Book Review: Burnt Bones

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Burnt Bones     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Michael Slade
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Thriller   Horror
Signet, Mar 2000, $6.99, 416 pp.

Even as a child he accompanied his father on trips that enabled him to see many of the wonders that spice up the mundane world. He has been to Stonehenge, Salisbury, and other centers of power throughout the British Isles. He believed his father when he was told residents of Atlantis who had colonized much of their current world built these monuments. He also listened to his father who told him about the Hoard, a key that opens up the secrets that the Ancient Ones built into these artifacts. When they reach Hadrian’s Wall, the boy learns finds out that the Hoard is the silver skull of a Roman soldier with a Druid medallion inside his forehead.

The boy grew into a ruthless cruel psychopath named Mephisto. His only desire is to find the Hoard in order to uncover the secrets of the Ancients. Mephisto has traced the Hoard to the Campbell clan living on San Juan Island. He abducts the members and tortures them in order to reveal their information. Though that plan fails, the clever Mephisto continues his onslaught by obtaining, through a diabolical and deadly plan, the services of the Canadian and American police forces.

Michael Slade has written an exciting, enthralling, and eerie chiller that is not for the faint of heart since it contains graphic violence. Readers who liked Harris’ Silence of the Lambs will enjoy this work. The fast-paced story line is filled with descriptive details and complex heroes and villains. BURNT BONES is a complicated thriller that provides insight into Scottish and Roman history, a situation that though rare for this sub-genre, triumphantly works.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner