The Bone Records

Named one of the Top 30 Mystery Novels of 2022 by The Strand Magazine!

NY Police Academy washout Grigg Orlov discovers an eerie piece of evidence at the scene of his father’s brutal murder: a disc-shaped X-ray of a skull. It’s a bone record—what Soviet citizens called banned American songs recorded on used X-rays. But the black-market singles haven’t been produced since the sixties. What’s one doing in Coney Island in 2016?

Grigg uncovers a connection between his father and three others who collected bone records when they were teenage friends growing up in Leningrad. Are past and present linked? Or is the murder tied to the local mob? Grigg’s got too many suspects and too little time. He must get to the truth before a remorseless killer takes everything he has.

Praise

"The Bone Records grabs you by the throat on the very first page, then never slows down as it takes you on a wild ride through New York City streets filled with Russian intrigue, underworld crime, police corruption and a man’s desperate quest to avenge his father’s murder. Shamus Award-winner Rich Zahradnik has written a taut, terrifically exciting and thought-provoking thriller."

—R.G. Belsky, award-winning author of the Clare Carlson mystery series

"The plot is not only timely, but utterly unique—a tale of cultures colliding, often with sudden and unexpected consequences, as lonely city claims-adjuster Grigg Orlov spends his long nights chasing down leads on the mysterious disappearance of his father... This is a compelling read, highly recommended."

—LA Times bestselling author Baron R. Birtcher

"A thriller in the noir tradition which takes us on a New York journey filled with intrigue, corruption, mobsters and political skulduggery. One of those novels inspired by the great noir masters, but with time and insight possesses a unique talent to elevate the genre."

—Andrew Gulli, Managing Editor of The Strand Magazine

"Editor's Pick: The twisty suspense and the certainty that no one is as they appear keeps the pages turning."

—Publishers Weekly BookLife Reviews

"A fast-paced thriller set around Coney Island during the tumultuous lead-up to the 2016 presidential election… The Bone Records is a well-crafted mountain of intrigue and non-stop action."

—Bruce Robert Coffin, award-winning author of the Detective Byron Mysteries

"A wonderfully flawed protagonist and a complex mystery combine with current events in Zahradnik's best novel to date. The Bone Records had me hooked from page one."

—Elena Taylor, award-winning author of All We Buried and the Eddie Shoes mystery series