With his father out of work, Gabe’s family struggle to make ends meet, for which Gabe resents his father and so prefers to spend his time away from the house. On one particular night he strays to the canyon. The minor accident which follows finds Gabe face to face with a recently uncovered skeleton. Gabe is frightened, and a little delighted, to discover the skeleton has been buried with a large number of gold objects, the money from which may help his family. But when Gabe takes the jewellery, its owner is not pleased and comes after Gabe to get back what it once owned...

Bad Bones (2015. 324 Pages), written by Graham Marks is another in the Red Eye series of horror novels for the young adult market.

I have been impressed with the quality of this series so far, the stories are invariably well constructed and well written and the only evidence that these are targeted at a YA audience is that generally the central character tends to be in tier teens.

After the initial set up, introducing Gabe’s family and his new friend Stella the book takes you on a fast paced rollercoaster of a trip. It’s not really spoiling it to say the dead guy comes back for his gold, as this is pretty much given away on the dust jacket, but whilst this provides the antagonist, as well as the supernatural element the real joy of the book is Gabriel. Not because he is special, but quite the reverse.

Gabe is essentially good, at heart, maybe a bit insular and sullen at the beginning of the story, but he struggles with his family’s poverty and his resettlement towards his unemployed father, so why wouldn’t he take the gold; the money would certainly be useful to the family. When things start to go wrong Marks has Gabe reacted in a very naturalistic way, first paranoia, then incredulity and finally when he accepts what is happening, fear.

There is also a very naturalistic tone to the relationships Gabe has with his friends and family. Gabe is not painted as some nascent hero but an ordinary teenager, caught up in extraordinary circumstances, who finds he is able to rise to the challenge.

In structure the book has a lot in common with a detective novel, as the layers behind the identity of the dead body are revealed. Even when we discover who he is there is a discontinuity between what he appears to be and what he is in actuality. The book has a small supporting cast, most notably Benny, the local drug dealer and Stella, who also has a connection with Benny.

The story is set in LA, honestly never having been there I couldn’t tell you if it was an accurate representation. But it matters little, this is not a novel in which the location becomes a character, really the book could have been set anywhere.

Overall, I liked it and if you don’t have a problem with the main antagonist being a teenager. Even a more mature reader would find much to enjoy.

8

Charles Packer