An Amazon Charts bestseller.From Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kendra Elliot comes the first novella in the thrilling Widow’s Island series.FBI Special Agent Cate Wilde is back home on a remote Pacific Northwest island when she gets the call: a teenager’s skeletal remains have been found on a nearby island.Together with Tessa Black, a childhood friend turned local deputy, Cate confronts … childhood friend turned local deputy, Cate confronts dreary weather and bleak leads to make sense of the death. The complications pile up as Cate is distracted by the coroner on the case—and by nagging memories that draw her twenty years into the past. The remains suggest eerie similarities between this victim, and Cate and Tessa’s friend Samantha, who disappeared when she was fourteen.
Cate finds herself up against closemouthed locals, buried town secrets, and even her own heart. As the case unravels, will she be able to cut through the fog and find justice for the missing and the dead?
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A Spooky Thriller!
When a teenager’s skeleton is found on a private island near FBI agent Cate Wilde’s childhood home, she’s asked to take the case. Cate is battling her own demons after a recent shooting and isn’t anxious to take on the responsibility of another case, especially one that could be linked to the twenty year old disappearance of her best friend.
As the islanders close ranks and the suspect lost grows, Cate works with another childhood friend, turned police officer, and the handsome new doctor/coroner to find the answers before anyone else gets hurt.
This was a good read, though it started out slow with a lot of back story on the island’s notorious founder that I didn’t find necessary.
I give Close To the Bone 4 lovely kisses- a good mystery!
You will be trying to guess from the beginning just who the bones belong to that have been found. There are two possibilities. I like the characters in the book. It was not quite as exciting as I assumed it would be, but it was still entertaining enough that I HAD to finish it!
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
Great story very intriguing and keeps you enthralled. The narrator done a spectacular job with this book. I recommend it.
A quick read that was hard to put down. Looking forward to more in this series!
I listened to this novella on Audible and was quite pleased with the characters, setting, plot and action. There is so much going on for a novella— can’t wait for the second one.
While searching Kindle Unlimited for something new to read, I came across Close to the Bone. The blurb struck a nerve, and I knew I had to read it. I dived in immediately, and boy I was not disappointed!
FBI agent Cate Wild is back on the island where she grew up. A routine call had ended with her partner dead, and a gunshot wound in her shoulder, so she’s back home to recover. That is until a supervisor calls to ask her to report to a nearby island where human bones had been discovered.
When she gets there, she sees her best friend Tessa Black, now a deputy sheriff and in charge of the scene, as well as a newcomer, the new town doctor and coroner Henry.
The discovery of a set of skeletal remains on the island trigger memories of Samantha, Tessa and Cate’s other friend who went missing when she was 14, disappearing from the same island that the remains were discovered on. Will the remains be that of Samantha, or the teenage daughter of the new owner of the island, reclusive author Rex Conan. Rex’s daughter Becca disappeared two years ago and there’s been no sighting in that time.
Cate, Tessa, and Henry work together to figure out who’s body it is, and who killed her.
This is a really good book. I can’t stress this one enough, the writing is engrossing, you can smell the water, look out and see the lighthouse, and see the small black tailed deer that populate the area. The mystery draws you in, and when the killer is exposed, you feel all the stress and tension rolling off everyone. I also enjoyed the slight romance that weaves it’s way through the story. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of mysteries, and quick yet engrossing tales.
I discovered another series by this author and I am thrilled and this one consists of novella length and that means I start one and get busy. First up we find Cate who is an FBI agent who returns to Widow’s Island after being shot along with her partner (who died) three weeks prior and is still healing and not working. While there, bones are discovered and along with the island doctor who is surprised to find out he is also the coroner. The bones are of a young woman and along with Cate’s friend who is also the local deputy, Tessa, they all investigate. Could this be their friend who disappeared or the daughter of the famous author who lives on the island. Definitely a great start to this series!
I think I found my next series to binge on! What a great short story! I cannot wait to see what’s in store for Cate and Tessa. I hope they find answers to their missing friends Samantha.
Intense, quick mystery.
Great characters involved in a heartbreaking mystery. Wonderful setting makes a good introduction to a new series! This is going to be fun!
