The lonely cabin, deep in the woods on the side of a mountain, is the only home Mattie can remember. She has not seen another human being besides her husband in the whole time she has lived here. William handles all of the work going to town to get the things they cannot make or hunt. As long as she can avoid angering him, her life is simple, quiet. A quiet that is shattered the morning she finds the mutilated remains of a fox on the path, not eaten, but butchered all the same. A sign of something new wondering the woods. Something too quiet with sharp teeth and ripping claws. Something that has brought strangers to the mountain, searching for proof of the unknown. Mattie knows that strangers can only mean trouble, can only mean William’s temper flaring, and she has little hope of avoiding what happens when William loses his temper.

Near the Bone is a fascinating bit of horror from Christina Henry. The mysterious creature in the forest is real and dangerous and strange nearly to the point of cosmic horror. But the source of most of the tension, the thing that is the biggest threat to Mattie, the real monster on the mountain, is her husband William. The creature is an ongoing danger, yes, but it is William who has built up this cabin in the woods frontier fantasy of being this godly woodsman with his meek little wife. It is William who sets Mattie impossible tasks to take his frustrations out on her, who has forced this girl to forget that she had ever been anywhere other than on this mountain or anyone other than his wife. A big part of the horror here is the space between the creature, a dangerous beast far too smart to be just an animal, and the man who chooses to be monstrous. One is horrifyingly unknowable, with behaviors that are near human but wrong in so many ways. The other is the stuff if far too many news stories, the horror of the known if not the familiar.

And the way that Griffin, the first of the strangers, showing up just shatters the whole image that William has built up of him being the only person other than Mattie on the whole mountain is brilliant. Just this brightly dressed stranger shows up where there are not supposed to be people, notes that he is sticking to the public park parts of the mountain, and seems to recognize Mattie. It is brilliant and it is awful for what it leads to.

This is actually a thing for me though. The hikers showing up represents a turning point, for Mattie, for the story, for William's madness, but they feel a little underutilized as characters. Which is funny because the story and Mattie spends a lot of time with them and they are clearly fleshed out characters. But it feels like there is a weird line where they do not know the mountain well and Mattie is insistent that they do not understand how seriously in danger they are, the unstoppable nature of the beast or the depths of rage and cruelty William possesses, but it also feels like the reader necessarily is not allowed to see them realizing that because we are only getting Mattie's take on events. So there is not really much room for more with the hikers.

Henry does a fantastic job maintaining the tension, keeping things sharp and tight and impossible until something shatters and the process begins again, slow and inexorable. I love it and I hate it and as many times as I had to put the book down because it had become too much, I also picked it right back up because I had to know what happened next. And the setting! This lonely falsehood in the middle of a mountain forest, built and maintained by a man who would force the world to be what he needed it to be and damn the outside if it dares approach without his permission. It is perfect for this sort of horror.

Near the Bone leaves me feeling unsettled and absolutely certain that I need to read more of Christina Henry's work. Her use of setting and the balance of different sorts of horrors were on point. Her character work was quite good with a number of fantastic moments between characters or digging a little into how Mattie sees things. It more than earns a five out of five.

This is a really engrossing read. The dread builds wonderfully throughout the story and the suspense kept me turning pages.

I’m mad at myself for taking so long to get to this book! Wow! I loved Henry’s world building and the way she parceled out each tidbit of Maddie’s past as the story unfolded! Eerie and excellent!

This is a survival horror story where I think it is best to go in knowing as little as possible. It is the story of Mattie and her overbearing (and abusive) husband, William, who live on a desolate mountain in a little cabin. One day Mattie finds a mutilated fox and begins sensing that they are no longer alone on the mountain. Others show up and wildness ensues. I loved every second of this book and would recommend to anyone who loves gripping survival horror!

Thank you to the NetGalley for sending me an advanced copy.

This is an extremely atmospheric book, taking place in a secluded snowy mountain area. I picked up the book mostly because I wanted to something "scary" to read. It is dark and gritty, but I appreciated that it was not too gory. The isolation made it so suspenseful, I could not put it down. The novel kept me on the edge of my seat and I think it is a great fall read.

