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The Talking Bone: A Novel
“Rene Denfeld reminds us that storytelling remains one of the most powerful means we have of confronting our darkest human impulses and sometimes overcoming them.”—Washington Post
From the revered bestselling author, a compulsive, page-turning thriller inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents, a novel that asks how far we’ll go in our pursuit of the truth—an emotionally rich, luminously written book about evil and people trying to do good in the world.
Ruby Spencer is known as “the exonerator.” Her job as an investigator is to free innocent men from death row, and she’s good at what she does. What many people don’t know is that she spends her time finding missing women, too. The orphaned daughter of an orphaned mother, Ruby feels a natural affinity for those who have been mistreated by the world at large.
Her newest case takes her to Georgia, and involves a man set to be executed in two weeks. What begins as a routine exoneration unexpectedly sends Ruby down a winding path. Pursuing the truth, she begins to uncover crimes that lead to startling revelations about her own life.
With time running out, will Ruby’s search for answers ultimately lead her to danger?
From the revered bestselling author, a compulsive, page-turning thriller inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents, a novel that asks how far we’ll go in our pursuit of the truth—an emotionally rich, luminously written book about evil and people trying to do good in the world.
Ruby Spencer is known as “the exonerator.” Her job as an investigator is to free innocent men from death row, and she’s good at what she does. What many people don’t know is that she spends her time finding missing women, too. The orphaned daughter of an orphaned mother, Ruby feels a natural affinity for those who have been mistreated by the world at large.
Her newest case takes her to Georgia, and involves a man set to be executed in two weeks. What begins as a routine exoneration unexpectedly sends Ruby down a winding path. Pursuing the truth, she begins to uncover crimes that lead to startling revelations about her own life.
With time running out, will Ruby’s search for answers ultimately lead her to danger?
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 21, 2026
About the author
Rene Denfeld
19 books2,552 followersRene Denfeld is the bestselling author of THE CHILD FINDER, THE ENCHANTED, THE BUTTERFLY GIRL, SLEEPING GIANTS, and the forthcoming THE TALKING BONE (Harper July 2026), which was inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents.
Rene's poetic fiction has won numerous awards including the French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence and an IMPAC listing. Rene works as a licensed investigator, including exonerating. In 2017 she was awarded the Break The Silence Award for her advocacy work, and the New York Times honored her for heroism.
By day Rene continues to work in justice, having worked hundreds of cases over the years, including exonerations, death row and helping trafficking victims.
She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is a happy foster and adoptive mother.
Rene's poetic fiction has won numerous awards including the French Prix, an ALA Medal for Excellence and an IMPAC listing. Rene works as a licensed investigator, including exonerating. In 2017 she was awarded the Break The Silence Award for her advocacy work, and the New York Times honored her for heroism.
By day Rene continues to work in justice, having worked hundreds of cases over the years, including exonerations, death row and helping trafficking victims.
She lives in Portland, Oregon, where she is a happy foster and adoptive mother.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
July 29, 2026
The title is weird but appropriate.
Denfeld always writes from dark places - this isn’t the first time we are taken to death row with her.
Ruby is an exonerator. She takes on cases where there are no more leads; the verdict has been pushed down; most of the time is now served and now the client is waiting for the death toll.
But Ruby also spends time looking for missing women. Her own mother disappeared when she was 13. Countless others did too and the police just shrugged it off stating these women just up and left.
Crooked and lazy cops; a court system that is broken and racist; And a bone that talks of what happened.
A good twisty mystery.
4.25⭐️
My favourite Denfled remains The Enchanted
Denfeld always writes from dark places - this isn’t the first time we are taken to death row with her.
Ruby is an exonerator. She takes on cases where there are no more leads; the verdict has been pushed down; most of the time is now served and now the client is waiting for the death toll.
But Ruby also spends time looking for missing women. Her own mother disappeared when she was 13. Countless others did too and the police just shrugged it off stating these women just up and left.
Crooked and lazy cops; a court system that is broken and racist; And a bone that talks of what happened.
A good twisty mystery.
4.25⭐️
My favourite Denfled remains The Enchanted
July 28, 2026
“The Talking Bone”, by Rene Denfeld
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Terrific writing and storytelling!
