Cage of Bones: A Novel
When a feral child is found caged in the basement of a building slated for demolition, Detective Inspector Phil Brennan (last seen in The Creeper, 2011) finds himself personally entwined in the case. Corrupt cops and connected con men abound, leading the reader on a complicated yet fascinating ride through the worst of what human beings can do to one another. But there is more going on here than just your average serial killer—it seems there is an entire network of sociopaths who have been at work for decades, and Brennan is part of their history. Adopted as a child, Brennan had no recollection of his early life—until this case starts giving him nightmares of a masked man keeping him in a cage of bones. At times the story verges on being too over-the-top to believe, but Carver—who has a knack for knowing just when and how to slow the story down for explanation, and when to pick it up for nail-biting suspense—manages to infuse enough realism into her characters and their surroundings to keep readers engaged to the end. --Rebecca Vnuk