ARC Review: The Bone Woman by Paige Shelton

The Bone Woman
Author: Paige Shelton
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (October 27, 2026)

Description: As a renowned forensic consultant digs into a case that could reconnect her with her long-missing father, she uncovers dark truths about her desert hometown.

This twisty, atmospheric mystery from New York Time bestselling author Paige Shelton will send chills racing down readers’ spines.

The desert runs through Hazel Dylan’s marrow. She grew up on the edge of The Wild, an untamed expanse outside her hometown of Black Vulture, Arizona. She became fascinated with bones as a child while observing her taxidermist father, Wilmot, until he disappeared without a trace decades ago. Now, after years of study and countless cases, she’s known as the Bone Woman. She can read the dark stories that bones tell.

When a hiker makes a disturbing discovery in The Wild—bleached human bones arranged with surgical precision into a taxidermy-like sculpture of a coyote mid-howl—Sheriff Calloway summons Hazel to the scene. Not just for her formidable expertise but because it looks like it could be Wilmot’s work. Could Hazel’s father be behind this twisted creation? Are these his bones?

Hazel doesn’t want to believe either is true, but after another sculpture is found and Wilmot’s well-known talisman—a rogue finger bone—is discovered amid both sets of remains, she can’t deny the optics.

As the case takes Hazel deep into her past, she unearths long-buried secrets. And with time running out, she’ll have to risk her own skin to catch the killer.

My Thoughts: Hazel Dylan grew up in Black Vulture, Arizona, on the edge of The Wild. Her father was a taxidermist who raised her alone after her mother died in childbirth. However, her father disappeared without a trace when Hazel was 13. Hazel was watched over by the town and by Sheriff Calloway who has been one of her father's friends. 

Twenty years have passed and Hazel has built her reputation as someone who knows bones. She consults with law enforcement and others all over the world. So, when Sheriff Calloway calls her to look at something he's found, she isn't surprised. However, the find rocks her world and has her looking back to the time of her father's disappearance which is a time period where Hazel has memory gaps.

Someone has turned a collection of human bones into an object the resembles a mounted animal from her father's collection. An extra bone similar to one her father always carried with him makes the tie to her father very clear. 

A second find of human bones shaped to resemble a desert scorpion and also made of human bones makes the situation even eerier. Hazel and Calloway need to identify the people whose bones were used in such a perverse way and identify the person making the installations. 

Since we also have sections from the point of view of the perpetrator, we know that his final goal is to kill Hazel and turn her into his next art project. We also learn that he is hiding himself in clear sight in Black Vulture. 

There are a number of new people in Black Vulture who might be the killer. The new people include a new police chief and deputy, a new scientist from The Institute, and a visiting professor from Boulder who has an interest in these sorts of bone sculptures. And some of the other residents are keeping secrets too.

This was an entertaining mystery. I liked Hazel who has a unique fascination and knowledge of bones. I look forward to reading more about her in future stories. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.