4.5 stars

I always enjoy Christina Henry's books, and this one is no different. This was an engrossing and disturbing story about a young woman, Mattie, who lives in isolation on a mountain with her husband, William. It's obvious that something is not quite right in their marriage. William is a real POS and Mattie is terrified. When Mattie finds a mutilated animal while out in the woods, an incredible chain of events begins.

I really enjoyed the isolated setting of this story; it's all confined to the mountain and that really makes the story feel super fast-paced. I read this in one sitting and was cheering for Mattie the whole time. There are many mentions of violence and abuse, which is jarring at times, but it doesn't feel overdone; the violence feels appropriate for the story. I found this book to be quietly disturbing in a way that feels so real.

I wish we could have learned more about William and his motivations, but not having that clarity doesn't take away from this book one bit.

I enjoyed this book. Though it does have some graphic domestic physical violence that may make some readers very uncomfortable. It also has all the classic horror elements to it with isolation and something stalking in the woods. The story kept me interested and reading at a pretty quick pace to find out what happened with Mattie.

It’s a bit of a reviewing cliché to say “this book kept me up all night!,” especially for horror. So instead let me say: this book didn’t keep me up all night—because I didn’t dare let it get darker than it already was. Because it’s so good that all night was too long a time to go without finishing it. I read Near the Bone with such gleeful, white-knuckle terror that “all night” was too much and too little time. So, what’s the right amount of time for Christina Henry’s latest novel? Well, it’s one sitting, with a blanket and lights on, and maybe someone to hold your hand as long as they don’t interrupt you.

This is my favourite kind of horror, which is to say, no-frills horror. Much like Stephen King, Henry knows both her story and her writing are good enough to stand on their own, and she doesn’t belabour either the build-up (things get going very quickly) or play coy the mystery. She doesn’t withhold for the sake of withholding—she lays it all as plain as can be, and it’s terrifying.

Mattie lives on the mountain, if you can call what she does “life.” She cooks, cleans, and otherwise serves William, her husband, who does nothing but berate and abuse her in return. She holds fast to what little solace she can eke out, but even that is jeopardised by intruders on the mountain: one, a creature who behaves like no predator she’s ever seen, and the others college students in search of such a creature, bumbling into dangers they can’t even understand. Mattie will have to risk all these dangers, plus the doubts gnawing at her mind and the cold descending on the mountain, to have a chance at an actual life. 

What’s always nice about reading Henry’s horror is that every risk and every choice has consequences. Every decision matters, and every character has to make them. There are no passive observers, and no extraneous asides. Everyone drives the plot; the plot doesn’t drive them. Bad things happen to the protagonists and the antagonists in keeping with their choices, which makes every decision meaningful—and dire. And as their situations become increasingly precarious, no one is safe from more and more brutal consequences.

And yes, the book is brutal. It’s not overly gory; just very honest about how unforgiving nature can be, and how men can be even worse. But it has moments of respite and of true goodness, too, and a long, honest look at both how difficult and how rewarding surviving can be. The balance of tones is perfect, never completely overwhelming but never letting up, either.

Henry really leans into what she does best in this novel, which is a brief timeline so dense with plot and suspense that there’s barely room to breathe. The entire book takes place over the course of only a few days, and most of that over the course of a single day and night. Three threads—Mattie’s survival, William’s defense of his territory, and the search for a cryptid by three naïve college students—braid together into a single tight, breathless tale of survival.

Also, if you’re a fan of the podcast My Favorite Murder, this book basically has everything. There’s murder, kidnapping, things hidden in floors, cryptids, insanity, and of course, treasure. And it’s a badass survivor story that warns everyone: don’t go into the forest! I don’t know if Henry is a fan, but I think it’s safe to say she could be.

But you don’t have to know either MFM or Henry to enjoy scaring yourself silly with this novel. It’s a standalone, a complete tale of one woman’s harrowing journey. This does mean that it’s not a full history or profile on either a killer or a cryptid, which may frustrate some readers. I found it refreshing, though, not to have the focus on a killer or a monster, but on a survivor.

An uneven but often enthralling mash up of creature horror and suspense. This story really felt like two separate novels mashed together. There's Mattie, who lives isolated in a cabin on top of a mountain with her terrifyingly abusive husband, William. While they live a rustic lifestyle evocative of colonial times, it's quickly clear there is much more to the story. Mattie's psychological journey as she remembers her past and finds the courage to rebel against William is extremely effective. The novel's true horror comes from William's treatment of her and in exploring the terrors of being a woman in an abusive relationship. Then there's another plotline with an unknown creature in the woods and the appearance of three strangers tracking sightings of it. The descriptions of the creature itself are certainly spine tingling. And there's some interesting parallels between Mattie's situation with William and the feeling of being outright stalked by a predator in the woods. But overall, this part of the plot feels tacked on. Either of these storylines could be their own novels. Together, they make the story overstuffed and a bit unfocused. The three supporting characters never really register either. They also seem pretty blasé about the life-threatening situation they stumble into. Really, I still liked this book a good amount. Otherwise, I wouldn't be exploring what didn't work for me this much. I actually wish it was longer and had more time to fully flesh out the supporting the characters and further explore Mattie's past and future.

cw: This book contains graphic depictions of domestic abuse.

I don't even know where to begin! Let's start with the fact that I adored this book. Tight narrative, tense plot, absolutely terrifying. Author Christina Henry clearly knows how to write a horror novel.

The book is told through the eyes of Mattie, a young woman of indeterminate age. It begins as Mattie is checking traps for rabbits and finds a mutilated fox. She's confused - animals don't mutilate their prey, they consume it. But Mattie is more concerned with getting home to her husband, William, than investigating. Readers soon discover that William controls every detail of Mattie's life: what she eats, where she goes, how she spends every moment of her time.

