The Bone Hunger

At the start of Rubin’s impressive sequel to 2018’s The Bone Curse, Philadelphia surgeon Ben Oris and Sophia Diaz, the mother of his toddler son, are on a walk in Wissahickon Valley Park when she spots a leg sticking out of some bushes. Fearing that its owner is hurt, and getting no response to her inquiries, Sophia pulls on the leg, only to discover to her horror that the limb isn’t attached to a torso. Ben is even more unsettled, since a tattoo and an orthopedic implant identify the leg as having belonged to a patient of his, Joseph Sampson, who recently died of a pulmonary embolism. Ben and the police are baffled by the theft of Sampson’s right leg from the morgue, and the coincidence of the doctor having stumbled across the body part arouses suspicion. The plot thickens when part of another of his patients is found in a park. The reveal is a real shocker, and Rubin’s winning lead is well-suited to sustain a series. This is just the ticket for Robin Cook fans. (Self-published)