Book Review for THE DARK BONES by Loreth Anne White

She’s come back to solve the mystery of her father’s death and confront her own dark past.

When Detective Rebecca North left her rural hometown, she vowed never to return. Her father’s apparent suicide has changed that. The official report is that retired cop Noah North shot himself, knocked over a lantern, and set his isolated cabin ablaze. But Rebecca cannot believe he killed himself.

To prove it, she needs the help of Ash Haugen, the man she left behind. But Rebecca and Ash share more than broken hearts. Something darker lies between them, and the investigation is stirring it back to life. Clues lead them to the home of Olivia West and her deeply troubled twelve-year-old daughter, Tori. The child knows more about the murder than anyone can imagine, but she’s too terrified to say a word.
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And as a cold-blooded killer resurfaces from the past, Rebecca and Ash begin to fear that their own secrets may be even harder to survive.

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Loreth Anne White is a new author to me, and I am impressed, I admit that. Her writing is beautiful, smooth, and descriptive, I called it in my mind  Women's Lit meets Cozy Mystery meets Thriller meets Romantic Suspense. 
Of course, if you are looking for a fast-paced action thriller, then you might get anxious after the intensely frightening beginning as the stage is set for the twenty-year-old crimes to be solved and connected to the current ones. The investigation is interesting and engaging but it does take time to get all the information together. Yet the author abundantly awards the readers, as the action and tension increases after half of the book are read.  
Everything in the story is intense, not just the investigation. The small town, the weather, the people, the connections, the climate, the past that is playing such an important role in the present, everything is an intricate part of the plot as the story unfolds, and as the solution started to be at hand, the book was impossible to put down until the end. 
Detective Rebecca North is a strong female lead. She knows her job, she is talented, detail oriented and dedicated. She has her issues from the past and her unresolved relationship with Ash Haugen, both ending up as the center of the investigation at hand. 
Ash is a broken hero, with his faults and failures. There are third person issues, there are youthful mistakes, there are terrible secrets and heartbreaking destinies. Even though it took me a long time to feel an emotional connection with Rebecca and Ash, when it finally came, it hit hard and directly to my heart. The road for them is not easy, the obstacles they face are unimaginable. The author does not take easy short cuts in their relationship but gives lifelike, believable solutions that were acceptable.
I have not read the book one in the series and was actually surprised to see that this is the book two - the two stories are separate tales, even though after reading the blurb to the book one realized that the main characters do visit this story as well. 
Tragic human destinies and devastating, horrifying secrets unravel as Rebecca starts to question the apparent suicide of her father. Mix in small-town Canada up in the prairie in the middle of the winter, with protagonists facing their past mistakes and currently churning emotions, teenagers getting into trouble, and the state police stepping in to run the investigation and you get a potent, ardent tale of the fragility of life, love, and human destinies.
~ Four Spoons

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Loreth Anne White is an award-winning, bestselling author of romantic suspense, thrillers, and mysteries. 

A three-time RITA finalist, she has also won the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the Romantic Crown for Best Romantic Suspense and Best Book Overall, in addition to being a Booksellers’ Best finalist, a multiple Daphne Du Maurier Award finalist, and a multiple CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award winner. 

A former journalist and newspaper editor who has worked in both South Africa and Canada, she now resides in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest with her family. When she’s not writing, you will find her skiing, biking, or hiking the trails with her Black Dog. 

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