Bone Dust White
Bone Dust White by Karin Salvalaggio
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I really wanted to like this book. It’s got everything I like in a mystery. Cold case tied to a new murder, female cop without a sappy romantic subplot, gossip and secrets. And I did like it enough to finish it. But there were a number of things that kept me from really getting into it.
Grace, the main protagonist, just kept confusing me. One minute she’s weak and afraid, the next she is taking risky actions that seem totally out of character. One minute she’s innocent and vulnerable, the next she is slyly keeping secrets. I never really got a sense of who she was, and the bit about her having a weak heart and open heart surgery seems extraneous. Sometimes she was such a ninny I wanted to slap her.
Macy (the cop) and Jared (EMT and past boyfriend of Macy) were well written, fleshed out characters. I was able to connect with both of them, especially Macy. I liked how Jared was both kind and cruel to the women in his life (not abusive, just game playing).
There were a lot of characters to keep track of, and I found myself flipping back and forth to remind myself who everyone was.
The location, Montana on the border with Canada, could have used more detail. I never got a sense of place, just another small town in winter. Could have taken place anywhere. Any mystery set in a small town in the US is going to have poverty, domestic violence and meth labs…nothing really stood out here.
The mystery was okay, though it felt really disjointed at times. There were a couple times I had to stop and go back, thinking I missed a page. But no, there were just some transition issues. I did like how the past and present collided, both the characters and the secrets they were hiding.
The ending felt really tacked on, it would have made more sense to end without the “months later” last chapter. Can’t figure out the point of this ending…nothing new learned, and it detracted from the heart of the mystery.
The other weird thing that was like multiple road bumps along the way for me was the overuse of similes. Especially the first few chapters, it read like the author was doing a writing exercise with the use of similes. I kept wanting to shout, “STOP! TOO MUCH!” Especially distracting were the use of the words “snap, crackle, and pop.” No, not the cereal. Graces eyes snap or pop open and shut. Plastic crackles and pops….I stopped counting the use of these words after the first few chapters, but it was just plain weird how often they were used.
All in all, I found this a “serviceable” mystery. good for a plane flight or beach read. I’m giving it 3 stars rather than 2 stars because although I think there is room for improvement, I believe this author (with the proper editor) has enough writing talent to get better.
–check out my series reviews, and my Mystery Fiction Book Group’s reviews at www.seattlemysterylovers.com !