Great premises, and slow but engaging development with interesting characters.
The story is a bit dark and sad, but very well executed.
The title is a metaphor, obviously, but sometimes I thought the author was going into magical realism territory, and I wouldn’t have minded it if that was the intention.
The conclusion felt rushed, otherwise I wouldn’t have rated it 5 stars.
This work of fiction is inspired by the author’s work in real life.
It’s a small book, with only 256 pages (hardcover edition) or 65k words, and a fast read.
This was my 5th book by this author, who highly impressed me with her work “The Enchanted”, a very dark and disturbing novel.
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Terrific writing and storytelling!
Great premises, and slow but engaging development with interesting characters.
The story is a bit dark and sad, but very well executed.
The title is a metaphor, obviously, but sometimes I thought the author was going into magical realism territory, and I wouldn’t have minded it if that was the intention.
The conclusion felt rushed, otherwise I wouldn’t have rated it 5 stars.
This work of fiction is inspired by the author’s work in real life.
It’s a small book, with only 256 pages (hardcover edition) or 65k words, and a fast read.
This was my 5th book by this author, who highly impressed me with her work “The Enchanted”, a very dark and disturbing novel.
September 4, 2026
✰ 3.25 stars ✰
Having now read two books by Rene Denfeld (the first being Sleeping Giants), I can say that she is an author that writes about what she knows. Drawing from personal experience to give voice to fictional characters. It's also what makes her works now feel formulaic with a similar storyline. 😮💨 It's not a bad thing, but it just felt a bit predictable and too familiar to be impressive - this time around.
It's not even to say that I feel like she makes her female MCs have a white-woman savior complex. I don't. But it does come off as disconcerting why the plot follows a familiar pattern - low-life, unfortunate background leading up to death-penalty cases set in the South, where racial discrimination is apparent but not always the perpetrator, especially when corruption and coercion are just as prevalent. 😟
“To come back to the beginning was to acknowledge the end.”
And in this case, I could not help but notice how deliberately avoidant the writing was of giving a sense of time. The pointed lack of cell phone usage to give it a dated sense. 🤨 It is difficult to gauge information simply from the characters' ages, which really was the linchpin to plant the seed of speculation as to why Ruby felt so inwardly compelled to save Mitchell Brown from his impending fate.
I also felt that the author was attempting too much with too little time. It lacked focus. I respect how she conveyed how missing person cases tied into Ruby's drive for tackling death penalty cases, but the magical realism of The Talking Bone did not feel necessary. I would've liked a little more touch to the mystery-solving investigation to have Ruby connecting the dots a little more convincingly and believably. 🤷🏻♀️
“Men will pay to get each other out of prison; women will pray to get out of hell.”
Nor did I feel happy with certain stereotypes; at times I felt like it was exploitive rather than being matter-of-fact. 😕 And, when it concerned a missing male person case, it left a bitter taste that the reason being was that he had done a bad thing, hence his hiding away. I know there is truth to it; but, it just felt too heavy-handed - too forceful in laying out that all men are inherently evil for me to ignore. 😥
Despite the writing style and format singing a familiar tune to Sleeping Giants that was too obvious not to be noticeable, it was still a very propulsive, gripping read. 🙂↕️ The hour and a half of my Sunday morning flew by. The writing is not grandiose, which made it a great page-turner. The final reveal was not all that surprising, but the build-up of escalating tension and fear of failing as time slipped through Ruby's fingers as she searched for her own much-needed closure was palpable throughout. ❤️🩹
“It was said that sometimes the sharp edge of a bone—the voice—could break through. That was why people had learned to bury the dead. So they no longer had to hear what they had to say.”
Having now read two books by Rene Denfeld (the first being Sleeping Giants), I can say that she is an author that writes about what she knows. Drawing from personal experience to give voice to fictional characters. It's also what makes her works now feel formulaic with a similar storyline. 😮💨 It's not a bad thing, but it just felt a bit predictable and too familiar to be impressive - this time around.
It's not even to say that I feel like she makes her female MCs have a white-woman savior complex. I don't. But it does come off as disconcerting why the plot follows a familiar pattern - low-life, unfortunate background leading up to death-penalty cases set in the South, where racial discrimination is apparent but not always the perpetrator, especially when corruption and coercion are just as prevalent. 😟
“To come back to the beginning was to acknowledge the end.”
