"A House With Good Bones" by T. Kingfisher is a delightful and captivating read that blends elements of horror, mystery, and fantasy. The story follows a young woman named Allison, who inherits a strange old house from her estranged aunt, and decides to renovate it with the help of a quirky cast of characters. But as they uncover the house's dark and sinister secrets, they realize that they may have bitten off more than they can chew.

Kingfisher's writing is witty, atmospheric, and deeply engaging, drawing the reader in with every page. The characters are well-drawn and unique, each with their own quirks and motivations. The horror elements are subtle yet effective, and the pacing is just right, keeping the reader hooked until the very end.

Overall, "A House With Good Bones" is a highly entertaining and engrossing read that will appeal to fans of horror, mystery, and fantasy alike. Highly recommended.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

REVIEW TO FOLLOW.

-1 point for dissing Cheerwine. but relatable in the North Carolina experience. I am one of those North Carolinians who will go to bat for Cheerwine.

I really enjoyed the overall atmosphere and appreciated the the light-hearted tone the main character takes. Personally, I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much it it was more morose (pun intended).

The aspect of generational trauma is the most important element in my opinion. It's giving Disney's Encanto but add vultures, bugs, rose, and boxed wine. It also gave me a bit to process about my own trauma.

Would recommend to fans of horror, humor, gothic vibes, and nature conservation.

Thank you to Netgalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire, and T. Kingfisher for the opportunity to read an ARC of this title. An honest review was requested but not required.

<i>A House With Good Bones</i> is a mashup of Southern Gothic and horror but what really shines here is the characterization. Sam is a archaeoentemologist (a scientist who studies historical insect remains, I believe) and has a dry, sarcastic, irreverent sense of humor that the reader can’t help but smile at. The “plot twist” isn’t really a twist, as it’s obvious from practically the get-go, but Sam’s gradual descent from denial and rational explanation into full-blown horror is mesmerizing to watch. What really shone for me were the moments of EPIC “southernness”: Sam’s description of the crackers old man next door, the way southern neighbors chitchat about the weather in a ritualistic fashion, the faux pas of bringing back an empty dish (how do you end that cycle of reciprocal food-giving? Sincerely: I’m curious), Sam’s disdain of Piggly Wiggly, etc. I’m not from the South and despite my zip code it could be argued that I still don’t live there (this portion of my current state isn’t really “Southern” per se, I don’t think) so I found that fascinating.

The end seemed a little abrupt considering the buildup but overall I still really enjoyed this. It’s such an easy book to get completely absorbed in: I found myself pulling it open left and right even when I thought I was in the mood for something else. 4 stars.
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Sticks in the woods. A hole in the wall. Mushrooms. What do these things all have in common? They're common, everyday things that T. Kingfisher has made terrifying in the novels The Twisted Ones, The Hollow Places, and What Moves The Dead.

Now, we can add roses to the list with A House With Good Bones. Or, more specifically, rose GARDENS, full of rose bushes. Or, even more specifically, a PARTICULAR rose garden - the one occupying the backyard of the titular house.

The rose garden has secrets, you see. Just like Sam's grandmother, who owned the house when she, her mother, and her brother lived in it when she was a child. And although Sam's grandmother is dead and buried, that rose garden is still there. Its roots are still there. And those secrets are DEFINITELY still there. And when Sam's brother tells her that their mother, who still lives in the house now, seems... OFF, the urge to dig those roots up is strong.

Trouble is - what Sam finds when she starts digging isn't easily reburied.

And I'm not just talking about the jar of teeth she unearths from the garden.

What really makes A House With Good Bones tick, though, isn't just the roses, or the ghosts, or the thing that sometimes tickles Sam's hair or face when she sleeps. It's the relationships at the heart of it: The warmth between Sam, her mother, her brother, and even the (perhaps literally) witchy neighbor down the street and the handyman/gardener from across the way makes the terrifying bits all the more frightening because you *really want these people to make it out of here unscathed.* I always find Kingsfisher's protagonists people to root (har har) for, and here, we see that quality exemplified.

A House With Good Bones is scary, yes. But it's also warm, and funny, and full of life... amidst all the death, of course.

If you pick this one up, you may never look at a bouquet of roses the same way again.

This book got me with its catchy title and beautiful cover, but the plot and main character kept me interested throughout the rest of the read. It is definitely a classic Southern Gothic with many twists and inversions of the genre. I would definitely read this author again and recommend this book to my friends.

Spoilers beyond this point!

What I liked:

