When the Bones Sing - by Ginny Myers Sain (Hardcover)

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Dovie, who can hear the bones of the dead, and her best friend Lo, who believes he is haunted by the ghosts of murdered hikers, must uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearances in their Ozark mountain town before anyone else is killed.

Book Synopsis

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.

For fans of House of Hollow and She Is a Haunting.

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.

Review Quotes

★"Lyrical prose.... vividly descriptive text evokes an ethereal yet grounded setting. Plot points offer shocking twists that feel appropriately earned in a rural Southern gothic horror novel that will stay with readers well beyond the last page." --PW (starred review)

"A twisted, gripping mystery." -Booklist

"Like the sulfurous stream that gives Lucifer's Creek its name, the central mystery twists and turns in unexpected ways, building up to a chilling reveal in the final act that skirts the edge of horror. Gripping and intensely atmospheric." --Kirkus

"This is a remarkable story with a fresh take on supernatural mysteries. The story is brimming with the warm, lazy days of a small town while also managing to be fast-paced and thrilling. It captures the small-town feel--and its scandals." --SLJ

About the Author

Ginny Myers Sain is the New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies, Secrets So Deep, and One Last Breath. She lives in Florida 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.

Follow her on Twitter @stageandpage and on Instagram @ginnymyerssain or find her on her website at ginnymyerssain.com.