Not as good as An Unfinished Life, even though it has most of the same characters. In fact for me that was where the problem lay. There were too many characters, all coming undone at the same time.
The writing like before was excellent, but the book really has nothing uplifting taking place.
( )

different relationships w/ people — how @ people fragments / setting Southwest
marriages / affairs out of wedlock children

Ishawooa, Wyoming, is far from bucolic nowadays. The sheriff, Crane Carlson, needs no reminder of this but gets one anyway when he finds a kid not yet twenty murdered in a meth lab. His other troubles include a wife who’s going off the rails with bourbon and pot, and his own symptoms of the disease that killed his grandfather.

The lives of the characters in this fine contemporary western are written about in prose as spare as as their lives. Flinty, uncompromising and tender,it's quiet drama pulls the reader in. ( )

Mark Spragg’s latest book, Bone Fire, continues the story of Griff started in An Unfinished Life. I suggest you start with An Unfinished Life first or the sequel will be confusing. Bone Fire picks up with Griff dropping out of college to take care of her grandfather Einar who has become ill. Griff has become an artist, using pottery as her medium. This was one of my favorite parts of the book. Her art sounds amazing, very unique, and is so thoroughly described I could almost see it.

Many characters from An Unfinished Life make appearances and they are as human, gritty, and loving as before. I have a real weakness for Mark Spragg’s western characters. The plot is fast-paced and interesting, but sometimes jumbled up a bit. The frantic pace can detract from Spragg’s real talent of drawing out his characters and the landscape.

I enjoyed Bone Fire. I didn’t think it was as good as An Unfinished Life, but it was nice to see where the characters had gone with their lives. If you liked Peace Like a River or Evensong you will appreciate Mark Spragg’s books. ( )