In 2008, William Lashner informed his ever-growing readership
that he was going to take a short break from his critically and
commercially successful Victor Carl series to try his hand at
something a bit different. The result, BLOOD AND BONE, is a
stand-alone novel and not a legal thriller, though there are
certainly a plethora of attorneys to be found within its pages. As
with the Victor Carl books, however, this latest effort combines a
character-driven plot with a complex history and binds it with a
literate narrative equaled by only a very few.

There is an especially memorable passage in BLOOD AND BONE
located in the last quarter of the book. It consists of an entire
chapter in which the motive behind a lot of what has occurred is
explained and gives rise to more queries. I had to force myself to
read the rest of the novel in much the same manner that one becomes
stuck, if you will, upon a particular song on a CD; I kept mentally
hitting “repeat” and reading the chapter over and over.
It was a bit of a conundrum, because this is one of those books
whose narrative begs --- nay, demands! --- to be read from cover to
cover in one sitting. Lashner makes this easy to do; I still am not
sure, after reading his complete body of work, precisely how he
does it. His plots are complex, yet he guides readers through the
occasional thicket and sucking bog with a sure-footedness of a
guide who has explored every inch of an ancient forest and knows
all of its secrets.

BLOOD AND BONE is full of secrets, and Kyle Byrne unknowingly
possesses the shovel to unearth them. Kyle has the whole package:
good looks, athletic ability and charm --- genetic gifts that he
has frittered away. A pro baseball prospect until flunking out of
college, he spends his time playing on sandlot teams, working
dead-end part-time jobs and playing video games. The shadow that
hangs over his life is Liam Byrne, the father he barely knew. Liam
was at best a fleeting presence during Kyle’s childhood
for reasons he did not fully understand, even when he was barred
from Liam’s funeral as an embarrassment --- a reminder of
Liam’s excesses and impulsive behavior --- when he was barely
12 years old. One of the few facts that Kyle knows about his father
is that he was an attorney, which has given rise to Kyle’s
eccentric habit of frequenting the funerals of Philadelphia lawyers
of a certain age who might have known Liam.

When Liam’s former law partner is murdered during an
apparent burglary gone wrong, Kyle finds himself being drawn into
his father’s past, even as his prior misdeeds, errors and
omissions are coming back to bite him. What is most disturbing,
however, is that Kyle seems to be haunted by Liam’s spirit
while being silently pursued by a homicidal enigma named Robert
Spangler, who is trying to track down documents that he believes to
be in Kyle’s possession. Kyle is not only way out of his
league, but also is suspected of murder. At the same time, he feels
drawn toward the attractive Philadelphia homicide detective who is
not entirely immune to Kyle’s charms herself.

What no one knows, however, is that Spangler, even as he pursues
Kyle, is being manipulated. And so is Kyle. The result is a story
that begins, quietly enough, over a decade ago during a
Pennsylvania church service and ends with revelations that could
potentially shake some of the highest levels of government.

William Lashner’s prose is pitch- and letter-perfect (when
has it ever not been so?). By turns chilling, funny,
melancholy and, yes, even heartwarming, BLOOD AND BONE is a volume
you will keep close at hand to read and re-read.