REVIEW: Old Bones

 Old Bones
Authors: Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child

I first read this book when it came out in 2019. The third book in the Nora Kelly series just released, so I decided to go back and read the series from the start again! I grabbed book one, Old Bones, from Audible and got to listening!

Here is my original review of the book from September 2019:

I'm a big fan of the Agent Pendergast novels by Lincoln & Child. The stories are always suspenseful and creepy-cool. That's why I jumped right on this first novel in a new spin-off series featuring Nora Kelly. Kelly appears in two prior Pendergast novels and as the main character in a prior stand alone novel, Thunderhead.

The Basics: Kelly is an archaeologist and museum curator. She is approached by historian Dr. Clive Benton about a lost camp site of the Donner Party. Promising the chance to excavate previously undisturbed remains of the ill-fated party who descended into madness and cannibalism while trapped by heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, Benton also pulls Kelly in with the possibility of a stash of gold coins hidden at the site. Meanwhile, new FBI agent Corrie Swanson (another character from previous Pendergast novels -- Still Life With Crows & White Fire) is investigating grave robberies, one disappearance and a murder that seem related to a member of the Donner Party. When members of the group excavating the lost camp start dying, Kelly and Swanson work together to solve the case.

I loved this story! I liked Nora Kelly and Corrie Swanson when they appeared in the Pendergast series. Nice to see them getting a series of their own! Both are strong, intelligent women and they worked well together in this story. Pendergast does make an appearance at the end, but the investigation and action in this new novel is all Kelly & Swanson!

It isn't necessary to have read the Pendergast novels before Old Bones. The story really doesn't refer much to prior cases or characters from the Pendergast books.The story would still be enjoyable even with no knowledge of Pendergast or the prior cases Kelly and Swanson helped investigate. This book can stand on its own just fine.

Enjoyable read! I will definitely be reading more of this series! Happy to see two favorite characters from the Pendergast series get to branch out a bit on their own!

And, now adding my thoughts on the audio book.

The audio, narrated by Cynthia Farrell, is just shy of 11 hours long. Farrell has a pleasant voice and reads at a perfect pace. She is a skilled narrator, blending into the background and letting me just get sucked in by the story. I wasn't distracted by mispronounced words, bad pacing or other issues -- I just got to enjoy the story! Loved it! 

I love stories that incorporate real historical events like the Donner Party, Dyatlov Pass, etc. Preston & Child are so skilled at pulling me in with their creepy-cool plots! I've been a fan of the Pendergast series for years, so of course I love this spin-off series as well!

Now on to book 2, The Scorpion's Tail!