The Hungry Bones - (Alexa Glock Forensics Mysteries) by Sara E Johnson (Paperback)

About the Book

"Alexa Glock is at a crossroads-personally and professionally. As an American working and living in New Zealand, she's come to love the place with its rugged beauty and warm, friendly people. But there's still so much she wants to learn in her field of forensic odontology, and her professional crush in Scotland has just interviewed her for a position at the University of Edinburgh. To complicate matters, she learns that the man who professes to love her had been unfaithful to his ex-wife. How can Alexa trust that he won't cheat on her as well if she stays? When she's called to the former gold mining community of Arrowtown to help identify some old bones for repatriation to China, she welcomes the distraction. As often happens when digging up the past, a mystery is unearthed; two additional skeletons are found, one with a hole through its skull, the other with a snapped neck and broken back. As Alexa attempts to open a cold case investigation of two potential homicides, the local school principal goes missing. Local police recruit Alexa to assist with the case and as she digs in on both sides, the secrets she uncovers make her dangerously unpopular with those who want to keep the past buried-and Alexa along with it"--

Book Synopsis

"Unexpected plot twists will keep readers turning pages until they reach the exciting ending." -- Booklist

Alexa Glock is at a crossroads, personally and professionally.

Now that DI Bruce Horne, who said he loved her, won't deny he cheated on his ex-wife, how can Alexa trust he won't cheat on her? She and her abandonment issues need some space, so she throws her hat in the ring for a position far from New Zealand: Abertay University in Scotland. Her professional crush, Dr. Ben Odden, is interested in her expertise in teeth. If he makes an offer, will Alexa bite?

Meanwhile, a human skeleton has been exhumed in a quaint former gold rush town in New Zealand. A benefactor believes that the bones are that of a Chinese gold miner, and she wants to repatriate the "hungry ghost" of her ancestor to China. Alexa is called in to examine the teeth and the secrets they contain. She didn't expect to discover a hole in the skull. When another skeleton is unearthed nearby and also shows evidence of a violent death, Alexa heads to the police station to open a cold case. Then, the town's beloved school principal goes missing. Alexa is quickly recruited to assist with the search, and as she digs into both cases, the secrets she uncovers make her dangerously unpopular with those who want to keep the past buried--and perhaps Alexa along with it.

Review Quotes

"The story is full of interesting lore about the New Zealand gold rush in the 1880s as well as unexpected plot twists that will keep readers turning pages until they reach the exciting ending. Johnson has crafted a compelling story that features little-known history (to American readers, at least) and strong women." -- Booklist