Great story with well-developed characters.
I have really enjoyed this novella series by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh. The first book hooked me, and I can’t wait for the next installment! The characters were very likable and I loved the setting. Both authors did such a good job describing the setting. Not only did I feel like I had been there, it made me want to visit the coastal islands of the Northwest. And I loved the novella format because I was able to enjoy the whole story in a quick read.
The dynamic writing duo is back with a new series that takes place on remote Pacific Northwest island. I just devoured both of these books loving the setting, getting to know the new characters along with the suspense in addition to an overarching plot mystery I am sure will take the whole series to solve.
Close to the Bone introduces us to FBI Agent Cate Wilde who has just recently returned home to Widow’s Island after an injury on the job put her on medical leave. She’s not back long before she is asked to help on a case when a set of bones are found on a neighboring island. This puts her back in touch with her childhood friend Deputy Tessa Black.
We also introduced to Dr Henry Powers who is a newcomer to the island. He may not have grown up on the island but it immediate feels like home and he welcomes the slower pace. What he wasn’t expecting with his new job responsibilities was also having to be the islands coroner.
Both books were fast paced with separate murders to solve. A great cast of secondary characters who all plays rolls in both books. Cate’s grandma is hoot. Looking forward the next installments.
With the turn of the new year, I made my first New Year’s Resolution to read at least one book per week. I also have a Kindle Unlimited membership I almost never use. Rather than continue to waste that few dollars a month, I started surfing the KU shelves for my first read o 2019. CLOSE TO THE BONE‘s cover caught my eye nestled among the suspense reads, and although I’d never read anything by Kendra Elliot before, the description sounded pretty good so I gave it a try.
If you are familiar with the author, this might not be news to you, but she writes in tandem with another author, Melinda Leigh (my review of her first Widow’s Island book is coming tomorrow). The Widow’s Island series is a new one for them, but they’ve done these tandem series in the past (I’ve added one called the Rogue River series to my TBR pile….because it wasn’t big enough already…). For this series, Kendra Elliot penned CLOSE TO THE BONE, Widow’s Island book one, and Melinda Leigh wrote A BONE TO PICK, Widow’s Island book two (Melinda wrote book three and Kendra wrote book four, both of which are coming in October 2019).
In CLOSE TO THE BONE, we are introduced to FBI Special Agent Cate Wilde as the main character. To me, she seemed very melancholy in the beginning and I wasn’t really sure I was going to be able to stick with the story because of it. I’m glad I did though. I despise reviews that blow plot points so I won’t explain that any further. Just know that if you’re feeling the same way at the open of the story, keep reading. You’ll end up loving Cate inside of just a few chapters. She’s clever, strong-minded, and takes no bullshit. I definitely look forward to continuing to see more of her in the series.
The history and scandal surrounding the islands is one of my favorite parts of this book. We learn the sordid tale that went into the naming of the islands and who is related to who. It’s kind of adorable. Steamy but adorable. You learn so much about their history that the islands almost end up being their own character in the story. As much as the small-town atmosphere where everyone knows your business is not my thing, it sounds like a place I would love to visit.
Now, here on our blog, we always try to give readers a comparison read and mine is going to sound wonky as shit but… If you read R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series as a kid/young teen, you would probably LOVE the Widow’s Island series. I was a diehard Fear Street reader, as was my daughter at that same age, and that was the first thing I said to her. It’s like Fear Street for grown ups. CLOSE TO THE BONE is a fast-paced murder mystery novella with lots of intriguing world building and just a touch of romance. And although it’s a novella, the story doesn’t suffer for it. Nothing feels rushed and too convenient, and while the mystery for the individual book is solved, the overall series ARC is left open in a way that resulted in me immediately starting the second book in the series.
Overall, I highly recommend CLOSE TO THE BONE if you’re looking for a quick read and a mystery that makes you think. This book was well worth three-or-so hours it took me to read, and I can’t wait to dig into more by this author!
