The Bone Jar (Detective Lew Kirby Book 1)

Gripping. I'm not a fan of it being set in England with the weird phrasing, but overall it kept me riveted.

London-based author S.W. Kane makes her literary debut with the crime thriller "The Bone Jar," a Thomas & Mercer release due for publication on July 1st, 2020 that is listed as one of Amazon's June "First Read" titles offering Prime members a first glimpse at up-and-coming titles.The story centers around Blackwater Asylum, a former mental health asylum still sitting on prized property on the banks of the Thames River. High-powered developer Patrick Calder wants the Battersea stain to go and has largely acquired the property with plans for a luxury development. The only thing, or only one, in his way is the mysterious Raymond, a former patient whose release from the facility upon its closure sent him out into a world he wasn't equipped to deal with and back into the safety of one of the facility's now abandoned shelters where he squatted long enough to be named the small shelter's owner.With Patrick Calder closing in and Raymond hunkering down, things begin to come to a head when the body of an elderly woman is found in Keats Ward, an isolated unit of the former asylum that had been a bit of a mystery even to those familiar with the place. When another body is soon discovered in the river nearby, the secrets of Blackwater Asylum begin to reveal themselves compounded by the relentless searching of urban explorer Connie Darke, whose sister had died in a mysterious accident in the asylum, and Detective Lew Kirby, whose job it is to figure out this entirely too complicated mess of a mystery.There's a phrase used in construction called "good bones." "The Bone Jar" has good bones, an intriguing concept of a story set in a compelling setting and with characters who seem worthy of further exploration. Unfortunately, "The Bone Jar" never really fleshes out its story, visualizes the potential of its setting, or gives us characters with whom we become invested.As "The Bone Jar" appears to be the first in an intended series of books centered around Detective Lew Kirby, the series itself has potential to develop into an intriguing mix of crime thrillers and police procedurals complete with Kirby, a bit of a flawed character with his own bit of baggage to deal with in life and a predictably stale love life.Again, "good bones."While "The Bone Jar" is set in the London area, the story itself feels universal despite references to familiar landmarks that clearly set its locale."The Bone Jar" is most effective as a police procedural, the jigsaw puzzle of a mystery engagingly put together by Detective Kirby and a partner who is criminally under-utilized. While the mystery itself is rather light, as in I had the story pegged less than a quarter of the way through the novel, the journey to get there is involving and nicely constructed."The Bone Jar" is less effective as an actual crime thriller. While asylum-set mysteries and horrors are a dime a dozen these days, "The Bone Jar" never really immerses the reader inside the world of Blackwater Asylum and in the tensions lying underneath the seemingly above-water deals and beneath the surface secrets and deceptions. Multiple characters have their own secrets, a fact we know because the characters usually say it as an aside. It's a weird approach that lessens the mystery and seems to not trust the reader to actually get it.Feeling like the introduction to a world that it actually is, "The Bone Jar" is a decent enough read even if it falls short of being the incredibly engaging, dark, and mysterious crime thriller that you want it to be. Yet, there's something promising here and given the marketing push the book is receiving it's likely that enough readers will become introduced to the world that many will go along for the ride and eagerly anticipate Kane's next Detective Kirby adventure. Here's hoping that the next adventure further immerses us in its world and into the lives of characters who feel paper-thin here and lacking in the valued relationships that would give them more substantial meaning.

This book rocked! I loved it. As I write this review, I’m already plotting how to put in my request to ensure Connie and Raymond both make it back to the next book in the series.The Bone Jar mystery begins when the security guard of an old, dilapidated asylum discovers an elderly lady dead in one of the rooms. Soon DI Lew Kirby and his partner Pete Anderson are called to the scene to investigate. What they discover is the building is due for construction with limited access so the question isn’t just who is the lady and why was she killed, but how did they get in.The story is primarily told from two POVs: DI Kirby and Connie Darke. DI Kirby is a bit unusual for detective novels these days in that he has a fairly normal life. He has a new girlfriend and he gets along with his family. He’s also a competent detective who gets along decently well with his coworkers and during the investigative process finds himself having some rather interesting interviews. Connie is someone we don’t meet until several chapters in. She has ties to the investigation and assists it effortlessly. Every time she entered the scene I knew to read carefully because something was going to happen. But as a reader I sincerely appreciated how she wasn’t a character who did stupid things, such as getting herself into danger without calling the local DI on the case. Nothing more frustrating than a character walking into a bad situation with their eyes wide open and doing nothing about it.The plotting and pacing of the unraveling of the mystery seemed spot-on, which is what keeps me hooked in suspense novels. Always moving forward steadily until we get to the ‘thrill’ part where they catch the villain. And unlike other books I’ve read where the story feels over once the villain is caught, this one spent time giving the reader closure on several fronts to give a satisfying conclusion along with the hints of what may pop up in future books.As much as I enjoyed the book, I do have two issues I wanted to bring up: 1) There is a splattering of curse words in the story. They are not everywhere and you can go long sections without seeing them, but some of them felt unnecessary. 2) There’s an unanswered question in my mind about an alibi that was being looked into that I don’t remember seeing the final result of. However, it’s also very possible that it was answered and I just missed it while reading.Overall, a terrific start to a new series.Rating: 4.5 stars

Many twists and turns for this "who done jt". Many people to keep straight. And because of the number of people, I gave it 4 stars

