It's always helpful to vary one's reading, and Naming the Bones represented a welcome contrast to some recent more cerebral or classic reads. I've followed Welsh since her debut with The Cutting Room, but this is the first I've read for a while. She remains on great form, drawing in the reader and gradually revealing more clues as the story develops. Sure, there is a certain reliance on coincidence, but all the characters (major and minor) are depicted plausibly. Welsh also sets the book in a very Scottish locale (she is Scottish), from dialogue to dietary choices. Overall, a great read, asking the (perennial) question as to what lengths people may go to discover the truth.
By Louise Welsh