This was the first of Christina's books that I have read and it won't be the last. I enjoyed this slightly gory escape from the mountain and the horrors that are chasing Mattie. I loved the inner monologue in Mattie's head as she realizes who she is and what is going on. Loved the outcome for William.

Mattie is about twenty and lives with her much older husband, William, in the mountains in solitude. William is abusive in all ways. He treats her like a possession, not a person, and keeps her hidden on the mountain in a cabin. She’s not allowed to leave the area around the cabin. Mattie is having flashbacks and bits of her past are returning to her as memories despite William lying to her for so long. A strange, unknown creature has shown up on the mountain near the cabin and it’s killing animals and sorting their bones and organs into distinct piles inside its cave. When Mattie and William discover the cave, he believes it’s the work of a demon and that he’s destined by God to get rid of it. Hikers are searching for new animals when William threatens them to leave his mountain. They see Mattie’s injured face and one of the hikers recognizes her from news reports. She’s unsure of what he’s talking about and William denies anything about the reports and restates that Mattie is his wife and the hikers need to leave or he will harm them. Mattie continues to recall bits of her past and when William leaves for town, the strangers approach the cabin to talk to her, filling her in on who she really is. The mystery and danger are suspenseful and Mattie has great strength despite her confusion. Horror adventure thriller worth 4 stars!

*Information on book content:
language content: 23 swear words and 3 f-words
mature content: PG-13, mentions wifely duties and drugs are found and mentioned a small amount
violence: PG-13, bloody animal found dead, gore, abuse to main character with blood involved.

This was an incredibly tense read.
While being a story about survival with a paranormal threat, it is also a character study about a girl stuck in an abusive marriage.
The book does a great job showing what the character has gone through and her inner turmoil because of it.
I read it really quickly and felt on edge the entire time.
I do wish there was a little more action but I think it is probably the right amount for young adult readers
3.5 stars

I love the premise and the book started out strong and finished strong. When it moved, it really did. Something about the middle bogged down for me and I found myself wanting to skim to get to the resolution between the husband and the monsters. Will try another book from this author.

Mattie has lived most of her life on the mountain with her husband William. In fact, she questions anything she recalls about the time before that. The mountain and William are her whole life. So when she starts to notice the dead animals, she knows all is not right. But she can’t even imagine the kind of creature that’s made it’s home in their backyard.

A group of strangers arrives in search of the creature. But it’s Mattie who catches their attention. And attention of any kind is something William wants to avoid. But William is gone when they arrive and Mattie tries to warn them.

Unfortunately it’s not enough to save any of them.

I had mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, I loved that it was a monster story! I loved the cryptozoology enthusiasts! And I loved the remote setting.

On the other hand, this is not exactly actually a monster story of that kind. This is Mattie’s story. The creature and everything that happens after it’s arrival is just forward momentum for Mattie. It’s the thing that pushes her to remember who she is and to try and escape.

And her story is in fact a different kind of monster story. A lot of the details of it made my skin crawl, to be honest.

But I liked Mattie. And I wanted to see her make it. Which is why I kept reading.

I'll admit, ultimately I really wanted more of the creature feature monster story rather than the human monster/survival tale that the book turned out to be. Which is not to say that I didn't like the book, just that my expectations had to be changed when I realized exactly what I was in for.

And Mattie's survival story is a great read. But again, something you might need to be prepared for given the subject matter.

pretty tough read at times, especially if you're sensitive to reading about domestic and/or sexual violence. i don't remember any of it being on-page but the aftermath is, and it's upsetting.

but overall, i did think it was a really good book. the monster is almost an afterthought, but i think one can get that sense from the summary. the narrator was wonderful, and i look forward to checking out Christina Henry's other works.

Every time I think I can't possibly love Christina Henry even more, she releases another book that blows me away and proves me wrong. Near the Bone is quite possibly my favorite thing I've read from her so far, and I can easily see it landing in my favorite books of the year list. This book was shocking, captivating, and utterly unputdownable — literally, I wasn't even willing to take a break for dinner until I finished it, and ended up inhaling the entire book in one sitting because I was so drawn in that I had to know what would happen next right this moment.

