Like Honey for the Bones by Brandy Heineman

Like Honey for the Bones by Brandy Heineman
Series: a standalone
Publisher: Brandy Heineman on July 24, 2023

REVIEW BY VERA DAY

Solveig Borja had a run-in with the law when she was a teenager. She was living with her grandfather in the small town of Cross Keys, Virginia. She fled to Norway. It’s years later, and Solveig has returned to Virginia to settle her grandfather’s estate.

Kyle Benton had his own run-in with the law when he was a young man in Colorado. When he got out of prison, he found a job with Solveig’s grandfather in Virginia. Now that the old man has died, Kyle’s future is shaky.

There’s been a murder in Cross Keys, but did the trouble come from Solveig’s past or Kyle’s past?

This book is a mashup of a bazillion genres (or maybe just seven, I counted): suspense, murder mystery, cold case, romance, literary fiction, dual-timeline WWI/contemporary, and, of course, Christian fiction. Heineman makes good use of each genre.

Take, for example, the suspense element. Will those who are harassing Solveig turn violent? The reader wants to know. The reader also wants to know if Philip (a WWI soldier in the past timeline) will overcome the odds against him. And most of all, WHO DIES IN THE CAVE? The suspense element may have been my favorite.

Or was it the mystery element? I didn’t figure out who the killer was in either the past or the present until about the 95 percent mark. Mystery lovers will enjoy this book, just sayin’.

Upon further thought, I think the literary-fiction aspect, which is linked to the Christian element, was my favorite part of the book. Heineman’s similes are so fresh it’s like looking at an object through a lens from another dimension. Plus, Biblical allusions are threaded through the story to the point that several become symbolic. Slow down while reading this book (and I highly recommend you read this wonderful book) so you can pick up on the allusions. It’ll make the reading experience richer.

Time for a quote because Heineman’s prose is worth quoting. Here’s one highlighting the rather sophisticated romantic component of the story. It is night, and Solveig lights a candle in her late grandfather’s kitchen. Kyle observes:

The tiny light filled the room and reflected in the glass of the sliding door, the chrome of the appliances, and the depth of her eyes.

Brandy Heineman, Like Honey for the Bones

I’m blown away by Heineman’s writing skill and storytelling ability. Five fantastic fish!

I read an advance reader copy of Like Honey for the Bones through NetGalley.