And in this case, I could not help but notice how deliberately avoidant the writing was of giving a sense of time. The pointed lack of cell phone usage to give it a dated sense. 🤨 It is difficult to gauge information simply from the characters' ages, which really was the linchpin to plant the seed of speculation as to why Ruby felt so inwardly compelled to save Mitchell Brown from his impending fate.
I also felt that the author was attempting too much with too little time. It lacked focus. I respect how she conveyed how missing person cases tied into Ruby's drive for tackling death penalty cases, but the magical realism of The Talking Bone did not feel necessary. I would've liked a little more touch to the mystery-solving investigation to have Ruby connecting the dots a little more convincingly and believably. 🤷🏻♀️
“Men will pay to get each other out of prison; women will pray to get out of hell.”
Nor did I feel happy with certain stereotypes; at times I felt like it was exploitive rather than being matter-of-fact. 😕 And, when it concerned a missing male person case, it left a bitter taste that the reason being was that he had done a bad thing, hence his hiding away. I know there is truth to it; but, it just felt too heavy-handed - too forceful in laying out that all men are inherently evil for me to ignore. 😥
Despite the writing style and format singing a familiar tune to Sleeping Giants that was too obvious not to be noticeable, it was still a very propulsive, gripping read. 🙂↕️ The hour and a half of my Sunday morning flew by. The writing is not grandiose, which made it a great page-turner. The final reveal was not all that surprising, but the build-up of escalating tension and fear of failing as time slipped through Ruby's fingers as she searched for her own much-needed closure was palpable throughout. ❤️🩹
August 21, 2026
“Men will pay to get each other out of prison; women
will pray to get out of hell.”
The atmosphere, the sense of darkness pressing quietly against every page, and the feeling that the past is never really buried. The author writes into that space where grief, memory, and unanswered questions become almost tangible. The dead may be silent, but their absence has its own language.
I found myself thinking about how fragile a life becomes once it is reduced to fragments: a name, a bone, a memory, a photograph, a detail someone almost forgot. There is something deeply moving in the insistence that these fragments still matter. That a person should not disappear simply because the world has stopped looking for them.
The investigation gives the book its shape, but for me, the emotional core lies elsewhere — in the quiet dignity of remembering. There is tenderness beneath the darkness, particularly in the way Denfeld treats those whose stories have been overlooked or left unfinished.
Reading this felt a little like walking through a cold landscape at dusk, knowing there is something beneath the earth that has been waiting a very long time to be heard. And perhaps that is what I took from the book: sometimes justice begins not with an answer, but with someone finally willing to listen.
will pray to get out of hell.”
The atmosphere, the sense of darkness pressing quietly against every page, and the feeling that the past is never really buried. The author writes into that space where grief, memory, and unanswered questions become almost tangible. The dead may be silent, but their absence has its own language.
I found myself thinking about how fragile a life becomes once it is reduced to fragments: a name, a bone, a memory, a photograph, a detail someone almost forgot. There is something deeply moving in the insistence that these fragments still matter. That a person should not disappear simply because the world has stopped looking for them.
The investigation gives the book its shape, but for me, the emotional core lies elsewhere — in the quiet dignity of remembering. There is tenderness beneath the darkness, particularly in the way Denfeld treats those whose stories have been overlooked or left unfinished.
Reading this felt a little like walking through a cold landscape at dusk, knowing there is something beneath the earth that has been waiting a very long time to be heard. And perhaps that is what I took from the book: sometimes justice begins not with an answer, but with someone finally willing to listen.
August 25, 2026
"It was said that sometimes the sharp edge of a bone--the voice--could break through. That was why people had learned to bury the dead. So they no longer had to hear what they had to say."
I became a huge fan of Denfeld's after reading The Child Finder, one of my favorite books. I've been told to read The Enchanted but have not gotten to it yet. This novel is a worthy follow up to CF. All sorts of trigger warnings, but nothing too horrific. She writes about dark subject matters, rightly so. As a real-life "exonerator," Denfeld works to get the innocent off of death row. I love her for that alone.