Near the Bone is a tough read at its core, as it follows Mattie, a woman who is trapped in a brutal marriage that is abusive in every possible sense of the word. Christina Henry doesn't shy away from showing the ugly details, but it never feels overly gratuitous, either (and the sexual abuse is off-page, which many readers like myself will undoubtedly appreciate).Mattie is beaten down, but not broken, and her spirit is incredibly brave beneath the veneer of timidity she displays to keep herself safe. I loved Mattie so much and I think that's a big part of why Near the Bone held me captive so well: I needed Mattie to make it, and I couldn't look away until her fate played out.

This is a monster story, sure — there's a fantastic, eerie creature that stalks the residents and animals of the secluded mountain Mattie lives on — but I would caution readers not to go into this story expecting a full-blown creature feature. At its core, Near the Bone strikes me more as a commentary on abuse than anything else: the world abuse survivors live in, the ways that abuse can create a fear and trauma that stalks their daily life, and the reactions on-lookers have, whether it's victim-blaming, or undying love and support.

Truly, I adored every single page of this heart-wrenching, suspenseful read. With a heroine I cheered for every step of the way, a villain I loathed with every fiber of my being, and a beautiful, intense wintry scenery that gave me chills despite the warmth and safety of my home, Christina Henry absolutely blew away every (already high) expectation I had and made Near the Bone a powerful and memorable story that I already can't wait to re-visit.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was such a fantastic read, with a mix of traditional thriller with her "husband" having an anger problem, and whatever is in the woods. And I loved these two threats, and watching Mattie deal with the both of them!

Mattie has lived a harsh life with William, and the abuse that he does to her is pretty awful, for their supposed marriage. We don't get a lot of an explanation for all this at first, bur when we do find out about how it all started, man, that hurt!

The monster in the woods, that just ramped up the tension. With things already being tense with Mattie's interactions with a stranger, the monster hunting them just adds to the atmosphere, and I just couldn't put down this book!

I do get that not having answers keeps the tension high, but C.J, and his friends came up because they love learning about strange creatures. So you'd think that one of them would've figured out a bit ore than did did, just so we would learn a little more.

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more Christina Henry books!

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was on the 2022 shortlist. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2022/01/readers-advisory-announce-2022-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

I really really wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, it really missed the mark. Firstly TONS of very very graphic trigger warnings in here. I enjoyed the atmosphere, but this type of horror really just didn't do it for me. The creature was interesting, but overall the book was highly repetitive and could have been told in 200 pages easy.

Wow. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book but it was one I could hardly put down.

This book was very well placed and kept me reading LONG past my bed time many nights until I finished it. I was captivated by Sam's story and how we don't know much of what's happening but, as it slowly unravels, you urge her on and on and on through everything she faces.

There were times where I was literally unable to stop reading because I HAD to know what was happening. And a few times where I felt like it was a bit implausible - or like a few things were missing (did they move the chair, what happened to her boots...simple things) but it didn't take away from the story.

Horror is a genre I don't usually read in but I really enjoyed this one - it wasn't all 'blood and guts' but was more psychological at times and pulse-pounding at others.

I'd recommend this to fans of suspense with a touch of horror added in and those who like the thought of Bigfoot not exactly being a gentle giant...

My rating: 4*

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Thanks to the publisher for a digital and physical copy. All opinions are my own.

I will not be fully reviewing this book. I started it, but was not in the right mindset to finish it. I was definitely appreciative of the content, and will surely pick it up again soon. I will then fully review.

This felt like a movie in my mind. It was very visual. Excellent location, felt isolated and dangerous and cold. I can't wait to try more of Christina Henry's books!

*posted 10/5/21

Christina Henry brings to life a contemporary adult thriller with a hint of horror in her latest book Near the Bone. Like in many of her other works, the female protagonist lives in a world controlled by men--specifically in this case, Mattie's abusive husband, William.

