4.5 stars.

Blood and Bone by Valentina Giambanco is a riveting police procedural that follows the investigation of a particularly gruesome and violent murder. Although this latest release is the third installment of the Alice Madison series, it can be read as a standalone.

Homicide Detective Alice Madison and her partner Detective Sergeant Kevin Brown are stunned by the brutal murder of Matthew Duncan. By all appearances, his death is the result of a burglary gone wrong, but several incongruous details leave them convinced the crime scene might have staged. When evidence found at the scene links this current case to another murder years earlier, Madison and Brown realize a serial killer has been methodically hunting victims and framing innocent people for his crimes. With scant clues and no viable leads, Alice and Kevin are feverishly working around the clock as they try to identify the murderer but will they catch him before he strikes again?

By all accounts, Matthew's marriage to wife Kate is happy and no one in his life has a bad thing to say about him. However, it soon becomes apparent Matthew's death was not a random act of violence but Madison and Brown quickly hit a dead end in their investigation. The discovery that this current case is linked to the earlier murder does little to help pinpoint the killer since they cannot figure out a motive for either case. Unable to find a connection between victims, the case takes another shocking turn once they realize they are on the trial of a clever murderer who is suspected of killing more than a dozen people.

At the same time she is investigating Duncan's murder, Alice learns troubling information about the notorious killer (and fugitive) she saved months earlier. The DEA is convinced she has information about John Cameron and his involvement in the murders of several cartel members. Despite her continued insistence she has no knowledge about Cameron, the DEA remains unconvinced she is telling them everything she knows.

While the overall flow of the novel is a bit convoluted due to several secondary story arcs, Blood and Bone is a compelling police procedural with a cast of complex characters and a fascinating storyline. The murder investigation is full of unforeseen twists and turns that will leave readers on the edge of their seats as Madison and Brown try to find a murderer who has successfully flown under the radar for years. Their hunt for a diabolical serial killer comes to a somewhat stunning conclusion and Valentina Giambanco adds one final twist that is absolutely brilliant and completely unexpected. A spectacular addition to the Alice Madison series that I highly recommend to fans of the genre. ( )

Giambanco’s debut, Blood and Bone, is an awkward but readable mystery. It begins with twelve year old Alice Madison running away from home. Cut to twenty years later, Madison is a homicide detective called to the scene of the brutal murder of Matthew Duncan. A relative newbie to homicide, she is lead on the case which after several days is going nowhere.

Two ancillary stories which will impact the current include ruthless murderer, John Cameron whose life she saved from a gangland cartel slaying eighteen months earlier and Jerry Linquist who maintains his innocence of the brutal murder of his wife for which he is incarcerated.

The ensemble cast of Madison’s partner, Kevin Brown, medical examiner Dr. Fellman, Crime Scene Investigator Amy Sorenson and District Attorney Sarah Klein. There are several romantic interests as well.

The reason that I said ‘awkward’ in the beginning is because the language used is somewhat awkward, especially when Giambanco refers to people. The use of language wasn’t smooth. It was choppy. The plot moved slowly in the beginning and picked up as the story progressed. However, there was a leap between the final scenes of the investigation and the conclusion, the ‘who done it’ if you will. Again, that left out clue was the basis for the solution.

Maybe as Giambanco continues to write, the flow to her books will improve. As with many mysteries, while I wouldn’t seek out Blood and Bone, I wouldn’t pass it by either if it crossed my desk. ( )

This is the third book about Seattle homicide detective Alice Madison. Although it is possible to follow the plot without having read The Gift of Darkness or The Dark first, I would suggest reading them in order to get the full picture of the recurring characters. A big part of this series has been about the complicated dynamics between Alice, Nathan Quinn, who now works for the State Attorney, and John Cameron, who is wanted for several murders. This one is a little different from the other two though in that it focuses much more on Alice and her partner and father figure, Detective Brown, and their current case, which involves the hunt for a seriously deranged serial killer.
This series has been getting better and better with each book. Alice evolves and so do her relationships within the police force and with Nathan and John. The police procedural aspects are done really well and the characters as well as the plot come across as very believable. I also find the author's writing has become more succinct and flows better with each instalment. After struggling a little with the first book, I've become a huge fan and I hope there will be more of Alice, Nathan, John, and Detective Brown in the future. Highly recommended if you enjoy gritty crime thrillers with expertly fleshed-out characters! ( )

Blood and Bone – Alice Madison Getting Even Better

V.M. Giambanco has give her Seattle Police Detective Alice Madison a third outing in her latest book Blood and Bone, the great thing is that this can be read as a standalone book rather than trying to read the series in order. Once again Giambanco delivers on all levels and has written a wonderful and dark thriller that gives the reader everything they want on all levels. There are some interesting twists that you do not see coming that add an extra dimension to this pacey crime thriller.

The book opens when Alice Madison is 12 years old and it is 1982 as she is running away from her family home to Seattle to her Grandparents house. We are getting some of the background to some of her relationships with some of the people that will appear throughout the book.

Alice Madison is taking the lead on her first murder case, with her partner Sergeant Kevin Brown backing her up and acting as a sounding board. When she gets to the crime scene the victim is a man called Matt Duncan who was found by his wife Kate. There seems to be no reason for the murder, even though there was some Jewellery that was stolen. The plot thickens when a droplet of blood links them back to a murder seven years previous.

The previous case was one Brown had closed along with Sarah Klein the State Attorney and the person who committed that had been in prison where he committed suicide. So begins a rush as more deaths occur and more clues turn up, with no clear evidence of a link the Madison really does not have anything to go on.

At the same time Madison is in a relationship with Aaron someone she knew when she was younger and he acts as a counter weight to everything in her Police Career. We also see that in the background there are DEA agents who do not trust and she finds out she is also being investigated. Even that news will shake her from her search for the answers and the murderer of Matt Duncan.

As clues slowly turn up they have 11 cases that are linked to the murder of Matt Duncan and they receive crumbs, but it is from the crumbs that they will be able to find the murderer. The murderer who seems to be able to live in plain sight without raising suspicion, someone who is dedicated and calculated in what he does.

With some wonderful twists Blood and Bone is an excellent crime thriller that keeps you reading and on the edge of your seat as you read. This book really does set your pulse racing as the reader does not know who the murderer is until the end because we only ever see through his eyes. A wonderful crime thriller that shows once again that V.M. Giambanco is at the top of her game. ( )