When I initially requested this novel on NetGalley I didn't realize that it was part of a series. Cut to the Bone is the third book in the Agent Sayer Altair series but I didn't feel left in the dust by the storyline. There are events mentioned that I'm assuming are covered in the previous two novels but they're more passing information than being an important piece of the current novel's plotline. Certain events do occur within this book that might make it less appealing to go back through the series and I'm still trying to decide on if I will. Sayer is a very humanly compelling character - just the right mix of flawed. To Sayer, the job comes first before nearly anything except family. She is the type of character that constantly puts herself in precarious and more than likely dangerous to save someone else above and beyond what duty as an FBI agent calls for. It was nice to see yet another HRD team in this book with Max & Kona - their relationship reminds me of the character Luke Alvez (Adam Rodriguez) and his dog Roxie (if she were an HRD dog) from Criminal Minds. Reading this book brought me back a lot to that show actually. The supporting characters (that have a history with Sayer) have great interaction with her but I think it would be more meaningful had I read the prior two novels. If I do wind up going backward I look forward to getting to know the characters better - especially Tino, Max, and Holt. I do so love books with killers that have strange rituals and/or backgrounds and this one drew from one of my most favorite subjects - Egyptian history. Cut to the Bone featured certain funerary rites from Ancient Egypt and it was so interesting. I would love to go into depth here but I don't want to ruin the book for anyone. This book is based in Washington D.C., I visited D.C. shortly after 9/11 through our 4-H Washington Focus trip and it's not something I'll ever forget. Having traveled to some of the locations where scenes took place made it all the more interesting and immersive for me. The book is a moderately fast-paced ride and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's a solid installment for a series and you could read it as a standalone book if you weren't curious about what happened before or takes place afterword. Sayer's case is wrapped up but what she found herself thrust into the middle of is definitely far from over I think. When I thought I had my conclusions drawn I got thrown a half curve ball - I was partially correct about only one thing. There were several twists in this book that I did not see coming at all. I would have honestly preferred to start with Caged first so that I could follow the series from the beginning. Not starting with book one didn't lessen my experience with the third book in the series. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy thrillers, suspense, mysteries, Egyptian history, and serial killers. A big thank you to the publisher William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Cut to the Bone as an ARC copy - all opinions are my own.