When Effie Coulston drops dead on the floor of her bar in a small Spanish town mid-business meeting, her daughter Daniella feels it’s her duty to return for the funeral. But Daniella has been estranged from her mother for over twenty years, and Effie’s life in Spain harbours many secrets . Daniella is soon confronted by a hostile group of ex-pat misfits who frequent the bar and who, along with Effie, are involved in a multi-million-pound property scam. But the money has vanished, and the ex-pats are threatening to implicate Daniella to save themselves.

Meanwhile, a Spanish detective is investigating Effie’s death. He’s convinced Daniella knows more than she is telling. And now a terrifying enforcer has heard about the missing cash. With no idea where the money is and threats coming from all sides, Daniella is up against a seemingly impossible deadline to find the cash. She’s a stranger in a strange town – and she’s seriously out of her depth.

My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things blog tours for the opportunity to join the tour for Thirty-One Bones.

I took a month away from blogging. This came after an even longer period of not being able to focus on reading.

*shakes fist at lockdown*

But my reading mojo is back and Thirty-One Bones played a huge part in that. I was able to lose myself in this book as it had an engaging story, a tight cast of characters and an underdog I could get behind and will to succeed. For the first time in weeks I had a story I wanted to keep reading.

It starts so well – Effie is in her element, she is in her rundown Spanish bar, she is mid-con as her silver tongued sales pitch is about to scam a potential investor out of €20,000. Before she can seal the deal one of her previous victims bursts into the bar demanding his money back as he has realised he was conned. The situation is getting out of hand but Effie is feeling bad and not because she has been caught out. Before she can seek assistance she suffers a massive heart attack and all her problems are dumped into the lap of her estranged daughter Daniella.

Not that Daniella knows this yet. She is several hundred miles away working in a call centre on a zero hours contract, Effie’s Spanish legacy is an unknown complication which Daniella will soon have to contend with. As are drunks, crooks, enforcers and the Spanish police – all because there is over €1 million missing and lots of people (that Daniella has never even met) believe she can find the cash.

One of the strengths of Thirty-One Bones is that the locations are brilliantly described. From the opening pages with Effie to the arrival of Daniella and her attempts to familiarise herself with her new surroundings, I felt like I was there under that warm Southern sun.

Once I was immersed in the locale I was able to enjoy Daniella’s predicaments.  Her mother was an influential player in a circle of undesirable ex-pats. She provided the bar they frequented and her rules gave them the flexibility to indulge their worst behaviours – to a point.  Daniella has large shoes to fill but it is not clear she wants that responsibility or that her new found authority will be accepted.

Arriving in Spain with the sole intention of burying her mother and wrapping up her affairs, Danila finds she becomes inextricably drawn into her mother’s  ventures. Any hope Daniella may have had of walking away from the toxic legacy are dashed when she faces the prospect of having to choose between violence (I refer to the book title) or potential imprisonment. Daniella has to be smart and keep one step ahead of everyone else.

Thirty-One Bones is a joy to read. Daniella is the likeable hero. The bad guys are nasty, unpleasant, stupid or drunk and none of them can be trusted. There is a prize to be found but a ticking clock and a persistent policeman brings a sense of urgency to proceedings. Time is running out for Daniella and you need to read this book to find out how she copes.

Thirty-One Bones is published by Polygon Books and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0855RDYBZ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0