Lament the Common Bones by Jen J Danna with Ann Vanderlaan – Review.

About the Book

When death hides in plain sight, only the most discerning eye can see the truth.

Forensic anthropologist Dr. Matt Lowell and his team of grad students don’t go looking for death—it usually comes to them. But when one of Matt’s students suspects the skeleton hanging in a top competitor’s lab is actually from a murder victim, Matt has no choice but to sneak in to confirm a suspicious death. Once the case comes to Massachusetts State Police Trooper Leigh Abbott, the team is back together again.

While trying to handle the new murder case, Matt and Leigh also uncover new evidence behind the mysterious deliveries intended to smear the name of Leigh’s father, an honored cop, fallen in the line of duty four years before. When the person behind the deliveries is finally uncovered, it becomes clear that lives are in jeopardy if they attempt to thwart him. At the same time, as the murder case delves into underground societies and grows complicated when the killer himself becomes a victim, it will take all of Matt and Leigh’s teamwork to solve both cases and escape with their lives.

My Review

With thanks to the authors for the copy received.
Even though I have read a couple of books by the authors before, none of them have been from this series. I had been assured that it would be easy to read this novel as a standalone book and I did so quite easily. I would however like to read the earlier books now because I loved the relationship between Abbott and Lowell and I want to know more about them.
There are two investigations running throughout the novel. One concerning a suspicious skeleton found in a lab and the other which is very personal to Abbott and concerns her father who died during a police operation. It was this investigation I enjoyed more, and even though there appeared to be some back story I could follow it easily.
There are a few chapters that concern forensics that I did struggle with slightly, not being the slightest bit scientific but fortunately it soon reverted back to ‘cop speak’ which I did understand.
All the characters were strong, even the minor ones, the respect from most and the antagonism from some felt real. But I thought the relationship between Abbott and Lowell was special and  a delight to read.
I would recommend this book to anybody who enjoys their detective fiction with a scientific slant, it was more convincing than some I have read and made me realise how much work goes into an investigation.