The Bone Queen
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected 3 Feb 2026
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- 12,99 €
Publisher Description
A chilling horror-thriller debut where a mother's search for her missing daughter battles against the shadows of a historic, dangerous legend.
Single mother Jenna arrives on the tranquil shores of Athelsea fueled by the desperate hope to find Chloe, her teenage daughter who’s disappeared from their London home. She has no idea why–all she knows is that Chloe had changed in the previous two weeks, haunted by something, or someone, and the ferry ticket here is the only clue she has.
As she explores the village and interacts with the locals, Jenna soon realizes a macabre secret is being hidden in plain sight. A dark legend of a vengeful woman called the Bone Queen is spoken of in hushed tones amongst the villagers, some of whom are frantically trying to suppress the tale that has long terrorized their lives.
As Jenna starts to learn more about the Bone Queen and her previous victims, the village’s grip on reality begins to loosen and no one can say for sure who, or what, is responsible for the deaths and disappearances on Athelsea. Suffering from what she can no longer distinguish between paranoid hallucinations or real manifestations, Jenna must act quickly before Chloe is next…
The Bone Queen has left her mark, and one day she’ll collect.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A mother searches for her missing daughter on a remote island in this uneven thriller from Shindler (The Cold Case). Jenna Tipton, a single mother, freelance journalist, and recovering alcoholic, arrives on Athelsea Island looking for her daughter, Chloe, who recently disappeared from their London home. Though their relationship was rocky, Jenna has no idea why Chloe ran away, and her only clue to the teen's whereabouts is a printout of ferry timetables she left behind. Jenna's search takes an ominous turn when, shortly after she arrives on Athelsea, a fishing boat dredges up the bones of a local man who went missing 22 years earlier. Some residents believe the victim was "marked" by the Bone Queen, a local folk figure said to collect the bones of children in order to punish their sinful parents. Soon, Jenna becomes convinced that Chloe had somehow come to believe she was marked by the Bone Queen and traveled to Athelsea in hopes of changing her fate. As Jenna's desperation increases, a series of violent attacks occur across Athelsea, raising the stakes. Though the mystery of Chloe's whereabouts keeps the narrative taut, a too-tidy climax sends it out with a whimper. This disappoints.
