The Bone Field

Author/Guide: Simon Kernick

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1990s, 2000s: A girl goes missing in Thailand but her body is found in Buckinghamshire…

ISBN: 978-1780894539
Genre: Crime, Thriller

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What you need to know before your trail

When the bones of a 21-year old woman who went missing without trace in Thailand in 1990, are discovered in the grounds of an old Catholic school in Buckinghamshire, an enduring mystery takes on a whole new twist. Her boyfriend at the time, and the man who reported her missing, Henry Forbes, now a middle-aged university lecturer, comes forward with his lawyer and tells DI Ray Mason of the Met’s Homicide Command that he knows what happened to Kitty, and who killed her.

So begins a hunt for the truth that will focus on a ruthless crime gang, a rich, dysfunctional family with a terrible past, and a highly ambitious man so cruel and ruthless that he must be brought down at any cost…

Locations

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France
E: Midi Pyrenees- Roquecor

Travel Guide

Thailand to London

Thailand

Back in 1990, “Thailand was still in the process of being ‘discovered’ by backpackers, and mass tourism, with its big hotels, and stag and hen parties and five star yogic spas, was pretty much unheard of.”

Henry and girlfriend Kitty head out there for two months. They visit Bangkok, visit Club Bed on Kata Beach and then head to Phuket, Khao Sok National Park which is the site of Thailand’s oldest rainforest. Kitty then heads out to Khao Lak after she and Henry have an argument. It’s then and there that the trail goes cold.

London

The bulk of the action is set in gritty London – Ealing nick where DS Mason is questioned, is at the heart of the police activity. He lives in Fulham, a nice part of the city whereas the drug gangs seem to e around the Clifton Road area – Ramon’s stomping ground. When you need a bit of respite from all the action, take a tip from Ray and Dany and head to the Hub Cafe in the middle of Regent’s Park – they meet to sort things out here.

There are mentions of Buckinghamshire and Frampton as places in the investigation but they don’t feature as identifiable places.

Booktrailer Review

Clare: @thebooktrailer

I confess to not having read a Simon Kernick thriller before. This being a new series, a good place to start I thought. The premise of a girl going missing in Thailand with the body being found in Buckinghamshire was an unusual one and at first I did think it was going to centre on the Thai side of things but the major part of the novel takes place in London with the killer The Dark Man hunting down anyone who comes close to unravelling the mystery. The writing is snappy but I did feel as if each chapter started and ended with a bit of forced cliff hanger or a first line which confused me as to which character I was now reading about. The chapter flipped from one voice to another but I don’t think this is as clear as it could be (or at least it wasn’t for me) The best scenes I found were the ones set in France where someone is being watched. This story was tense but seemed disjointed from the rest of the novel.

However all said and done, I will be getting the next book in the series as the two lead characters are interesting and I want to see where the twist at the end leads to!