"A Body To Bones" Book Reviews

A Body To Bones, First Skeleton Series Mystery Author Donan Berg Review Number One: By E. Harris (Reader) 6/25/2018 Ten years ago Sarah Hamilton made a mistake. Never far from her mind were the reminders of the consequences. Not wanting to dwell on the past, she tried to look towards the future. This was not to be when an investigation into recently found skeletal remains threatens not only her secrets, but her safety as well. Will she survive the turmoil? The author has crafted an intriguing and suspenseful mystery novel. The tension builds slowly and keeps the reader engrossed throughout. When least expected, the narrative takes unexpected twists and turns. The well-drawn characters are an interesting group as are their roles in the story. I found this to be a well written and engrossing novel. Highly recommended. I received a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed are my own. Review Number Two: By Laura H. (Reader) 5/8/2018
The meticulous and lengthy descriptions of the characters in this story are an integral piece of recognizing the clues. The masterful way Berg entwined them into the story shows the extent of his creativity, imagination, and depth of writing. As a debut novel, this book deserves the praise it has received. If this publication is any indication, this writer has a prolific career ahead as a novelist. The twisting and turning storyline keeps the reader enthralled and wondering 'who done it' and 'why' to the end. What this reader supposed happened and why--was way off! The reader quickly becomes invested in the character's lives as horrific findings are unveiled. The complex secrets, lives changed, and Sarah's role--brings the town and its events into focus. Sarah's difficult decisions and finally confrontation with the past are written beautifully. The book highlights how incredibly complicated a police investigation is and how the simplest observation, say: a key, can change the future of an entire town. This reader is looking forward to reading the next novel in this series. One can hope it is as well-written and engaging as this one. Also a big plus is the price is reasonable.  Review Number Three By Glenda Bixler (07/2018) Reading the Prologue of Berg's first book certainly will grab readers and have them continue to learn what happens! Ten years has passed for Sarah Hamilton with a burden hanging over her... Clearly she had not yet felt God's forgiveness for her act... I have often thought that God sees our contrite heart and forgives us long before we are able to fully accept that... Then, too, what of the man who had been involved? Had he even thought to seek forgiveness, especially when we later learn, that Sarah was not the only woman with whom he had been involved... The small-town intrigue and gossip is alive and well in Clinton... The morality of the characters in the novel plays an important part as, ten years later, a body is found...or should I say, bones of a body... For this skeleton had missing bones that soon became part of the mystery... There was mystery in town this past week as every citizen wondered about the disappearance of Father Cornelius Murphy, pastor of St. Mary's Catholic Church of Clinton. ~~~ But before then, we learn more about the lives in Clinton a small town, of less than 900...for, of course, each is known and involved in some way in those events that the Pioneer Ledger shares to its readers once a week. Sarah and her husband are well-known and respected, and involved with local church activities. Sarah Hamilton is married to the editor/owner. One of those moral issues she has suffered under was her mother's dictates of how a Christian woman should act. One definitely was that she should take care of the home and not work outside it. But the Hamiltons actually lived in the building where the newspaper was created and printed... and her husband really did need her help. So, while agreeing to help with the paper, once more she buried her personal feelings of guilt and sense of doing something wrong... I had great sympathy for this woman living very much like I did in a small town... Throughout the story, the Hamiltons, not only because of their news-gathering activities, remain involved...We soon learn that there had been two disappearances around the mid-50s... One of them was the wife of the neighbor of the Hamiltons, who also owned a large warehouse in which the bones were later found. The other was the disappearance of a local priest... The officials, including local and federal, do an excellent job in pulling the investigation together and the created characters add greatly to the enjoyment of the hunt for whodunit! And the possible villains, including even Sarah, are explored as we learn more about the bodies, keeping us guessing. My intuition was right again, but the author keeps readers on the edge until almost the end of the book, as Sarah faces danger from the killer! I was pleased how the author allowed our main character's family to come together after all that had happened and we find a quite satisfactory ending after more than a decade of hidden secrets... A solid whodunit mystery that I highly recommend! GABixlerReviews (End of Reviews) Read this and other reviews of Author Donan Berg novels at Author Donan Berg Website . In addition, Author Berg's most popular story, "Inspiration" and most popular article "Aisle Two Romance, Chapter One" are both at the above website. Also see earlier post of "Inspiration" that appears on this blog. Thank you to E. Harris, Laura H., and G. Bixler and other readers for your continued strong support.