Review: ‘Quiet in Her Bones’ by Nalini Singh
Quiet in Her Bones
by Nalini SinghPublished by Berkley on February 23, 2021
SubGenres: Mystery, Thriller
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 374
Source: Purchased
Audience: 18+/Adult
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In this gripping thriller set in New Zealand, New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh takes you into the twisted world of an exclusive cul-de-sac located on the edge of a sprawling forest. My mother vanished ten years ago. So did a quarter of a million dollars in cash. Thief. Bitch. Criminal. Now, she's back. Her bones clothed in scarlet silk. When socialite Nina Rai disappeared without a trace, everyone wrote it off as another trophy wife tired of her wealthy husband. But now her bones have turned up in the shadowed green of the forest that surrounds her elite neighborhood, a haven of privilege and secrets that's housed the same influential families for decades.
The rich live here, along with those whose job it is to make their lives easier. And somebody knows what happened to Nina one rainy night ten years ago. Her son Aarav heard a chilling scream that night, and he's determined to uncover the ugly truth that lives beneath the moneyed elegance...but no one is ready for the murderous secrets about to crawl out of the dark.
Even the dead aren't allowed to break the rules in this cul-de-sac.
This is going to be a short review of Quiet in Her Bones because, unfortunately, it won’t be my favorite book by Nalini Singh. The main character, Aariv Rai, is trying to figure out what happened to his mother ten years ago after she vanished one night. Her bones were finally recovered after those ten years, and the police are investigating, but Aariv wants to do his own investigating because he suspects foul play. He believes his father has something to do with his mother’s disappearance, but he has to interview everyone who remembers that night his mom left without a trace.
I was ecstatic to read this thriller from Nalini, especially since I enjoyed her first, A Madness of Sunshine. I’m also a big fan of her PNR/Fantasy series. Unfortunately, this one was a little underwhelming and slow-paced, and there were too many side characters introduced by the main character that I couldn’t keep up with it. I actually found myself getting bored with this book and I had to put it aside for a bit, thinking it was my mood, but once I picked it up again, it was the same thing. By the time the killer was revealed, I had lost interest. At least Aariv finally got closure and he finally found out why he was getting blackouts. I really thought there was going to be a more significant plot twist, but there wasn’t.
Just because this book didn’t work for me doesn’t mean other readers won’t enjoy it. It just was too slow-paced, and I didn’t really like the main character as much who was telling the story for me to enjoy it, which is why it’s only receiving two stars from me.
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About Nalini Singh
I've been writing as long as I can remember and all of my stories always held a thread of romance (even when I was writing about a prince who could shoot lasers out of his eyes). I love creating unique characters, love giving them happy endings and I even love the voices in my head. There's no other job I would rather be doing. In September 2002, when I got the call that Silhouette Desire wanted to buy my first book, Desert Warrior, it was a dream come true. I hope to continue living the dream until I keel over of old age on my keyboard.
I was born in Fiji and raised in New Zealand. I also spent three years living and working in Japan, during which time I took the chance to travel around Asia. I’m back in New Zealand now, but I’m always plotting new trips. If you’d like to see some of my travel snapshots, have a look at the Travel Diary page (updated every month).
So far, I've worked as a lawyer, a librarian, a candy factory general hand, a bank temp and an English teacher and not necessarily in that order. Some might call that inconsistency but I call it grist for the writer's mill.
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