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Dr. Anya Crichton #3
Skin and Bone: Anya Crichton Novel 3
Detective Kate Farrer returns to duty after three months of leave following her traumatic abduction. Partnering homicide newcomer, Oliver Parke, they are thrown into the investigation of a woman burnt beyond recognition in a house-fire.
The pair is also requested to look into the disappearance of a teenage girl. Suspicion falls on the unsavoury Mark Dobbie, a steroid user who is obsessed with the missing girl's sister.
While the pressure to identify the charred body and find the teenage girl escalates, a quadriplegic is burnt to death in his bed. Shocking links to all three crimes emerge and Kate Farrer's past demons come back to haunt her. But she must fight them - lives depend on it.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2007
21 people are currently reading
664 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Fox
16 books275 followersKathryn Fox is a medical practitioner with a special interest in forensic medicine who currently lives in Sydney, Australia.Her debut novel, MALICIOUS INTENT, received international acclaim, won the 2005 Davitt award for adult fiction and was shortlisted for the Ned Kelly best debut novel award. In addition, it toppled The Da Vinci Code to become the no. 1 crime book on Amazon in the UK and Germany. Fox is also the author of the internationally acclaimed and bestselling WITHOUT CONSENT, SKIN AND BONE, BLOOD BORN, DEATH MASK, COLD GRAVE AND FATAL IMPACT. In her spare time, Kathryn indulges in her favourite pastimes - reading and playing the harp (very badly).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews
December 20, 2018
Number 3 in the Dr. Anya Crichton series.
Bit of a misnomer this one as Anya Crichton is completely AWOL here.
But that apart, it's a terrific read.
Feisty, neurotic D.S. Kate Farrer takes the lead in this one.
With new partner, D.C. Oliver Parke, Kate is given the lead on a case that involves the dead body of a female that appears to have been burnt to death. Just as Kate and Oliver are getting their teeth into this one they are told to drop it and take over a new case. Safe to say, Kate is no well pleased at the sudden change and has no problems letting everyone know how she feelings.
As the story evolves it becomes apparent that the two cases are not separate but are, in fact, the same case.
All the while Kate has her suspicions that her new partner, Oliver, is on the take. On the whole he seems to be a competent officer but Kate knows in her gut that there is something no quite right about DC Oliver Parke.
This is a good entertaining read with enough twists and turns to keep you turning pages. The end was a real " what the " moment.
A 4 star recommended read.
Bit of a misnomer this one as Anya Crichton is completely AWOL here.
But that apart, it's a terrific read.
Feisty, neurotic D.S. Kate Farrer takes the lead in this one.
With new partner, D.C. Oliver Parke, Kate is given the lead on a case that involves the dead body of a female that appears to have been burnt to death. Just as Kate and Oliver are getting their teeth into this one they are told to drop it and take over a new case. Safe to say, Kate is no well pleased at the sudden change and has no problems letting everyone know how she feelings.
As the story evolves it becomes apparent that the two cases are not separate but are, in fact, the same case.
All the while Kate has her suspicions that her new partner, Oliver, is on the take. On the whole he seems to be a competent officer but Kate knows in her gut that there is something no quite right about DC Oliver Parke.
This is a good entertaining read with enough twists and turns to keep you turning pages. The end was a real " what the " moment.
A 4 star recommended read.
July 16, 2014
Skin and Bone by Kathryn Fox
#3 in the Anya Crichton series.
Read from July 13 to 15, 2014
I was wondering if this book had been erroneously recorded as being a part of the Anya Crichton series, because she is not in it at all and isn't even referred to except for a bit at the start noting her connection to Kate Farrer. Although it does go into Kate's abduction and her being held captive in the previous [Anya Crichton] novel, and also mentions her relationship to Anya and her young son, so... After reading some of the reviews, I now understand that K. Fox appears to be switching between the two main characters which allows her to give us a fuller insight into their distinctive roles and personality traits, which turned out to work quite well as it introduces the different and unique fields of expertise of each character without complicating or cluttering every story.
