by Ginny Myers Sain
Publisher: Putnam
Pub Date: March 4, 2025
Genre: Horror, YA, Mystery, Fantasy
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Book Links: Goodreads Bookshop
From New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a new southern gothic supernatural thriller about a teen girl in a small Ozark town who can hear the bones of the dead.
The past three years have been tough for Lucifer’s Creek, Arkansas, a small town quietly tucked away in the Ozark mountains. More than two dozen people have disappeared on the local hiking trails; there one moment, gone the next, not a trace left behind, until their buried bodies are discovered.
17-year-old Dovie doesn’t believe in magic even though she comes from a long line of women who can hear the bones of the dead sing, and for the past few years the bones have been crooning nonstop, calling out to Dovie to dig them up.
Some of the old-timers believe that it’s the monstrous Ozarks howler snatching people off the Aux Arc Trail. Well Dovie doesn’t believe in the howler, and she doesn’t believe her best friend Lo when he tells her he is being haunted by dark shadows. All she believes in is her talent that guides the local sheriff to the bones when they begin their song, then reuniting the dead with their families to give them some peace.
Lo doesn’t know peace, though. The shadows follow him everywhere. He soon learns they’re the murdered hikers and they want answers. But the truth of their deaths isn’t buried with their bones; it’s hidden somewhere deep in the hills. And Lo and Dovie must unearth it before anyone else is killed.
My Review: I'm not a fan of horror. But there's just something about Ginny's books that I love. It's not heavy on the horror, and yet her writing not only gives me a story to unfold but just the right amount of thrills to pull me in and keep me glued (and not running to drop the book and turn on the lights).
Anyway, it's safe to say she's got me hooked.
Dovie was just a child when she first wandered into the woods and found a bone. Now, she's basically an adult and still finding bones. Though, today her dad isn't scooping her up and dragging her off. Instead, she helps the sheriff with late night adventures throughout their small town to help find those who've been lost. Only when the bones sing, does she know how to find them.
It's not a bad thing, Dovie's gift and giving families closure when loved ones are found. Her dad is still not the biggest fan of all this but her nana understands. So right now, this is Dovie's life.
As Lo returns home, that's when things start to pick up pace a little and not long after they are both on the hunt for who or what is murdering these hikers.
This is a great read for those who like light horror. Ginny creates the perfect suspenseful moments leading up to the end and I just couldn't get enough of this book.
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪
