Woah, this book blew my mind and has definitely exceeded my expectations! I can’t wait for future releases from N.V. Peacock!

It’s a story of Little Bones (of course) who tries to live a normal life after witnessing her father, Mr Bones’ crimes when she was a child. She had legally changed her name to Cherrie Forrester and lives a normal life with her boyfriend, Leo and her son, Robin. Things took a turn when Cherrie listened to a podcast which digs up her past and linking the recent disappearance to her father’s old crimes. Now everyone in town knows a part of her that she had tried so hard to hide.

My thoughts on the book:
This is my first book from N.V. Peacock and I cannot stop thinking about the storyline, the plot and characters after I’ve finished the book. It was quite an easy read for me, and I could not put the book down. The whole story got me guessing and questioning what will happen next, is the recent disappearance really linked to what had happened 25 years ago and it was so nerve-wrecking! I was quite happy when the ending wasn’t what I had expected as it took me by surprise and I really enjoyed it.

Although overall it was a great read for me, I didn’t particularly enjoy towards the ending as it seems like the author was stalling the readers before going into the peak and answers when they explained a lot on how Cherrie tries many different ways to search for the answer.

If you really like thrillers/mystery generally, I would suggest for you to pick up this book and give it a go! It’s the perfect read for all the spooks for Halloween! Like what the synopsis said, “You believe me, don’t you?”

2* disappointing
A new author to me via a Netgalley arc. It’s quite dark in places.
The first third started off brilliantly, but the middle third lags badly.
When we first meet Cherrie she is kind and compassionate but soon turns into an unlikeable character that I found it hard to empathise with.
she turns into psycho Rambo mom with an alter ego, making random accusations with the self flagellation got tiresome.
A few interesting revelations at the end
I’m afraid the book didn’t work for me.

LITTLE BONES
BY N.V. PEACOCK

This was a very disturbing read. It is probably my fault for not paying enough attention to the Net Galley synopsis. This is clearly a thriller but I would classify it more closer to horror. Leigh-Ann Hendy changed her name when she was seventeen to Cherrie Forrester. Her father is in prison for killing eleven children. He has been nicknamed Mr. Bones and his daughter was called Little Bones. Cherrie lives with her boyfriend Leo with her beloved child Robin who is a sweet little boy. Cherrie makes him a robot costume for Halloween which he begs her to wear to Black Friar's Fair. She allows him to take a glittery button and put it in his puff red jacket. Cherrie and Robin go on all of the rides and they save the Ferris wheel for last. She takes her eye off Robin for two minutes and she is answering a text message from Robin's father and when the little boy in the red puffa jacket gets off the ride she realizes that it is another boy. Robin is missing.

I do enjoy a good thriller every once in a while but not about young children getting abducted. The week before Robin goes missing a little boy named Thomas gets abducted and he is murdered. This book just made me feel sick to my stomach. There are convicted sex offenders, suicide by Cherrie's mother after her father was sent to prison. This book has all of the graphic descriptions and violence that just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it will find its audience but I would not recommend this.

Publication Date: October 31, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, N.V. Peacock and Avon Books UK Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#LittleBones #NVPeacock #AvonBooksUKPublishing #NetGalley
LITTLE BONES
BY N.V. PEACOCK

This was a very disturbing read. It is probably my fault for not paying enough attention to the Net Galley synopsis. This is clearly a thriller but I would classify it more closer to horror. Leigh-Ann Hendy changed her name when she was seventeen to Cherrie Forrester. Her father is in prison for killing eleven children. He has been nicknamed Mr. Bones and his daughter was called Little Bones. Cherrie lives with her boyfriend Leo with her beloved child Robin who is a sweet little boy. Cherrie makes him a robot costume for Halloween which he begs her to wear to Black Friar's Fair. She allows him to take a glittery button and put it in his puff red jacket. Cherrie and Robin go on all of the rides and they save the Ferris wheel for last. She takes her eye off Robin for two minutes and she is answering a text message from Robin's father and when the little boy in the red puffa jacket gets off the ride she realizes that it is another boy. Robin is missing.

I do enjoy a good thriller every once in a while but not about young children getting abducted. The week before Robin goes missing a little boy named Thomas gets abducted and he is murdered. This book just made me feel sick to my stomach. There are convicted sex offenders, suicide by Cherrie's mother after her father was sent to prison. This book has all of the graphic descriptions and violence that just doesn't appeal to me. Maybe it will find its audience but I would not recommend this.

