ARC Review: The Mystery of the Bones, Snow & Winter #4 by C. S. Poe

From The Blurb:

Snow and Winter: Book Four 

It’s been a full year since the mystery that brought antique shop owner and part-time amateur sleuth Sebastian Snow together with NYPD homicide detective Calvin Winter. Patience, sanity, and their very lives have been put to the test, but love has persevered. Although Sebastian is now New York City’s best-known busybody, he’s done solving crimes and wants nothing more than to plan a romantic budget wedding. 

Then Snow’s Antique Emporium receives a decapitated human head in the mail and the holidays are gory once again. Sebastian patently disregards the mystery of a lifetime because he is done with death and danger—but the killer escalates. Before Sebastian knows it, his closest friends and family are dragged into a series of horrific murders with antiquated clues hinting to the infamous Victorian American Bones Wars. 

The clock is ticking to recover a long-lost artifact linked to paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope and to capture a murderer. But it’s not Sebastian who may become the next target—it’s Calvin.

Karen's rating:

I was a little nervous going into this one...

...because it's been said that all good things must come to an end and while I know that this is the end of the road for this series I was also a bit nervous that...given how my luck works sometimes, this might also be the end of my good-book-reading-streak. I've been on a bit of a roll with the last few books that I've read and I've really, really enjoyed them so I admit I was worried that might end with this one...not for any particular reason other than that's just how my luck rolls sometimes and because this is the final book in the series I really wanted things to end on a positive note and since I've happily given this one 5 stars I think it's safe to say that things wrapped up on a very positive note.

I've read each of these books and I've absolutely loved them but this one is without a doubt my favorite.  While Snow & Winter might not be everyone's cup of tea for me each story has brought hours of reading enjoyment as well as listening pleasure with the release of the audio books and seeing Calvin and Seb go from what at best could be called frenemies to a committed couple as they stumble through Seb's amateur sleuthing adventures has often been an emotional roller coaster ranging from the hilarious to breathtakingly scary but here in 'The Mystery of the Bones' Sebastian is faced with his most important case yet because not only does his future happiness depend on him solving the case, but for Calvin it could literally be a matter of life or death.

Sebastian's got to rely on his own wit and cunning to figure this one out but Quinn's determined to see her partner rescued and of course Max will do whatever his boss and friend needs him to but these aren't the only people determined to help Sebastian figure things out...Neil's still around and even more surprising than the growth and change that's happened with and between Calvin and Sebastian, is the change in Neil. He's gone from someone who had me muttering 'should die in a fire' every time he was on page' to someone that I want some happy for. I think more than any other character in the story Neil has changed the most and this time he's determined to have Sebastian's back even if it cost him what means the most to him...his job.


Of all the mysteries that Sebastian's had to solve this was definitely the one that had me baffled almost right until the very end. Not that I didn't have guesses as to who his adversary was, it was more a case of they were wrong and I had to keep going back to the drawing board and I love it when a mystery keeps me guessing.

As much as I've enjoyed this series I'm always glad when an author wraps a series up on a high note and I'm left feeling like 'wow, I really love these stories and I'm going to miss these characters' rather than 'wow, thank heavens that's over with and this could have finished 5 books ago why did I keep reading it?' and I think we've all got at least one series that we've read that fits under that last statement...I know I do because I'm one of those people who once I start reading a series I feel compelled to stick with it...I blame it on my book OCD, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'm definitely looking forward to enjoying the last two books in this series on audio when they're released and if Ms Poe shares the concessional Winter and Snow short story or coda with us...well, who am I to complain.

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An ARC of The Mystery of the Bones was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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