In this way, as we progress through the series we should have a better understanding of each characters' individual role and input, without the need to clutter the stories with in depth explanations each time....at least that is how I understand it, and that works well for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one and was held in suspense until the end.
The beauty of reading these so long after the first publication is that I can see how K. Fox has improved in her story telling since her first and second books in this series and look forward to continuing with the rest of the series and then others.
4★s
#3 in the Anya Crichton series.
Read from July 13 to 15, 2014
I was wondering if this book had been erroneously recorded as being a part of the Anya Crichton series, because she is not in it at all and isn't even referred to except for a bit at the start noting her connection to Kate Farrer. Although it does go into Kate's abduction and her being held captive in the previous [Anya Crichton] novel, and also mentions her relationship to Anya and her young son, so... After reading some of the reviews, I now understand that K. Fox appears to be switching between the two main characters which allows her to give us a fuller insight into their distinctive roles and personality traits, which turned out to work quite well as it introduces the different and unique fields of expertise of each character without complicating or cluttering every story.
In this way, as we progress through the series we should have a better understanding of each characters' individual role and input, without the need to clutter the stories with in depth explanations each time....at least that is how I understand it, and that works well for me.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one and was held in suspense until the end.
The beauty of reading these so long after the first publication is that I can see how K. Fox has improved in her story telling since her first and second books in this series and look forward to continuing with the rest of the series and then others.
4★s
July 19, 2014
Kate Farrar is back at work as a detective in the police force following her harrowing experience in the first book in this series, Malicious Intent. Her first case involves a house fire where the body of an unknown woman is found. A bag containing baby paraphernalia suggests that the woman may have had a baby but there is no sign of one at the house.
The novel contains several parallel investigations with Kate and her new partner Oliver also looking for a missing girl and investigating a personal trainer who is selling drugs as a sideline. Oliver is also not all he seems to be and Kate wonders if she can trust him. There are many twists and turns in the novel but all the story lines eventually resolve in a satisfactory manner.
Although this is the third novel in the Anya Crichton series, Anya is away on leave for the duration of the novel and the focus is instead on her friend Kate. This is a much more assured novel than the earlier two by the author Kathryn Fox who seems to have found her stride.
The novel contains several parallel investigations with Kate and her new partner Oliver also looking for a missing girl and investigating a personal trainer who is selling drugs as a sideline. Oliver is also not all he seems to be and Kate wonders if she can trust him. There are many twists and turns in the novel but all the story lines eventually resolve in a satisfactory manner.
Although this is the third novel in the Anya Crichton series, Anya is away on leave for the duration of the novel and the focus is instead on her friend Kate. This is a much more assured novel than the earlier two by the author Kathryn Fox who seems to have found her stride.
June 11, 2017
3.5 stars. I felt a little jilted that a book in the Anya Crichton series didn't contain any Anya, but once I managed to page back in the main character's involvement in a previous book, I felt better about it. The story started very slowly, and seemed to almost drag, until the action exploded with a bang. I was so sure I had worked out the mastermind behind everything, that I got a shock at the final reveal. Now that I think about it, one small storyline remained unresolved, and there wasn't so much an ending as the book stopped.
May 28, 2017
Another gripping tale from the remarkable Kathryn Fox. This one focuses on Detective Kate Farrer who was abducted in the previous book. It concentrates on her return to work after a leave of absence to recover from her ordeal. A burned body, a missing baby and corruption in the force makes for an edge of your seat story.
October 11, 2011
yawn. this was pretty dull, no suspense, kind of muddled writing (like it tried to point you one way, then another, but in a clumsy way and trying too hard). dull characters (did i miss a book before this? there were references to the main character's prior trauma, but nothing in detail), run of the mill mystery, tried for a twist at the end but was just kind of 'huh.' wouldn't seek out another book by this author. would have given it 1.5 if i could give half stars; i've read worse, so it was a little better than one.
July 24, 2016
I forgot to post this review at the time I wrote it...