Kendra Elliot is one of my favorite authors so when I saw a new series of books I hadn’t read I jumped on it. As usual, I wasn’t disappointed. A nice mystery set in a rather eerie place and great characters. This novella has it all. Just the right length for a lazy afternoon. This author always provides a good read and that is so greatly appreciated by an avid reader.
I much anticipated this first book in the Widow’s Island novella series by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh. As a team of writers alternating books in a series, they fit together flawlessly, I am happy to report that I was not at all disappointed! This first book whetted my appetite, and I am eagerly looking forward to more. I say in all of my reviews that dialogue and character development are critical to my enjoyment of a story, and Kendra Elliot is masterful at creating a believable story with well developed characters and clear plot lines.
The premise of the book is that people who belong to Widow’s Island may leave, but they are drawn back to the island eventually, and if you don’t belong there, the island knows. . FBI Special Agent Cate Wilde was raised on Widow’s Island, but left to follow her career on the mainland. Shot on a routine investigation, she has come home to heal, but gets drawn into a murder investigation when bones are discovered on neighboring Ruby’s Island and she is the only FBI agent close enough to attend. She meets up with childhood friend Tessa Black, who has also gone into law enforcement, and together they look into the identity of the remains. She meets the new island doctor, who also doubles as the coroner, and she is intrigued by him. The remains also bring up memories of a friend of Cate and Tessa who disappeared almost twenty years ago. Could it be her? Ah ah! You have to read the book to find out!
A fast, but complete read, this novella is definitely worth the price!!
There is nothing new that I love Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh and I was happy to hear they teamed up together to write another novella series. I LOVE these two authors! I’ve been reading a lot of Contemporary and Paranormal Romance lately and needed a Romantic Suspense story. I knew which authors to turn to for the Romantic Suspense genre. These two know how to keep me on the edge of my seat and they always write some amazing characters in their stories.
The synopsis of Close to the Bone briefly describes the story, so I won’t go into detail about the story. It’s a short novella, so it can be read in one sitting. (Hopefully, with no interruptions.) Instead, let’s move onto the review and what I thought about the first book in the Widow’s Island series.
Kendra automatically grabbed my attention with the first chapter due to the mystery/suspense already. One of the main characters FBI Special Agent Cate Wilde is called to help with skeletal remains that were found on one of the Widow’s Islands. The poor character is home temporarily where she’s recovering from a gunshot wound on the line of duty. I already knew I was going to like her character since she is determined and strong-willed, even after what she has gone through. She wants to find out what happened to the person that was killed and buried on the island. She has help from her childhood friend Tessa Black who happens to be a local deputy and the new doctor who is also the local coroner on the island. Between all the characters they are determined to find out what happened.
Not only did Kendra keep me intrigued with the storyline of finding out who was behind the bone remains, but also finding out about the history of the island. I loved the history of the islands and want more of the islands and the people that live there.
Overall, I give the first book 4 stars and recommend it to fans of the Romantic Suspense genre. If you haven’t read any of Kendra Elliot’s books I highly recommend you do or at least check them out and add them to your TBR. You can start reading her books by reading this book or reading any other series she’s written: Bone Secrets, Callahan & Lane, and Mercy Kilpatrick.
The next book in the Widow’s Island series is A Bone To Pick and it’s by Melinda Leigh. (Another favorite Romantic Suspense Author.)
I love to read all of her books as well as Melinda Elliott’s. Love the mysteries and world building.
I’ve read several of the author’s works, but none of the ones that she’s “co-wrote” with Melinda Leigh. That leaves me feeling a little lost sometimes when reading their works, but this book did a good job of filling in some blanks for me!
My biggest complaint was that it was too short! Some of the investigation felt very rushed and I felt that the mysteries in the story suffered for it a bit, as did the characterization. That’s not to say that this isn’t a complete story, because it very much is, just that some parts of it felt incomplete. While I know that a degree of it was intentional, I believe that some of it is not.
Moving past all that, we get a great first look at the new setting and have a great feel for the inhabitants of the town. There’s some great local history mentioned that makes the story very unique. The plot didn’t falter at all, and was engaging throughout. I’m eager to see where things go from here!
This is a great novella, if you are looking for an quick read with sneaky characters & a twisted end.