I was lucky enough to be invited onto the blog tour for the latest novel by Simon Beckett thanks to Tracey at Compulsive Readers Tours and of course I wasn’t going to turn down that opportunity. 

The Bone Garden is the latest outing for Dr David Hunter. The forensic anthropologist is on his way to help at a case when a fierce storm hits and a wrong turn leads him to have to take shelter in a remote village. What should have been a short respite from the storm soon becomes something altogether more terrifying. A body is discovered but with all roads and communication wiped out David Hunter soon realises he is on his own and no one wants him to find out the truth. 

The Bone Garden was a really good read that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

The claustrophobic atmosphere created by the storm and the snow was really creepy and as the village closes ranks the fear that David was feeling shone off the page. It was the classic locked room mystery this time created in a whole village. With a small cast of village characters that were all intertwined, there is a real sense of an outsider being in a place that he shouldn’t be. It definitely had that scary village feeling. 

I really enjoyed the story, it was a slow burn that built tension as it goes along, and although it’s a cliche I really couldn’t put it down. The narrative is told entirely from the perspective of David which adds to the feeling of isolation. You can almost feel the desperation as he is thwarted at every turn and the end scenes really ramped up the pace.

I have read most of Simon Beckett’s other novels and this is definitely up there with the best. I would highly recommend this, especially on a cold rainy day when you have nothing to distract you!