Synopsis:
A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.
“Mom seems off.”
Her brother’s words echo in Sam Montgomery’s ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.
She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam’s excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.
But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.
To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.
Awards/Nominations:
- A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023
- Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Readers’ Favorite Horror (2023)
My Edition:
Net Galley ARC
My Thoughts:
T. Kingfisher is an incredibly talented writer. She has a real talent for creating interesting characters and plopping them right in the middle of some really messed up scenarios. A House with Good Bones is no exception – Sam is an interesting character, and she is definitely in the middle of something exceedingly messed up.
Her mom seems like she’s normally very nice. But she’s very, VERY weird by the time we encounter her. She’s jumpy, she’s creepy, and she surrounds herself with the most bizarre trinkets. She also seems to have a weird relationship with the roses – her mother’s prize-winning, photo-spread-worthy roses. And then there are the vultures…
Anyway, tie all these things together and there is something very spooky going down at Sam’s mom’s house.
“Strange, the powers you find sometimes, in a garden at the end of the road.”
Turns out somebody at some point got up to some really questionable business of a nature that I’ll let you find out about, that has ramifications that I’ll..also let you find out about…
SPOILER FREE, BAYBEEEE!
One thing I will note – if you don’t like your books to contain a fair bit of snark, you probably won’t like A House with Good Bones. Or any of Kingfisher’s work, likely. But if you’re okay with your horror being spooky while also occasionally making you snort-laugh, I highly recommend this one. And you should check out others of her work (I’d start with the Sworn Soldier series if I were you).
Rating:
Although A House with Good Bones is not my favorite by T. Kingfisher, it was still very entertaining and fairly spooky. I enjoyed it!
A House with Good Bones
By: T. Kingfisher
Tor Nightfire
ISBN: 9781250829795
Published: March 28, 2023
Hardcover, Paperback, E-book, Audio
272 Pages
