The Bone Readers

By Jacob Ross

Jacob Ross brings the best traditions of crime fiction to the Caribbean novel with a fast-moving narrative, richly observed characters, a powerful evocation of place and a denouement that will leave readers breathless. When Michael (Digger) Digson is recruited into DS Chilman's new plain clothes squad in the small Caribbean island of Camaho he brings his own mission to discover who amongst a renegade police squad killed his mother in a political demonstration. Sent to London to train in forensics, Digger becomes enmeshed in Chilman's obsession with a cold case, the disappearance of a young man whose mother is sure has been murdered. But along with his new skill in forensics, Digger makes rich use of the cultural knowledge he has gained from the Fire Baptist grandmother who brought him up, another kind of reader of bones. And when the enigmatic Miss K. Stanislaus joins him on the case, Digger finds that his science is more than outmatched by her observational skills. Together, they find themselves dragged into a world of secrets, disappearances and danger that demands every ounce of their brains, persistence and courage to survive. First novel in the Michael (Digger) Digson crime series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Peepal Tree Press
• Release date: Sep 24, 2016
• ISBN: 9781845233372

Jacob Ross

Jacob Ross was born in Grenada and studied at the University of Grenoble and has lived in Britain since 1984. He is the writer of two acclaimed collections of short stories.

Reviews for The Bone Readers

[wandering_star_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A detective novel set on the fictional Caribbean island of Camaho. Michael "Digger" Digson is a bright kid with no future, shanghaied into the police force by a superintendent who excels at spotting talent in unlikely places. Digger is reluctant to join at first - he has his own history with the force, as the illegitimate son of the Police Commissioner and a woman who was killed by police during a demonstration. But the temptation of finding out what really happened to his mother - and the lack of any other options - brings him into the job. Superintendant Chilman gives him a hint now and again about his mother, but is obsessed with an unsolved case of his own - a young man called Nathan, whose disappearance he feels hasn't received the police attention it deserves. As Digger follows both trails, he starts to uncover some of the corruption within the island - reminding me of [[Ian Rankin]]'s portrayal of Scotland's underbelly. I really enjoyed this - a good mystery, vivid sense of place and culture, and interesting characters. This is billed as the first book in a quartet, although the only one published so far. I expect the overarching story of the quartet will be what happened to Digger's mother, which we have only uncovered a little of so far. I will certainly get the next one when it comes out.

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very unusual setting for a mystery: a fictitious Caribbean island in the vicinity of Grenada. All dialogue is in the local dialect.Digger, a young man who excelled at school but who has no prospects of further education or an interesting job, is rudely recruited into the local police and trained as a forensics specialist. His own mother was killed by police when he was young, and his boss, the founder of this group being built into a CID unit, is retiring but is still dragged down emotionally by an unsolved missing person case. As Digger matures as a detective, he begins to find clues to both crimes. The exotic locale and local customs are fascinating to read about, and the mysteries are very rewarding. The dialect makes reading slow and deliberate, so this is a book to savor slowly, while letting the language be spoken in your head. Hopefully there will be a series here.

[breic-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The setting never coalesced for me. Ross leans heavily on the dialect to convey place, and I just found it annoying.

[ma_washigeri · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The writing is a joy and the dialect brings a lyric spoken word quality that just swings along. The plot carries the characters but the characters are at the heart of it. I was particularly interested how the first person narrative uses dialect for speaking and quite an english voice for reporting to the reader - with the two voices providing depth and variety. Many of us have grown up with multiple voices, whether it is school vs home or peer group vs family or friends vs work - and it's nice to see it used here.