“Murder and mayhem from the annals of osteoarchaeology, with modern instances of cannibalism and like chewy topics on the side. Continuing her ventures into the more lurid corners of history and prehistory, Hollihan opens with the discovery and excavation of King Richard III’s hacked bones from beneath a modern parking lot and closes with the still-ongoing project of piecing together and identifying the jumbled skeletons of hundreds of servicemen who died in the bowels of the Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor. … Solidly researched and, no bones about it, both eye- and mind-widening.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“This wide-ranging account examines some notable searches for and/or discoveries of human remains. These are more than bare-bones overviews; Hollihan draws on the work of archaeologists, geologists, biologists, historians, forensic anthropologists, and more as she provides context, background, and theories. Hollihan’s enthusiasm for her subject comes through in her detailed conversational text, which includes discussion of the hunt for King Richard III’s grave in England, the aftermath of two catastrophic nineteenth-century Indonesian volcanic eruptions, an ill-fated 1845 Arctic expedition, the Romanov deaths, to name a few cases. Lots of color photos and archival reproductions liven up the pages; sidebars expand on such topics as plate tectonics, cannibalism, and ‘What to Do If You Find Human Bones.’ Selected sources, related websites, and an index (not seen) are appended.” (The Horn Book)