The Bone Jar (Detective Lew Kirby Book 1)

Extremely well-written. I don't remember any editing errors. Wonderful characters of every sort, lots of twists and turns, and with such fabulous descriptions of the locations I felt as if I were watching a movie. And as it's set in coldest winter in a long time in England, and I'm in a hot summer in TX, I still often felt like putting on a sweater. That's how good the writing is. My husband loved it as much as I did, hence the ten star rating. I wish it had gone on for another chapter or two, and there was something at the end I would have loved to have had taken care of, but it's really a perfect read, and we're hoping there will be at least one more Lew Kirby book coming soon. Highly recommended.

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

I have mixed feelings about this book. The author without question writes well with original narrative and unusual characters. However, little suspense was created in the storytelling that focuses on the mundane idiosyncrasies of too many other characters, overshadowing the bland lead character, Detective Lew Kirby.It was hard to identify with or even like the plethora of characters, whose stodgy appearances and interactions were cold and dark, seemingly gargoyles decorating a twisted gothic tale. Although the story is set in modern London, it has the pacing and tone of a much earlier time.A series of suspicious deaths surround the decrepit remains of a ruthless mental institution, closed decades earlier, having now become the contrived i traction location for strange people: former workers and patients, caretakers, urban explorers, and hopeful developers.Too many different characters made the plotline hard to follow, as multiple deaths are revealed, some more recent, others decades older. The focus is not on the police investigation as much as it is on the cold, the dark, the decaying buildings, and the minutiae of events that slow the storyline. I almost quit reading several times. Ugh!Still, amid the clutter of the storytelling and unnecessary vulgarity, occasional sentences and phrases were most enjoyable and engaging---but not to the storyline. Some might call this a "shaggy dog" story or even a weak dark comedy.The short-chapter format was one redeeming grace, but too many subplots and backstories slowed the momentum into an agonizing tale with a not so satisfying ending and the timid basis of the next installment.The Audible supporting narration was helpful but could not save this unfulfilling story that took too long to finally end.This "throwaway" and unmemorable read does not motivate me to read more of this likely disappointing series. I was left with no desire to learn more of Detective Lew Kirby's clumsy investigations.

Well for a first crime fiction book wow keeps u guessing I loved how it kept me completely engaged with story and characters. Enjoyed Lew so much. Story was dark and could use less language. But can’t wait for her next book

The Bone Jar is the debut crime fiction novel by S W Kane featuring Detective Lew Kirby who, thankfully, is just a normal detective. He isn't a drunk, he isn't cheating on multiple women, no drugs, isn't on the take. I swear, I haven't read a crime fiction novel that didn't feature a messed up detective for so long that I, literally, kept waiting for the shoe to drop. It never did. It was refreshing and quite wonderful. The Bone Jar is a really good, well written, atmospheric detective story like they should be but rarely are any longer. It features an asylum that is written so vividly that it becomes a character in and of itself. There are marvelous secondary characters who could tip over into the nuisance variety, but never do. They actually are helpful, quirky and wonderful. I would love to see them back in future books. The ending left the reader on a bit of an edge but, for me, that was a fun twist at the end. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in this new series.

They had me at abandoned asylum! I don't think I've ever read a book about one of these that wasn't awesome. The creepiest of settings with a dark haunted atmosphere, and Blackwater Asylum is no different. A murder victim is found deep within its walls and it's up to Detective Lew Kirby and team to figure out why. A feat not made any easier when one of their early suspects is also found murdered nearby. What went on in this place? Because surely it involves someone who lived or worked in Blackwater, making a statement by committing the crimes on or near the property.Connie Darke is also investigating the case, but on her own. She's not a detective though, she lost her sister to a tragic accident on the asylum grounds. She knows there are dark secrets just waiting to be exposed and she wants to be the one to uncover them. She makes contact with a former patient who lives on the grounds but his damaged past makes it hard to trust and believe him. Does he really know truths, or did certain events take place only in his mind? Surely, the staff would not have experimented in such ways...but this is an asylum, after all.Anyone with an interest in asylums or abandoned places would love this mystery, just for the atmosphere alone. But there are also plenty of twists and secrets exposed that draw you deeper into the story. You won't rest until you know everything Blackwater has hidden and you won't be disappointed!

First Reads has introduced to me Detective Lew Kirby, Connie Darke, Raymond Sweet and other well drawn characters. The setting is a long defunct asylum where unspeakable things occurred in the past. It is atmospheric and highly descriptive. I felt the eeriness of it as though I were there. These past transgressions have an impact on the brutal death of an old woman whose body is found in the silent asylum. It is up to Detective Kirby to discover not only her identity but the reason she was left there, not hidden but displayed to make a statement. Connie Darke works with historical architectural documents and is an avid urban explorer, particularly fascinated by the asylum and its past. Raymond Sweet has lived on the premises of the long abandoned property for so long that he has earned squatter's rights to the small lodging. This mystery has multiple threads and characters woven into it, and while complicated, it is also easy for the reader to follow it's twists. The culmination ties up each storyline in a way that does not seem contrived or rushed to a conclusion. The one star subtraction is due to the double bombshell delivered to Lew Kirby. I didn't see it's purpose nor did I think it was necessary to the story. However, as this is apparently the first in the series, maybe it will be proven to have a place. I look forward to more from this author, hopefully with the characters of Kirby, Darke and Sweet continuing,