This was a different Kathryn Fox as it didn’t involve Anya Crichton apart from a brief reference. I missed Anya. I really enjoyed this book (although I did keep mixing Detective Kate Farrer up with Detective Ella Marconi from Katherine Howell’s series), but I did miss Anya.
This was a different Kathryn Fox as it didn’t involve Anya Crichton apart from a brief reference. I missed Anya. I really enjoyed this book (although I did keep mixing Detective Kate Farrer up with Detective Ella Marconi from Katherine Howell’s series), but I did miss Anya.
April 25, 2020
This book is as good as the second one. I didn’t like or relate to Kate’s character at first, but eventually, it was through her new partner, Oliver, that I began to okay Kate, considering she’s the main character. Good web of a criminal plot! Makes a good crime read.
March 10, 2021
Quite an enjoyable read though the whodunnit was fairly easy to work out as was the internal investigation subplot but it's well written good characters and not too taxing
October 11, 2018
This is a bit of a spin off as Dr. Anya Crichton is mentioned but doesn’t appear in this book. The main character is Detective Kate Farrer who was in book 1 of the series. This had a different feel to the previous books with the focus on the police officers. The plot was fairly complex and I came nowhere close to working it all out and had to wait for the reveal.
October 20, 2017
Maybe I’ve seen too many crime shows, and written a bit myself, but this book wasn’t as amazing as I wanted it to be.
The detailing of some of the scientific procedures and storyline were good, if predictable. But the ending was too neatly tied up with a bow to be realistic.
As for the wording, some of the phrases were very awkward. It was like someone with an American English writing experience was trying to fit some British English words for added effect. Also, some of the dialogue was too awkward to begin with. No one says “as such” when they’re talking about something.
All in all, I feel a bit angry that I wasted my time reading this.
The detailing of some of the scientific procedures and storyline were good, if predictable. But the ending was too neatly tied up with a bow to be realistic.
As for the wording, some of the phrases were very awkward. It was like someone with an American English writing experience was trying to fit some British English words for added effect. Also, some of the dialogue was too awkward to begin with. No one says “as such” when they’re talking about something.
All in all, I feel a bit angry that I wasted my time reading this.
January 20, 2013
I was a little disappointed at the beginning to find that Anya wasn't the main character focus of this book. As the story progressed I found I was enjoying getting behind the character of Kate more and more and it was great to see her character elaborated on, and followed-up from the previous books in the series.
An enjoyable mystery/crime read, although I found quite a few things predictable, others had a few twists and turns. I didn't pick the final twist myself until shortly before it was revealed.
An enjoyable mystery/crime read, although I found quite a few things predictable, others had a few twists and turns. I didn't pick the final twist myself until shortly before it was revealed.
September 22, 2015
This novel is the 3rd in the Anya Crichton series although Anya isn't even in this book or even referred to except briefly in the beginning and that's why I only gave it 2 stars I couldn't get into this book @ all it just wasn't the same without Anya.I don't really know why this isn't a stand alone novel separate from the series. I couldn't even read it to the end I guess I missed Anya too much❤
July 20, 2022
1.5 ⭐️
Quite a boring read.
It did get more fast paced about 3/4 into the plot for a good few chapters which granted it an extra star and I did like the detective Oliver’s character.
The plot involved an unidentified burnt body in a house fire that had previously been frozen and a missing baby. There were limited suspects that could have done this and they all seemed one dimensional and lacking in personality/ details apart from Oliver.
Silly ending.
The step dad character in this story cringed me out and one of the male characters answering the door naked being a misogynistic twit was also cringey.
Quite a boring read.
It did get more fast paced about 3/4 into the plot for a good few chapters which granted it an extra star and I did like the detective Oliver’s character.
The plot involved an unidentified burnt body in a house fire that had previously been frozen and a missing baby. There were limited suspects that could have done this and they all seemed one dimensional and lacking in personality/ details apart from Oliver.
Silly ending.
