'Cage of Bones'

As cold weather pummels the Pacific Northwest (and the rest of the country), it's the best time to settle down and read....if your power isn't out, that is.  Of course, e-readers are great for blackouts, but when the battery dies out, what do you do?

I plop down on the couch, grab my print book, light a candle (or turn on my trusty flashlight), and dig into a good story.  In this case, it's a mystery.  A dark, dank, thrilling British mystery. 

And this one has two-count-'em-two 'Doctor Who' references.

'Cage of Bones', by Tania Carver, is a great thriller.  It's almost a quick read, but I sometimes had to put it down because certain passages were rather...brutal.  Lots of blood, lots of gore, and lots of 'people-who-aren't-who-you-think-they-are'.  But it was the claustrophobia passage that grabbed me and wouldn't let go.

A building in the English countryside is scheduled for demolition, but what is found inside it is horrible beyond words.  A cage made of bones...with a terrified, feral child lurking within.  Detective Phil Brennan and his partner in life, psychologist Marina Esposito, have disturbed a killer who has been operating undetected for over thirty years. And the killer wants the boy back...by any means necessary.  

The beauty of this well-written story isn't merely the fact that a killer is on the loose, but that various people are not who they appear to be, and that includes Detective Brennan, a man who suffers from horrible nightmares.  

Like I mentioned, it's a somewhat quick read, but it will having you turning the pages.  You might even stay up all night, cuddled under warm blankets, but chilled to the bones from the suspense that awaits you.

Carver is an author to watch, and I can't wait to see what she produces next time.  It would be nice to see a somewhat longer story, although she did a great job with the backstories in 'Cage of Bones'.  

So, bring it on, Tania!  Thrill this Book Hog, again.  

And don't forget 'The Doctor'.  I'll love you for it.