Skin and Bone

Kate Farrer has been on extended leave from the NSW Police Force after she was kidnapped and tortured in the line of duty. She’s asked to return from leave early and partner a new Homicide detective, Oliver Parke, when an unidentified body is found in a house that was set on fire. Just as the investigation of this case is getting underway the two are transferred to a high profile missing person enquiry and there are also rumblings of an internal investigation into one or all of the team members.

More of a police procedural than Fox’s previous two books Skin and Bone has lots of plot threads on the go concurrently. It reminded me of a Jack Frost book with several cases being juggled by the investigators and the reader never being sure show more which elements of which story will turn out to be important. When done well, as is the case here, this makes for very entertaining reading because it maintains your attention for the duration and is probably more reflective of reality than one where the detective can concentrate on a single case.

Another sign of above-average writing is that the forensic elements of the investigations are well integrated into the story rather than the long-winded ‘look at all the research I did’ passages that fill lesser novels. Fire is in the news in a big way in Australia at present and so it was a bit difficult to read the more gruesome details about what happens to a body during a fire but it’s not Fox’s fault I happened to pick up this book just now. Importantly, at no time did I feel that the details which were included were put there for any ghoulish purpose.

Most of the people on the investigative team are well fleshed out even if some are wholly un-likable. The interplay between the two main characters was particularly good. I’m bored by unresolved sexual tension being the driving force behind such relationships (frankly it always feels like the easy way out for writers) and I found it refreshing to the relationship grow and change without that element. And while I don’t have to like my characters to appreciate the craft that goes into creating them it certainly doesn’t hurt. Both Kate and Oliver appealed to me greatly; having enough foibles to be interesting but not so many as to be unbelievable. Kate’s progress as she dealt with the psychological issues of having been abducted was very credible. I hadn’t thought about it much before but there are many fictional coppers who I’d be wary of in the real world whereas I found myself thinking we could do a lot worse than a police force full of Kates and Olivers.

I would thoroughly recommend this fast-paced, entertaining and ultimately satisfying novel. show less

I listened to the audio version of this book, The narrator did an excellent job with her character voicing as it was very easy to dislike or like the characters accordingly. There was certainly a couple of surprise endings to the book and I look forward to more Kathryn Fox novels. I may generous with four stars...but I did enjpy the story and characters. Certainly a bit better than many other three stars

Another gripping tale from the remarkable Kathryn Fox. This one focuses on Detective Kate Farrer who was abducted in the previous book. It concentrates on her return to work after a leave of absence to recover from her ordeal. A burned body, a missing baby and corruption in the force makes for an edge of your seat story.

When homicide detective Kate Farrer returns from a leave of absence, she has unpleasant colleagues, a new, inexperienced partner, several arsons, and a missing teenager to deal with. This is set in Australia, most likely Sydney, but it took me a while to be sure because the setting is pretty generic. It's a not-very-mysterious mystery (although it does have a twist at the end) and the writing is fairly flat, but it's a pleasant enough way to spend a few hours.

So this would have been a one day book had I waited to start it. Although I figured out the link between the cases very early, I enjoyed seeing how the back storm developed. I also liked that this one focused on Kate while Anya was working with SVU in NYC.

When homicide detective Kate Farrer returns from a leave of absence, she has unpleasant colleagues, a new, inexperienced partner, several arsons, and a missing teenager to deal with. This is set in Australia, most likely Sydney, but it took me a while to be sure because the setting is pretty generic. It's a not-very-mysterious mystery (although it does have a twist at the end) and the writing is fairly flat, but it's a pleasant enough way to spend a few hours.

SKIN AND BONE has all the elements of a good crime novel. Well-developed characters: a suitably absorbing plot with intertwining threads and enough clues to allow the reader to solve the mystery.
Kathryn Fox’s first two novels (Malicious Intent and Without Consent) featured Dr. Anya Crichton. Farrer was the investigating detective in Malicious Intent. In featuring Farrer as the protagonist in SKIN AND BONE, author has given herself scope to create two separate series. This also firmly establishes Fox in Australia’s growing pool of talented crime writers.
If you enjoyed Fox’s first two books, then you won’t be disappointed in SKIN AND BONE. I read Without Consent early in 2007 and thoroughly enjoyed it. If anything, I think SKIN show more AND BONE is even better. If you are new to Fox’s work, then SKIN AND BONE won’t suffer from the reader not being familiar with her earlier books. show less