I'm so glad she found her way into a new novel that borrows from her professional life. We need to read about this topic, learn about the prison system and how it does/doesn't work, learn about investigators like herself who comb the country trying to save one life at a time for hardly any money, just to satisfy a passionate belief that they are doing something important.
She hearkens back to one of the ongoing themes in her earlier work, missing women. The plot is somewhat complex, and I couldn't help but feel this might be the start of a new series (Ruby Spencer #2?). I loved her use of the talking bone, a mystical touch and part of the mystery that pervades throughout. Some dead can't be buried.
Again, her lyrical prose, intelligent insights, and attention to the natural world always makes me sigh with satisfaction. The climax was a tad Hollywoodish for me, but still, for all the other reasons, this is a solid 5 stars for me. One of my favorite 2026 books.
Spare, powerful, memorable.
I became a huge fan of Denfeld's after reading The Child Finder, one of my favorite books. I've been told to read The Enchanted but have not gotten to it yet. This novel is a worthy follow up to CF. All sorts of trigger warnings, but nothing too horrific. She writes about dark subject matters, rightly so. As a real-life "exonerator," Denfeld works to get the innocent off of death row. I love her for that alone.
I'm so glad she found her way into a new novel that borrows from her professional life. We need to read about this topic, learn about the prison system and how it does/doesn't work, learn about investigators like herself who comb the country trying to save one life at a time for hardly any money, just to satisfy a passionate belief that they are doing something important.
She hearkens back to one of the ongoing themes in her earlier work, missing women. The plot is somewhat complex, and I couldn't help but feel this might be the start of a new series (Ruby Spencer #2?). I loved her use of the talking bone, a mystical touch and part of the mystery that pervades throughout. Some dead can't be buried.
Again, her lyrical prose, intelligent insights, and attention to the natural world always makes me sigh with satisfaction. The climax was a tad Hollywoodish for me, but still, for all the other reasons, this is a solid 5 stars for me. One of my favorite 2026 books.
Spare, powerful, memorable.
June 19, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ 4.5 Stars
First, thank you to HarperCollins for the physical ARC of The Talking Bone by Rene Denfeld.
Rene Denfeld has a gift for writing stories that are equal parts mystery and meditation on humanity, and The Talking Bone is no exception. This beautifully written literary thriller follows Ruby Spencer, an investigator known for exonerating innocent men on death row, as she takes on a case that becomes far more personal than she ever expected.
What I loved most about this novel was the emotional depth. While there is certainly a compelling mystery at its core, this story is really about compassion, trauma, identity, and the lengths people will go to uncover the truth. Ruby is a fascinating protagonist—determined, empathetic, and deeply shaped by her own past—and I found myself completely invested in her journey.
Denfeld’s prose is luminous and atmospheric, creating a haunting sense of place while never losing sight of the people at the center of the story. The themes surrounding injustice, found family, and resilience added so much heart to the narrative. Several revelations caught me off guard, and I appreciated how the story balanced suspense with moments of tenderness and hope.
The reason this wasn’t a full five-star read for me is that the pacing occasionally slowed, particularly in the middle sections, and a few threads felt more reflective than urgent. However, the emotional payoff and unforgettable characters more than made up for it.
If you enjoy literary thrillers with richly drawn characters, emotional depth, and mysteries that explore both the darkness and goodness of humanity, The Talking Bone is absolutely worth picking up.
A haunting, compassionate, and thought-provoking story that stayed with me long after I turned the final page.
First, thank you to HarperCollins for the physical ARC of The Talking Bone by Rene Denfeld.
Rene Denfeld has a gift for writing stories that are equal parts mystery and meditation on humanity, and The Talking Bone is no exception. This beautifully written literary thriller follows Ruby Spencer, an investigator known for exonerating innocent men on death row, as she takes on a case that becomes far more personal than she ever expected.
What I loved most about this novel was the emotional depth. While there is certainly a compelling mystery at its core, this story is really about compassion, trauma, identity, and the lengths people will go to uncover the truth. Ruby is a fascinating protagonist—determined, empathetic, and deeply shaped by her own past—and I found myself completely invested in her journey.
