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Memory and Bone
A troubled young ghost hunter. A vengeful spirit. They’re the perfect match.
Until they’re not.
By day, Jessica Roman-Dell is broke, unemployed, and newly evicted from her apartment. By night, she’s the Friendly Neighborhood Ghost Hunter, an aspiring YouTuber and paranormal investigator hoping to find a real ghost so her channel can go viral.
Following reports of paranormal activity behind the old Methodist church, Jessica encounters the spirit of a murder victim named Jerry lurking among the headstones. When Jerry follows Jessica home, she can’t believe her Jessica can get all the ghostly footage she wants for her channel while helping Jerry come to terms with his own death and solve his murder.
Yet Jerry doesn’t want his murder to be solved. In fact, he knows his killers. And he’s going to make them pay.
Until they’re not.
By day, Jessica Roman-Dell is broke, unemployed, and newly evicted from her apartment. By night, she’s the Friendly Neighborhood Ghost Hunter, an aspiring YouTuber and paranormal investigator hoping to find a real ghost so her channel can go viral.
Following reports of paranormal activity behind the old Methodist church, Jessica encounters the spirit of a murder victim named Jerry lurking among the headstones. When Jerry follows Jessica home, she can’t believe her Jessica can get all the ghostly footage she wants for her channel while helping Jerry come to terms with his own death and solve his murder.
Yet Jerry doesn’t want his murder to be solved. In fact, he knows his killers. And he’s going to make them pay.
333 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 24, 2024
6 people are currently reading
243 people want to read
About the author
J.S. Bailey
25 books250 followersJ. S. Bailey enjoys writing speculative tales that keep readers on the edges of their seats. She has published eight novels and twenty-two short stories, with more on the way. Bailey is fond of long walks in the woods, British television, and lots of burritos. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband and cats.
Follow her on social media to keep up with her upcoming releases:
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Follow her on social media to keep up with her upcoming releases:
https://www.facebook.com/jsbaileywrites
https://www.instagram.com/jsbailey_au...
https://twitter.com/jsbailey_author
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
April 2, 2024
Memory and Bone is a tense, expertly-crafted tale that never tips its hand until it’s ready to. The characters are superbly voiced and the story kept me guessing and gasping up to the final scene. Bonus points for the familiar setting, with nods to real locales around the Greater Cincinnati area which I call home.
September 11, 2024
Memory and Bone by J.S. Bailey
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a fun and creepy book, with an interesting spin on your typical ghost story.
This book has lots of twists and mystery throughout! I enjoyed the premise of the story and found it overall entertaining! The story has good details and descriptions, which I really enjoy, to help picture what’s going on in the story.
Thank you to J.S. Bailey for an arc of this eerie ghost story!
*This book comes out September 24th!*
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a fun and creepy book, with an interesting spin on your typical ghost story.
This book has lots of twists and mystery throughout! I enjoyed the premise of the story and found it overall entertaining! The story has good details and descriptions, which I really enjoy, to help picture what’s going on in the story.
Thank you to J.S. Bailey for an arc of this eerie ghost story!
*This book comes out September 24th!*
July 3, 2024
It was an interesting read.
Jessica's journey to build her ghost hunting YouTube channel leads her to a lost soul that is nothing like he seems. Full of twists and turns, you will enjoy this book if you're a fan of the horror genre.
Jessica's journey to build her ghost hunting YouTube channel leads her to a lost soul that is nothing like he seems. Full of twists and turns, you will enjoy this book if you're a fan of the horror genre.
