White Bones

Kate Maguire Book 1 (Unabridged)

By: Graham Masterton

Narrated by: Caroline Lennon

Length: 11 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

On an isolated farm in southern Ireland, a decades-old grave houses the dismembered bones of 11 women. Detective Superintendent Katie Maguire of the Irish Gardai is used to bloodshed, but these white bones speak of unimaginable butchery.

Not far away, a young American tourist is at the mercy of a sadistic killer. His tools are a boning knife, twine, and a doll fashioned from rags, nails, and fish-hooks. The murder of his victims is secondary only to his pleasure at their pain.

As more and more victims are ritualistically murdered, Katie Maguire finds that she must solve an ancient Irish mystery to catch a terrifying present-day killer.

©2013 Graham Masterton (P)2014 Audible Studios

Intolerable torture scenes

I had to return this novel after about an hour's listen. The detailed scenes of torture are lengthy and intolerable. The narrator's rendition of what she thinks is the voice of a young American woman is also torturous (otherwise the narrator is fine).

Gruesome but great

What did you love best about White Bones?

I loved the character of Katie Maguire, and the story was a real page turner

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I have a fairly strong stomach, but the descriptions of torture were quite harrowing. But don't let this deter you from listening to this book. It's a ripper.

Which character – as performed by Caroline Lennon – was your favorite?

None in particular. Caroline Lennon is a talented performer and all characters were well differentiated.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There is a great deal of "Irishness" in this book, and I found it thoroughly entertaining. I loved the dialogue, the turns of phrase, and throughout, there was a real sense of being right there in the thick of it.

Any additional comments?

When you start on a series, and enjoy it, it's lovely to know there are more in the series. However, knowing this also takes away some of the suspense when the main character is in real peril. I mean, there are three more books, so how can she possibly die? But I guess it's a small price to pay when you also know there are at least three more adventures for our heroine to (and us) to enjoy.

Masterton is as good at thrillers as he is at horror.

This book bridges a well written cop thriller in the same vain as HBO’s True Detective or BBC’s Luther with a good mix of what Masterton is more well known for, Horror.

Reduced the rating by 1 star on all accounts, as I figured out the ending before I got there. I just wish that had been disguised a little better or some more red herrings thrown around so that when I did get to the end it was different to what I thought - that’s what would have made it the full 5 star rating for me.

The performance is very good also, I had a little trouble at first getting used to the Irish accent, although it fits the story and character perfectly, so this is more my own issue rather than the reader. After an hour or so I slid right into it and didn’t notice any longer.

Overall a great book that is one I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys a cop thriller and doesn’t mind a bit of gore and lore involved.

Looking forward to listening to the rest of this series, I have always been a lover of GM’s full blooded horror but as I have seem to grown out of that, so to has Masterton matured with me with this healthy twist of the genre.

Interesting start poor ending

I like listening to books read with an Irish accent so this caught my eye. Despite reviews of the goriness I did not find it that offensive. The story started out with an interesting concept but about 90% through galloped to a disappointing end. I give it a “meh”.

"I want more"

What made the experience of listening to White Bones the most enjoyable?

Mr. Masterton's imagination is full of darkness and he is not afraid to show it. Love it!

What other book might you compare White Bones to and why?

No comparison at all.

Which character – as performed by Caroline Lennon – was your favorite?

Kate Maguire

Exciting, gritty thriller

This story had me hooked from early on & I enjoyed the character development. It is intense with detailed scenes - not for the feint hearted.

Enjoyed listening

Loved it, kept me intrigued. I am looking forward to listening to/or reading Katie McGuire's next mystery.

Irish myth

Interesting story, well written, well performed and well developed characters. Love this author, will read more of her books.

Love Katie Maguire. Compelling if imperfect story.

Where does White Bones rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Graham Masterton is a really masterful storyteller, and the twists come fast and furious. A few choices are more over-the-top than I like in my mysteries (prefer them slightly more real,) but I can't imagine he'd ever be a wasted listen. Love his ability to set up Cork as a place in time, and to draw a series of interesting characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Katie is a great character. She makes unique moral choices - more interesting than a lot of authors would allow- and her morality is very particular to her as a character. I like her doggedness. Masterton isn't afraid to let her screw up, either, which makes her all the more real. The ultimate villain of this piece is interesting too. Not entirely unexpected when revealed, but still worth it.

What three words best describe Caroline Lennon’s voice?

The narrator's voice is dramatic but also soothing with its Irish lilt. It's honeyed and unique. HOWEVER, I really feel that she hams it up awfully with the American characters. Their accents are SO BAD that it unfortunately ruins some really important scenes. Seriously. A suggestion of an accent often works better than when narrators try to fully do an accent (this must happen to British listeners all the time, but my ear is tuned to North American. Sorry, British listeners! Wow!) The end of the second book implies that there are more American characters to come so I hope this is fixed.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Masterton shows his roots as a horror author - BOY is there some gore in here. Just a warning. I'm not squeamish by most measures, but something about listening to the torturous scenes in here was pretty difficult... He also likes supernatural subjects a lot.

Some lesbian stuff in both books so far has been kinda gratuitous from where I sit - much more a male fantasy than a true female experience. Not enough to wreck anything, just a little silly.

Any additional comments?

I listened to the second Katie Maguire book first. If you think you might listen to it, you might want to do this one first. It doesn't matter much in a lot of series, but there is some serious story arcing from book-to-book here, and the journey of this one was a little spoiled by listening out of order.

Interesting thriller!

Really enjoyed the twists + turns of the storyline! Unexpected ending! Learned about more folklore of the region! Am getting the next book in the series!