I look forward to reading more books by this author.

I received an advanced reader copy of The Dark Bones from Montlake Romance via NetGalley, in return for my honest opinion.

The Dark Bones by Loreth Anne White is a story about grief and realizing how it can skew the way we perceive things. Detective Rebecca North has returned to the town she fled twenty years ago. Rebecca’s father, Noah, has died from a self-inflicted gunshot. But based on their last conversation and her own career training, Rebecca doesn’t believe and she’s staying until she can prove he was murdered.

Ash Haugen was the last person to see Noah alive. He also broke Rebecca’s heart twenty years ago, now she’ll have to trust him to help her find her father’s killer. In this small town, everyone’s a suspect, everyone has secrets- some will stop at nothing to keep those secrets hidden. Will Rebecca uncover the truth about her father’s death? Can Ash and Rebecca move past what transpired twenty years ago?

This was a fast, fantastic read- it took a little while to get into but once I did was hooked. The author did a great job of pulling me into the lives of the characters. The Dark Bones will be available tomorrow, May 21, 2019.

Goodreads Rating: 5/5 stars

#lorethannewhite #thedarkbones #netgalley #arcs #advancedreadercopy #mystery #mysterybooks #thriller #thrillerbooks #mysterythriller #suspense #readin2019 #montlakeromance #amazonpublishing

The Dark Bones is the first book that I've read by Loretta Anne White. Although not my usual genre, I needed a change. I enjoyed the setting, pace, and writing. Although the romantic part was anticipated, the outcome of the case was unexpected.
Thank you NetGalley for providing an advance copy for my unbiased review.

Although I did not read the first book in this series, I had no difficulty following the plot and becoming enmeshed in the intricate tale of Rebecca North and her quest for the truth.  Rebecca returns home to her small rural community in Western Canada after a drunken call from her father, a retired Mountie, who makes no sense in the call but seems to be requesting her help. Shortly after the call, Noah North is found dead, in a scene that seems to be a suicide.  Rebecca is determined to find out the truth about his death and to follow the clues that he was following about two teens who went missing over two decades earlier.  In her determination to find the truth, Rebecca teams up with her old boyfriend, Ash Haugen.  This book is a dark mystery, interwoven with romance.  It is told in the current time with flashbacks to the past,  It is a story of too many secrets and lies and the twisted road that drugs and abuse lead to.  The ruthless characters who are determined to keep th past hidden are the kind in which the eerie music is played any time they enter the scene.  The short chapters made the book easy to read.  Fans of dark mystery/suspense and romance will enjoy this novel.

I loved this mystery set in my beloved PNW . It rings true to life . I loved the setting and the plot. 
I will be reading more from this author 
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Taking place in the Pacific Northwest, this story includes Native Americans, ranchers, hunters, and the impoverished residents of a small town. Each of the characters is unique, and each has depth, no stereotypes. RCMP Sergeant Becca North is the protagonist who returns to her small town to run a gauntlet of former friends, bad memories and evil-doers. The style of writing provides just the right level of description while the action never slows. The story has emotion, excitement and intrigue. After beginning the book, I had to stop my life and finish it. This author knows how to tell a story!

Twenty years ago two teenagers go missing. A retired cop starts looking at the case again. Some new evidence has come to light and he tries to finally figure out what happened to them. There are people that don’t want him to figure it out and try to stop him. I know my explanation of this book seems very bland, that is how the story being told made me feel. This was my first book by this author. I am still not sure what I think about it. The story was there but I believe it was the pacing of the story that left much to be desired. I kept finding that it was easy for me to put down and I wasn’t  always wanting to pick it back up. The only reason I stuck with it was because I needed to review it.   The story started interesting enough and I was really drawn in. Then it seemed to slow down and bounce back and forth between past and present. The ending had some twists that I didn’t figure so that was really good but the overall feeling of the book left me lacking. It seemed the writing more told you instead of making you feel it. The unexpected twists we’re not enough for this to be a book I would tell my friends about because it took me so long to get through it and then the ending felt incomplete.   Maybe it would have benefited from an epilogue.  I wouldn’t tell you to skip this book if you are a fan of this writer. If this is your first book by her, maybe start with the first book of this series. I don’t know if it will make a difference or not but maybe it will.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read such a gripping novel....

a man is murdered in his isolated homestead but its been made to look like suicide...

a fire is by accident when two witnesses go to investigate what has happened to the old man but as they were stealing moonshine they ran off

what follows next is a brilliant piece of writing that will keep you up for hours wondering if it will be sorted, so hooked on the characters that your heart was in your mouth at times with what was happening...think i am a bit in love with kibu...the dog...

another author to keep an eye out for and another added to my ever growing list of authors that i have found since beginning this journey with netgalley