The Bone Nest will easily become your next mystery obsession.
It is 1986, and the folks of Bluesummer are on edge. Multiple local girls have gone missing, only to be found dead at the hands of the Songbird Strangler. The murderer has a schedule and a pattern, leaving calling cards at each crime scene. Even more bizarre, the killer keeps a peculiar altar to his victims, containing trinkets specific to each twisted crime. But it’s the Fourth of July, and for Troy, Tilly, Hayes, and Greer, even a serial killer isn’t enough to dampen their celebratory spirit. With college and new challenges just around the corner, the four friends are on the cusp of adulthood, and this night is meant to be their last Fourth all together. And it is. The Strangler strikes, taking the life of the most vibrant of them. Nobody wants a serial killer on the loose, so the Texas town pushes for swift justice. Black, young, unmoneyed, and unconnected, Troy is charged with Tilly’s death and whatever else they can pin on him. Though there are inconsistencies with the evidence and any true motive seems lacking, Troy Terrell becomes the Songbird Strangler in the eyes of Bluesummer. And they will have their pound of flesh.
If you enjoy growing close to a relatably flawed cast, getting surprised by stunning revelations, and being completely manipulated by an author who has mastered the craft of clever misdirection, then you’ll love Shanessa Gluhm’s The Bone Nest. Told in different timelines, the book builds out the four friends as teenagers in the crime timeline. Here, their differences, generational wealth versus inherited poverty, popularity versus invisibility, make readers a part of their friend circle. Present day, nearly four decades later, creates tension with Troy’s looming execution and introduces the legal team that takes on Troy’s case. These alternating timelines mesh seamlessly, engage readers, and allow them to match cause and effect, or crime and suspect, across time. But this isn’t just a cast of loosely related characters railing against death penalty legislation or living in the grip of a local serial killer; this is a community that has a complex past, harbors dangerous secrets, and holds crippling grudges. The pacing is electric, driven by a steady cadence of DNA results, corrupted evidence, missed connections, and alibis that crumble at exactly the right moment. Again and again, you think you have it figured out, but until Gluhm finally reveals everything, you’ll keep guessing. If all the suspense isn’t enough of a reason to pick up this book, then the fight for justice for those wrongfully condemned to death row certainly is. Perfect for anyone who enjoys being outsmarted by an author who maintains full control of the narrative, The Bone Nest will easily become your next mystery obsession.
