Crossed Bones follows Julia Lovat, a woman whose partner breaks up with her and as a parting gift gives her a book, The Needlewoman’s Glorie. It then follows Julia as she tries to find out exactly what happened to Cat, the girl in the book.
 
I thought this book was pretty good – I’m into history, and I love a good romance – and I’ve visited Morocco, which might have helped my understanding a bit. It also helps to know basic things about Islam and Arabic, but it’s not necessary – within the first few chapters of Cat’s story I’d worked out that “Inshallah” means “God willing” and a couple of the other words are defined.
 
The first few chapters about Julia and Cat seem a bit disappointing, and the story only really kicks in about half way through, but when it does, it’s well written and a page-turner. It’s not particularly funny – if you don’t like serious books I wouldn’t recommend it. However, if you’re interested in pirates, romance or history, it’s a really good read.