October 18, 2025
Twas an interesting concept but the writing style just wasnt it and the flow was off half the time
Read
January 9, 2025no rating because i genuinely don’t know what to give it.
i really wanted to like this book. i’m very into the paranormal so it seemed to be something i’d love.
the writing was alright. more often than not i was just being told a story, not being immersed into one, if that makes sense. all of the dialogue meshed together, it was hard to tell who was speaking at times. although i will say that the first chapter did intrigue me.. it just didn’t last.
i really enjoyed the premise and the plot twist but there just seemed too much going on + a lot of repetition and unfortunately the build up felt flat and stayed that way until the end. i couldn’t find a way to connect with anyone or their backgrounds.
i really wanted to like this book. i’m very into the paranormal so it seemed to be something i’d love.
the writing was alright. more often than not i was just being told a story, not being immersed into one, if that makes sense. all of the dialogue meshed together, it was hard to tell who was speaking at times. although i will say that the first chapter did intrigue me.. it just didn’t last.
i really enjoyed the premise and the plot twist but there just seemed too much going on + a lot of repetition and unfortunately the build up felt flat and stayed that way until the end. i couldn’t find a way to connect with anyone or their backgrounds.
June 24, 2024
Most of all, I miss hope. It’s a terrible thing to lose.
I found "Memory and Bone" by author J.S.Bailey to be a spell-binding and at times beautifully rendered ghost story, even if I still think it's somewhat hard to categorize in terms of genre. I have to say, it wasn't so much horror to me - and I say that with a long list of slashy, stabby, sometimes even gory reads in both the distant and very recent past - but suspense and mystery don't qualify either. Or aren't sufficient in terms of defining (does that hand wavy motion he likes to make when his brain gets stuck) things, better said. Sure the way things were presented was a little out of my comfort zone - mostly good people, no guns, where are the mutants? - but that's not a bad thing. In fact, I found myself in parts thinking the story was somewhat akin to other books I've read including by author Margaret Lashley that are listed as "cozy mysteries". No, that's not the same here … but would "cozy horror" be a thing? Hm, I don't think that has much mileage as a hashtag to be honest…
She was drowning in a hatred so deep, so primal, she was sure she would feel nothing else ever again.
I say that in large part because this is a decidedly character-driven tale and that most of the people we meet are, again, pretty nice, pretty "normal" everyday folks albeit maybe with more baggage to carry around than is initially apparent. And also sadly in this day and age, much of what transpired to get them into the BIG situation that eventually developed wasn't really all that shocking. Yeah, the list of "triggers" the author provides reads more like a recap of the evening news than anything meant to warn or shock us so we'll be alert. Blame the malaise that has struck our society on any number of factors including ones Bailey used for my own sardonic attitude of numbness (sorry, I'm trying not to include too many spoilers… and also not come across as crazy). Still, when even the ghost we meet early in the book comes across as a pretty nice guy, albeit, again, extremely tortured, well again, it's much softer than say some of the stories you might come across from Stephen King or Joe Hill. I wonder why I picked a father and son duo to mention here? Hm, the audience intoned…
I was murdered. And there’s no getting past that.
It's interesting to see the timeframe that Bailey uses in this story, appreciating that, as she indicates at the end, that this is a re-write of one of her earlier books. Whereas some parts didn't totally jive with my own memories - after all I had left the US by the early 90s and moved permanently to Europe, which surprisingly tends to lag some years behind in some areas, notably as well Internet usage - it still worked quite well. I do admit some - oh what's a good word? - frustration and even facepalming at the entire cast not IMMEDIATELY diving into Google when the ectoplasm started hitting the fan (heck, I still remember showing a group of Germans how to use the Internet when we first got it at work in '97 or '98). Fortunately though, the crew finally let their fingers do the walking and a lot of the details were revealed, some of which were quite shocking in nature, both to them and to us!
He woke from a restless slumber… figments of dark dreams slithering into oblivion.
And speaking of revealing details, this book raises one of those conundrums I always have when reading a book like this. Namely, when should certain information be revealed? There are certainly a lot of layers to this story and also certainly a lot of information was provided fairly early on. And oh yes, there's some real gut-punches once we head into the final stretch! But I still found myself wondering if some of what transpired had done so a little prematurely, so to speak. I'm glad to say that the more I think about it - and this is definitely one of those stories that takes some time to digest - the more I think Bailey handled it about as well as possible. Besides, I really suck at poker so what do I know about when is the best time to show your cards?