I picked 'The Bone Jar' as my free Amazon prime 'first reads' choice for June and I enjoyed it a lot. I appreciate crime fiction where I can clearly picture the places described and the eerie threatening presence of the old Victorian asylum at the heart of this novel felt very real and very well described. In my student days, I had a friend in a dodgy part of London that was very close to a (now closed and even then rather dilapidated) Victorian hospital and this was the one I had in my mind when I was reading.The choice of two protagonists - a handsome policeman called Lew with a taste in old cars and good coffee and a so-called 'Urbex' or urban explorer called Connie who works in an architectural library or museum - leaves a lot of scope for this story to develop into a longer series.Investigating two deaths that seem to be linked but it's unclear how, gives Lew and Connie the chance to meet some colourful characters with plenty of dark secrets. An altercation in an unpleasant pub called the 'Welcome Inn' put Connie in contact with the father of one of the two dead whilst Lew is leered over by a onesie-clad dipsomaniac and maneater whose mother is the other.The book is full of interesting characters - I particularly liked the ex-patient squatting in the grounds of the asylum and getting in the way of potential developers - and fascinating locations. It reads as very 'real' - if you know what I mean. There are plenty of sub-plots that leave space to take the series further but you don't have to worry that you won't get the story done and dusted in the one volume (That's a particular hate of mine - so-called 'series' books that don't finish the story within the first book so you have to buy another).I'm reminded of a bit of a combination of early Minette Waters and a dose of Nicci French's Frida Klein books with a strong London authenticity and an interesting plotline.Recommended.

I feel bad saying this about the efforts of a new author but this book didn't impress me much.Given the location of an abandoned Victorian asylum and the extraordinary weather: a series of snow-covered, icy weather in the middle of London's urban heat island, I found it oddly missing in atmosphere. The first chill accosted me after the half-way mark and, to be honest, if it hadn't been an Amazon First book, I am highly likely to have abandoned the book before I got to that first chill.Some of the language was a bit cliched - "beat a hasty exit", anyone? The police side of it seemed oddly unrealistic certainly I've not come across two Detective Inspectors acting as "partners" before. Our lead protagonist, DI Lew Kirby, does not like his police issue car - a foible that irritated me very quickly. He seemed to veer from a man in love with a new girlfriend - who was introduced and wasted, despite her connection to the case - to one likely to play the field. There was some evidence of the book needing another good edit although I can find only one example: Connie asks who Nurse Ratched was even though "she'd seen the film and remembered the ... character vividly."There were some neat uses of language. I particularly liked where a little girl, Poppy, a child interpreted the phrase "I don't like any of you", referring to a group of people, as meaning the person doesn't like any of the child. There were also some exciting scenes towards the end and the revealing of an amazing architectural feature. I was happy that the author provided some notes and acknowledgements, which allowed me to learn more about some of the ideas in the book.There were indeed some great ideas: the bone jar, a rare genetic disease, cruelty in asylums, forced emigration to Australia, underwater rooms, urban exploration, to name a few but it struck me that there were too many ideas, none being given the room to exist nor to contribute to the story and the narrative as much as they could.Similarly, there are a lot of intertwining stories here. It is good in general to get multiple strands and red herrings but in this case they confused me and were either resolved, or partly resolved like the story of "The Creeper", in the last few chapters with a lot of telling or just got lost - Connie's sister, anyone? I think it is particularly difficult to manage multiple strands and maybe it would have been a good idea to hold back some of these ideas for another book. In particular, the way the prologue interacted - or didn't - with the rest of the book left me feeling foolish and cheated.In general then, much as I wish the author well, I have to say I found the book rather confused and overfull of ideas.

This is a very accomplished debut book, with a great new detective Lew Kirby - who is investigating two murders in an abandoned psychiatric unit overlooking the River Thames in London.It is incredibly difficult to have a new take on London, but SW Kane manages it by creating her own corner of it.There is a great humour in parts of the book which provide the reader some respite from murder and decay.For the lover of crime fiction, there is tension and a number of sub plots which provide added depth to the characters.Also, there is a great twist at the end.Bonus points must be added for Lew Kirby's choice of car, a 1974 Citroen SM.I can't wait for Lew Kirby's next outing...

The premise for this book is a mystery surrounding a body of a woman discovered in a disused asylum in London. We meet all sorts of interesting characters including a previous patient who has claimed rights to live in the grounds to the asylum, an unsavoury property developer, a seemingly kind hearted former nurse and a group of "Urban Explorers" who are, apparently people who get their thrills from breaking into vacant buildings which actually sounds quite fun. We also have the usual cliched over worked police detectives and their associated back stories that you typically find in tales such as these. The author SW Kane has obviously read up on police jargon and there are regular references to SOCOs etc. I am no expert but it seemed convincing enough with regard to the technical aspects of police investigations and forensics. Whilst this started off promising enough with some good characters , I do not mind admitting that I was a bit confused by the story line and, having finished this book I am still not exactly sure exactly who did what to whom and why.

This is the first book that I've read from this author and it won't be the last! I got it for free via Prime and would willingly have paid for it.It is very well written and keeps you gripped throughout but you need to keep your wits about you! DI Kirby is a great character ripe for building up. You can't help but like him and his sidekick Anderson adds some touches of humour.The plot introduced me to urbex, it sounds fascinating,I highly recommend this book and look forward to the next in this series.