Review: Old Bones

Old Bones by Douglas Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thanks to Netgalley and Grand Central for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Preston & Child have done it again! I've been super excited about this spinoff to the Pendergast series since I read the news a few months ago. For those who don't know, I've been following Pendergast on his adventures for a good 15 years, and absolutely love the world and cast that Preston & Child have created. Of course, I was elated to find out that two of my favorite secondary cast members were not only making an appearance again, but were STARRING in a new spinoff that will be a SERIES of its own!

This one takes place out near the west coast in the infamous Donner Pass. Well, mostly. There are some scenes elsewhere, of course, but most of the action takes place in the creepy setting of a locale where some crazy events went down. You know, group of travelers headed west for a new life, get lost in the mountains, snowstorm cuts them off, starvation leads to cannibalism, the usual story, am I right? *shudders* Anywho, Nora Kelly, archaeologist extraordinaire, works for the Institute that gets sent to do a dig and help find out what happened at what is dubbed the "Lost Camp" - a separated group of the Donner party that the whole camp was lost to history. Shenanigans ensue, obviously. Meanwhile, Corrie Swanson - all grown up and employed by the FBI - finds herself working a case with some strange connections to the Donner Party, leading her in Nora's direction. The story comes to an explosive ending with some fun moments and some setup for future adventures.

Wherever the authors take these two, I'm there. I've got skin in the game!

Please note that you CAN read this without reading the Pendergast series, but not only will you have missed out on seriously character development for the two main characters, but you'll also spoil quite a few big details from the main series. I highly recommend you binge read the Pendergast series first - and don't forget to read Thunderhead in between Reliquary and Cabinet of Curiosities. You don't want to miss out on Nora's introductory novel!

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