They just couldn’t leave him alone. The faces. Always watching. Always mocking.
Did I think the characters were a little too "restrained" and even "too nice" at times while all this was going on? Yeah, once you learn what everyone has gone through, definitely. Personally, I'd have been doing a lot more freaking out than just about everyone did except Sidney who even despite her reactions remained somewhat restrained in my opinion. But it's not anything that hurt things per se and ultimately those players that DESERVED to let loose a bit got to, even if we're NOT talking mutated zombies going on a rampage and eating all of Cleveland in the process (yes, that's my cut-off point for REAL horror!). Again, I just think that while anyone is reading this, they're definitely going to be working through some stuff - obviously from what's going on but maybe even their own pasts - and if it all seems ever so slightly out of whack or focus or however you want to put it, then I get that.
Don’t be scared. Dying hurts, but that pain doesn’t last.
At the end of the day (literally and figuratively), I thought this was a really good read. It was both well-written and very well-edited, so I'd recommend you to check out for sure! My thanks again to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review (and for fellow wordsmith @D.M.Guay for alerting me to the offer)!
I found "Memory and Bone" by author J.S.Bailey to be a spell-binding and at times beautifully rendered ghost story, even if I still think it's somewhat hard to categorize in terms of genre. I have to say, it wasn't so much horror to me - and I say that with a long list of slashy, stabby, sometimes even gory reads in both the distant and very recent past - but suspense and mystery don't qualify either. Or aren't sufficient in terms of defining (does that hand wavy motion he likes to make when his brain gets stuck) things, better said. Sure the way things were presented was a little out of my comfort zone - mostly good people, no guns, where are the mutants? - but that's not a bad thing. In fact, I found myself in parts thinking the story was somewhat akin to other books I've read including by author Margaret Lashley that are listed as "cozy mysteries". No, that's not the same here … but would "cozy horror" be a thing? Hm, I don't think that has much mileage as a hashtag to be honest…
She was drowning in a hatred so deep, so primal, she was sure she would feel nothing else ever again.
I say that in large part because this is a decidedly character-driven tale and that most of the people we meet are, again, pretty nice, pretty "normal" everyday folks albeit maybe with more baggage to carry around than is initially apparent. And also sadly in this day and age, much of what transpired to get them into the BIG situation that eventually developed wasn't really all that shocking. Yeah, the list of "triggers" the author provides reads more like a recap of the evening news than anything meant to warn or shock us so we'll be alert. Blame the malaise that has struck our society on any number of factors including ones Bailey used for my own sardonic attitude of numbness (sorry, I'm trying not to include too many spoilers… and also not come across as crazy). Still, when even the ghost we meet early in the book comes across as a pretty nice guy, albeit, again, extremely tortured, well again, it's much softer than say some of the stories you might come across from Stephen King or Joe Hill. I wonder why I picked a father and son duo to mention here? Hm, the audience intoned…
I was murdered. And there’s no getting past that.
It's interesting to see the timeframe that Bailey uses in this story, appreciating that, as she indicates at the end, that this is a re-write of one of her earlier books. Whereas some parts didn't totally jive with my own memories - after all I had left the US by the early 90s and moved permanently to Europe, which surprisingly tends to lag some years behind in some areas, notably as well Internet usage - it still worked quite well. I do admit some - oh what's a good word? - frustration and even facepalming at the entire cast not IMMEDIATELY diving into Google when the ectoplasm started hitting the fan (heck, I still remember showing a group of Germans how to use the Internet when we first got it at work in '97 or '98). Fortunately though, the crew finally let their fingers do the walking and a lot of the details were revealed, some of which were quite shocking in nature, both to them and to us!
He woke from a restless slumber… figments of dark dreams slithering into oblivion.