A long-abandoned asylum with a history of abuse has become a target for urban explorers as well as a predatory real estate developer (I know, the latter words are redundant). When the body of an elderly woman is discovered in one of the rooms by the sketchy night watchman, Detective Lew Kirby is assigned to the case. He soon becomes acquainted with a host of potential suspects, none of whom are quite as they present themselves. Kirby crosses paths with Connie Darke, a curator and part-time urbex, whose sister died while exploring the asylum five years earlier. Both come to know Raymond, a reclusive former asylum patient who, much to the rage of the developer, legally won a portion of the asylum property under Squatter's Rights law. Raymond knows the asylum inside and out, and has memories, both vivid and repressed, of his time there. Charles Palmer, who has been bequeathed a mansion on the property, is a Man with a Past who does not like to discuss said Past. Then there is the murdered woman, eventually identified as Ena Massey., a former nurse at the asylum. Was she an angel of mercy, or something else altogether?Kirby is anything but a cardboard cut-out British detective. He lives on a boat - and the waterway may also be claimed by the repulsive developer. He is in a new-ish relationship with a beautiful woman a few slips away in the marina. He owns a vintage sports car and is incensed he has to spend most of his time driving a department-issue clunker. His mother has unexplainable health problems that his father will not disclose. His supervisor wants the murder solved, yet for unfathomable reasons, wants Kirby to go easy on the developer.I found this book to be a page-turner. It is bleak and gritty, and many of the scenes are not enjoyable to read. Some reviewers have complained about the abundance of foul language, but we're not at Downton Abbey, folks. There is a resolution at the end of the tale, yet the end is not particularly happy. That all said, I found The Bone Jar to be a substantial, highly readable book. I am looking forward to reading more adventures of Lew Kirby, and hope some of the surviving characters (no spoilers here) are present, too.

Eine neue Autorin entdeckt! Es ist eine Trilogie. Band 1 war schon spitzenmässig. Viele Namen und Verbindungen und spannend bis zum Schluss.

Intelligently told story without the turgid stereotypes.All of the characters are fully formed and interesting in their own right.

This was flipping fantastic. I’d be surprised if someone told me they did not enjoy this. What a great detective / crime / mystery / whodunnit. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Fast paced with short(ish) chapters. I could not put this down. The character development, the storyline, the setting - absolutely spot on! I’m happy it’s the first in a series - bring on the next please!

It’s been such a long time since I last read a police procedural (at one time, they were all I read!) so I made the decision to take a break from my planned reading and get stuck into a detective story, something from my own bookshelf. I chose The Bone Jar because it’s the first in a series (I hope it’ll become a series anyway!) and I love the creepy cover. I’m really glad I chose it as it was just the right book at just the right time.The body of an elderly woman is discovered at an old, abandoned asylum on the banks of the Thames. DI Lew Kirby and partner, DI Pete Anderson, are tasked with discovering what happened to the woman and why someone would beat her so viciously. And why was she left on a rusty old bed in the bowels of the asylum? The location, Blackwater Asylum, later renamed Blackwater Psychiatric Hospital, has its own chequered past of which no one speaks. Can Kirby and Anderson, with the help of urban explorer, Connie Darke, discover what happened to the woman? Or will Blackwater continue to keep it’s very dark secrets hidden…?I thoroughly enjoyed The Bone Jar with it’s very likeable lead, hugely atmospheric landscape and well-written mystery. The author has done a superb job of sending chills down the readers spine with her descriptions of the creepy, derelict building and the relentless frosty, chill in the air. Set in South London on the banks of the Thames in the heart of winter, this novel would could give you the shivers even on a summers day! I’m always a fan of the setting being so well-written, such an integral part of the story that it feels like a character in itself and that’s exactly what Kane has achieved here. It’s a beautiful, eerie thing!I loved DI Lew Kirby. Often the lead detective in the novels I read is highly flawed – drink, drugs, adultery etc. But Lew, apart from living on a narrowboat which isn’t all that odd really, is a very likeable, very competent detective. I loved the sub-plot where Lew makes a shocking discovery about his past (and as a result, his future). It was a fascinating revelation and I immediately went to my old friend Google to find out more.Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. I found The Bone Jar to be well paced and thoroughly engaging. The subject matter is quite shocking and the things the reader discovers about psychiatric treatments in the past, and the indignities they suffered, made me feel uncomfortable. But I’m so glad I read this book and I hope this is the start of a long and bright future for DI Kirby. I really enjoyed how atmospheric the book was, the characters were clearly defined and very well-written. All in all, a terrific debut which I heartily recommend to all crime fiction fans.

It is well written and I really liked all the characters and I kept thinking about it in between reading times! I like this author and am looking forward to reading more.