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When the Bones Sing
Win a free print copy of this book!
22 days and 04:23:49
50 copies available
U.S. only
From New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies comes a new southern gothic supernatural thriller about a teen girl in a small Ozark town who can hear the bones of the dead.
The past three years have been tough for Lucifer’s Creek, Arkansas, a small town quietly tucked away in the Ozark mountains. More than two dozen people have disappeared on the local hiking trails; there one moment, gone the next, not a trace left behind, until their buried bodies are discovered.
17-year-old Dovie doesn’t believe in magic even though she comes from a long line of women who can hear the bones of the dead sing, and for the past few years the bones have been crooning nonstop, calling out to Dovie to dig them up.
Some of the old-timers believe that it’s the monstrous Ozarks howler snatching people off the Aux Arc Trail. Well Dovie doesn’t believe in the howler, and she doesn’t believe her best friend Lo when he tells her he is being haunted by dark shadows. All she believes in is her talent that guides the local sheriff to the bones when they begin their song, then reuniting the dead with their families to give them some peace.
Lo doesn’t know peace, though. The shadows follow him everywhere. He soon learns they’re the murdered hikers and they want answers. But the truth of their deaths isn’t buried with their bones; it’s hidden somewhere deep in the hills. And Lo and Dovie must unearth it before anyone else is killed.
The past three years have been tough for Lucifer’s Creek, Arkansas, a small town quietly tucked away in the Ozark mountains. More than two dozen people have disappeared on the local hiking trails; there one moment, gone the next, not a trace left behind, until their buried bodies are discovered.
17-year-old Dovie doesn’t believe in magic even though she comes from a long line of women who can hear the bones of the dead sing, and for the past few years the bones have been crooning nonstop, calling out to Dovie to dig them up.
Some of the old-timers believe that it’s the monstrous Ozarks howler snatching people off the Aux Arc Trail. Well Dovie doesn’t believe in the howler, and she doesn’t believe her best friend Lo when he tells her he is being haunted by dark shadows. All she believes in is her talent that guides the local sheriff to the bones when they begin their song, then reuniting the dead with their families to give them some peace.
Lo doesn’t know peace, though. The shadows follow him everywhere. He soon learns they’re the murdered hikers and they want answers. But the truth of their deaths isn’t buried with their bones; it’s hidden somewhere deep in the hills. And Lo and Dovie must unearth it before anyone else is killed.
352 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 4, 2025
About the author
Ginny Myers Sain
4 books800 followersGinny Myers Sain lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and has spent the past twenty years working closely with teens as a director and acting instructor in a program designed for high school students seriously intent on pursuing a career in the professional theatre. Having grown up in deeply rural America, she is interested in telling stories about resilient kids who come of age in remote settings. Dark and Shallow Lies is her debut novel.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 26, 2024
I don't give five star reviews easily. As a writer it's hard for me to distance myself from the craft of fiction and get totally immersed in the story. That's never the case with a novel by Ginny Myers Sain, and When the Bones Sing is no different. Total immersion effortlessly from page one.
Seventeen year-old Dovie doesn't believe in magic or the supernatural. The legend of the Ozark Howler means nothing to her. She and her family are even pariahs of the local church, the culture of which pervades every day life in small town Lucifer Creek, Arkansas. Despite all this, local law enforcement officials have recognized Dovie's unusual--and definitely supernatural--talent for hearing the song of the dead. When hikers start to go missing on the nearby Aux Arc trail, they wait patiently for the bones to start rattling in the night so that Dovie can locate the macabre source of the music.
Dovie's not the only one who is haunted by the disappearances, though. Her best friend and twin flame, Lo, is convinced he is being followed by the ghosts of the missing hikers. He knows the only way to finally silence them is by solving their murders and bringing the killer to justice before anyone else can become the next victim.
Ginny Myers Sain is a genius when it comes to using setting as a character in her novels, and When the Bones Sing is a masterclass in the technique. It's not just Dovie and Lo telling the story here, it's the Arkansas Ozarks, too. The hills and streams and valleys all have their own voices and magic, and they won't be ignored. Every detail of the Ozarks is true to life--I should know, it's literally my backyard--and although Lucifer's Creek is fictional, I hope readers will fall in love with the Ozarks and all the real spooky locations here.
This is one of those books that I would give anything to read for the first time again. I wish I could go back to try to figure out all the twists and turns, because even though I *thought* I had everything figured out, I was floored by the ending. I absolutely did not see it coming.
If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods looking to recreate the vibes of Lucifer's Creek and the Ozark National Forest, I highly suggest visiting Eureka Springs, Devil's Den State Park, Hawksbill Crag, and Mount Magazine! Arkansas isn't called the Natural State for nothing!
