I really enjoyed the setting of this book - an abandoned sanitarium - what could go wrong!
The pacing in the beginning was a little off for me. It may have been too many characters introduced all at once, jumping around quickly, I'm not sure. I would have liked a little more time with each one and in each place to really "get" the stories that intertwine a little better. Halfway through it picked up and I was glad I stuck with it.
A decent, solid police mystery thriller. Thankful for the ARC!

A delight to read. The Bone Jar is a fresh addition to the police procedural genre, featuring an eccentric and varied cast of characters. It will leave you wondering until the very last pages.

This book was so not what I expected but had me gripped totally
Set in an old asylum in London it starts with the murder of a nurse and looks into the secrets and lies that surround her and the building
The main characters are Connie, an archivist at an architectural drawings office and Lew Kirby, the main detective investigating the murder and Raymond, a former patient of the hospital who now lives in the grounds
The main focus of the story is the secrets that surround the building and the people who used to be in it with the investigations that Lew and Connie conduct the conduit that allows the story to work. Without Raymond the story would have been odd and not flowed properly, he knows more about the building and its secrets but he has secrets of his own
I will admit that some things I guessed but my guesses weren’t confirmed until much later on but the ending was a twist that I didn’t see coming!
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy crime thrillers with so much intrigue that it could make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck (or at least it did mine!)

Loved it. Well told story that had me turning the pages to find out what would happen next. And the setting added a nice sense of creepiness. Looking forward to seeing what the next book holds

**Review **

I really wanted to love this story. The synopsis alone was enough to draw me in, give me an abandoned asylum any day and I want to read about it. Throw in some murder, and I'm sold!

Unfortunately, there were just too many characters that really didn't need to be there. There are times when the little bits and pieces that you get from different characters add to the story, in this case it was all way too much to keep track of. I found myself getting confused with all of this extra information.

The story itself was good if you are able to cut out all the extras. It is well written and atmospheric and I enjoyed the twists and turns that the story took. For a debut I think it was quite good and look forward to reading any upcoming books from this author.

**Audiobook Review**

I didn't love the narrator, not to say that he didn't do a good job. I always listen at 2x speed and was tempted to bump it up to hold my interest more but because of the accent, instead bumped it down to 1.8x. Davies does a great job, this is just a personal preference.

Besideds the pacing, Davies voice fit the MC perfectly. His vocal influctuations were on point and made you feel like there were real conversations going on. There weren't huge differences in character vocals, but they were there. I think a lot of confusion came from the story itself and not from the narration.

The Bone Jar was a great crime thriller that certainly had a few creepy elements to it, especially since it was set around an abandoned asylum where the body of an elderly woman is discovered. I really enjoyed the main character, Detective Lew Kirby and how Kane incorporated a plethora of various characters throughout the novel. As the reader, this kept me guessing at who was involved in the murder and kept the story fluid as new pieces of information were incorporated in the plot. Reading previous reviews of this novel, I saw many readers complain that there were too many characters included, however I felt this made the story line more believable. This also created different possibilities for the reader to try and guess at what could have happened and prevented the story from becoming predictable.

Overall, I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys crime thrillers. This was a quick read that had me on the edge of my seat from the start. I hope that Kane turns this into a series centered around Kirby – I would absolutely read future books in that series!

The Bone Jar is a police procedural that starts as with investigation into the death of an elderly woman at a derelict mental hospital outside London. On the same night as the murder, a man who was supposed to be exploring the old building goes missing. The investigation into the murder and disappearance bring up old secrets and the dark history of the mental hospital and what happened there decades prior. Overall, this was a solid police procedural with a rotating cast of suspects, alibis, and twists as Detective Lew Kirby and cast investigate these crimes.

This novel employs one of my favorite thriller tropes which is secrets from the past coming back to haunt the present. I really liked how Kane used that idea in this novel where when the sketchy past of the hospital comes up, the investigators keep it in mind but then still look for present day suspects. They don't drop everything and start investigating a cold case from the decades before. I think this is where the other points of view were used the most effectively as they kept reminding the reader of the past while the detectives were talking to present day suspects.

