Review: BEASTLY BONES A Jackaby Novel by William Ritter

BEASTLY BONES the second novel by William Ritter follows Jackaby and Abigail as they go on the trail of some missing dinosaur bones!

Only read if you have already read JACKABY as this review contains mild spoilers for the first book.

BeastlyBones-CoverWith the new trailer for Sherlock season 4 released, it has made me miss getting to follow a man like Sherlock around and watching all of his adventures. Luckily for me, I had the opportunity to read Beastly Bones the second book by William Ritter in the Jackaby series. Mr. Ritter keeps the momentum going from his first novel creating an engaging adventure for readers everywhere.

Beastly Bones has the same pace as Jackaby and Mr. Ritter introduces us to many new creatures from around the world. This time, both of our intrepid detectives are sent to assist Charlie Cane, who was exiled to Gad’s Valley after the incidents in Jackaby, as some dinosaur bones have been discovered in a farmer’s field. After the discovery and partial excavation of the bones, the farmer’s wife was found dead in mysterious circumstances and some of the bones had disappeared. Although Jackaby dismisses the dinosaur bones as irrelevant to the investigation Abigail is unable to contain her excitement as she has always been interested in paleontology because of her father’s work

Jackaby is just as eccentric and Abigail is just as exasperated with him. All the secondary characters are engaging and are welcome additions. The “professional” rivalry between the two paleontologists was a highlight as it helped in lifting a book which otherwise could have easily turned too depressing. The only new addition to the cast who feels forced is perhaps the female reporter, Nelly Fuller. Although, this may be because she wasn’t in the book as much as the others and her character didn’t have enough time to develop. As Mr. Ritter’s books are so fast paced, new characters must be introduced in the first act, otherwise any character development gets ignored.

As you may remember from my review of Jackaby I was not fond of the small love subplot between Abigail and Charlie. I am happy to report that my perceptions have changed as in the book we get to spend some more time with Charlie and he becomes more of a real character rather than just feeling like a filler. The only way of explaining this relationship is sweet. They are very cute together and they have melted my heart with their unique charm. They have truely won me over and they are my new ship.

Overall Beastly Bones was an enjoyable read. Although it is very obvious that it is setting everything up for the third book in the series, this does not take away a reader’s enjoyment. I am very excited to read the third book as it will be exploring the mystery of Jenny and how she was murdered. However, if you are not a fan of books which feel like a filler then maybe get through this one quick and get into the next instalment.imgres

Jackaby is the first book in the series and was released September 16, 2014, and can be purchased on Amazon.

Beastly Bones is the second book in the series and was released on September 22, 2015, and can be purchased on Amazon.

Ghostly Echoes, the third book in the series by William Ritter goes on sale 8/23.