About the Book
On the road to discovery, even the dead have secrets.
High up on a mountain road in the Balkans, former Olympic cyclist Heather Bishop races her journalist boyfriend Ryan. But when he suddenly disappears during the ride, suspicion falls on her.
Local police inspector, Simo Subotić, already has his hands full investigating two mutilated bodies that have washed up on the banks of the River Drina. Something is telling him that these two cases are connected but nothing could prepare him for what is to come.
Only together can Simo and Heather hope to uncover the truth in time. Their search not only exposes the darkness of Ryan’s past but exhumes dangerous secrets of a region still reeling from the trauma of war. Are some secrets so devastating that they should remain buried?
Format: Paperback (304 pages) Publisher: Polygon
Publication date: 4th August 2022 Genre: Crime, Thriller
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My Review
The Bone Road is the debut thriller by bestselling author Natasha Solomons, writing here under the pen-name N.E. Solomons. All I can say is keep going with the thrillers because I thought this was fantastic.
What was brilliant about the book was the rich back stories the author creates for the two main characters – Heather Bishop and Simo Subotić – so much so that you could be forgiven thinking the book was part of an existing series.
Heather is a former Olympic cyclist whose career was ended by a dreadful accident. It has left her with both physical and psychological scars so that everyday is a struggle, ‘a performance of coping’. A further blow is the discovery that Ryan, the man who had supported her through her recovery, is not the man she thought he was.
Simo Subotić’s disregard for authority and determination to bring closure for families whose loved ones went missing during the Bosnian War regardless of the waves it makes has resulted in ‘a helter-skelter career slide’ and posting to a small border town. His strong sense of justice, determination to find answers and, as the book progresses, willingness to take personal risks make him an immensely likeable main character.
As well as being a cracking crime thriller, I learned a lot about the turbulent history of this part of the world and how events during the war, during which the most horrific war crimes took place, reverberate to the present day. One of the standout elements of the book for me was the way the author wove the legacy of the Bosnian War and the divisions that still exist between those who regard themselves as Serbians and ethnic Bosniaks into the plot. The worldly, cynical and rather foul-mouthed Petra acts as a vehicle for educating both Heather and the reader about this. For instance, when Heather refers to the country as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Petra responds, ‘This isn’t f***ing Bosnia. It’s Republika Srpska. The Serb federation. No-one in this god-forsaken s***hole of a place is Bosniak. Not anymore.’ I confess that, like Heather, it’s a distinction I hadn’t been aware of before reading the book. As it turns out Petra also proves herself to be an incredibly useful and resourceful ally whose own family history reflects the tragic events of the war.
There are wonderful descriptions of the mountainous landscape of Republika Srpska, with its ‘wild and ancient beauty’. But it’s a landscape still marked by war: the ruins of military outposts, uncleared minefields and buildings that conceal dark secrets. Even architectural gems, such as the Sokolović bridge in Višegrad, have a sinister history. As Simo says to Heather at one point, ‘That’s this place. Terrible and beautiful. Some of our loveliest sites hide our ugliest secrets’. And ugly they are, along with some of the people involved.
The pace increases and moves into true thriller territory in the final third of the book as Simo and Heather discover just what they are up against. Ruthless doesn’t begin to describe it. Heather’s view of herself as relentless, possessing remarkable stamina and mental tenacity, as well as being stubborn beyond reason will be tested to the limit. There are breathless, heart-pounding scenes towards the end of the book in which Simo has to go out on a limb and Heather has to summon up all her strength and experience in what is literally the race of her life.
I thought The Bone Road was brilliant. Its combination of gripping plot, fascinating setting, strong characters and chilling undertones kept me enthralled until the very last page.
My thanks to Kathryn at Polygon for my proof copy.
In three words: Compelling, pacy, intense
Try something similar: The Good Father by S.R. Wilsher
About the Author
N.E. Solomons is a screenwriter and novelist. She lives in the countryside with her husband, also a writer. She is the internationally best-selling author of six previous novels. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages. This is her first thriller.
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