I thought this novel also had some pretty good character relationships. We get some banter between Kirby and his partner, some interpersonal tension at work, and Connie's relationship with her urban explorer friends. I liked how Kirby wasn't a stereotypical jaded or grumpy detective and he didn't have any vices or any dark secret himself. As much as I love complicated heroes, it is nice to have the hero be an actual good guy. I do wish we had explored more of Connie and the urban exploration community, but we did get some good interactions between her and her friends.


The main issue I had with this book was the pacing. For the first half, it was a fairly typical police procedural. The first 2/3 of the book were pretty slow on the action, but the investigation was uncovering lies and secrets from decades prior - standard police procedural. The novel does switch points of view between a few characters, only one of whom is with the police, which gives the reader a break from the procedural elements. However, even these other points of view were paced slow as they investigated their own portions of the mystery. Now I'm fine with slow build police procedurals. I really like seeing all the puzzle pieces fall into place and seeing the detectives put it all together so I was reading along with no problems. But then the last 1/3 of the book kicked into high gear and it was super jarring. All three points of view came together in the same area but were just far enough away that they were still following their different plot threads. And each of the threads was high action so switching points of view would just continue to amp up the tension. Which, I'll admit, I would normally be totally into if the first 2/3 of the book wasn't so slow burn. It was like the first 2/3 ramped from 0 to 20 and then the last 1/3 went from 20 to 100 in just a few chapters. I have book whiplash, that's the best way I can explain it. I did appreciate how this book had the few chapters of 'cool down' after the main action conflict of act 3. I always like to be able to see how characters are able to integrate back into their regular lives after the events of the novel.

At the end, while we do find out who killed the elderly woman, there were more questions left open at the end of the book in regards to Kirby's personal life as well as Connie's sister. It felt like really obvious sequel bait and it was a bit disappointing. I have no issues with some unanswered questions, but the novel left off on such an obvious cliffhanger that it felt unfinished. The reveals at the end were also very important to the characters and it felt like those would have been better suited to be revealed before the third act and then they could have been resolved or at least explored more during the last part of the book. It felt like these last reveals were brought up and then the characters just left them aside to be dealt with later (in a sequel). In general, I'm just not a fan of the super obvious cliffhangers at the end of books. Leave enough open for me to want to explore in a sequel (like DI Kirby getting a phone call about another murder, for example) but this one left a little too much open for my liking.

Incredible story that I truly enjoyed, not normally a genre that I read but I wanted to branch out and try something other than young adult and have to say I loved this.

A twisty mystery read that takes place in an abandoned asylum in England. This was an engaging read and there were quite a few twists that I didn't see coming. The mystery also expands over a long period of time, so the detectives in the case were not only solving the current case but the ties that it had to an older mystery. I enjoyed the book and look forward to exploring more by this author. Free e-copy was received from NetGalley.

I enjoyed this book, I found the start was slow and I really struggled to carry on reading but it gradually picked up the pace and hit hard. I am loving reading new authors at the moment and would definitely read a S W Kane book again,

The Bone Jar is a very atmospheric first instalment in a new series featuring Detective Lew Kirby.

Kirby and his colleague Anderson are called out to the site of an abandoned asylum when a security guard discovers the battered body of an elderly woman. Surely the victim has a connection to this place. Why else would she have been left there, when there are far more easily accessible places to dump a dead body? First though, detectives must figure out who the victim is and as they delve into her past, they uncover a multitude of secrets.

With such an intriguing title, I couldn't wait to get stuck in and find out what The Bone Jar was all about. For the most part, I really enjoyed this story. There are quite a few different things going on at the same time. It works really well as an introduction to the series as the reader gets to know Detective Kirby. However, I also found the plot just a little bit too complicated. Now, I will admit that my brain was somewhat foggy when I read The Bone Jar so it's quite possible that was to blame. But I couldn't help but get awfully confused at times. I'm still not entirely sure I have the right end of the stick.