The step dad character in this story cringed me out and one of the male characters answering the door naked being a misogynistic twit was also cringey.
August 6, 2025
A girl so young she doesn't have wisdom teeth yet, is assaulted and killed in a gruesome manner. The reader has to suffer through endless description. I am sure this demonstrates what police etc. have to endure in their job, but the reader has the ability to close the book, which I have done.
The book continues in the same vein of mindless violence against women. Drugging and abusing and photographing the victims. I'm not reading any more of this series.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
The book continues in the same vein of mindless violence against women. Drugging and abusing and photographing the victims. I'm not reading any more of this series.
I read a paperback. This is an unbiased review.
December 4, 2017
A really good read!! The only fault I have with it is that it was obvious to me from the start who the dead girl was but Kate couldn't seem to see it! That aside it was a gripping read that kept me thoroughly engrossed & entertained up to the end - will be on the lookout for more in this series or indeed anything else by this author.
January 3, 2020
A good Australian police procedural. A storyline that works if a little straight forward. A substantial amount of forensic evidence which works well and has obviously been well researched.
As is common with all books in a series it would be good if the author provided a simple summary as an appendix so a new reader can catch up on characters and their background.
As is common with all books in a series it would be good if the author provided a simple summary as an appendix so a new reader can catch up on characters and their background.
December 18, 2022
Dit boek kon mij in het begin niet erg boeien, de vertaling is ook nogal stroef. Na de eerste 100 pagina’s komt het verhaal pas goed op gang en komt er wat vaart in. Door de verwijzingen naar Kate’s verleden had ik ook het gevoel dat ik eerst een eerder boek had moeten lezen. Tegen het einde volgen de ontwikkelingen zich snel op tot een onverwachte finale.
March 15, 2024
First book of the series I’ve read and it drew me in from the first chapter. The books are so well written to give just enough information to keep you guessing about the killer and nature of the crimes committed throughout, without giving it away.
I fell so effortlessly into the world of Detective Kate Farrer and will definitely be investing in more work from the awesome Kathryn Fox!
I fell so effortlessly into the world of Detective Kate Farrer and will definitely be investing in more work from the awesome Kathryn Fox!
March 18, 2025
Kathryn Fox has orchestrated a very clever detective murder mystery plot with a small range of key characters, a few victims and some suspects that had me guessing the whole way through. The red herrings did their work to throw me off but keep on your guard for the little clues which make sense when it all comes together at the end. Very well paced book which kept me engaged throughout.
July 13, 2017
The book is well written and the plot made sense and the events were in logical order however when all the clues were tying together I thought it will be much more than that.. I thought it will More intense and more grand
Anyways a good novel
Anyways a good novel
September 11, 2017
This is my first Kathryn Fox book and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Although at times it was a little predictable, there were also some good twists and turns at the end. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author and series.
February 20, 2018
I did NOT see that ending coming! Completely knocked my socks off (if I was wearing socks...which I wasn't...but whatever). I did suspect Oliver of being someone he wasn't, and I was right there, but the rest of it? Complete surprise. Top mystery!
January 22, 2022
In the first novel we met Anya and her detective friend Kate. Kate was on sabbatical during the second novel and during this one, the third in the series, we are focussed entirely on Kate and her return to her role. This novel has left me saddened by the dark nature of humanity.
January 29, 2023
Very readable crime novel, my first by this author. Confused that it is called 3rd in a series as it seems very stand alone. Definitely in the Patricia Cornwall style of book. Will be seeking out others by this Australian author.
July 6, 2017
Lots of twists and turns.
July 8, 2017
Enjoyed and liked the summary format at the end
July 16, 2017
I think it is likely that this story is not quite as good as her previous stories 'Malicious Intent' and 'Without Consent' but, on the basis of this, I would like to look those out.
November 2, 2017
I liked it but in the end i was somewhat frustrated with Kate because she couldn't see the obvious Jesus connection and Oliver's Fraud connections
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2018
great story but where's Anya?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 108 reviews