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Spoken Bones (A DI Fenella Sallow Crime Thriller Book 1) Kindle Edition

4.1 out of 5 stars 15,077 ratings

This dark secret could finally break her…

Detective Inspector Fenella Sallow is obsessive about her work and driven by her own demons. When the body of a retired artist is discovered atop the blackened embers of the town bonfire, the community is rocked to the core.

It falls to DI Fenella Sallow and her team to find out how she came to be there. In her fifties, the veteran detective inspector thought she had seen it all. But behind the curtained windows and closed doors of the idyllic Cumbria coastal setting lurks pure evil.

Fenella must confront her dark past. Haunted by the unsolved case of a missing girl, she knows it is a race against time. Can she stop this death from slipping through her fingers, too?

Before long, it becomes disturbingly clear that the killer is playing a twisted game and will do anything to conceal the terrible truth of what happened on the beach on Bonfire Night.

Set against the backdrop of beautiful coastal Cumbria, an ancient land of legend, folklore and myth, these detective books are page-turning crime thrillers that will keep you hooked until the very end.

If you like detective mysteries with psychologically complex characters and shocking twists, then you’ll love this English police procedural
. Perfect for fans of J M Dalgliesh, Ann Cleeves, Ryhs Dylan and TG Reid.

Also available in Kindle Unlimited.

What readers are saying:

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Love this series keep em coming."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"I've read the two chapters they give you as a sample. It's great."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"I'm reading the first book love it"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Just started reading this it's got my attention so good."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Loved the first now onto second and just as gripping."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"I’m on book two and really enjoying it."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Love reading these can't put them down…"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"Love this series keep em coming."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"I'm hooked on this series."

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"The most 'unputdownable' series I've read in years!"

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"This is the best British crime series I have read in a long time."

Shop this series

 See full series
There are 9 books in this series.

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From the Publisher

Detective books, Detective mysteries, police procedural,english police procedural, Kindle unlimited
Detective books, Detective mysteries, police procedural,english police procedural, Kindle unlimited
Detective books, Detective mysteries, police procedural,english police procedural, Kindle unlimited

Product details

  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 out of 5 stars 15,077 ratings

About the author

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N.C Lewis
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Hi there, and welcome to my Amazon author page! Thanks for stopping by and checking out my books.

I write fast-paced crime thrillers featuring amateur sleuths and police detectives.

My latest series features DI Fenella Sallow and is based in the beautiful countryside of Cumbria, England. The best selling, Spoken Bones, is the first book in that series.

To find out more visit my website: https://bit.ly/NCLewis

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
15,077 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find this crime thriller engaging with a strong lead character and clever use of multiple characters. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with customers saying it held their attention throughout. The writing quality and pacing receive mixed reviews - while some find it well-written and fast-paced, others say it's not well written and wish it moved faster. The suspense receives mixed reactions, with some enjoying the twists and turns while others find the ending anticlimactic.

89 customers mention "Enjoyment"74 positive15 negative

Customers find the book engaging and interesting, with one mentioning that the twists are fun.

"Good read, took awhile to care about this detective & her associates. Sharing with senior center." Read more

"...It finally took off with a rush and ended up being a great read. I enjoyed it so much I selected Book 2" Read more

"...Did NOT see it coming. But made a good read" Read more

"enjoyable read..." Read more

88 customers mention "Character development"63 positive25 negative

Customers appreciate the character development in the book, particularly noting the strong lead character and clever use of multiple characters.

"What fun! Non-stop puzzles and questions complete with interesting characters and intriguing plot twists...." Read more

"The story sucks you right in! Good character development and wonderful storyline that keeps you guessing until the end...." Read more

"At first I thought the plot was too simple. Many characters A murder that seemed simple to solve. However that changed...." Read more

"...Good characters and Fenella is the kind of detective you would want on a case. Looking forward to more!" Read more

18 customers mention "Readability"18 positive0 negative

Customers find the book highly readable, with multiple reviews noting it held their attention throughout and serves as a great start to a new series.

