This was so good! I'm so excited to read more by this author. Finally, something that was scary without being the most cliched and flat characters imaginable. Won't ever look at a vulture or a ladybug the same way.

Fantastic Southern gothic! Sam goes home to stay with Mom and starts doubting Mom’s sanity as her personality seems to have changed. But then Sam starts noticing strange things about the house- including the vultures who seem to be watching it. The creepy starts building until it reaches a startling conclusion. Told with acerbic wit, a hint of romance and a bunch of creepy- I totally enjoyed this.
Thanks Netgalley for the ARC . My opinions are my own.

A southern gothic horror novel that is both unusual and interesting. The main character was great and the story kept my interest.

A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

Publication date: March 28, 2023

Date read: November 9, 2023

Audiobook read by Mary Robinette Kowal



Sam's excited for this rare extended visit with her mom, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them. But stepping inside the house, 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.

I'm fairly new to T. Kingfisher's books, but she is definitely an author I plan to read a lot of in the near future. This book had a lot to offer - especially for as short as it was (less than 300 pages) - and managed to be both incredibly creepy and laugh-out-loud funny throughout.

The type of horror in this book is almost entirely atmospheric - very little gore or even anything physical until the climax - which is probably my favorite type of horror. That unsettling feeling that comes over me as a reader, even when not all that much is happening in the story, is something I really appreciate.

I loved the characters in this book, especially Sam, although I don't think there was a poorly-written character in the bunch. Sam was very much out of her depths, and I enjoyed how real her responses felt to everything. I also highly recommend listening to the audiobook version, because Kowal did an amazing job bringing Sam to life and especially bringing the humor of the writing into her telling. I can't remember the last time a book scared me and made me (intentionally) laugh within the same chapter.

It's hard to say a lot about this book without risking spoilers, but I loved how the story came together - it was unexpected, a bit messed up, but ultimately completely enjoyable and believable in context. I also believe that even non-horror fans can enjoy this book. It's definitely a horror, but the gore is very toned down, relying more on an unsettling environment and things "going bump in the night" than jump scares and blood.

Overall, one of the best reads of 2023 for me. I highly recommend it to all horror/mystery fans, but will pretty much recommend it to anyone who can stomach a good "haunted house" story.

Rating: 5/5 stars

Content warning: language, bugs, fat shaming, psychological/emotional abuse, racism

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book

This was a delightful macabre read uniquely interwoven with deep family history and how people can handle their racist relatives! I really enjoyed all the avian imagery. The main character is very relatable, and while there are certainly dark themes throughout, she's quite comical in her thoughts and opinions.

T Kingfisher gets it! In this short novel, she tells a creepy, Southern gothic story without using the "dark" elements and language that typically go with the genre. Kingfisher captures the difficult balance of being a modern US Southerner and respecting your roots while reckoning with its awful past.

This was just the thriller I wanted and needed! Y’all need to go on and read this because it’ll have you guessing by and questioning and shocked at every moment

This was a great southern gothic novel. It was my first experience reading this authors work and I am hooked!

The book had great characters, fantastic writing, and a haunted house… what else could you ask for?

There are slight moments of humor which were a nice refresher from the scenes that were more perturbing.

The author set up a sensational atmosphere with the right amount of tension.

Great read!

I always enjoy T. Kingfisher's books because she is a master of telling horror stories with a flawed but relatable female protagonist often with a four legged sidekick. "A House with Good Bones" was a bit lighter on the horror than some of her other books and is more of a slow burn, but it still was an enjoyable read.

This book is quite strange! Terrifying sorcerers, Thelema, infestations of ladybugs, legendary underworld children that grandmothers used to terrify their grandchildren, and vultures prowling the neighborhood are all present. This peculiar little novella was a complete treat, and T. Kingfisher is still one of my favorite writers!