My thanks to Ginny Myers Sain and Penguin Teen for providing me with an ARC of When the Bones Sing in exchange for an honest review. Being a part of the #WhenTheBonesSingArArcTour was such a privilege!
Seventeen year-old Dovie doesn't believe in magic or the supernatural. The legend of the Ozark Howler means nothing to her. She and her family are even pariahs of the local church, the culture of which pervades every day life in small town Lucifer Creek, Arkansas. Despite all this, local law enforcement officials have recognized Dovie's unusual--and definitely supernatural--talent for hearing the song of the dead. When hikers start to go missing on the nearby Aux Arc trail, they wait patiently for the bones to start rattling in the night so that Dovie can locate the macabre source of the music.
Dovie's not the only one who is haunted by the disappearances, though. Her best friend and twin flame, Lo, is convinced he is being followed by the ghosts of the missing hikers. He knows the only way to finally silence them is by solving their murders and bringing the killer to justice before anyone else can become the next victim.
Ginny Myers Sain is a genius when it comes to using setting as a character in her novels, and When the Bones Sing is a masterclass in the technique. It's not just Dovie and Lo telling the story here, it's the Arkansas Ozarks, too. The hills and streams and valleys all have their own voices and magic, and they won't be ignored. Every detail of the Ozarks is true to life--I should know, it's literally my backyard--and although Lucifer's Creek is fictional, I hope readers will fall in love with the Ozarks and all the real spooky locations here.
This is one of those books that I would give anything to read for the first time again. I wish I could go back to try to figure out all the twists and turns, because even though I *thought* I had everything figured out, I was floored by the ending. I absolutely did not see it coming.
If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods looking to recreate the vibes of Lucifer's Creek and the Ozark National Forest, I highly suggest visiting Eureka Springs, Devil's Den State Park, Hawksbill Crag, and Mount Magazine! Arkansas isn't called the Natural State for nothing!
My thanks to Ginny Myers Sain and Penguin Teen for providing me with an ARC of When the Bones Sing in exchange for an honest review. Being a part of the #WhenTheBonesSingArArcTour was such a privilege!
June 26, 2024
When the Bones Sing was a pleasing YA paranormal tale. The world building was nicely handled and both Dovie and Lo came across well as characters, both of them growing through the course of the story. It was a fairly simple, easy read, but it was an entertaining story and I didn't guess the true culprit behind the killings until close to the reveal, so it was well structured in terms of the mystery too. The paranormal elements added to the story without overpowering the human interactions and emotion, and I would certainly pick up other books by this author in the future. I am giving it a solid four stars.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
July 29, 2024
Thank you again to Ginny Myers Sain for sending me an ARC copy of When then Bones Sing! I truly appreciate it and I can’t wait to share this review. I LOVED IT! I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and I didn’t want to put it down.
I want to go to Lucifers Creek, Arkansas (if it was totally real). I want to walk down main street and figure out the mystery of the hills behind the town. I loved Lo’s and Dovie friendship and wanted them to succeed in everything together.
I loved how easy it was to read and I could follow along every step of the way. The way Ginny Myers Sain uses imagery is fantastic! I could picture every scene played out in my head. The way Ginny Myers Sain describes the town and the mountain is so real and you are definitely a fly on the wall. The paranormal aspect of WTBS is something to be amazed act. It wasn’t to over the top and had just the right amount to move the story forward and ass to the mystery.
I want to reveal so much but I have been sworn to secrecy and you’ll just have to get the book when it comes out March 4 2025! What I can share with permission is some of my favorite lines. I am not going to tell you the pages, but that just brings the mystery to life.
Just be careful to finish this book before the Ozark Howler gets you too.
Some of my favorite lines are:
“He’s the only thing in this world that could almost make me believe in magic again”
“Not understanding someone isn’t a good enough reason to go around throwing rocks,” I argue. “No,” Daddy admits. “But bein’ afraid of someone is. At least in their minds.”
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would.
I want to go to Lucifers Creek, Arkansas (if it was totally real). I want to walk down main street and figure out the mystery of the hills behind the town. I loved Lo’s and Dovie friendship and wanted them to succeed in everything together.
I loved how easy it was to read and I could follow along every step of the way. The way Ginny Myers Sain uses imagery is fantastic! I could picture every scene played out in my head. The way Ginny Myers Sain describes the town and the mountain is so real and you are definitely a fly on the wall. The paranormal aspect of WTBS is something to be amazed act. It wasn’t to over the top and had just the right amount to move the story forward and ass to the mystery.
