Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg

Bone Canyon by Lee Goldberg
Series: Eve Ronin #2
Published by Thomas Mercer on January 5, 2021
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: eARC
Purchase at Bookshop.org
Add on Goodreads

A catastrophic wildfire scorches the Santa Monica Mountains, exposing the charred remains of a woman who disappeared years ago. The investigation is assigned to Eve Ronin, the youngest homicide detective in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a position that forces her to prove herself again and again. This time, though, she has much more to prove.

Bones don’t lie, and these have a horrific story to tell. Eve tirelessly digs into the past, unearthing dark secrets that reveal nothing about the case is as it seems. With almost no one she can trust, her relentless pursuit of justice for the forgotten dead could put Eve’s own life in peril.

Bone Canyon takes off a few months after the end of Lost Hills, book one in the series. Since the second book builds on the first, I’d advise reading them in order. Eve has continued in the Homicide unit and still is partnered with Duncan, who reminds her at every juncture of his upcoming retirement. With that in mind, Duncan lets Eve take the lead on their case, a body that has been uncovered by recent wildfires in the Santa Monica area. The body has been there for years, but was clearly the victim of a murder. And we know that Eve is not one to give up on a case.

Another body is found in the same area, so Eve and Duncan have a couple lines of investigation. As Eve uncovers more evidence, she finds information that may put her in danger and most definitely pits her against others in the Sheriff department. I love Duncan. Eve can be a tough and rigid. She’s driven and dedicated, but Duncan not only has her back; he also reminds her that she needs to have a life, that she needs to be careful, that she needs to have friends in the department when he leaves. The interaction between the two of them is always entertaining.

We also get to see more of Eve’s family in this book. Her parents pushing their Hollywood dreams onto her was done well. I also particularly enjoyed the references to Hollywood and the Vine, a show we were first introduced to in Goldberg’s Ian Ludlow series.

Bone Canyon is really enjoyable. It’s fast-paced and has some great characters. The twist at the end was a little too convenient and quick, but I can overlook that.