And speaking of revealing details, this book raises one of those conundrums I always have when reading a book like this. Namely, when should certain information be revealed? There are certainly a lot of layers to this story and also certainly a lot of information was provided fairly early on. And oh yes, there's some real gut-punches once we head into the final stretch! But I still found myself wondering if some of what transpired had done so a little prematurely, so to speak. I'm glad to say that the more I think about it - and this is definitely one of those stories that takes some time to digest - the more I think Bailey handled it about as well as possible. Besides, I really suck at poker so what do I know about when is the best time to show your cards?
They just couldn’t leave him alone. The faces. Always watching. Always mocking.
Did I think the characters were a little too "restrained" and even "too nice" at times while all this was going on? Yeah, once you learn what everyone has gone through, definitely. Personally, I'd have been doing a lot more freaking out than just about everyone did except Sidney who even despite her reactions remained somewhat restrained in my opinion. But it's not anything that hurt things per se and ultimately those players that DESERVED to let loose a bit got to, even if we're NOT talking mutated zombies going on a rampage and eating all of Cleveland in the process (yes, that's my cut-off point for REAL horror!). Again, I just think that while anyone is reading this, they're definitely going to be working through some stuff - obviously from what's going on but maybe even their own pasts - and if it all seems ever so slightly out of whack or focus or however you want to put it, then I get that.
Don’t be scared. Dying hurts, but that pain doesn’t last.
At the end of the day (literally and figuratively), I thought this was a really good read. It was both well-written and very well-edited, so I'd recommend you to check out for sure! My thanks again to the author for a free copy in exchange for an honest review (and for fellow wordsmith @D.M.Guay for alerting me to the offer)!
September 22, 2024
This book was an in depth look at how spirits, demons, revenge and family drama can intertwine and create a lot of horrifying situations. The idea that someone would willingly go out and search for ghosts takes a lot of courage. Then to try and help said ghost ‘move on’ could require any number of things. First Jessica had to convince people she was not crazy. Most people do not believe in spirits so trying to get followers on her social media page was tricky. I really enjoyed the way the author introduced Jerry and Jessica to each other. Jessica was talking to Jerry like he was a mourner from a previous funeral. She did not have a freak out reaction like I thought she would realizing she was face to face with a ghost. The manner by which Jerry became a ghost was just dreadful but as the story progressed the reader’s feelings change quickly about feeling sorry for Jerry. The rest of the book flows nicely as everyone played their parts. The ending was unexpected but I like how the author tied everything together and help was given to provide closure to all involved.
September 28, 2024
Wow! This book has a unique and intriguing premise (a struggling ghost hunter wanting to go viral thinks she’s hit the jackpot when she finds a real ghost, but soon discovers she’s gotten more than she bargained for). For me this hit all the right spots for spooky season. I dislike “horror” in the extreme, but this was more of a creepy mystery with some thin lines of dread threading through it. I skipped about 1 1/2 pages in total because of graphic violence that I’m sensitive to. And, despite this, found it to be a propulsive read. I read it in just over two days, which may be a record for me. The pages kept turning. I liked the characterizations very much; the voicing for each of them was extremely well done, making the characters feel quite real. I loved the romantic subplot (which is not at all the focus of the book) with disability rep. Wayne is probably my favorite character. And I did not see the twist coming at the end. Bailey is a great writer and this was a very satisfying read!
July 25, 2024
This book was a nice discovery, and my first dip into the genre cozy horror. Perhaps that's the reason I didn't find it as scary as I expected, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some chilling parts. Jessica is a fun main character, and the gripe she had with her mother, even before the resolution of the main conflict, was very understandable.
Jerry is a great ghost. I'm thankful there was not any romance between Jessica and him, I cannot count the times authors take a bit of romantic tension between the characters and turn it into a Beauty and the Beast pastiche. This story does not have a paranormal romance, and I'm very pleased.
As a Mexican, some parts where people spoke in Spanish came a bit awkward. But since the characters are American with Mexican roots, I can understand the language's difference.
