When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain 🎧 Amanda Stribling

Synopsis (via Goodreads): From New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a new southern gothic supernatural thriller about a teen girl in a small Ozark town who can hear the bones of the dead.

The past three years have been tough for Lucifer’s Creek, Arkansas, a small town quietly tucked away in the Ozark mountains. More than two dozen people have disappeared on the local hiking trails; there one moment, gone the next, not a trace left behind, until their buried bodies are discovered.

17-year-old Dovie doesn’t believe in magic even though she comes from a long line of women who can hear the bones of the dead sing, and for the past few years the bones have been crooning nonstop, calling out to Dovie to dig them up.

Some of the old-timers believe that it’s the monstrous Ozarks howler snatching people off the Aux Arc Trail. Well Dovie doesn’t believe in the howler, and she doesn’t believe her best friend Lo when he tells her he is being haunted by dark shadows. All she believes in is her talent that guides the local sheriff to the bones when they begin their song, then reuniting the dead with their families to give them some peace.

Lo doesn’t know peace, though. The shadows follow him everywhere. He soon learns they’re the murdered hikers and they want answers. But the truth of their deaths isn’t buried with their bones; it’s hidden somewhere deep in the hills. And Lo and Dovie must unearth it before anyone else is killed.

When the Bones Sing was such an amazing thriller with a really wonderful mystery to unravel. There were so many possible suspects—seriously, everyone said or did something at some point that made them seem guilty—and I loved how many red herrings the author threw in to keep me guessing. I honestly suspected everyone except the MC at one point, and even Dovie wasn’t always the most reliable. She definitely had her own biases, but I liked that she still tried to be fair and objective, even when the truth was hard to face.

My one small complaint would be the romance. I didn’t really think it was necessary, and it honestly pulled me out of the story a bit. Dovie and Lo’s history and long-standing friendship made complete sense, especially given everything they’d been through together, but adding another person into the mix felt unnecessary. It didn’t add anything to the overall story, never quite felt right—and his timing was pretty terrible, too. I kept rolling my eyes and texting my friend group to complain (they finished before me and had similar feelings about it).

There were several twists I didn’t see coming, and the conclusion was absolutely ovation-worthy. The author wrapped everything up beautifully and left me feeling hopeful for the characters’ future. I’ll admit I teared up toward the end—enough to make my kids briefly question my mental stability—but it all paid off with a satisfying ending that made the anxiety and heartache totally worth it. Definitely keep this one in mind if you're in the mood for a good mystery/thriller! 

PS: The narrator did an amazing job with this one. Her male and female voices were believable and really well done, which made the story even more enjoyable to listen to. (★★★★☆)

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.