When Mattie reports her findings to William, he insists she accompany him into the forest to find out what mutilated the fox. The duo find prints larger than any bear could have left, and Mattie begins to believe there's something strange living on their mountain. But as William drags Mattie along on his hunt, readers become as terrified with William as they are with the unknown woodland monster. The punishments he doles out to Mattie are as frequent as they are brutal.

This combination of domestic thriller and creature feature set in such an isolated setting is a one-two punch of mass proportions. There's terror in every single page of the novel, whether it stems from the creature or from William. Readers will be rooting for Mattie the entire time, wondering how she came to live in the cabin with William, and curious about what exactly is living and killing in the forest.

I won't say more, because this book is best read unspoiled! It's a taut, page-turning horror novel that you won't be able to put down. Best book I've read in a very long time.

This was a great horror story. I was into it from the first chapter. Monsters, mystery, strangers, cold setting? I loved it so much!

Near the Bone<begins with Martha and William, inhabitants of an isolated cabin on a remote mountaintop. As Martha checks traps and snares, it becomes obvious that her relationship with William is less than amicable, and that she lives a difficult and lonely life. The story crackles with tension and psychological suspense even before Martha discovers the mysterious and disturbingly large footprints near the cabin. Later, she and William find a cave containing the remains of some animal's prey, arranged in a way that no animal would ever attempt. Whether you're looking for a good monster story, or psychological thriller, Near the Bone has you covered

I've been curious about Christina Henry for years and I'll definitely be going back to read her dark fairy tale stories after this one. Her knowledge of fairy tale structure worked well in creating a foreboding atmosphere in Near the Bone, as well as building the image of an inimitable monster for the reader. She does a great job of making the unforgiving environment a realistic hazard for the characters, which only heightens the stakes in their ordeal. There are loose ends that aren't tied up as neatly as they might be in a book like Hunted by Darcy Coates, or the near-perfect The River at Night by Erica Ferencik, but the latest novel from Christina Henry is a thrill ride that will find a way to scare its reader no matter what they fear most.

Mattie has been in the cabin in the woods with William for what seems like a lifetime. Sometimes she has fleeting thoughts of being a little girl, playing with Heather and doing typical little girl things -- but William always tells her that those are just tempting hallucinations planted in her mind by the devil, and why should she doubt him? He is her world: her husband, her disciplinarian, the only human with whom she has any contact. Plus, asking William questions will only invite further beatings.

But one day, when she is out in the woods checking the small game traps, she discovers an animal that has been brutally killed, but not eaten, unusual behavior for a predator. As she and William investigate what kind of predator could be sharing their woods and behaving in a way too organized and cruel for an animal, her fear of this predator begins eclipsing her fear of William.

Who is her greater threat? William or the creature? Can she survive either?

I read this book in two sittings but could have easily read it in one if my schedule permitted. An excellent mashup of creature horror and psychological human horror.

I would happily read another horror tale from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I recently finished The Ghost Tree by the same author and loved it, and I was so thrilled that I loved this one just as much! A sad and scary tale of domestic abuse twisted together with some creature horror. I thought this was very well done, though I did want just a little more of the creature part of the story. Also big trigger warning for some seriously upsetting domestic violence scenes. 4.5 stars.

This could have been a really good creature horror book or a really good heavy issue book, but it suffered from combining the plots. I stayed invested to see how it all played out, but it never hit that true horror tone for me since Mattie is already so traumatized by William by the time the monster in the woods comes into play that all of her emotions seem muted. The descriptions and behavior of the monster were both creepy and intriguing, but so many of its actions and presence was indirect or done off the page that it kept it from being as frightening as intended.

The first few chapters were very well written and had me wondering exactly what century the book was set and what was going on with Mattie and William's past, but unfortunately, the quality didn't last after the introduction of the creature. There were some truly convenient and random plot points further into the book that helped resolve everything a little too well.

3.5 stars! Solid horror read. From reading the description I did not expect this to be a kidnapping story and that itself was way more traumatic than the “big bad”. I was way more scared of William than I ever was of the creature and I think that’s what the author intended. It was a really good comparison of man vs beast and I think that was what it did best. I don’t know if I would consider this a traditional horror read because while you do spend a lot of time reading about how to escape the “monster” you spend more time in Mattie’s head trying to understand the last 18 years of her life.

And then I started to read and could not put it down!! I am so happy to have found a new author to read. And yes I certainly did think it would be a YA book but it wasn't! Great story as much as you can get in one sitting because I couldn't stop for money! I love a book about the outdoors and then to top it off even better it had snow. Then it has people getting lost people having monster after then, plus a crazy man who is a monster. OMG, I can't tell you about it and spoil it for you so go read this book. If anyone has other books similar to this one please come back and tell me the names of those books. I read alot and it's hard to find something that I haven't already read . I can't give names of other books or authors in this review but I have some good ones and now I have this one to tell you that it is right up on my high adventure book list! Now I am going to go find some more of Christina Henry's books. Thank you NetGalley and publisher!!

Anyone who loves creature horror will no doubt enjoy this book. It has all the makings of a great horror book - monsters, fear, gore, and an atmosphere of isolation and terror.

Mattie doesn't remember how she got here, but she's been living alone with monstrous, abusive William for over a decade, up in the isolated mountains. What if William is not the only monster up here? When hikers looking for a rumored creature cross William and Mattie's path, events begin snowballing into a fast-paced fight for survival. Mattie has been surviving for a long time, but will she be able to survive this new terror?

I thought the combined mystery of Mattie's past and the presence of a creature in the forest was super interesting, and could not put this down once I started it late at night. Fair warning, there is an abundance of violent domestic abuse and trauma, so avoid if this is triggering for you.