Denfeld’s prose is luminous and atmospheric, creating a haunting sense of place while never losing sight of the people at the center of the story. The themes surrounding injustice, found family, and resilience added so much heart to the narrative. Several revelations caught me off guard, and I appreciated how the story balanced suspense with moments of tenderness and hope.
The reason this wasn’t a full five-star read for me is that the pacing occasionally slowed, particularly in the middle sections, and a few threads felt more reflective than urgent. However, the emotional payoff and unforgettable characters more than made up for it.
If you enjoy literary thrillers with richly drawn characters, emotional depth, and mysteries that explore both the darkness and goodness of humanity, The Talking Bone is absolutely worth picking up.
A haunting, compassionate, and thought-provoking story that stayed with me long after I turned the final page.
August 31, 2026
4.75 TOO SHORT! Bleak and sad but so good. The author is a licensed death row investigator in real life and this is likely based on much of what she has seen and experienced. Very atmospheric, Rene is very, very good at painting scenes that you can almost smell and feel. Loved the talking bone and the communication from it. Will definitely be reading more of her work.
August 13, 2026
This was beautifully written, but I think there was a bit too much magic in it for me.
June 25, 2026
A woman whose mission is to free innocent people from death row seeks to help a wrongfully accused Georgia man and finds that their lives are eerily connected. As she searches to uncover the truth, she must face deep, dark, past secrets. Multiple narrators and timelines keep the plot fresh and compelling. Rene Denfeld’s writing skills and the raw empathy of her characters are captivating. Ideal for fans of Karen Dionne and Charlie Donlea.
Many thanks to Edelweiss, Harper and Rene Denfeld for my complimentary e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Many thanks to Edelweiss, Harper and Rene Denfeld for my complimentary e-book ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
July 19, 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for providing me with an eBook and a finished copy in exchange for my honest review.
📝 Summary
Ruby Spencer is an investigator dedicated to freeing innocent people from death row while also searching for missing women. When a new case takes her to Georgia, what begins as a race against time to save a man from execution uncovers long buried secrets that become deeply personal. As Ruby gets closer to the truth, she realizes some answers come with a heavy price.
💭 My Review
I really enjoyed this book. The concept immediately grabbed my attention, and I loved that it combined an investigation into a possible wrongful conviction with the search for missing women. It felt different from the typical thriller and kept me interested from beginning to end. There was a nice balance between the mystery and the emotional side of the story, which made it feel more meaningful than just solving a case.
Ruby was a wonderful main character. She was compassionate, determined, and impossible not to root for. I enjoyed following her as she pieced everything together, and I found myself just as invested in her personal journey as I was in the investigation itself. The supporting characters also added a lot to the story and made the world feel authentic.
Rene Denfeld has a beautiful writing style that brings so much heart to the story while still delivering an engaging mystery. This was a thoughtful, emotional read that kept me turning the pages, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. If you enjoy mysteries with strong characters, emotional depth, and an original premise, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
✅ Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely! If you enjoy thoughtful mysteries with memorable characters, emotional storytelling, and a unique investigative premise, The Talking Bone is well worth reading.
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for providing me with an eBook and a finished copy in exchange for my honest review.
📝 Summary
Ruby Spencer is an investigator dedicated to freeing innocent people from death row while also searching for missing women. When a new case takes her to Georgia, what begins as a race against time to save a man from execution uncovers long buried secrets that become deeply personal. As Ruby gets closer to the truth, she realizes some answers come with a heavy price.
💭 My Review
I really enjoyed this book. The concept immediately grabbed my attention, and I loved that it combined an investigation into a possible wrongful conviction with the search for missing women. It felt different from the typical thriller and kept me interested from beginning to end. There was a nice balance between the mystery and the emotional side of the story, which made it feel more meaningful than just solving a case.
Ruby was a wonderful main character. She was compassionate, determined, and impossible not to root for. I enjoyed following her as she pieced everything together, and I found myself just as invested in her personal journey as I was in the investigation itself. The supporting characters also added a lot to the story and made the world feel authentic.
Rene Denfeld has a beautiful writing style that brings so much heart to the story while still delivering an engaging mystery. This was a thoughtful, emotional read that kept me turning the pages, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read it. If you enjoy mysteries with strong characters, emotional depth, and an original premise, I would definitely recommend picking this one up.
