Bone Thief

By Thomas O'Callaghan

In his extraordinary debut novel of psychological suspense, Thomas O'Callaghan proves himself a worthy successor to Thomas Harris as he introduces one of the most compelling and terrifying serial killers since Hannibal Lecter in a book where every harrowing page crackles with the white-knuckle feel of a race against time and the gritty authenticity of a real forensic investigation.

A housewife snatched in broad daylight.
A tattooed drifter displayed under a boardwalk.
A wealthy, high-society heiress left in a city dump.
A busy, young mother on her last errand.

The women seem to have no connection except one: they have all been the victims of the Bone Thief, a twisted madman who slays his victims and steals their bones as gruesome trophies.

Since tragedy struck his own family, Lieutenant John W. Driscoll has been a man on the edge of both sanity and life. But now, with New York City in the grip of panic, Driscoll is needed more than ever. With time running out and the stakes rising every hour, he'll have to guide a troubled team while battling his own demons in order to hunt and catch the most cunning predator he's ever faced--a serial killer who is the very soul of evil and whose most shocking revelation is yet to come. . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pinnacle Books
• Release date: Jan 1, 2006
• ISBN: 9780786027460

Reviews for Bone Thief

[hoosgracie · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The first in what I assume will be a series starring NYPD Lieutenant John W. Driscoll. Driscoll is after a serial killer who kills and de-bones his victims taking their heads, hands, and feet. Overall, I liked the mystery especially that while it’s mostly told from Driscoll’s POV you also get some of the killer’s POV. That said, there were some gaps in the book that were noticable.

[readingrat_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is definitely not a book without its flaws (some of them are quite glaring). However the author does know how to spin a chiller, and parts of this book are nearly impossible to stop reading. Given that this is the author's first outing - I'll be looking forward to reading more of his work a couple of years down the road when he has had a chance to mature as a writer and further hone his craft.

[booboobad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great first novel

[darcia_10 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book started with promise but, the more I read, the worse it got. These are some of the problems I had with it:The relationship between John Driscoll and his partner, Margaret, felt more like a business transaction than a romance. The conversations were stilted, forced and emotionless. Margaret risked her career to pursue John, who is her boss. This supposed tough female cop suddenly behaved like a lovesick teen around him, despite the fact that they'd been working together for years.The part Moira, a fourteen-year-old girl, played in solving the case is beyond ridiculous. The professional police task force seemed more like a bunch of amateur sleuths. They needed a teenager to direct them through the Internet and were slow in responding to or investigating obvious leads. The Internet plays a large role in the murders, yet the author treats this vast space as if it's a corner cafe. The book has occasional high points but I had to sift through a lot of nonsense to find them.