by Jenni Fagan
First published 2022
In the stark highlands of Scotland, forensic anthropologist Dr. Ren Stewart receives an impossible package: fragments of human remains that match her sister's DNA. Her sister disappeared fifteen years earlier, presumed dead after a violent incident in their hometown. Now these bone fragments arrive anonymously, triggering a meticulous investigation that pulls Ren back into a landscape of generational secrets and rural violence. As she begins reconstructing her sister's skeletal history, Ren confronts local resistance and buried community traumas. Each fragment reveals more questions than answers—about her sister's final days, about the systemic silences that allow violence to persist, and about the intricate forensic science that can resurrect forgotten stories from mere calcium and connective tissue. Ren must decide how far she'll go to uncover the truth, knowing that some bones carry more than just genetic memory.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective, academic
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-secrets, investigative-mystery, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Scotland
Period: 15 years ago
124 pages · Kindle Edition · Polygon
Content warnings: violence