A House With Good Bones is the story of Sam Montgomery, a woman in her thirties who has been quite happily caught up in her career as an archeological entomologist- until her current project is interrupted by the discovery of human remains and she has to take a break until its resolved. Not wanting to inconvenience her roommate and her bratty cat, Sam opts instead to head home to her mother's place until either the project is back on or the length of the trip is up and she can go home. Simple enough, right?

Except when Sam arrives she finds her typical anxious but artsy mom isn't herself- and all of the little things her mom did to make the house her own after her grandmother passed away have reverted to a not so pleasant past version which is all too familiar to the parts of her that remember growing up in that house. Something's not right and what should have been a breezy couple of weeks at home are looking like they might involve figuring out why her mother is so much more anxious than usual, why there are vultures lingering all around the house, and just why there are no bugs anywhere near her grandmother's creepily pristine roses.

T. Kingfisher remains one of my favorite speculative writers for a handful of very good reasons. The characters are quirky but realistic, the story is very much one of horror but also amusing and playful, and we inevitably always seem to find some form of unexpected treat hidden somewhere in the narrative. All of these things are found within the southern gothic, A House With Good Bones, and I am happy to say that I ate this one up with all of the same relish and amusement as I've found in each of her other books. If you're hoping to read something unexpectedly charming, relatable, and nicely placed between horror and the fantastic you'll probably enjoy this one too.

T. Kingfisher is the queen of "light-hearted" horror and this book was a prime example. I will read any of their books at this point.

This was a solid story. I expected it to be a lot darker than it was and needed more gothic descriptions about the vultures. She touches on some interesting gothic imagery, but it didn’t come to life like I was craving. The story itself felt like a tease. It grabbed my attention, but I was left wanting more.

Do I like horror? No. will I read anything Kingfisher writes? Yes. Spooky, solid characters, and it just kinda creeps up on you. Can't recommend enough, even if, like me, you hate horror.

This book spoke personally to me. My grandmother is a racist southern lady who has told me that before the civil rights movement, black people were happy in the South, and it was Northerner's fault the civil rights movement happened because the Northerners weren’t minding their business. This admission occurred because I had long ago accused my great-grandmother of being racist, and after years that was my grandmother’s response. This is a long explanation of why I’m fond of Sam having such a mean, racist grandmother. Her grandmother evolves into a living nightmare throughout the book.
Sam herself is a wonderful character devoted to her mother and the study of bugs.
The horror element is nicely done with the creeping feeling of something wrong with Sam investigating what is wrong with the house while finding horrifying answers.

This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for my honest thoughts.

T. Kingfisher never disappoints. This was an odd take on the haunted house, and I was here for it! Will definitely read anything this author publishes.

A fun little horror-romp from T. Kingfisher. I liked the characters and the plot, but overall it seemed a little thin on substance. I wanted more dread and fear throughout, but only seemed to get it in the last arc of the story.

Wasn't sure where this one was going in the most delicious way; an insightful exploration of generational trauma with plenty of gorgeously creepy details and unexpected twists and turns.

If you like getting entomology and botany and vulture education provided in entertaining bursts, this book is for you. If you liked Ursula Vernon’s/T. Kingfisher’s spontaneous education about slime molds at the Hugo awards, this book is for you. If you want creative monsters and weird magic society drama and philosophical musings about Waffle House, this book is for you.

I can't think of anyone who can balance horror and humor as well as Kingfisher does. This book is a little light on the body horror, (which Kingfisher does very well; just not here), and leans more into the hedge witch side of the scale. That's fine, (and if your want to read the entire book as an extended metaphor of an adult child caring for an elderly mother and grandmother, you should feel free to do so, and knock yourself out). I enjoyed the book mostly because of our heroine, who can toss off edgy observations or deadpan kill shots with ease, and because of some truly memorable neighborhood characters who drift in and out of the action. This is a super fast paced read, but it covers all of the bases and delivers on every page. A nice addition to the lighter side of Kingfisher's impressive, growing body of work.