What I do know is that the shenanigans that happened at the asylum are seriously disturbing, affecting quite a few characters in The Bone Jar. The murderer could seemingly be just about anyone and I was unable to figure out who it was or what their motive was. All in all, an enjoyable and entertaining read.

I really enjoyed reading The Bone Jar. The storyline was compelling and kept me guessing throughout.

I found this book to be full of twists and turns, and a gripping read, overall.

Lew Kirby is a police officer who is tasked with finding out how and why an elderly lady died in an abandoned asylum. There are lots of quirky characters in this book who help him out in various ways and I found the novel to be nicely complicated, just the way it should be! There are things going on with Lew's mother which we don't find out about until the end of the book; hopefully we will find out a lot more about that in the next book. I can't wait to read it!

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer.

I wound up really enjoying this book. I have a great fondness for anything that looks like either a cold case, or a modern day case with deep ties to past crimes. The Bone Jar have me exactly what I wanted.

“Two murders. An abandoned asylum. Will a mysterious former patient help untangle to dark truth?” This tag line hooked me right in. Blackwater Asylum is a building filled with secrets. Soon to be renovated, it’s changed hands more than once over the years but something always goes wrong. This time it’s looking positive. And then an elderly woman is found dead in one of the beds of the derelict buildings. Detective Lee Kirby is called in, and the investigation begins.

This had the feeling of a much older novel. It put me in mind of Ellery Queen’s Wrightsville series or Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey, in that it’s a character study masquerading as a mystery, and it handles both elements really well. Kirby as detective plays a good role, and is a detective I could root for, even when I didn’t necessarily agree with how he chose to handle something. He becomes involved with Connie Darke, urban explorer, and the sister of a girl who died in the grounds some years before.

There are wheels within wheel, and so many ties between the past and the present that sometimes you lose track of the fact that sometimes ties can go beyond place. They can go beyond time. There is a great sense of time in this novel, both the slowness of time spent in an asylum, and of time running out to solve the murder.

Blackwater Asylum itself is a character. I read this book a few weeks before it came out and I can still see the design, beauty, and fading of the building. The author makes it live in both time periods and paints a very disturbing picture of what it would have been like to be in a horrible place like that even 50 years ago. The pacing is excellent and I wound up finishing it in one sitting. If you’re a fan of atmospheric writing and strong Gothic vibes, this is probably a great book for you.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Amazon.com UK, and Thomas & Mercer for this free copy in return for a review.

This is my first book by S W Kane and already looking forward to the next book. Set in London, Battersea, an old lady is found dead in a derelict building. The building was a former asylum and it turns out the old lady was a nurse at the asylum. DI Lew Kirby leads the investigation which at times seems complicated, as there are many characters in this book. A well told police procedural novel with atmospheric and personal moments. A great debut by this author.

I really liked this story. It's set in London, and the lead character is Detective Inspector Lew Kerby. He is called in when a dead woman is found in the halls of an abandoned and derelict mental hospital. He works with his partner, and the help of an urbexer, helps unravel the mystery of the dead woman, who killed her and why.

I love a good police procedural particularly when the author is able to carry a story while developing the central characters to the point where I care as much about the main characters as I do the story that is being told.
The Bone Jar has this in abundance. The book begins with the discovery of the murder of an elderly woman in a run down, abandoned asylum. The setting is amazing and the way the author describes the asylum and surrounding area offers a glimpse of the eerie and isolated area inside and outside the asylum. I truly enjoyed the main characters especially DCI Lew Kirby. I like when I am able to get to know a character by not only through their professional persona but also their personal lives with all the highs and lows that come with life. It brings a depth to not only the character but also the story itself. I truly hope that this is the beginning of a series involving DCI Kirby.