✅ Would I Recommend It?
Absolutely! If you enjoy thoughtful mysteries with memorable characters, emotional storytelling, and a unique investigative premise, The Talking Bone is well worth reading.
July 29, 2026
I really loved the premise of this novel. It’s about a topic, wrongful incarceration (specifically on death row), that I care a lot about! So I was immediately drawn in by the summary and mystery. The overall story was well-written, smart, and so very dark and broody. A good detective tone, for sure.
Aside from that, what I really struggled with was the non-linear timeline. I see the value in going back and forth to explain the present day case versus the origin story, but I really felt like this would have been a more emotionally connecting story for me if it had gone in a traditional timeline. I felt pretty confused a lot of the time because there were so many characters and timeline jumping that I couldn’t track it all with ease. This also made it harder for me to get I to Ruby as a character, which I so badly wanted to do!
Aside from that, what I really struggled with was the non-linear timeline. I see the value in going back and forth to explain the present day case versus the origin story, but I really felt like this would have been a more emotionally connecting story for me if it had gone in a traditional timeline. I felt pretty confused a lot of the time because there were so many characters and timeline jumping that I couldn’t track it all with ease. This also made it harder for me to get I to Ruby as a character, which I so badly wanted to do!
July 28, 2026
This is the second book by this author that I've read, and I have noticed some similarites. Not in a bad way...more like in a creative way. The MC seems to have her past buried in the plot. There seems to be some twist or turn that links the two in a very direct way. This kind of thing can get gimmicky but the author does it with such an ease. It feels more like an a-ha moment.
I liked the overall story. The MC is trying to save a man on death row but the time is short and she's not getting much help from the authorities. She has much to unravel.
Overall this had a nice methodical pace and I enjoyed the journey. So 4 stars.
I liked the overall story. The MC is trying to save a man on death row but the time is short and she's not getting much help from the authorities. She has much to unravel.
Overall this had a nice methodical pace and I enjoyed the journey. So 4 stars.
August 17, 2026
4.25 ⭐️ this book was the perfect length, under 300 pages and a mystery that had me trying to figure out what was going on. The ending wasn’t a “wow” moment but when the whole story came together it was sooo good. Loved the main FMC and was a solid read.
July 28, 2026
4 stars.
Want to Read
July 27, 2026YES: A book I borrowed from the library to try before I buy (tired buying hundreds books and hating half)
I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend's reviews. This is what I did and didn't like:
Love this cover and small size
I can’t find a sample anywhere but I know this author has great writing and the Plot sounds interesting. My friends on GR really like
It.
I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend's reviews. This is what I did and didn't like:
Love this cover and small size
I can’t find a sample anywhere but I know this author has great writing and the Plot sounds interesting. My friends on GR really like
It.
July 28, 2026
The Talking Bone is a beautifully written and emotionally gripping mystery that blends suspense with deep character development. Rene Denfeld has a unique way of bringing overlooked people and difficult topics to life with compassion, and the story kept me invested from beginning to end. The atmosphere is haunting, and the dual narration added another layer of depth to the characters.
While I really enjoyed the mystery and the emotional impact, the pacing slowed in a few places, and I found myself wanting a bit more resolution at the end. Still, it was a compelling, thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an ending that stayed with me.
If you enjoy literary thrillers that focus as much on the people as the mystery itself, this is definitely worth reading.
While I really enjoyed the mystery and the emotional impact, the pacing slowed in a few places, and I found myself wanting a bit more resolution at the end. Still, it was a compelling, thought-provoking read with memorable characters and an ending that stayed with me.
If you enjoy literary thrillers that focus as much on the people as the mystery itself, this is definitely worth reading.
August 24, 2026
Not my favorite but entertaining.
February 16, 2026
4.5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance copy.
Review to follow.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for an advance copy.
Review to follow.
September 1, 2026
I’m not sure how this author manages to write such incredible stories in such short books, but somehow every word counts. I’ve read all her books, and each one has been just as amazing as the last. She has a way of pulling you completely into the story - you’re not just reading about the characters, you feel like you’re right there with them, experiencing every moment alongside them.
