The Bone Queen

A Novel

By: Will Shindler

Narrated by: Tamsin Kennard

A chilling horror-thriller debut where a mother's search for her missing daughter battles against the shadows of a historic, dangerous legend.

Single mother Jenna arrives on the tranquil shores of Athelsea fueled by the desperate hope to find Chloe, her teenage daughter who’s disappeared from their London home. She has no idea why–all she knows is that Chloe had changed in the previous two weeks, haunted by something, or someone, and the ferry ticket here is the only clue she has.

As she explores the village and interacts with the locals, Jenna soon realizes a macabre secret is being hidden in plain sight. A dark legend of a vengeful woman called the Bone Queen is spoken of in hushed tones amongst the villagers, some of whom are frantically trying to suppress the tale that has long terrorized their lives.

As Jenna starts to learn more about the Bone Queen and her previous victims, the village’s grip on reality begins to loosen and no one can say for sure who, or what, is responsible for the deaths and disappearances on Athelsea. Suffering from what she can no longer distinguish between paranoid hallucinations or real manifestations, Jenna must act quickly before Chloe is next…

The Bone Queen has left her mark, and one day she’ll collect.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

Critic reviews

“A haunting and memorable debut that weaves one mother’s deeply personal quest through a terrifying legend. Shindler’s prose is confident and evocative, making The Bone Queen a twisty, can’t-miss horror novel.” —Alex Segura, bestselling author of Alter Ego and Secret Identity

"Chilling and poignant, perfectly balancing the deep fears of modern parenting and small town secrecy with the deadly menace of a vengeful local legend." —C. J. Dotson, author of The Cut

"The Bone Queen is an elegant, subtle, and deeply creepy novel of ancient evil and the power of a mother’s love. Will Shindler takes a big juicy bite out of the horror genre!” —Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Burn to Shine and Mystic