Friday Book Share: The Bone Curse

/ Staci Troilo

Ciao, SEers. Staci here with the Friday Book Share post.

The Bone Curse by Carrie RubinI’ve recently read Carrie Rubin’s The Bone Curse. I saw a promo for it on another site and it sounded like something I’d really enjoy, so I snatched it up.

First, I’d like to talk about the cover. I love the muted color palate. The bones at the bottom really pop, and the skull in the smoke is, to me, even creepier than the remains at the bottom. I’m especially drawn to the expanded spaces between the letters in the title and the author’s name.

The book comes with a lot of endorsements (Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Foreward Reviews, and some bestselling authors). If you value and/or rely on such recommendations, this book has many of them.

The description on the back promises a medical mystery, an ancient curse, and Vodou rituals. I was interested at the words “medical mystery.” Throwing in the other stuff was a bonus to me.

And it all paid off.

At the heart of it all is a med student with more on his plate than any one person should have to juggle. (Boy, could I relate.) I loved watching the medical mysteries unfold. While I couldn’t begin to guess what might cause the maladies of the people in the book (I’m not a doctor), I really enjoyed watching him figure it all out.

But that’s only the beginning. Throughout the story, we learn more about his personal relationships—people with whom he had passing encounters and people who helped shape his life. These interpersonal relationships were the driving force for me. Watching what was said—and what wasn’t said—is what made me care for these people. And learning the different layers each person had was satisfying—the author brought depth and believability to characters who could easily have become caricatures.

What wrapped it all up for me was the curse. Who it affected and how. To what lengths the main character would go to stop it. Did it exist, or was there a medical explanation? Will we find out the truth in the end?

I’m telling you, I swiped through the pages as fast as I could, looking for answers to my ever-growing questions.

This story has paranormal elements, but the overarching delivery is grounded in reality. I’m excited that this is the first in a series because I’d love to see what happens next. But don’t worry; this is a standalone novel, and the threads are all neatly tied off at the end.

There you have it. My recommendation for a thrilling summer read. If you like medical mysteries, drama, and paranormal curses, you’ll find all three in this book, working synergistically to create a fabulous final product.

Have you read this book? Heard of it? Does this description interest you? Let’s talk about it. Leave a comment below.

Staci bio box teal

33 thoughts on “Friday Book Share: The Bone Curse”

    • Of course it’s on your TBR. What isn’t? You and Teri must read 20 books a week. It’s impressive how much you manage to get through.

      It’s a really good story, with really tight writing. You’ll enjoy it.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • My TBR list is so long, some of the books are years old. When I think about it, I’m sad that I’ll die before I get to read everything I want to. But isn’t it amazing that so much creativity constantly comes into the world?

        Like

  8. Hey, Staci, what a wonderful treat to find in my inbox today. Thank you so much for the wonderful review. I’m honored you took the time to read and review it, and you’re so kind to share it on your blog. I’m at ThrillerFest in New York this week, so it made the week all the more sweet. Thank you!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • One of my first novels had elements of a medical mystery. I love those kinds of stories. I’m not a doctor, but I love research and I have a doctor in the family, so I can usually do the genre justice. Carrie did a fantastic job with this story.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  13. I haven’t come across The Bone Curse before, Staci, but have to agree with you … the muted colours work so well. And from your description, it sounds well worth a read! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I think you’d enjoy it, Harmony. Carrie did a really good job weaving clinical pragmatism with supernatural possibility. I’m not saying it’s like The Glade (it isn’t), but given the elements you included in your novel, I think you’d really like hers.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  14. Pingback: Author Inspiration and This Week’s Writing Links – Staci Troilo

We'd love to know what you think. Comment below.

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s