The Talking Bone

The Talking Bone

$34.79

Review Quotes: "Every harrowing scene quakes with pain and outrage over injustice and the tragic consequences of perpetual 'hatred and contempt for women.' Denfeld is a righteous and resounding storyteller." -- Booklist (starred review) "Denfeld's...

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Review Quotes:

"Every harrowing scene quakes with pain and outrage over injustice and the tragic consequences of perpetual 'hatred and contempt for women.' Denfeld is a righteous and resounding storyteller." -- Booklist (starred review)

"Denfeld's potent prose balances lyricism with narrative momentum, and she ushers the proceedings to a stunning conclusion. Fans of Attica Locke and Laura Lippman will find a lot to like." -- Publisher's Weekly

"Powerful and haunting." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Drawing on her experience as a licensed death-row investigator, Denfeld (Sleeping Giants) crafts a taut, emotional thriller. Readers of her earlier novels will appreciate this intricately layered tale of suspense." -- Library Journal

"A gut-punch of a novel with as much beauty as it has pain, The Talking Bone showcases an author at the top of her game." -- CrimeReads

"Enthralling. . . . a heartfelt mystery that will keep readers turning pages late into the night." - Publishers Weekly on Sleeping Giants

"Rene Denfeld is a remarkable novelist. In cool, bewitching prose Sleeping Giants explores how we hurt one another, how we try to heal and asks what families are made of. The tenacity of the beautifully drawn characters and the glimpses of hope in the darkness make it impossible to look away from this heartrending and enthralling story." - Gilly Macmillan on Sleeping Giants

"A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel by the amazing Rene Denfeld." - Margaret Atwood, on The Butterfly Girl



Publisher Marketing:

"Rene Denfeld reminds us that storytelling remains one of the most powerful means we have of confronting our darkest human impulses and sometimes overcoming them."--Washington Post

From the revered bestselling author, a compulsive, page-turning thriller inspired by her real life work exonerating innocents, a novel that asks how far we'll go in our pursuit of the truth--an emotionally rich, luminously written book about evil and people trying to do good in the world.

Ruby Spencer is known as "the exonerator." Her job as an investigator is to free innocent men from death row, and she's good at what she does. What many people don't know is that she spends her time finding missing women, too. The orphaned daughter of an orphaned mother, Ruby feels a natural affinity for those who have been mistreated by the world at large.

Her newest case takes her to Georgia, and involves a man set to be executed in two weeks. What begins as a routine exoneration unexpectedly sends Ruby down a winding path. Pursuing the truth, she begins to uncover crimes that lead to startling revelations about her own life.

With time running out, will Ruby's search for answers ultimately lead her to danger?



Review Citations:

  • Library Journal 05/01/2026 pg. 100 (EAN 9780063396890, Hardcover)
  • Publishers Weekly 05/04/2026 (EAN 9780063396890, Hardcover)
  • Booklist 06/01/2026 (EAN 9780063396890, Hardcover) - *Starred Review
  • Kirkus Reviews 06/15/2026 (EAN 9780063396890, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:Denfeld, Rene

Rene Denfeld is a bestselling author, licensed death row investigator, and foster adoptive mother. She is the author of the novels The Butterfly Girl, The Child Finder, and The Enchanted. Her novels have won numerous awards, including the French Prix du Premier Roman Etranger, and the New York Times named her a 2017 hero of the year. She lives in Portland, Oregon.