But I digress. It's a great book. Fun to read for a good afternoon with a cup of coffee, alone at home, during a storm, in your haunted house.
Jerry is a great ghost. I'm thankful there was not any romance between Jessica and him, I cannot count the times authors take a bit of romantic tension between the characters and turn it into a Beauty and the Beast pastiche. This story does not have a paranormal romance, and I'm very pleased.
As a Mexican, some parts where people spoke in Spanish came a bit awkward. But since the characters are American with Mexican roots, I can understand the language's difference.
But I digress. It's a great book. Fun to read for a good afternoon with a cup of coffee, alone at home, during a storm, in your haunted house.
August 16, 2024
This story revolves around Jessica, a ghost-hunting enthusiast looking to monetize her YouTube channel. Though she hasn't had much luck finding anything concrete that will allow her channel to grow, she's not giving up yet. She moves in with her friends Sydney and Wayne when she loses her job. Not long after, she receives a call from a priest who lets her know that she might want to visit his church as people have seen sightings of an apparition there along with some strange happenings. I don't want to give too much away, but she does come across an exciting entity. Could this be her big break? Why is there something familiar about this apparition, and why does she keep thinking about her childhood so much?
This story not only gives you a thrilling experience but also talks about domestic violence and trauma. It shows just how important it is to seek help, especially after experiencing a very traumatic event.
This story not only gives you a thrilling experience but also talks about domestic violence and trauma. It shows just how important it is to seek help, especially after experiencing a very traumatic event.
April 7, 2025
Read 👏🏽 This 👏🏽 One👏🏽 Now 👏🏽
Honestly, I had trouble writing a review because my mind is still blown from what I just read 🤯
This book originally caught my eye because I love books that feature the POV of a ghost. I went into it expecting to dive into a murder mystery with horror elements and a human x ghost dynamic duo. While I certainly got that at times, I also found myself white-knuckling it through a fast-paced, non-stop banger of a story that masterfully weaved in murders, hauntings, generational trauma, love, regret, revenge, and a healthy heaping of supernatural and paranormal terror.
Holy hell that was good. I’m still processing things. I don’t think I want to be done with Jessica’s story quite yet, and I’m also hoping that one day we get a sequel.
Don’t sleep on this one.
Honestly, I had trouble writing a review because my mind is still blown from what I just read 🤯
This book originally caught my eye because I love books that feature the POV of a ghost. I went into it expecting to dive into a murder mystery with horror elements and a human x ghost dynamic duo. While I certainly got that at times, I also found myself white-knuckling it through a fast-paced, non-stop banger of a story that masterfully weaved in murders, hauntings, generational trauma, love, regret, revenge, and a healthy heaping of supernatural and paranormal terror.
Holy hell that was good. I’m still processing things. I don’t think I want to be done with Jessica’s story quite yet, and I’m also hoping that one day we get a sequel.
Don’t sleep on this one.
June 22, 2024
Jessica is struggling due to job loss and the loss of her apartment so she moves in with friends and cousins Sydney and Wayne. Jessica is also your friendly neighborhood ghost hunter trying to make it big on YouTube. Jessica goes on a ghost hunting trip where her life soon changes. Can she help this ghost or will it wreck havoc on her life.
This is a paranormal horror with many twists and turns that tie up nicely in the end. Featuring small town horrors, coverups and hidden secrets and so much more.
This is a paranormal horror with many twists and turns that tie up nicely in the end. Featuring small town horrors, coverups and hidden secrets and so much more.
July 10, 2024
Jessica is a YouTube ghost hunter. She has currently lost her job at a truck stop and her apartment. She moves in with a couple friends. As she is called to do some ghost hunting in a cemetery, she actually comes into contact with Jerry Madison, who is a ghost. Jerry had a very traumatizing death. He attaches himself to Jessica, following her around. Then comes the real demon.
This was written well and I really like the humor included with all the drama. Made it fun to read.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Review.
This was written well and I really like the humor included with all the drama. Made it fun to read.