Publication Date: October 31, 2020

Thank you to Net Galley, N.V. Peacock and Avon Books UK Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#LittleBones #NVPeacock #AvonBooksUKPublishing #NetGalley

Oh my gosh! This was a deliciously dark thriller! The story grabbed me early on and never let go.
There were so many layers to inis intricately woven tale. So many twists and turns. Highly recommend!
Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

<i>Little Bones</i> is, in my opinion, more of a mystery novel, about a young woman, Cherrie, who grew up with a serial killer father. She had changed her identity and moved on from her part in her fathers killings and started new over, having a child with her partner, Leo. Suddenly, her her fathers actions are in the spotlight and so is she when a young boy on their estate is kidnapped and her true identity is revealed.

This novel was a tough go for me. I found the main character very tough to like, or even sympathize with. I also found her partner to be somewhat of an ass—which she completely forgives time and again.

I also felt the storyline is not very thought out, and there are many wild goose chases. I wanted to like this one but I’d give it a hard pass.

Wow! Excellent, creepy thriller. This book was completely original and addictive. Cherrie is the daughter of a serial killer who involved her in his horrific crimes against children. Cherrie has moved on, changed her name, had a child and built a life of her own. When a child mysteriously disappears in her town and a podcast exposes her identity, her life is turned upside down, as the town and her own partner start to turn on her. Well written, full of twists and turns, this book is not to be missed.

A fast-paced thriller with just the right amount of creepiness! I thought this was very well written and I particularly liked the complexity of the characters we're introduced to. Found it quite a gripping tale and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who likes a good thriller with a dark twist! One of the best books I've read recently, really enjoyed it.

This one stumped me. Not the story and not the outcome, but how I was going to rate it. The more I thought about it, the more I leaned towards a middle of the road review. I had figured out part of the mystery early on, and the ending was somewhat of a let down. It just kind of fizzled out. However, I read until I finished it so that says something about my investment in the outcome. I think my problem is that I wanted more. I was expecting more and maybe something different than what I got,

Would I recommend this? Yes. if you’re looking for an on-the-surface, quick not deep serial killer book to read. One of my FB groups is reading this for a discussion. Would I say this falls into the “unforgettable” category- no.

Thank you #netgalley and #avonbooks for this eARC.

It's a good read, but, I did find it very slow to start, very hard to keep my interest. The story was all over the place. However, overall, it's a quick thriller about a mother with an horrendous past, trying to protect those she loves.

Thank you Net Galley for this ARC set to publish on October 31, 2020! This was intense - I felt like I was clenching my jaw throughout to get to the end! Cherrie used to be Leigh Ann, and she used to be Little Bones - daughter of Mr. Bones - a notorious serial killer of young boys. Her old life was behind her until boys start disappearing again - and somehow her past becomes her present in a weird parallel universe that hits too close to home. While I feel like this could have gone a little deeper into her past, I thought it absolutely checked the box of an addicting thriller that I needed to race to the conclusion to see what happened!

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I started out really liking this book. But it didn’t take long for me to lose interest.

This book needs an editor. And research. Serial killers don’t act the way this one was portrayed in the book. Cherrie referring to herself as little bones, her partner referring to her as little bones, was just annoying. That’s not realistic. Cherrie was a very unlikable character. The plot was repetitive.

And the ending, that wouldn’t happen. It was unbelievable.

This was just not an enjoyable book.

Wow! This book started strong and stayed strong the whole way through.
When you are the daughter of a notorious serial killer ( not just any serial killer but a killer of children) life is hard. Little Bones, daughter of Mr Bone has changed her name and has a whole new life. Now a child is found dead and her past and present has merged: what could her incarcerated father have to do with this child’s abduction and death? What happens when her own son vanishes.
Twisty and turny right till the end with richly woven characters and a great suspenseful plot. This one is a must read

The blurb for this book sounded great and it lived up to it and more. I loved this book and it kept my wanting to reading it in one sitting, A really great read .

This book definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. The only downside was that I found it slightly boring at some spots. I loved the reveal and was definitely surprised. All in all it was a pretty decent mystery.