The Talking Bone follows Ruby, an exoneration investigator, who works to free innocent people from death row and help find missing women. With Marshall’s execution only two weeks away, Ruby knows time is running out. Determined to uncover the truth and prove his innocence, she follows the evidence wherever it leads - even when it begins to uncover connections to her own life.
At just 243 pages, this book packs an incredible amount into a relatively short read. The writing is perfection and the story grabs you from the beginning. I read this book in one sitting.
If you haven’t discovered this author yet, I highly, highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Talking Bone follows Ruby, an exoneration investigator, who works to free innocent people from death row and help find missing women. With Marshall’s execution only two weeks away, Ruby knows time is running out. Determined to uncover the truth and prove his innocence, she follows the evidence wherever it leads - even when it begins to uncover connections to her own life.
At just 243 pages, this book packs an incredible amount into a relatively short read. The writing is perfection and the story grabs you from the beginning. I read this book in one sitting.
If you haven’t discovered this author yet, I highly, highly recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 22, 2026
This was a short and powerful book. I was completely sucked into the story and loved getting to know Ruby. The setting was bleak, but seeing Ruby break though barriers and not repeating history thanks to her mom and her drive was so powerful to read. A lot of this book focused on parents and especially mothers and I don't want to spoil, but I felt the importance of all the mothers in how this story twisted and turned. It also highlighted missing women and how there is such an imbalance in whose stories get told, who gets the attention and the search and who gets written off. It was tense and dramatic and had my heart racing so many times. I loved it and the ending was so good. I would read this if it ever became a series!
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC; my thoughts and review are my own.
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC; my thoughts and review are my own.
August 22, 2026
Listened to the audiobook. Narration was good. Unfortunately that’s about the only positive I can offer on this book. I’ve read many memoirs and rue stories about innocent men on death row and perhaps that is one big reason this book didn’t hit it for me. It was not very realistic. At all. I don’t like when a crime occurred 10 years ago yet a bartender can easily recall whose car in the parking lot belongs to who. Also people have perfect memories of everyting that occurred. Not believable.
August 13, 2026
The subject matter is heavy and the author has knitted a good plot. The same could not be said for the prose. It was bad, like a high school student trying out an English essay. I wanted to stop reading so many times. I don’t know if there’s any specific name for this style of writing but for someone with English as foreign language it was a very difficult read. If her other books are in the same vein then I will give this author a pass.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I won this on good reads . I really loved this book . I ended up reading it in one night
Ruby Spencer's official job is freeing innocent men from death row, but she secretly spends her time searching for missing women as well. Her latest case takes her to Georgia to assist a man scheduled for execution in just two weeks. As she investigates, what starts as a routine exoneration turns into a dangerous journey uncovering crimes that lead to shocking revelations about her own life.
Ruby Spencer's official job is freeing innocent men from death row, but she secretly spends her time searching for missing women as well. Her latest case takes her to Georgia to assist a man scheduled for execution in just two weeks. As she investigates, what starts as a routine exoneration turns into a dangerous journey uncovering crimes that lead to shocking revelations about her own life.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 24, 2026
Ruby, a death row investigator in Oregon, flies across the country to Georgia to help a man with just weeks before he is executed. When she interviews the man, she finds he is from the same town in Oregon, and also had a mother that went missing. Ruby begins to investigate the case, which involves the man's grandfather, who is in possession of a "talking bone" - that seems to bring back the voices of the dead. The more Ruby looks into the case, the more she finds unusual ties to the missing women in Oregon. Investigating every detail, I read till the end to see if Ruby would find a resolution for both justice for the wrongly accused man, as well as an answer for what happened to her mother all those years ago.
August 10, 2026
well… I feel ill… and it’s not the parasite
August 20, 2026
Incredible writing and powerful story!!
September 1, 2026
I love Rene Denfeld's ability to write these locations and death row countdown clock that feel as real as her characters. They become such a part of the story, you can feel them closing in, every word and every moment is critical. There are difficult topics in this book: murder, missing women, sexual assault, death row.
"Ruby was excruciatingly aware of time -- how it passed so easily, and how our decisions passed with it."
"Ruby was excruciatingly aware of time -- how it passed so easily, and how our decisions passed with it."
September 1, 2026
3.5. Good thriller! Well written and interesting
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