Book Review: The Secrets of Bones by Kylie Logan (Jazz Ramsey #2)

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong characters, twisty mystery

Cons: Here’s the secret – there are none

The Bottom Line:

Skeleton at school

Another engrossing book

A pleasure to read

I Can’t Keep Secret How Must I Loved This Book

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the Jazz Ramsey series last year, so I was looking forward to checking in with her again in The Secrets of Bones.  I’m thrilled to say I wasn’t disappointed in the least.

If you missed the first book, Jazz is an administrator at St. Catherine’s, an all-girl’s school in Cleveland.  However, her passion is training cadaver dogs, and when the two worlds collide once again, she is swept up in murder and danger.

It’s Assembly Day, a day set aside near the end of the school year when professional women from Ohio come to talk about their careers.  Jazz winds up as a last-minute replacement, so she sets up in the unused fourth floor, hiding a few bones for Gus, a friend’s cadaver dog, to find during a demonstration.  However, Gus goes to an unused closet.  Sure enough, Jazz opens it to find a skeleton.  Things left with the body make it easy enough to identify the victim as Bernadette Quinn, a teacher who resigned abruptly 3 years ago.  Obviously, she didn’t really resign, but what happened all those years ago?

I was pulled into the book from the very beginning.  The writing is excellent and brings Jazz’s world to life.  This is one of those books where you slip into another world and never truly want to leave.  While I am allergic to dogs, I still appreciate animal cuteness, and we get plenty of that here, which helps.

The mystery is strong.  Bernadette was difficult alive, so there are many good suspects.  However, the clues that Jazz does uncover just give us more questions, something I always love.  Naturally, everything comes together at the end.

The characters are also strong.  It goes back to the world being so vivid.  I love Jazz, and I want her to be happy.  I love the people in her life, and the suspects are strong enough to keep me guessing.

Before this series started, I was mostly familiar with Kylie Logan for some light, fun cozy mysteries.  This series is definitely a few shades grayer than those books, including a few foul words.  It is in the traditional mystery realm instead of being a pure cozy.  But don’t let that stop you from reading the book; it is well worth picking it up.

Just how into this book did I get?  I read almost two-thirds of it in one day instead of saving the final third for the next day like I would normally do.  I just couldn’t put it down until Jazz pieced everything together.

This is quickly becoming a favorite series.  Jazz’s fans will be thrilled to revisit her in The Secrets of Bones.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book.