With this being my first approved Net Galley read, I wanted to love this book, but I am saddened to say that I just couldn't.
The book moves very fast, almost too fast and there are times when the author spends too much time on certain things that literally won't matter in 20 pages. The book is completely predictable, the abundant over use of nicknames is cringe and eye roll worthy, the kidnappers being found out is a totally unrealistic scene and the last chapter was full of to many 'oh come on' moments.
The main character, Cherrie, is the most over dramatic character I have read in a long time. She's not dramatic in the sense of 'my child is kidnapped' but in the 'fly off the handle unrealistically' way.
This novel comes off like the author is a huge fan of serial killers and read a couple books on them, so they have to write a novel about them now. It appears very fan-girlish of serial killers and not at all knowledge able of them. I would have rather read any John Douglas book because when he tells you about the behavior of serial killers, at least he says it with conviction and he knows what he's talking about. The whole 'my daddy is a serial killer so I can kill too if needed' thing is just SO over played and ruined the novel for me, I literally moaned out loud every time I read a line like that.
The last few pages are the quickest rap up I have ever read for a 370 page novel on a missing kid and all of her friends who mattered so much in the beginning are just not even mentioned half way through the novel and on.
I regret to say that I do not recommend this novel to anyone and I disliked this book more than any book I have read in the last 5 years and I do have to finally give my first ever 2 star rating on a book. :(

I’m gravitating towards a 3-3.5 stars for this book.

First of all, the premise sucked me in right away. If you know me, reading from the perspective of a loved one who was close to a serial killer is always fascinating to me and learning how she was a part of her fathers crime in luring the boys away, I was like YES.

Here are my thoughts:
- Okay, so I thought the writing was great. I was sucked in from the beginning and the plot moved fast enough that it was gripping.
- I think the characters were interesting but the lack of character development was there. I could understand Cherrie but I also found her insanely annoying. She was more concerned about what people thought of her most of the time rather than her son and this bugged me. (And don’t get me started on Leo, he was a just a prick).
- Although predictable, I thought that Cherrie’s son going missing worked for the book and ember erratic behaviour fitted what I thought a mother would be like if their son had been abducted. I think the lack of support she got from the police was a bit horrifying and considering her background, you’d of thought they would take it more seriously not less.

My real issue with this book I think was the ending. It seemed ridiculous considering everything happening and I felt let down by the reveal. I had to go back and re-read it just to make sure.

Overall, if you’re looking for something quick to read then this is your book. However, it’s not the best mystery thriller book I have read this year.
<I>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</I>

This is a decent thriller about the child of a serial killer, who grows up (under a different name) to start a family of her own, only to be pulled into being mentioned in a podcast....and then a child disappears.
The lead character, Cherrie, is persuaded to attend a psychic / medium by her work colleagues and is shocked that the woman knows, both her partners name and also appears to have some insight into her past.
What follows is Cherrie trying to come to terms with her past, whilst also attempting to not only protect her son, but, find a missing boy.

It's a good read, but, I did find it meander quite a lot and some of the writing jarred. However, overall, it's a well constructed thriller about a mother with an horrendous past, trying to protect those she loves.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

Cherrie aka Leigh-Ann aka Little Bones was 8 when her father used her to help him commit his crimes. She is now older and living as Cherrie trying to be "normal." That is until a boy goes missing and people are reminded of the Mr. Bones killings. Podcaster, Jai, reveals her identity and that is when things go really bad fer her and her family. The story was quite good and it was a fast read for me, but I could not help wondering how much the events from her childhood had led to her somewhat angry actions. I know she was dealing with a lot but at times it felt she was out of control. Perhaps that is what the author was going for. In that case, was she as innocent at 8 as she wants us to believe? She loved her and dad felt he could do no wrong, but wouldn't even an 8 yer old know something was not right? For this reason I am giving this book 3 stars. I am stingy with my 5 stars and I just cannot give this 4 stars based on my thinking an 8 year old should have known better or more which for me made this a bit harder to be drawn into the book.

This book is full of twists and turns. Cherrie (aka Leigh-Ann), the main character, has a big secret that not even her boyfriend knows. She is the daughter of Mr. Bones, a serial killer that murdered little bones and made sculptures with their bones. She unwittingly helped him lure the boys to his car. When her father was convicted and she turned 17, she changed her name to Cherrie and hoped no one would ever find out the truth. However, that was to change. A child is abducted and then hers is too. A podcast finds out her truth and reveals it for the listeners. A hypothesis on the podcast is floated that no one lives through what she did unscathed. People begin to think that she is to blame for the two boys that are missing.
However, the truth is stranger than fiction.
I would recommend this book.

Such an unusual book. The protagonist baffled me - I sympathised with her but then found myself constantly second guessing whether she was actually “the good guy.” I have often wondered how the relatives of murderers feel and what that relationship does to them. This book offers a fascinating interpretation. The modern twist of a podcast as the mechanism by which the protagonist past comes back to haunt her makes this a contemporary, accessible mystery. Loved it.