WINNER OF THE JHALAK PRIZE

‘The Bone Readers is a page-turner, but its insights and language are equally testament to a literary novel of impressive depth and acuity’ Guardian

Secrets can be buried, but bones can speak . . .

After standing witness to a murder on the streets of the Caribbean island of Camaho, young Michael ‘Digger’ Digson is recruited into a unique plain clothes homicide squad, an eclectic group of semi-official police officers, led by the enigmatic DS Chilman. Digger becomes enmeshed in Chilman’s obsession with a cold case, the disappearance of a young man. But Digger has a murder to pursue too: that of his mother, killed by a renegade police squad when he was a boy.

He has two weapons at his disposal – his skill in forensics, and Chilman’s latest recruit, the mysterious, observant Miss Stanislaus. Together, the two find themselves dragged into a world of dangerous secrets that demands every ounce of their courage to survive. This award-winning crime debut by highly acclaimed author Jacob Ross marks the thrilling start to a new series following forensics genius Michael Digson.

‘It’s masterly. I’ve started to read it again with increasing admiration’ Crime Time

‘A breath-taking, thought-provoking, and yes brilliant read. I know this is a book I shall go back to again and again’ Sunny Singh

‘Ross’s novel is one that effortlessly draws together the past and the present, gender, politics and the legacy of colonialism in a top quality Caribbean set crime thriller.

The Bone Readers is a wonderful read’ Catherine Johnson

‘By turns thrilling, visceral and meditative, and always cinematic’ Musa Okwonga

Little Brown

Ancillary Justice

Black Rain Falling

The Bone Readers