Boneman's Daughters: a review

BoneMan's Daughters by New York Times bestselling author Ted Dekker is being touted by critics as his best work ever. I have never read anything by this author, mostly because the covers of his books didn't really appeal to me; they always seemed like scary stories, and I can't handle those! While Boneman's Daughters was definitely a psychological and adventurous thriller, it wasn't scary, at least not to me!
Navy Intelligence officer Ryan Evans has been through a harrowing ordeal as a hostage in Iraq. After two years he is coming home to his wife Cecile and daughter Bethany in Austin, TX. Feeling that Ryan abandoned them, Cecile and Bethany want nothing to do with him. Cecile is beginning divorce proceedings and has become engaged to the county district attorney.
At the same time, DA Burt Welsh has been forced to release a convicted serial killer known in the media as The Boneman, due to tainted evidence. This man killed six young women by breaking all of the bones in their bodies.
When the Boneman resurfaces after two years of no activity, he takes Ryan's daughter. The time frame coincides with both the release of the convicted killer, and Ryan's return to Austin, but evidence begins to point to Ryan actually being the Boneman. From this point the story becomes a chase across the middle of Texas through Waco, El Paso, San Antonio and back to Austin. Given a deadline in which he can save his daughter, Ryan is chasing the Boneman and the FBI and DA are chasing Ryan.
BoneMan's Daughters is more than a serial killer adventure thriller. Ryan has plenty of time to philosophize as he drives across the state, reflecting on his past actions as a father, and what he wants to do in the future to mend his relationship with Bethany. The Boneman, in his way, is also philosophizing about becoming a father and what that will do to enrich his own life. Who will be Bethany's father in the end? Will she have a choice?
Although BoneMan's Daughters has some violence, it is well-written and does not contain strong language or sexual situations. It definitely has a spiritual tone in places, and after reading Ted Dekker's biography I learned that his early novels were classified as Christian fiction, although his current writing is considered mainstream. I am passing this book on to my friend Paul, the one who carved me that great wizard. He loves Stephen King, Dean Koontz and others of this genre, so I think he will like this one, too.