Balancing family life with being a kick-ass investigator is hard, especially when the holidays roll up.Jake Winter and Dean Tseng are solving cases as PIAs (Paranormal Investigation Agents) in Amsterdam, as well as being fathers to their four-year-old daughter. With the festive season in full swing, everything should be calming down to make way for relaxing times with good food and presents … and presents delivered by Sinterklaas.
Right?
Since when was life ever that simple?
When a human body is discovered with every one of its bones missing, and creepy anti-supernatural protesters start lurking in the shadows with a sinister agenda, Jake and Dean are about to experience the nasty side of Christmas.
An Urban Fantasy filled with magic, mystery and mayhem
(The Christmas Bones is a sequel novel to the Coldharbour Chronicles series, set four years after the events of the final book. There are references to the previous series, but this story can be enjoyed without having prior knowledge of those books. It features an established MM relationship, and plenty of Urban Fantasy action.)
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Is a nice addition to the series.
The Christmas Bones by Richard Amos is my first book by this author, and it won’t be the last.
Jack and Dean live in Amsterdam with their daughter Louise. They are PIA, Paranormal Investigation Agents, after the truth about the paranormal world had been revealed to the humans.
Jack and Dean are on a case of a missing person when things start to get personal and their life are in danger…again.
I loved this book; I loved the universe. Jack and Dean are awesome, hilarious and crazy in love with each other. It was my first time with them, and I really loved how the author wrote them. They were complementary but different. I had a wonderful time with them.
The plot and the story were interesting, even if at first, I struggled to fully understand the universe, I caught up with it and I was captivated into the story until the end.
I loved the writing too. It was very dynamic, we jump from action to family time to sexy time to action, I adored it. It was fast and funny (pun intend)
After some research, I realized that this book is a sequel to the Coldharbour Chronicles series and guess what, I already buy them.
I will definitely read the next book in this series; I had a super good time with them.
I haven’t read the Coldharbour Chronicles but although there were references to that with left me wanting to read that series, I still followed this story no problem, and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of The Christmas Bones. Although I do want more in this series now too, and loved the set up for the next book.
The story drops the reader straight into the action, and I liked how the backstory was explained without it feeling like an info dump.
I fell for the characters very quickly. Their relationship feels very real, as does the life they’ve made with their daughter, Louise. Some of the scenes with them and Louise are very cute, while others are very much the realism of parenting while having to sometimes put the job first, especially when lives are at stake. Jake is wonderfully snarky, and I thought Dean complemented him well, although he has his own inner demons to fight. I loved their banter. I liked that they are both flawed, and not heroes in a conventional way, yet someone I’d definitely want on my side during an investigation or a fight. I liked that they’re still working through the consequences of their pasts.
I liked the supporting cast too, and am looking forwarding to learning more about them in future books. The Conclave are a real piece of work and sadly their attitudes and beliefs remind me of some of the not so good things about our own world.
I loved that this story is set in Amsterdam, and the flavour of culture and snippets of language. It gave the storyline a different flavour from what I usually read, despite it being our world, yet not, and also a very strong sense of place. The world building is fabulous, and I liked the idea of the pods and the havoc they’re wrecking not only on people, but their surroundings as well. I loved the supernatural elements in the story, the different types of beings and magic, and how some technology still works in this world, yet not others. The pods are a very cool idea, as is that Gaelic is the original language of the fae. I also liked that humans and supernaturals are a mix of good and bad.
I thought the story was very clever, and I didn’t guess the real reason for ‘the Christmas bones’. As a side note, I always appreciate stories where the characters have to do research, and I liked the set up with the research tools available in this world.
I’d recommend this story to readers who enjoy urban fantasy with fabulous world building, flawed heroes, and a storyline that keeps you guessing.
Jake and Dean from the Coldharbour series have started a paranormal detective agency of sorts and are now living in Holland. his series is set several years after the Coldharbour series finises and is a really enjoyable read. Full of fun, mystery, suspence and a little heat. Its lovely seeing Jake and Dean in a family enviroment with their daughter and this book is so different to the previous series.
I love the new characters and this book can easily be read with out having read Coldharbour books so buckle up and settle in ready for the wild fun filled ride that is everything Jake and Dean.
I really enjoyed The Coldharbour Chronicles, and I was glad when the author brought the main characters back for this new series. Jake and Dean are a cute couple, and I love that they now have their daughter from the previous series. No, you don’t need to have read the other series to enjoy this one, BTW. This was a good book with an intriguing mystery (oh, my, the reason for the title is so…interesting! LOL!), but I have to admit that I would have thought Jake would be a little more even-tempered; I wanted to yell at him sometimes. I liked the new additional characters, and I’m hoping to learn more about them. Anyway, I’m looking forward to more in this series. Recommend!
The Christmas Bones is the first book in the Jake & Dean Investigations series by Richard Amos. It is a spin off of a previous series and honestly should be read after the Caldharbour Chronicles to get the full impact of this amazing universe created by the Author… but if you havent read it, this book still can stand on it’s own without feeling lost.
I am excited that we get to see Jake Winter and Dean Tseng again… years have past and they are even more amazing now in their established family/relationship. They are fantastic characters and their story is entertaining – drama, action, suspense, magic, fantasy, danger, humor and romance. This book had me glued to the pages and I am excited to see what comes next.
I received an advanced reader’s copy of the book and I am voluntarily leaving my honest review and recommendation.