HOLLOW BONES by Jodie Picoult

3* Started off slow but OK - after the opening scene - but then required too much suspension of disbelief...

Despite the punchy opening of the tale, this book quickly fell flat for me. The female lead seemed obsessed with others obsessing how she got to where she was at her age. Jesse seemed far older than his 38-40 years and yes, his job was interesting, but didn't really come into the tale much other than just before the end. And despite her intelligent, who goes out in icy weather, alone, wheb you're X months pregnant, risking a fall that was avoidable but that comes to pass? Really? Plot device, but it felt a bit TSTL.

It turned into a Bollywood drama (I grew up on them - the wrong get their just desserts, and the wronged get some form of justice done) once the identity of a character was revealed, and complete with Bollywood suspension of disbelief, the tale went there, but the murkier side of things, the 'things we have to right' things didn't really get dealt with. I found myself skim reading from that point onwards.

I appreciated knowing more about PPI, but just found the acceptance of what a certain character did, a little too easily glossed over. One minute a vow renewal was being planned, next everything was in the toilet because of Jesse's skills. It was quite shades of grey towards that section, and I'm an it's-black-or-white type

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph for my reading pleasure. 

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