When the Bones Sing
By (Author) Ginny Myers Sain
HarperCollins Publishers
Electric Monkey
2nd July 2025
13th March 2025
United Kingdom
Young Adult
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Horror and ghost stories, chillers
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Crime and mystery fiction
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Relationship stories
Paperback
432
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 28mm
260g
Romance, secrets and mystery and a teenage girl who hears the bones of the dead Perfect for fans of Holly Jackson, Adalyn Grace and Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing
17-year-old Dovie doesnt believe in magic even though she comes from a long line of women who can hear the bones of the dead sing, and for the past few years the bones have been crooning nonstop, calling out to Dovie to dig them up. Because there is a killer on the loose someone is snatching hikers from the miles of tracks, leaving their mutilated bodies for Dovie to find. And the body count grows ever higher.
Some of the old-timers believe that its the monstrous Ozarks howler snatching people off the Aux Arc Trail. Well Dovie doesnt believe in the howler, and she doesnt believe her best friend the gorgeous Lo when he tells her he is being haunted by dark shadows. All she believes in is her talent that guides the local sheriff to the bones when they begin their song, then reuniting the dead with their families to give them some peace.
But the truth of their deaths isnt buried with their bones; its hidden somewhere deep in the hills. And Lo and Dovie must unearth it before anyone else is killed
Praise for Dark and Shallow Lies:
Dark and Shallow Lies oozes atmosphere and dread [] An intense and brooding thriller laced with the supernatural and killer twists. Observer
A page-turning thriller IRISH TIMES
Few books have stuck with me quite as much as Dark and Shallow Lies did this year. Like its ominous and isolated Louisiana bayou setting, Ginny Myers Sains debut YA novel is a story thats as alluring as it is unnerving and unfathomable. Blending small-town supernatural thrills with a haunting coming-of-age murder mystery, its the kind of deeply atmospheric book that makes you live every second with its heart-breaking cast of young and troubled characters. Taking place, as Ginny Myers Sain describes it, in the in-between spaces where magic feels most possible, its a story that crackles off the page and into readers hearts, where it will stay for a long time to come. Culturefly
Dont even try to resistGinny Myers Sain will lure you into the spellbinding world of the deep Louisiana bayou with this riveting missing girl mystery populated by a bewitching cast of characters; spun to life in lush, atmospheric prose; and teeming with a dark mythology that is part folklore, part psychic mysticism, and entirely compelling. Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos
Haunting and arresting, this is one stunning debut. Ginny Myers Sain has written a totally engrossing small-town mystery about what happens when you finally dig up long-buried secrets. Jessica Goodman, bestselling author of They Wish They Were Us
Ginny Myers Sain enjoys creating dark, tangled, mysterious stories that exist in the in-between spaces where magic feels most possible. She especially loves writing for young adult readers because those years between childhood and adulthood are full of so much possibility...and so many big fears and questions. Ginny currently lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with her teenage son and a very cowardly doberman named Shipley. When she's not working in the theatre or writing, you're likely to find her listening to true crime podcasts, taking pictures of alligators, eating tacos, or planning a trip to Walt Disney World.