Lone Star Book Blog Tour: The Bones of Amoret by Arthur Herbert (review and giveaway)

“Two of the strongest elements of human nature are the need to feel safe, and a mistrust of folks who’re different.”

The Bones of Amoret by Arthur Herbert is an off-the-rails thriller that will capture your attention and then hang on tight to it all the way to the end. And no way will you see that end coming.

Noah Grady is a small-town doctor in the West Texas town of Amoret back in the 1980s. His side gig is helping immigrants after they illegally cross the Texas/Mexico border. His wife, Angelica, and her son, Miguel, crossed that border two years prior, and they have been living harmoniously in Amoret until the husband of Noah’s previously lover goes missing. While Noah helps a lot of people, he is no saint, but is he responsible for a man’s disappearance and possible death? Proving and maintaining his innocence won’t be easy and may be downright deadly. Does the good doctor toss his oath to do no harm out the window into the desolate desert of far West Texas? Forty years after the fact, Dr. Noah Grady willingly divulges the events of those days to a reporter for an El Paso newspaper, giving this overall fiction an air of editorial believability. Anything can, will, and does happen in West Texas, with only killers and coyotes wise to the truth.

“Some breaks work for you, some against you.”

On the surface, The Bones of Amoret starts off as a reflection of a long-ago mystery, but as the chapters roll by, the story is anything but simple and straightforward. Arthur Herbert has the storytelling gene, for sure, because he launches the reader and many of the characters into a labyrinth of lies and secrets and dares them to find their way out, doling out breadcrumbs of information and maybe a few red herrings. When the veracity of it all finally claws its way to the surface, the revelation is nothing short of spectacular and surprising. How fun!

While Dr. Noah Grady is a likeable main character throughout the entire story, he wobbles on that pedestal a bit as he recounts his participation in those events to both the reader and the reporter. You can decide for yourself if Noah is a hero or a villain (or maybe both) after you turn that last page. Without a doubt, Arthur Herbert has adroitly developed a dynamite plot and some very intriguing characters.

The mood of this story is hard to pin down because it oscillates between heartbreaking and tantalizing and then meanders sometimes toward amusing and lighthearted. For certain, The Bones of Amoret will keep readers consumed and wondering what’s next at the end of each chapter.

The Bones of Amoret by Arthur Herbert is perfect for readers who like a hefty helping of ‘whodunit’ baked into their mystery/suspense/thriller, with a side order of ‘I didn’t see that coming’ to sweeten the deal.

“It’s mankind’s evil that gets the headlines. Sometimes we need a reminder that God sprinkles the goodhearted among us too.”