science thriller

Hey readers! You probably already know about NetGalley because I was a late joiner. Not really a trendsetter here! But I signed up about a year ago and it has been great. Since I already write book reviews, having an early look at new titles is a lot of fun, with not too much of an extra commitment. I wasn’t sure how well I would do with turnaround, though, so I limited the number of books I requested and held off on new requests until I read the ones NetGalley approved.

I finally finished the last book from my first haul so this week I went on a NetGalley binge and loaded my digital shelf with some new ones!

Here’s what I picked:

The Last Cruise by Kate Christensen (pub. 7/10/18)
No Place Like Home by Rebecca Muddiman (pub. 8/6/2019)
Be Still the Water by Karen Emilson (pub. 7/28/2016)
The Space Within the Silence by Bre Woods (pub. 7/24/2018)
Tap: A Love Story by Tracy Ewens (pub. 7/10/2018)

Just like everyone else, I have a huge TBR pile, so I’ll be mixing these in with books already in the queue.

And here are the NetGalley books I’ve already read and reviewed:

The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian – suspense – 4 bookmarks
The Surrogate by Louise Jensen – suspense – 3 bookmarks
Bunny Mellon by Meryl Gordon – biography – 4 bookmarks
Last Stop in Brooklyn by Lawrence H. Levy – mystery – 4 bookmarks
Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage – suspense – 3.5 bookmarks
The Bone Curse by Carrie Rubin – science thriller – 4 bookmarks
David Bowie: A Life by Dylan Jones – biography – 4 bookmarks

And if you’re wondering about my bookmark system, here’s a quick run-down:

5 bookmarks – best of the best
4 bookmarks – excellent
3 bookmarks – very good
2 bookmarks – okay
1 bookmark- didn’t enjoy it

For more information about NetGalley, visit their website at netgalley.com. Are you already on NetGalley? How many books on your shelf?

Thanks for visiting – come back soon!

The Bone Curse
by
Carrie Rubin

Rating:

Ben Oris doesn’t worry when he is cut by an ancient bone in the Catacombs of Paris. After all, he’s a third-year med student and he knows how to treat a little cut. But something is wrong when he returns to school to begin a rotation in internal medicine. The cut won’t heal and people close to him are getting sick. Has Ben picked up an unknown pathogen? Is there something evil at work? It’s a race against time for Ben and his best friend Laurette, who is sure Ben needs to see a Haitian Vodou priestess.

In The Bone Curse, Carrie Rubin pits science and medicine against the idea of an ancient Haitian curse in an exciting medical thriller that keeps the reader guessing through the final pages. Set in the sweltering heat of Philadelphia summer, the story focuses on three tense weeks during which Ben tries to balance a demanding schedule while friends and family fall like bowling pins. Can he trust Laurette’s mysterious Haitian relatives and contacts?

Rubin tells a great story and develops her characters well. Readers will cheer for Ben, who is charmingly human and chew their nails as he confronts formidable and frightening opponents.

There are many things to like about Rubin’s writing style. One is her humor and understanding of the human condition. What fun to see Ben navigate a complicated love life and looming disaster, yet take a moment, while maneuvering Philly streets, to enjoy his “Bumper-to-bumper, parallel-parking masterpiece.” In addition, readers will enjoy a look into med school politics as Ben fends off rivals and a demanding attending physician. Ben’s modern and realistic family situation rounds out his character, making him both likable and knowable.

Rubin also knows how to keep a story moving by building a fear of the unknown. Vodou curses, blood sacrifices, and strange ceremonies in dark smoky row-house rooms are the backdrops to wild confrontations between murky good and evil characters as Ben does his best to determine who’s on the good side.

The Bone Curse is the first in the Benjamin Oris series of medical thrillers and Rubin rewards her readers with a satisfying finish and promise of more thrills. In addition, hints of a developing relationship between Ben and Laurette will no doubt make Ben’s love life an enticing side-story.

Due out this month, I recommend The Bone Curse to readers who like thrilling books with otherworldly themes.

I received a copy of The Bone Curse from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.