Although there are elements of horror, the real focus of the story is Mattie's relationship with William. There are red flags right off the bat when we learn that William is much older than his wife and that she lives in constant fear of him. Her life is centered around him as they live alone, isolated on a showy mountain away from any prying eyes. Mattie is rarely left alone, but even on the few occasions that she is she still isn't free. Her every thought is prefaced by what William would or wouldn't like. Her actions are defined by her never-ending fear of setting him off.

That being said, although I intend to make this review as spoiler free as possible, I do need to issue a trigger warning for domestic and sexual abuse. As Mattie's story unravels, we come to see that there's more to her story than we thought and the details are pretty dark.

While the story unfolds, Mattie starts to have pieces of hold memories resurface--some new but some she simply chose to forget over time. Most notably, she finds herself being pressured by the voice of a sassy and headstrong girl called Samantha. Samantha encourages Mattie to fight back against William's abuse and seems all-too-familiar at times.

Mattie's psychological development through the story was very well done and I liked the way she gradually broke away from the conditioning she went through.

As I said, there are hints of horror in the story that felt secondary to the characters. At the beginning of the story Mattie uncovers signs that there is some kind of monster or creature on the mountain (we're talking first chapter so it's not really a spoiler). It makes some brief appearances but doesn't take a more active role until later in the story when things between Mattie and William take a dangerous turn. After that, the story shifts its focus to Mattie's struggle for survival. The environment, monster, and William are all forces working against her as she and her new group of allies try to escape off the mountain.

Honestly, it felt like the monster was kind of unnecessary for the story. it didn't really fit in once we saw what was going on between Mattie and William. It felt like it took away from the real focus of the story, especially since the ending felt unresolved where the monster was concerned. I would've felt better about it if we had seen our characters triumph in a more significant way over the monster. Or if it played more into Mattie's story, but as it was, it felt more like two separate stories.

Despite the monster sticking out in the story, I really enjoyed this book. I thought the ending was good, thought it left many questions unanswered, but that's something I've come to expect from Christina Henry. It's not necessarily a bad thing. She leaves the endings open to interpretation in a way that makes it fun to imagine how the characters' lives will continue. She doesn't tell you exactly what happens afterward, but instead paints a picture of what their future could be. In this case, she ends the story on a hopeful note and I felt that Mattie was finally on the way to self-healing. I do wish we had gotten an epilogue to find out a little more about her fate, but I also felt okay letting go and trusting that wherever life took her next she was strong enough to face it.

Overall, this was a very emotional and dark story that was a quick, fun read for fans of thriller/horror.

I knew from the synopsis that this was going to be just my kind of book. The isolation, the cold, the unknown threat lurking in the dark woods. What I did not expect, was shaken and moved by, and what made this book truly incredible, was that the greatest threat in this book came from inside the cabin. Not out in the world. I knew that William posed some kind of threat, but I did not expect the sheer brutality of of Mattie's life. Or the tragedy of her circumstances.

Near the Bone was at times breathtakingly hard to read. The fear was palpable, and as the action (and the violence) escalated I could feel my own pulse racing. As fans of Henry's work have come to expect, her characters are fully developed, nuanced human beings who are sometimes difficult to like and really that's the point. Mattie has been through an incredible trauma. It's natural for her to be defensive, suspicious, frightened, and tempted to sink back into her old life, however terrible, simply because what is familiar feels safe. It's natural for the three cryptozoologist fans that stumble onto her secluded home to be horrified, and want to help her. For them to be traumatized themselves by their encounters with William and the sudden vicious attack of the creature in the woods, and for that to manifest in infighting and even their turning on Mattie, despite her own victimhood.

Mattie is heartbreaking in her frailty, at times, but her ability to keep going, to dig in for that last bit of strength when a normal person might be reasonably expected to give up, is what makes her a compelling heroine that readers will connect with even if her (justifiably) prickly nature sometimes seems off-putting. And Henry's meticulous, crushing rendering of William's abuse, will prove the greater terror in what is, on its own, a genuinely creepy monster tale. Readers looking for something grim but not entirely bereft of hope, something that is part survivalist narrative, part monster mash, and part harrowing story of human cruelty, will want to add Near the Bone to their must-read list.