I want to reveal so much but I have been sworn to secrecy and you’ll just have to get the book when it comes out March 4 2025! What I can share with permission is some of my favorite lines. I am not going to tell you the pages, but that just brings the mystery to life.
Just be careful to finish this book before the Ozark Howler gets you too.
Some of my favorite lines are:
“He’s the only thing in this world that could almost make me believe in magic again”
“Not understanding someone isn’t a good enough reason to go around throwing rocks,” I argue. “No,” Daddy admits. “But bein’ afraid of someone is. At least in their minds.”
If I could give this book more than 5 stars I would.
July 27, 2024
I read this as an Arc, sent to me by Ginny Myers Sain. She has perfected YA Paranormal Horror! This one was everything I had hoped it would be. First up, Fave Quotes ~ It's so hard to pick a quote because Lo and Dovie are just perfection together. But l've picked 2 of my favorites. ~ 1) Granny Pearl reaches out and touches my hand and then Lo's, and I know she's passing us some bit of unnamed magic. Spellin' us without tellin' us, is what Lo and I used to call it. ~ 2) My heart would stop if Lo's did.
My review: I’m adding Lucifer's Creek to the list of fictional towns that l'm devastated aren't real places. This book sent my emotions all over the place. Dovie and Lo are so perfectly haunted, and this story takes us along with them as they try and put a stop to whoever, or whatever, is killing hikers on their mountain. Want a book with a girl who maybe is a witch, maybe isn't.. but can definitely find the final resting place of a human, through the song their bones play for her? Also need a good scary cryptid with red glowing eyes? And the ghosts of those murdered hikers, wanting justice? And maybe a love story along the way? This one has it all. Dovie and Lo are absolute perfection, and their witchy grandmothers are pretty great too. The ending was perfectly jaw dropping, I NEVER saw that coming. Love love love it!
My review: I’m adding Lucifer's Creek to the list of fictional towns that l'm devastated aren't real places. This book sent my emotions all over the place. Dovie and Lo are so perfectly haunted, and this story takes us along with them as they try and put a stop to whoever, or whatever, is killing hikers on their mountain. Want a book with a girl who maybe is a witch, maybe isn't.. but can definitely find the final resting place of a human, through the song their bones play for her? Also need a good scary cryptid with red glowing eyes? And the ghosts of those murdered hikers, wanting justice? And maybe a love story along the way? This one has it all. Dovie and Lo are absolute perfection, and their witchy grandmothers are pretty great too. The ending was perfectly jaw dropping, I NEVER saw that coming. Love love love it!
September 30, 2024
If you love scary movies, you are going to love this book! This was such a creepy and spine-tingling book. It's about a girl who can find lost dead bodies because they hum and or sing to her, but the catch is that she doesn't believe in magic. This puts her world into a whirlwind once her belief is tested when she has no choice but to solve the town's mystery of these rapid killings in the last years. She finds not only more secrets, but lies and drama to her semi quiet life when an old flame comes back into her life for the better. This also has a big familial aspect that actually works very well in horror too!
August 19, 2024
As a fan of Ginny Myers Sain and a lifelong resident of the Ozarks, I knew I would love When the Bones Sing. What I was not prepared for was how deeply this story would settle in my soul. It has been several weeks since I finished it and it is still at the front of my brain, consuming all of my daydreams. I have never so quickly wanted to re-read a book. What if I missed something? What if there are Easter eggs hidden in the early chapters that I missed. Mostly, I can’t wait to see my home through the eyes of Dovie and Lo again.
June 10, 2024
Thank you to Penguin Teen for my arc!
Welp first 2025 release out of the way and like I expected it was fantastic. If you have not picked up any Ginny Myers Sain books what are you doing? They’re fantastic YA thrillers perfect to read during summer and When the Bones Sing was no different. It has a super eerie atmosphere, the friends to lovers romance, missing parent. I loved every minute.
Highly reccomend!
Welp first 2025 release out of the way and like I expected it was fantastic. If you have not picked up any Ginny Myers Sain books what are you doing? They’re fantastic YA thrillers perfect to read during summer and When the Bones Sing was no different. It has a super eerie atmosphere, the friends to lovers romance, missing parent. I loved every minute.
Highly reccomend!
Want to read
August 2, 2024ARC received! I'm excited for this one!
August 27, 2024
Wow!! Loved it. Read most of it over two days because, well, couldn't stop. Is there magic? Ghosts? Or just evil people? Read and find out.
I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I received an advance reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
September 9, 2024
Woah. What a wild ride!
September 25, 2024
Really enjoyed this one!
RTC
My rating: 4.5*
RTC
My rating: 4.5*
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews