[Review] Jacob Ross: 'The Bone Readers'

Forget 'Death in Paradise', the light-hearted television series (and books), created by Robert Thorogood, that paint an idyllic life on a friendly island in the Caribbean. Yes, in every episode a murder is committed, but the island of Guadeloupe (which doubles as Saint-Marie) remains the main attraction.

The reality is that the Caribbean is a bleak region. Poverty is endemic and the male population of the islands is mostly driven by despair (those who use drugs) or by greed (those who sell drugs).

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Jacob Ross is a poet and writer who was born on the Caribbean island of Granada. Just a speck on the globe, but in 1979 a communist movement overthrew the government in a coup d'état. The country was in such disarray that the US decided that they needed to invade the island in 1983 to restore a semblance of law and order.

Jacob Ross has been a British citizen since the 1980s, but has never forgotten 'his' island. Ross' first publications were two collections of evocative short stories. 'The Bone Readers' is his first mystery. It features Michael “Digger” Digson who is barely out of school and, unable to afford the fees for university, he just passes the time loitering on the streets.

Digger is reluctantly recruited into a nascent section of the police force by DC Chilman, who is unscrupulously plucking a new, young but promising squad off the streets. Digger has two extraordinary skills that make him stand out: an ability to recognise voices, and the skill of reading human bones.

As a plain-clothes officer in this somewhat rogue police force, Digger has to investigate missing persons both present and past. DC Chilman is haunted by the disappearance of Nathan who left his mother’s house one day never to return. Digger himself is obsessed by his own mother’s unexplained disappearance, who was last seen during a demonstration against the rape of a woman, when he was a child.

Ross is able to vividly paint persons and surroundings. The dialogue is crisp and is mostly written in patois, the Caribbean island dialect. While it might seem daunting at first, it is actually quite easy to understand once you put some effort into it.

'The Bone Readers' is many things at once. It is a thriller (and a good one at that) but it is also a coming-of-age story, and a story of hope that good will (eventually) overcome bad. Running through the story is the stark observation that grief and loss can create a lasting hole in your heart.

In short: it is a brilliant story and I cannot recommend it enough.

Buy the book here.