This review was written for LibraryThing Early Review.
August 28, 2024
I absolutely loved this book. The plot was engaging and kept me on my toes the whole time. I definitely did that see that twist at the end coming!!!
All of the Rocky Horror Picture Show jokes in chapter 20 had me dying. It’s one of my favorites so I really appreciated those.
My only complaint is that in chapter 16 the author had Wayne drink Dasani. How devious! The shame! Not Dasani! The bottom tier of bottled water! Omg.
All of the Rocky Horror Picture Show jokes in chapter 20 had me dying. It’s one of my favorites so I really appreciated those.
My only complaint is that in chapter 16 the author had Wayne drink Dasani. How devious! The shame! Not Dasani! The bottom tier of bottled water! Omg.
September 24, 2024
Jessica is a ghost hunter with only 97 subscribers on her YouTube channel, so she’s looking for something big to help her channel’s popularity. She meets Jerry the ghost in a graveyard, but she gets more than she bargained for when he turns out to be a ghost set on revenge. It’s a bit of a mystery with some great twists and turns and genuine characters. It was really easy to get into the story and hard to put down!
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves ghost stories, a good mystery, and doesn’t want a ton of gore!
I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves ghost stories, a good mystery, and doesn’t want a ton of gore!
June 20, 2025
I was gifted and audio code for this book from the author. Being a fan of possession, hauntings and so on I was looking forward to this one. It had me from the beginning. At times the book was very tense. At the edge of your chair kind of tense. This is my first book by the author. It will not be my last.
November 4, 2025
So this is not a genre I normally read. I picked it after meeting the author at a book crawl here in Cincinnati. I have to say it was much better than I expected. The story takes place near Cincinnati and I appreciated the local mentions. If you enjoy stories about ghost hunting and people who see dead people, vindictive spirits, and family dysfunction (understatement!) this is the book for you.
January 30, 2025
J. S. Bailey you have outdone yourself with this quick read that kept me on the edge of my seat til the very last sentence. The unexpected twists were amazing and I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a great paranormal story.
July 6, 2024
I could not get into this book. I couldn’t connect with the main character Jessica. I thought she was self centered and a mooch. It never felt suspenseful or very scary. I guess just not for me.
August 9, 2024
I love a good ghost story.
September 10, 2024
A simple and not complex paranormal mystery.
January 29, 2025
I had a lot of fun reading this book. As a Cincinnati native I loved getting to experience the town through the book and the characters. The twist at the end got me!
April 12, 2024
I really enjoyed this book!! I haven’t read a lot of ghost stories/paranormal books but this has really made me want to start!
Jessica is a struggling, out of work young woman who is looking for some real ghost footage to make her paranormal investigator YouTube channel go viral and hopefully put some money in her pocket. When she shows up to poke around an old church graveyard, she meets Jerry, a mysterious man with a dark past and a heart set on revenge.
I really liked J.S. Bailey’s writing style, attention to detail, and flow of the story. This book was a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark, haunting tales with characters that are relatable.
Jessica is a struggling, out of work young woman who is looking for some real ghost footage to make her paranormal investigator YouTube channel go viral and hopefully put some money in her pocket. When she shows up to poke around an old church graveyard, she meets Jerry, a mysterious man with a dark past and a heart set on revenge.
I really liked J.S. Bailey’s writing style, attention to detail, and flow of the story. This book was a very enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark, haunting tales with characters that are relatable.
April 23, 2025
4⭐️
A paranormal investigators dream come true. She has her own ghost at her disposal. Her life situation can get better now and she can stand on her own feet financially again thanks to him. Until his presence causes her whole life as she knew it to go into upheaval. We as humans are all more interconnected than you’d think.
A paranormal investigators dream come true. She has her own ghost at her disposal. Her life situation can get better now and she can stand on her own feet financially again thanks to him. Until his presence causes her whole life as she knew it to go into upheaval. We as humans are all more interconnected than you’d think.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews