BoneMan's Daughters

by Ted Dekker

2010

Status

Available

Publication

Center Street (2010), Edition: Reprint, 432 pages

Description

A serial killer is kidnapping young girls, breaking their bones, and leaving them to die. Ryan Evans is an intelligence officer who is alienated from his own family. When the BoneMan kidnaps Ryan's daughter, Ryan must take on this deranged killer himself to save her.

User reviews

LibraryThing member BeckyJG
The BoneMan, or, more frequently, just BoneMan, no article thank-you-very-much, is a fairly typical post-Hannibal the Cannibal serial killer. He has a schtick--kills his victims by breaking their bones, one at a time, without ever breaking the skin. He has a fetish--clear, unblemished, unbroken
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skin. He has a childhood trauma--a mommy who didn't love him enough. His given name is Alvin, but you can call him Satan.

Ryan Evans is a naval intelligence officer on loan to the army, who is abducted by insurgents in Iraq, tortured, and experiences an epiphany of non-religious dimensions, inspiring him to be a better husband and a better father. But his wife is leaving him and his daughter hates him and here comes the BoneMan. Or just BoneMan, Ted Dekker can't ever seem to make up his mind.

BoneMan's Daughters moves quickly, but there isn't an original bone, ahem, in its body. A snack between Jeffrey Deavers and Dean Koontzes, but not really a meal proper.
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LibraryThing member rarelibri
This book is a departure from the other stories Mr. Dekker has put out. While it is Christian fiction I could see why stores like Mardel's might hesitate to stock this title. The story follows an officer who, while in Iraq was taken hostage. During that ordeal he was forced to see a brutality that
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would change his life in the most earth shattering way. I don't believe the jacket cover gives a hint to what he endured so I will leave it out.

On his return stateside he encounters a psychopath who kidnaps and tortures young girls in the most gruesome way. There are not any sexual overtones to be wary of. However the descriptions and the actions taken by the Boneman are enough to make even the most veteran of readers wanting to avoid their own eyes over some of the scenes.

God does play a redemptive role in this story but readers who have never read a Dekker novel could not infer that this author is known for strictly Christian Fiction.

I loved the story, the pace, and the action and yes the horrible actions of the Boneman due to the writers ease of portraying the emotion of each character. The development of each was fantastic. You felt what they felt and feared what they feared. I encourage anyone interested in a dark story with a lot of Light at the end to rush and pick this one up.
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LibraryThing member Twink
Creepy cover eh? And an equally terrifying story.

Ryan Evans is a Naval Intelligence officer dedicated to career and country. He has spent numerous years away from his wife Celine and his daughter Bethany. When he returns to the US he is determined to repair his relationships with his family. But
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when he arrives he finds they no longer want him in their lives. His place as husband and father has been usurped by the local District Attorney Burt Welsh. Welsh attained his position by successfully prosecuting the serial killer nicknamed BoneMan. BoneMan kidnaps young girls, looking for a daughter.When they don't fit what he is looking for - he kills them by breaking every bone in their body. But then BoneMan is released on a technicality and resumes the search for a new daughter - and he picks Bethany. What follows is Ryan's search to rescue his daughter and become the father he wants to be. But the authorities believe that Ryan himself is the killer.

On one level this is simply a story of a father fighting for his daughter's love and life. And on that level, it's a heck of a good tale, keeping me turning pages late into the night. It's a well written, suspenseful thriller, with a great twist at the end.

But in a bigger sense, BoneMan is a battle between good and evil. It is also a story of needing to be wanted, needing the love of a parent. For even though the BoneMan is disturbing, despicable and horrendous in his actions, the impetus for his actions is the desire to be loved.

I think every reader will take away something different from this book - a gripping read or perhaps a bit more - a look at some deeper values, second chances and some interesting ethical questions.

Gotta tell you though, Noxzema will have different associations for me from here forward!
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LibraryThing member Cherylk
Intelligence officer Ryan Evans has never been much of a husband to Celine or a father to his daughter, Bethany. In fact to avoid having to deal with Celine, Ryan volunteers for dangerous missions in far away counties. His latest mission has him gathering data in the Middle East. Ryan had called it
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a day and was travelling back to camp when the Humvee that he was riding in was attacked. Ryan gets knocked out. When Ryan awakes, he is in a room with a man by the name of Kahlid, who interrogates him. Kahlid teaches Ryan the value of life. He also shows Evans that you can break someone's bones without damaging the skin. Just when Ryan taught the end was near, he is able to escape and be rescued. Ryan is ready to put this whole ordeal behind him but the nightmare is just beginning.

A serial killer by the name of Boneman has abducted Bethany. The Boneman received his name because he would take girls, break their bones and leave them for dead. Boneman only broke their bones because he was trying to be the perfect father to the perfect daughter and none of the girls were it but maybe Bethany will be that daughter. Ryan gets accused of being Boneman. So Ryan decides to take matters into his own hands.

Boneman's Daughter is the first novel that I have read by Mr. Dekker. I have seen his books all over and even own one of his other prior works but never got the chance to try them out till now. After completing this story, I plan to check out more of Ted Dekker's books, starting with the one I currently own. The story moves very fast and there are a lot of characters and movements going on that I thought I would have a hard time following along but this book was so well put together that you will lose yourself in it. Ryan is a very likable character. I felt myself pulling for him. Though I knew who Boneman was, I did not expect the twist near the end of the book. I highly recommend picking up a copy of Boneman's Daughter today.
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LibraryThing member kysmom02
Wow! I have been wishing this book for a while now, and a friend of mine was lucky enough to get her hands on it! This is the first of Dekker's books that I've read, but I do intend on picking up at least one more.

This was an interesting read to say the least. The book starts out much differently
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than I expected it to. But, as I continued to read on, I realized that the beginning was to introduce Ryan and to develop his character for the reader. So, as I was learning all about Ryan, I was then introduced to his daughter Bethany and wife Celine. I didn't expect to dislike them, but I really couldn't help myself. Celine is completely selfish and Bethany is totally spoiled. However, the turn of events in Ryan's life leads him home to avenge the wrongs that he's committed against both wife and daughter. So, I was hopeful that once Ryan took an active role in both their lives that I would end up liking them. Little did he know that neither would welcome him back with open arms though. Up through this point, the action has been slower than I expected. But, when it picks up, it is all through Ryan. Instead of being pulled through the action scenes, it's like looking at them through Ryan's eyes and thoughts. This is where the book begins to take on a very psychological point of view. The book is very much a mind game. Ryan, being the Naval Intelligence officer that he is is constantly thinking. He's stratagizing, weighing pros and cons, and rethinking each step and move. Toward the end, the reader also gets to witness the mind game that Bethany plays with herself and the situation that she's in. It was just so very different from any other book that I've read. I really felt like instead of being able to picture what the lead character looked like and having a picture of him in my head, I had a picture of his brain instead!

I do think that this book was much longer than it needed to be. There were times that I felt like it was repetitious. For instance, I don't need the BoneMan's name and nicknames each time he enters the picture again. Another complaint that I have (and this REALLY bugged me) was that it seemed like everytime I flipped a page I was reading about "two things" this, or "nay, three things" this. You'll know what I mean when/if you read this book. BoneMan had several lists. He loved 1,2,3, he hated 1,2,3, he needed etc. etc. etc. I don't really know why this bothered me so much, but I'd be anxious to hear someone else's views on this!

Overall, I liked this book and look forward to more by Dekker. This would be a great book for a book club. I think that there could be some really good discussions about not only the content and plot, but about the characters and the biblical references.
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LibraryThing member dasuzuki
Wow, talk about an intense book. It was a good but disturbing story that will draw readers in and be sitting on pins and needles to find out what happens in the end. At the beginning Ryan sounds like a jerk of a father. I mean, I am a military brat so I understand how important the jobs our
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military men and women do but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t make an effort to also be there for their family. You start to feel sorry for him as you read about his experience being held prisoner and having to watch young boys and girls be tortured and killed in front of him. Then you see him suffer a breakdown after rejection by his wife and daughter and then has to track down the BoneMan after he kidnaps Ryan’s daughter. Like I mention above it is a good story but prepare for some gruesome scenes.
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LibraryThing member bermudaonion
Ryan Evans was a Navy Intelligence Officer more married to his career than to his family. On a tour of duty in Iraq, his convoy was ambushed and he was taken prisoner. The brutalities he witnessed made him vow to be a better husband and father when he returned to his family.

Upon his return to the
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U. S., Ryan learned that his family had moved on - his wife wants a divorce so she can marry the local district attorney, and his beautiful daughter doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. Ryan angrily attacked the DA and was served with a restraining order.

While this is going on, a serial killer, the Boneman strikes after a two year hiatus. The Boneman abducts his victims and slowly kills them by breaking every bone in their body, careful not to break the skin. His latest victim is Ryan’s daughter, Bethany. The Boneman taunts Ryan and the police quickly tag Ryan as a suspect. Ryan has to race to save his daughter or is he really the killer?

Boneman’s Daughter by Ted Dekker is full of suspense. You know fairly early in the story who the killer is, but you don’t know what he’ll do next or how he’ll get caught. The book’s not too graphic and doesn’t contain foul language. There were times when I felt like the story got bogged down in some details that weren’t necessary and I wanted the story to progress a little faster. I found some of the characters (like the DA) to be a little clichéd and the story to be somewhat predictable, but overall, I though the book was good. I think fans of thrillers and Ted Dekker’s books will enjoy this one. Boneman’s Daughter is Ted Dekker’s 23rd novel.
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LibraryThing member LiterateHousewife
Boneman's Daughters tells the story of Ryan Evans, a naval intelligence officer whose life gets turned upside down after being taken hostage in Iraq. Despite his extensive training and understanding of the techniques used during hostage-type interrogations, the stress and strain associated with his
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captivity break him down and make him resolve to change for the better, especially when it comes to his estranged family. Early on in his daughter's life, he chose his military carrier over his family. As a result, he has very little contact with his wife Celine or his daughter Bethany. After getting clearance, he returns home to Texas in hopes of reclaiming what he now knows is the most important thing in his life.

Unfortunately, his revelation may have come too late. Celine has found love with the local district attorney who won a recently overturned conviction in the Boneman serial killer case and wants a divorce. Bethany, who doesn't necessarily get along well with her mother, wants nothing to do with her father. Perhaps because of his Post-Traumatic Stress disorder, Ryan does not handle the rejection as constructively as he should. After therapy and making one final gesture toward Bethany, Ryan is able to move on with his life alone. Once again, his resolve comes to late. When Bethany is taken from her home by the Boneman, the State of Texas and his ex-wife look to him as the primary suspect.

This novel was more than just a good read. It is a story the reader experiences through almost every sense. I saw the words upon the page, felt the Boneman's cool and smooth, smelled the ever present scent of Noxema, and heard the popping sound of breaking bones. Having almost my entire body engaged in a novel added to the suspense and the thrill. During the time in which I read this novel, my daughter got sunburned. I grew up using Noxema to sooth the pain at night. As it turns out, we were completely out. So, not long after reading a detailed account of how Boneman continuously slathers Noxema all over his body to keep his skin perfect, I had to buy some at the drug store and rub it on my daughter. This seemed just a little bit spooky to me and I will never look at or smell Noxema in the same way again.

The one source of objection I had was over the way that adoption was used almost as a tool. Ryan and Celine never tell her about this and it is used to partially explain Celine's odd and distant parenting style. This left wide open the possibility to assume that Celine didn't love Bethany as much as she might have loved a biological child. This stereotype – or at least stereotypical concern – about adoption only made Celine feel that much more like a caricature. The adoption plot line came in to play substantively only as a setup for a revelation Ryan makes at the end of the novel. That twist didn't work for me either, especially since it didn't further or complete the story.

I don't read suspense all that often, but I usually enjoy them when I do. After reading Go With Me by Castle Freeman, Jr., I was really put in the mood for a great thriller. Boneman's Daughters hit the spot. This is my first Ted Dekker novel, but it will not be the last. I found this novel interesting and engaging from the moment Ryan's Hummer was attacked in the Iraqi dessert. There was not enough graphic violence to disturb me, but enough to get my heart racing. Best of all, the ending isn't as happily ever after as you might expect. It left me wanting to know what happened afterward. This novel was not perfect, but it was perfectly enjoyable. If you enjoy a thrilling, suspenseful novel, this should be high on your list.
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LibraryThing member Ti99er
24. [Boneman’s Daughters] by Ted Dekker

This is my first Dekker novel, and must say it won’t be my last. Ryan Evans is a Naval Intelligence Officer who is consumed by his job. He married Celine Evans in haste when he was younger and they adopted a little girl named Bethany. At the time Ryan was
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ill-equipped to handle a wife and family, he felt his sole obligation was to provide for them financially. For the most part Ryan was an absentee husband and father, who was hardly ever home as he accepted tour after tour of overseas. Celine decided to move on and made no efforts to hide that she was dating other men. Bethany resented her father and wouldn’t forgive him for being a deadbeat dad of sorts.

While on tour in Iraq, Ryan is taken hostage by a terrorist, who uses copycat tactics of a convicted serial killer back in Evan’s home state of Texas. Ryan is able to escape the ordeal and finds within himself a renewed sense of family. He can’t wait to get back to Texas to apologize to both Celine and Bethany about his misgivings and to explain that he is a changed man and things will be different in the future.

Instead of finding the open road to forgiveness between him and his wife and child, he finds instead his wife’s new boyfriend and his child who wants nothing to do with him. Ryan is stricken with grief and doesn’t know what to do.

In the meantime, the supposed convicted serial killer, Boneman is about to be released from prison due new evidence brought forward. The Boneman had abducted young girls, and broken every bone in their body without breaking their skin. Shortly after his release, Ryan’s daughter Bethany is abducted and evidence is pointing towards him as the new primary suspect in the Boneman killings.

So has Ryan truly found himself; a changed man? Or has he been up to no good, when his family thought he was overseas working for the Navy?

This was a great story with an engaging cast of characters. I look forward to reading more from this author.
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LibraryThing member judithrs
Bonemans’s Daughters. Ted Dekker.2009. In his is a disturbing novel the murderer kidnaps young women and kills them by breaking their bones when he decides they cannot be the perfect daughter. Ryan Evans, an intelligence officer who was captured by a terrorist and is stateside trying to recover
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from the emotional abuse and terror he went through, is notified by the Boneman that he has Ryan’s daughter. His estranged wife and her lover and the FBI are determined to make Ryan the Boneman. Ryan escapes and goes to find his daughter on his own. I had a hard time reading this book, but the afterward by the author in which he explained why he wrote the book almost made it worth while.
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LibraryThing member 24girl
While on a routine mission in Fallujah intelligence officer Ryan Evans is captured by insurgents and forced to witness the torture of children. The only way to stop the madman from killing even more children is for Ryan to sacrifice his own wife and daughter by giving up their address back in the
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states. After years of dedicating more time to the military than his family Ryan faces the reality that he doesn’t love his wife anymore but he could never make that choice.

When his captor is distracted Ryan escapes and gets rescued by the military but the torture has taken its toll. He has a mental breakdown and runs to the comfort of his family however it’s too little too late. His wife has moved on and his daughter Bethany has no desire to have Ryan in her life.

Then without warning Bethany is kidnapped by the serial killer BoneMan who kills by breaking every bone in his victim’s body without breaking the skin. Leading the investigation the FBI begins to suspect Ryan is the BoneMan and Ryan’s actions take on a whole new light.

BoneMan’s Daughters is an eerie thriller. The BoneMan is seriously creepy. He reminds me of Buffalo Bill in The Silence of the Lambs…a madman with a strange fascination for lotion.

I especially loved the way Dekker portrayed Bethany. She was beautiful with an emerging modeling career but she wasn’t a typical stuck up teen. She acknowledged that she was lucky to have her looks and wasn’t at all superficial. She was actually more down to earth than her mother who was very shallow. The part I like the least of this read was Ryan himself. I get that he wrestled with demons but he was also way to whiney for me. Overall it’s still an intense read and I recommend it for all thriller lovers.
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LibraryThing member NovelBookworm
Leave it to Ted Dekker to come up with a novel way to totally creep us out. In Boneman’s Daughter, Dekker gives us the story of a sicko (of course) serial killer who is searching for the “perfect daughter”. (Because after all, even serial killers deserve adoring devotion and unswerving
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loyalty… Ick) The Bone Man kidnaps girls and when they just can’t live up to his expectations, (thinking their kidnapper is the best thing ever and being so happy to live with him) he smashes their bones until they die. (Over-react much?)

Ryan Evans is a military intelligence (I know—that’s considered an oxymoron by some) officer, recently returned from the Middle East. He was captured there, and oddly enough, forced to watch the deaths of innocents by the same methods the Boneman uses. Weird coincidence, huh. Get past it..it sets up the whole story! He is filled with regrets, his family is gone because of the dedication he had to his work and the job he gave his life to has pretty much messed him up. He’s got an angry ex, a kid named Bethany that won’t speak to him, and major mental issues from his captivity.

Until the Boneman take his daughter. (Note to bad guys..don’t piss off military types…) Now the FBI is on Ryan’s tail, because his past makes him the perfect patsy for the Boneman’s crimes, Ryan is on the Boneman’s tail, and Boneman is trying to make sure Bethany is the perfect daughter. And we know what happens if she isn’t.

I love Ted Dekker. Not only can he write terrific, freaky-deaky Christian Sci-Fi, (and really…who the heck else can even think of the genre) he also writes great mysteries. I’ll grant you, the premise here was a bit contrived. I mean, what are the odds that a Middle Eastern wack-job has the same penchant for breaking bones as an All American Serial Killer. (Dekker does explain where both of the characters predilections come from, but I still thought it was a stretch.) I will say I appreciated the ending, I expected the whole “justice will prevail, law and order…blah blah blah bit. I forgot this is Ted Dekker and he’s not one for conventional, easy endings. But I did just re-read the last page, and I’m sort of wondering if….hmm….can Boneman return??? I think that might, (mind you, I said, MIGHT) just be possible!
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LibraryThing member nbmars
A guy made psycho by his mother who then commits serial killings out of jealousy for the love he never had – wait, where have I heard this before? Oh yes, “The Red Dragon.” But this particular rendition of the story has as its protagonist “The Bone Man,” or Satan, as he doesn’t mind
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being addressed. And to complete the Christian imagery, we also have various Fathers against whom the Bone Man has a beef, crucifixion imagery, and a priest-cum-psychologist to interpret the whole thing.

The Bone Man has been collecting young girls, trying to convince each she should be his perfect daughter, but alas, the image of his mommy intervenes and off he goes, breaking every bone. But one girl is different: his latest abduction, Bethany. And her father, Ryan, is different too. He is willing to lose his own life to save Bethany’s.

It’s not as gory as it sounds, although it is plenty unpleasant, and most of the characters besides Ryan and Bethany are portrayed in a fairly one-dimensional manner. There is not much literary value here, but a fair amount of suspense. In short, it is a decent choice for the beach or the airline, but not as an addition to your Great Books shelf.
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LibraryThing member jessi76
Wow!! Amazing book that begged me to keep turning the pages. This is the type of book that grabs you with a firm hold and is impossible to put down.

There is no doubt when reading this book that it was written by a man. While reading chapter one, this seemed like it would be a downfall (based on my
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personal taste); it seemed like a book I would not be able to relate to. As I reached chapter two, I found myself much more encapsulated than I thought I would be, realizing that the story's beginnings with the tale of an Army convoy being taken down by enemy fire would set the stage for what to me, was a riveting, insightful, and dare I say, life-altering book.

This entire book was a very powerful metaphor daring the reader to take a closer look at the impact of war. The main character, Captain Ryan Evans had chosen his successful Navy career over his family for many years until one fateful day in the desert when he was taken hostage. His gruelling days as a prisoner gave him a new perspective about what life is all about. He made a promise to himself to seek out redemption with his family at home, particularly, his 16-year old daughter, Bethany.

Throughout the novel, Evans discovers that Bethany is truly his entire life and sets out to save her from a serial killer who has taken her. The situation flashes him back to when he was a hostage providing him with clear insight into the damage that war does to families when taking innocent victims. This new view of life changed him forever, and drove him to be a better person, a better father.

The book is chock full of irony since Evan's long military career was spent analyzing all of the intricacies of war, but from a very broad viewpoint. When he was forced to truly see the casualties, the pain of the innocent families who are impacted, his life changed. And so did mine. I will never again see war as the best means to an end. This book has truly opened my eyes to the evil that exists when innocent families are put in the crossfire of nations trying to acheive political peace.
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LibraryThing member Altarasabine
A calculating serial killer who is in search of a perfect daughter to counterpart the perfect father. When his victims do not meet his expectations and standards he methodically and meticulously breaks their bones and leave them for dead. The media rightly dubs him The Boneman. After 2 years of
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containing his desires he sets his sight on Bethany, finally the perfect daughter.

Bethany Evans is a beautiful 16 year old girl. She lives with her mother, who could care less about her, and fer father abandoned her 2 years earlier for his naval career.She is filled with hatred for her father and conflicted about her mother. She is clouded with emotions of feeling unloved and unwanted, until The Boneman.

The FBI convicted the wrong man and now the evidence points to Ryan Evans, a navy intelligence officer. He had given up hope of ever being the perfect father. While deployed in Iraq Ryan goes through a life changing experience causing him to make a resolution to come home and prove his love. When Bethany is taken Ryan goes after The Boneman himself proving that he will do anything to save his daughter,

An invigorating one of a kind plot full of ever building suspense that will keep the pages turning.
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LibraryThing member jo-jo
Now this is probably the most intense audiobook I have listened to yet. The main reason that I listened to this one, was to fullfill one of the slots in the What's in a Name Challenge. I've read a few reviews of this book, but considering that I don't usually read suspense thrillers I guess I just
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wrote it off in my mind. I'm thankful that my mind went back to this title when I was trying to think of a book with a 'body part' in the title.

Ryan Evans is a career naval intelligence officer who found himself pursuing his career and at the same time abandoning his family in the process. He's given his best years to his country, leaving his wife and daughter on their own trying to build a somewhat normal life without him. During a mission in Iraq he has a life changing experience that has him re-evaluating the decisions that he has made about his family, and finds that he regrets every one of them. He wants his family back and decides that he will return home to fight for their love.

When Ryan returns home he finds that his wife and daughter are not quite so eager to welcome him back into their lives with open arms. During his long absence his wife actually found comfort in the arms of another man, and his daughter Bethany just learned to live her life on her own, which she found very lonely at times.

BoneMan is the psycho murderer in this novel that enjoys preying on young girls. One might think that he had a sexual interest in these girls, but that was the furthest thing from his mind. His quest was to find a girl that was perfect enough to be his daughter. After abducting a girl and finding that she didn't measure up to his standards, that is when he would proceed to break their bones, which would result in their death.

Boneman was very meticulous when it came to his looks and even his victims. He would be sure to break each bone with just the right amount of pressure that would ensure the bone would not break through the skin. He wanted his victims to look unscathed. As far as his own upkeep went, he religiously used his Noxzema skin cream every day.

The novel really sped up when BoneMan abducted Bethany thinking that she would be his perfect daughter. With the family conflict surrounding Ryan Evans, the authorities started to suspect him as the BoneMan. When there wasn't any evidence to prove that Ryan wasn't BoneMan, he knew that he was going to be Bethany's only chance at being rescued from that psychopath. Ryan vowed that he would do whatever he needed in order to save his daughter so he could be with her again.

This novel really will get your blood pumping. When I listened to this in my car I remember there being times I was gripping my steering wheel so tightly that my knuckles turned white! Then there were a few times that really were just, shall I say 'icky', when I would just wave my hands in the air and yell. Oh, what people must think of me when they see me driving sometimes! The gentleman that narrated this book also did a great job, as he made the creepy parts of this novel creepier yet! I definitely recommend this one if you are a fan of the thriller/suspense genre. And if you don't usually read this genre, but are looking for something different, you may enjoy this as much as I did.
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LibraryThing member frogprof
Meh -- picked this up at the drugstore while I was waiting for a prescription to be filled ... should've left it there! It's not BAD, but it's not worth the $10, either. The story is pretty gory and the characters aren't too well ... yes, I'll go ahead and say it: "fleshed out." Sorry.
If you want
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to find new ways to kill people [if you're a serial killer-in-training, that is], this is a good way to add to your répertoire. But no one would believe it anyway.
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LibraryThing member TrishaGer
This is my initial quick review...I want to give it 4 1/2 stars. I loved this suspenseful, creepy book (and I crazy LOVED that it was amazingly done without foul language)! I'm an instant fan!
LibraryThing member silversurfer
A very disturbing tale. A taut thriller, not for the faint of heart or stomach. Very much in the vein of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Alvin is the Boneman, or Satin -who had a mother who didn't love him and is looking for the perfect daughter. He breaks bones without ever breaking the skin....He has a
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fetish for unbroken, clear, perfect skin, among other things....disturbed yet, wait, it gets more gruesome. I highly recommend this book, and looking forward to reading this author's other titles. But the ending leaves you with a sense of, is the story really over? Perhaps the author is setting it up for a sequel--but i wasn't truly satisfied with the ending....and now I know why i never liked the scent of NOXZEMA.
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LibraryThing member avanders
Interesting style - a lot of repetition w/ certain points, which I think drove them home and gave a sense of the psychology of the characters; very interesting plot and good thriller'y book with a strong sense of what-will-be-fixed-in-time; and I did not love the ending. I just didn't. Lots of it
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(the ending) was good, but one of the main components of the ending struck me wrong... otherwise, I think I would have given it an even higher rating :) Note: listened to on audio at 1.5 speed
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LibraryThing member dbhutch
Good thriller, wasn't happy with how this started out, which made it hard to get into. But it does lay a good foundation for how the main character interacts and relates to the situation he finds himself in later. Good twisting, but just felt there was much more to have been told/pulled into.
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Characters you thought would be more involved and developed seem to have just been - forgotten.
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LibraryThing member snotbottom
Classic Dekker. Didn't particularly care for the ending, but overall a good read.
LibraryThing member StarKnits
Eeeewwww gross! There was some serious gross stuff in this book. It was interesting though.
LibraryThing member Carol420
Ryan Evans has served his country well as an intelligence officer for the navy. On the other hand his role as a husband and a father has been lacking at best. When a mission goes wrong near Fallujah, Ryan comes face to face with a horrific reality causing him to reflect on his own personal
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failures. After a narrow escape Ryan vows to return home a better man for his wife and his daughter, Bethany. Meanwhile in Austin, TX, new evidence has come to light regarding the capture of the serial killer known as Boneman. Two years ago Boneman went on a rampage capturing young girls and then torturing them by breaking all of their bones without breaking their skin. Boneman was finally captured, but the new evidence suggests they have the wrong man. Their suspicions are confirmed when the real Boneman captures Bethany Evans soon after her father returns from Iraq. Ryan will now stop at nothing to save his daughter from this monster. Unfortunately for Ryan, the FBI is convinced of something else.

This was the first Ted Dekker book I ever read. The story is suspenseful all the way through. A new kind of villain and a determined dad. Totally captivating! Highly recommend
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LibraryThing member HGButchWalker
Best Dekker thriller yet. Very well done.

Language

Original language

English

Physical description

7 inches

ISBN

0446547204 / 9780446547208

Barcode

1602944
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