“Tobias set himself to checking the herb stocks he kept in mason jars and the additional items needed, too. Everything was full to brimming. Tobias never let supplies get too low anyway. He then went back to arranging the bottles as they had been prior to his visit, in the order he preferred to keep them. But, as he took up that well-fashioned and highly detailed blue glass bottle one more time, as he held it up to the candle flame to end his evening on a positive note, he noticed something that had slipped past his acute visual radar upon first inspection… or perhaps it hadn’t emerged until seconds ago. Tobias couldn’t be sure. But, the metacarpal bone held inside the glass had gone totally black, as if an incredible degree of merciless heat had charred it…The Bone Gatherer, my third novel, kept an intense hold on me through the voices of my characters and their own strong and innate desires the whole time I was writing it.” – Jennifer Adele

As the old saying goes, “the third time’s the charm.” And in the case of Jennifer Adele’s third novel, The Bone Gatherer, that charm is a voodoo seal cast in enchanted wax. Her first book, The Haunting of Willow Tree Court, blasted onto the scene here in St. Louis in December 2012 as a breakthrough novel, and it brought many of the concepts of classic, old school horror back into the spotlight. Jennifer then followed it up about a year later with a brand new tale, Spellbound, which brought the concepts of love, life, and death to the forefront. Of course, the second book also provided a nice dose of magic and the macabre for readers to enjoy. Now, this same author is ending the spring season of 2014 with the release of The Bone Gatherer, due out in May.

This third book breaks a lot of emotional barriers and confronts many societal taboos right off the bat. It is both sexually risqué and mentally engaging. The Bone Gatherer is a strong, character-driven work with lots of twists and turns. And, it is full of many of the elements of horror, suspense, and paranormal romance that readers have come to expect from the author.

The Bone Gatherer, written in third person, predominantly tells the story of two people, Kat Ruegge and Tobias Grimm…

Life has already knocked Kat Ruegge around a bit by the time readers get to meet her. Finding work after college has been hard, and with no one to help her and a pile of bills to be paid, Kat is feeling the pressure. So, coming across a career opening in her field at the historic and infamous Bixby Estate seems too good to be true, but Kat has never looked a rare gift horse in the mouth… and there’s no way she’s passing up the opportunity to hostess there full-time. With room and board provided, Kat moves into the estate’s prestigious manor, rumors and urban legends aside, and she soon comes to know the formidable and attractive caretaker all too well. Of course, there is no way anyone could ever be truly prepared to meet Tobias Grimm.

Tobias’ family has worked at the manor for generations, and he seems to know all the secrets… some of which he’s not keen on sharing. He knows what his father taught him, and what his grandmother taught his father before him. He knows the rhythm of the seasons and the forces of time and tide. He knows the way of signs and symbols, and he is aware that bones are representative of the eternal. He has learned how to make a way where there might appear to be none. And, Tobias is a man set on getting what he wants most out of life. Of course, his mysteries and charms are deeply alluring to Kat, and she soon finds herself swayed by them. Kat gets in deep with Sheriff Tanner, too, a real ladies’ man. But, Tobias has his own special ways, and Kat isn’t his only lover, either. For loose on the grounds, and even within the grand old manor house, is someone who died almost a decade ago. It is someone with distinct powers of her own. Her name is Victoria. And, Victoria is not, under any circumstances, to be denied.

The Bone Gatherer not only captures the sentience inherent in nature and structure, but also in the many different aspects of human awareness, even awareness that continues on after death. Within the auspices of the story, we can examine for ourselves what it means to be alive, to be dead, and even to be undead. The book tackles the concepts of curses and spells, freedoms and memory, and most of all the desire to belong that is part and parcel to the human condition. And, the story leaves the reader to answer their own reflective questions in a pensive exploration of modern life and ancient mysteries.

Jennifer Adele is a monthly contributor for an informative nature column in the international publication Mystik Way Magazine, and she has been a regular feature writer for Walrus Publishing. In addition to being a novelist, she is the author of several intriguing short stories:  The Summoning, Jaguar Woman, Echoes from the Quarry, The Witch of Sea and Sand, The Letter, Misplaced, and The Mausoleum. Both her educational nature articles and short stories are available on her website as free downloads at www.jenniferadele.com. Her first and second novels are also available on her website and through CreateSpace.com and Amazon.com as well as through a few of local shops in the St. Louis area. Jennifer lives in St. Louis County with her husband, Jeff, and is a mom to three dogs and three cats.