The Bone Jar is set in modern-day London where a body has been discovered in the fictional Blackwater Asylum; a long abandoned asylum for mentally disturbed individuals. Heading the case is Detective Inspector Lew Kirby and his partner. The Bone Jar is an easy-to-pick-up crime novel, with enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. It’s a classic ‘whodunit’ story that keeps the reader guessing right until the end reveals. There are a few other threads thrown into the story to keep it from being one dimensional, which helps to keep a higher pace throughout the novel.

Whilst reading The Bone Jar, I didn’t realise it was a debut, self-published novel. The standard was well above what is expected when thinking about those two aspects to an author and I am eager to see what S W Kane has in store for DI Lew Kirby in future novels, but that is jumping the gun!

As a lead character DI Lew Kirby is a captivating character to read about. He has his own personality and quirks that make him engaging. His hatred for his company car and how that contrast to his preferred method of transport, the blossoming romance he has with new his partner, his home and family situation. All these aspects feed in to make him a joy to read about. A shining light amongst the dark work in which he inhabits. It was wonderfully refreshing to have a lead character that displayed a healthy dose of normal! Normal is an underrated trait to give lead characters, or so it seems, so it was nice to engage with a character that seems to revel in every-day life. I found each of the characters in the story were handled with care and given their own, unique personalities. From the ex-Blackwater Asylum inmate Raymond to urban-explorer Connie and all the flavours of character in between, but these two are the ones that stood out to me the most as well as Lews mother and the tragic tale she weaves into the story.

The setting of The Bone Jar is both sinister and magical, the description of the places in which DI Lew Kirby visits are wonderfully vivid; especially considering the time of year – winter. The choice of winter added a layer of desolation to the read. An otherworldly threat layered on top of what is actively happening in the crux of the story.

Although I have called the plot of The Bone Jar straightforward, it’s deep enough to get a bit lost in. There is an element of ‘family tree’ and ‘connection’ that could easily render the reader lost. At times I had to put the book down and take mental stock of what I had just had revealed to me so that I could keep following the plot. It’s complicated, but easy to read and digest, S W Kane has a writing style which has a nice flow to it and this lends itself well to the genre and because of that I found that the complications in the plot were easy to keep up with – and I enjoyed the challenging aspect of trying to figure out who had killed ‘poor’ Ena Massey before the novel gave all the secrets away; it’s that half the point of a crime/whodunit novel? Trying to guess the culprit before we’re told? I am happy to say that all the threads of the mystery are wrapped up nicely to a good, satisfying conclusion – always a good thing from a crime novel. But there was enough left over in DI Kirbys personal life to pick up in another book featuring the same character.

Blackwater Asylum left me with some very strong imagery and I found the scenes involving the building and the people involved with it the most poignant. The fact that these places existed and the abuse that happened within them is highlighted within The Bone Jar and while the setting is entirely fictional it’s easy to understand where S W Kane got her inspiration from.

Summary
All in all The Bone Jar was a very enjoyable read that, while complicated in plot content, was easy on the reader in terms of writing style. The characters are rich in personality and quirks whist surrounded by a rich London-based setting. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of crime novels and are looking for a main character that isn’t; drunk, dishonest, thrown off the case for no good reason, abrasive or out to prove themselves!

Absolutely loved this book, really fast paced and interesting read that had me hooked from the description and more than fulfilled all the promise I hoped it offered, Highly recommmend.

Thank You NetGalley & Publisher for this gifted e-ARC!

Two murders. An abandoned asylum. Will a mysterious former patient help untangle the dark truth?
The body of an elderly woman has been found in the bowels of a derelict asylum on the banks of the Thames. As Detective Lew Kirby and his partner begin their investigation, another body is discovered in the river nearby. How are the two murders connected?


This was a crime fiction novel.
Told from 2 POVs....DI Kirby and Connie Darke.
The story of this book was very well written out.
And who doesn't enjoy a good creepy asylum?
I did tend to get a little confused during the middle.....
but as I kept digging in it really started to pick up the pace.

I am looking forward to the next book from this author.

Review- 4/5