"Beautifully written, unlike many books of this genre, engaging characters, loose ends nicely tied up, very fun, couldn’t guess the ending but it..." Read more

"A fair Book 1 of a series, but I would not call it a crime thriller. Book 2 is not on my TBR list...." Read more

"Love the first 2 books in this series and looking forward to book 3 and 4. Lots characters to choose which one done it but always a surprise!" Read more

"...I found it interesting, frustrating, intimate and kept me reading. So many twists and turns. Very interesting characters. Two thumbs up." Read more

66 customers mention "Writing quality"35 positive31 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the writing quality of the book, with some finding it very well written and easy to read, while others say it is not well written.

"I liked it even though it starts slow. An easy read and I would order the next in the series." Read more

"Needed to be edited. Poorly written." Read more

"...Well written until the last 10 pages which left a very unsatisfactory book." Read more

"Writing is not clear." Read more

20 customers mention "Pace"9 positive11 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the pacing of the book, with some finding it fast-paced while others say it moves too slowly.

"I liked it even though it starts slow. An easy read and I would order the next in the series." Read more

"I enjoyed the pace, the complexity of the plot and characters. Good the overall story. Recommended for a nice sit down with a cup of tea." Read more

"...As the plot moves on characters are sorted out. The final "scene" moved quickly and to my mind filled with a surprise." Read more

"Loved the character development and pace but found the ending unbelievable and abrupt. I guess that is one way to keep them guessing!" Read more

13 customers mention "Pacing"0 positive13 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book unsatisfactory, with one review noting excessive use of similes and metaphors, while another mentions too many irrelevant side stories.

"...The author is in love with similes to the point of being annoying and distracting...." Read more

"Amateurish. The author threw in ridiculous similes that seemed totally out of place. The ending came out of nowhere abruptly." Read more

"...might have been the basis of a good story here but it was ruined by overdescription and repetitious internal narrative from unlikeable characters...." Read more

"Spare me! This was a dreary mystery with plenty of nasty, ill-mannered characters and a bucketful of defective cops...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I haven't read a novel in a while and really enjoyed this one which I read through Kindle unlimited. The story carried well and kept me guessing all the way through. Her characters are very real with weaknesses and foibles one can identify with. I plan to continue with the next book in the series.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I liked a story about a woman who was a professional and human. Rushed at end. Look forward to next one.
  • Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2024
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Excellent story. The characters are believable except I could not figure out how the head detective decided who the murderer was. I am still puzzled and am looking through the book to figure it out. So. Good book. Unexplained ending
    5 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    DI Fenella Sallow is a very capable investigator, who is able to manage a wacky cheif as well as her vulnerable detectives. Giving all benefit of the doubt they all manage to make an array of characters fit together to solve the crime. Enjoyable.
  • Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    I liked it even though it starts slow. An easy read and I would order the next in the series.
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    This is a slow-moving story with multiple character histories. As the plot moves on characters are sorted out. The final "scene" moved quickly and to my mind filled with a surprise.
    One person found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Lead me down multiple paths. Thought I had figured out all the twists and turns but boy was I wrong.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    I'll give the author credit for character creation and weaving a more or less decent plot, though I thought the end was weak. But what bothered me most about this book is that it appears as though the author only just discovered similes and determined to use on at least once in every paragraph, which made the reading quite tedious at times, though it did make me laugh.
    3 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • DS
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting story.
    Reviewed in Canada on February 8, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Good book.
  • Maree Croxon
    4.0 out of 5 stars Keeps you guessing!
    Reviewed in Australia on September 8, 2022
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    It’s a multi layered story that reflects well on the many sides to lives. Good read keeps you guessing who did it.
  • Mrs P A Woodall
    5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Easy read for bed time reading a few twists and turns , throughly enjoyable, not too much concentration required to enjoy.
  • Robert Weston
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
    Reviewed in Canada on January 13, 2025
    Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
    Enjoyed.
  • Suemac
    5.0 out of 5 stars A well thought out murder mystery
    Reviewed in Australia on March 13, 2025
    Format: KindleVerified Purchase
    Plenty of red herrings, well developed characters, with a good sense of place. Well written interesting and I definitely recommend it.

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