Book Review - BoneMan's Daughters by Ted Dekker

Well here it is, my first book review, and as I said in my introductory post, I would like to put a little different spin on it. So the first order of business is to not tell you what the book is about. Quite honestly, I don't really care for the reviews that do that. I want to know what someone thought about a book, not read about their own version of the plot. The author got paid quite well to write the book himself, he doesn't need my help. That being said, if you would like to take a quick look at the synopsis of the book (and I recommend you do) as well as check out what other critics and readers had to say, click here before reading on.

As for what I thought of the book, let me first say that I am a huge Ted Dekker fan. I've referenced and mentioned his works multiple times in my other posts and I always eagerly anticipate his next books. I own and have read all 27 of his books so far, some more than once. I could probably get a bit carried away writing about his other books and his life and career as a whole, but his Wikipedia entry sums it all up pretty well if you want to check it out. Now, enough with all of that, on to the book.

BoneMan's Daughters is Dekker's first major novel not published by Thomas Nelson, that bastion of Christian publishing; his first "mainstream" release if you will. But that's not to say that it is a mainstream novel. This book is every bit Ted Dekker. Is it violent? Yes, it is. Is it dark? Of course it is. Are there a couple instances of very mildly offensive language? Definitely. But that's the whole point, and it's something I'll explain in greater detail in my next post.

What I've noticed in reading other reviews is that most people just don't get this book. Either they're uber-religious and condemn it outright for it's violence and crudeness, or they're mainstream readers used to reading Koontz and King and they blast it for it's unoriginal theme. Then there's the more moderate views. The Christian who gets that there is a theme to it and understands the use of violence, but ultimately still misses the true point, or the mainstream reader who just thinks it's a genuinely good thriller.

Let me be very clear here, this is a love story. A very intense love story. A very violent love story. It's a love story about a man willing to do anything up to and including sacrificing his own life if necessary in order to save his child from an unimaginable evil. Sound familiar? Exactly my point. And the best part is that the love in the story is as intense and beautiful as it is because of the violent nature of the evil that is portrayed. I love that Dekker continually plays on that in his books rather than shying away from it as so many others do. After all, quite possibly the greatest example of selfless love ever shown was Christ's death on the cross for us, and you certainly can't say that wasn't violent.

As for the literary elements of the book, I personally thought it was one of his best written since his earlier works. Maybe it had something to do with this quote from his blog about the book:

"Not since writing When Heaven Weeps following the death of my brother many years ago have I written such a personal story as BoneMan’s Daughters. I’ve dedicated it to Rachelle, but this love story is for you. For every daughter, every son, every father, every mother."

It's funny he says that, because as I got into the book I even thought to myself that he had not written a book with this sort of intensity since he penned the Martyr's Song series, which included When Heaven Weeps (a very gut wrenching read by the way). In general, I found all of the characters to be reasonably well developed and believable. The dialogue was for the most part smooth, and the book moved at a pretty steady clip.

For those hoping for one of Ted's shocking twist endings, you may be a little disappointed. There's a minor "a-ha" moment towards the end, but nothing like his previous books Skin and Adam. But that's OK. This book didn't need that and personally, I rather enjoyed the ending.
There are a handful of scenes that are not for the faint of heart, but generally if you enjoy a good thriller then I think this is well worth the read. Sure the whole serial killer preying on young girls theme has been done and done again, but Dekker does a nice job of adding his own personal style to it. It certainly stands alone as a quality mainstream thriller. But if you're willing to look just a Little deeper and see the love story that resides within the evil confines, well, you're in for a real treat. You'll be thinking about this book long after the cover is closed.