This is a free download by NetGalley in exchange for a written review. 

Restless Bones by Gillian French is the second Shaw Connolly book and finds the fingerprint analyst trying to put her life together again after the discovery of her sister’s remains and putting her killer behind bars. Now her life centers around four areas. Her youngest son being bullied in middle school. Her estranged husband wants to reconcile. She finds herself working with a detective she finds herself attracted to in ways she shouldn’t. And perhaps most difficult, she is asked to once more face the man who killed her sister and nearly killed her.  

There are a lot of threads to pull in this book and four plot points is enough to make a head spin trying to keep everything straight.  Gillian French does a good job of weaving them together. Her son’s problem in middle school causes Shaw and her husband, Ryan, to come together over for their son. This causes them to work on their relationship. It is a little confusing to keep the two work plots separate. I believe, for me, it was because I had not read the first book and jumped into the second book.  

I found it difficult to like the character, Shaw. She wasn’t someone I could rally behind. I found her to be self-centered, foulmouthed, and bad-tempered. At other times she was silly and insecure. She was still grieving the murder of her sister, and that grief affected her responses in many of her choices, most of them negative.  

I cannot say I liked Restless Bones; I didn’t dislike it either. This lukewarm attitude toward the book will probably not lead me to go back and read the first book. I would not avoid another book by Gillian French. I think she did a good job writing this book and weaving the plot points together to a suitable resolution.  

Restless Bones by Gillian French rates a 4 out of 5 stars from me. The writing is good. The rating comes from my lukewarm response to the book, my dislike of the main character, and the use of foul language. It wasn’t good enough to earn a spot on my bookshelf. I would not recommend this book to anyone under 18.  I want to read more by the author because the plot points were woven together to a complete end. One book doesn’t diminish or increase an author. I look forward to reading more of Gillian French. 

All for One  

Angela