-The Southern culture elements: This book was masterful at including classic elements of Southern culture and inverting them to make them add to the horror/creepiness of the narration. The setting itself in a seemingly perfect subdivision sets up the scene amazingly, showing how much appearances matter and can be deceiving. To Sam, everything appears "nice and normal", lulling her into a false sense of security. The rose bushes and gardens are staples into the South, and many homeowners put countless hours into maintaining and perfecting their gardens. In a similar way, Gran Mae puts her life into the roses too, allowing her spirit to remain behind long after her death. The Confederate wedding photo and family secrets add to another part of Southern culture, while making the reader feel more uncomfortable and uneasy about the environment Sam's in.
- Sam's voice: Sam was an excellent narrator. She has such a distinct voice that shows clearly through side notes in paratheses and nerdy anecdotes about bugs and her other academic interests. Her interactions with other characters and internal narration felt more real and realistic than other protagonists. She was likeable without being perfect, encouraging readers to keep going throughout the story and root for her.
- The format into days: The formatting of the book definitely made it easy to read and consume. I liked that readers could clearly chart Sam's progress through discovery because some horror makes it unclear if events take place over days or months. While Sam is there indefinitely, seeing how her presence escalates events or encourages her mom to get help adds more stakes to the story and boosts intrigue. I also loved that each day started with a different rose variety, ending with the Sunday Dinner type. It was a subtle symbolic detail that tied back once again to the roses and Gran Mae's desire to fit into Southern culture as a normal person.
- Phil: This is just a small detail, but Phil was such a nice character. Most love interests contrast with the main character, but I love how similar Phil and Sam are. They are both nerdy and love playing in the dirt. It was refreshing to how interested Phil was in Sam's work and bugs. He never called her weird or diverted topics. They were able to bond on something other than their shared experience in the haunted house and with the paranormal. I almost wanted her to stay in North Carolina in the end.

What I didn't like/ wanted more of:

- The bugs/Sam as a sorceress: While I loved that Sam had a unique career and special interest, the ending and resolution of the book had me craving more from this element of the book. It almost seemed like a way to show how Sam is different than other girls. She doesn't care about getting married or having children like Gran Mae or other traditional Southern girls, but instead is content to play in the dirt. Especially when Gran Mae pointed out that the swarms of ladybugs were a manifestation of Sam's magic, I wanted that to be her main ability. Gran Mae had the roses, symbolizing her desire to fit in, while Sam would have her bugs, showing how she rejects Southern traditions. It would've been so powerful if her bugs would've eaten the Underground Children when Gran Mae's could only keep them out.
- Gail: Gail was so intriguing. I loved how she foiled Gran Mae as a witch in tune and accepting nature rather than a sorceress who was blocking everything out. Comparing her garden to Gran Mae's was a lovely element of Southern culture, while highlighting how Sam's observations are valid. However, I wanted more of her. I wanted her to play a more active role in the magic of the book, rather than just calling Hermes and giving Sam vague information.
- The underground children: The reveal that the Underground Children were the real villain/threats of the story was great. Because Gran Mae's haunting was a bit obvious, it was cool to see how the characters then had to navigate the horrors she was protecting them from. However, I kind of wanted more foreshadowing. We have the stories that Brad and Sam share over the phone and the hand that Sam sees under the bushes, but Sam doesn't really do anything with that information, instead focusing on her mother's behavior and the possible source. Maybe if she had more information from her great-grandfather and the circumstances of his death, readers could get more details without necessarily giving it away. Maybe Sam would think her grandmother was a cannibal or a vampire, making her the evil spawn her great-grandfather was terrified of. Sam's overthinking definitely could've added to the conspiracies around the information readers receive.
- Explanation: Even after reading the book, I'm left with some questions. I understand why the roses helped protect the property, but how did the teeth and nails in jars help? If Gran Mae was dead for almost 10 years, what triggered her spirit manifesting then? I think having more of a shift in Edith's life right before the haunting would've helped explain the sudden emergence of Mae's spirit.
- The pacing: This one is a double-edged sword because I loved the pacing in many ways (see the formatting pro). However, I also felt the book could be slow at some points. It takes almost 60% of the book for Sam to even get to the jar of teeth that were promised to me in the description. Before that, the ladybugs are the most exciting event she faces. Information reveals and comes together very slowly, while also moving very quickly in the second half of the book. I think I would've liked higher stakes at the beginning of the book and more resolution or explanations about Sam's family history and powers.

Overall, I really loved this book, and special thanks to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for issuing me a digital ARC of this book.

I don't think this book was for me. The tone was odd and because the beginning was so repetitive, I found it very slow to start. The ending also felt disjointed from the rest of the book. I'm definitely in the minority though.

Some family secrets are supposed to stay buried.

Sam’s having a rough time. Her post-graduate fieldwork in archaeological entomology is on hold, and so she makes the long trans-Texas drive from Arizona back to North Carolina to live with her mother until the work has funding again. Sam’s mother is living in her own mother’s old house now that Gran Mae is dead, and is happy to have Sam come back home for however long it will last.

The problem is that the house no longer feels like home for Sam. With blandly-painted walls (ugh, ecru), and familiar knickknacks out of sight, the house itself seems to be telling her that something is wrong. Never mind her mom’s behavioral regressions to the days of Gran Mae’s life, or the vultures that are hanging out in the neighborhood. There’s also Gran Mae’s rose garden, which, while stunningly beautiful as ever, is suspiciously devoid of insect life (trust Sam on this one, she’s an entomologist, after all).

Before long, Sam begins to have dreams of her grandmother, and remembers things she said. “The roses say to say your prayers,” and “the underground children will get you…” and not-so-startling fatphobia linger in her memory. But how much of that was real? All is clearly not well on Lammergeier Lane, and Sam is determined to find the answers. Negotiating Southern hospitality and prejudices and overcoming her own fears will be critical.

A House With Good Bones is a quick, fun horror read, y’all. T. Kingfisher has put together one fantastic ride. I loved following Sam on her journey through her family’s past as she strove to save her mom and herself from a disturbing legacy. Not to mention that I will never look at ladybugs (Coccinellidae) the same way again.

My utmost thanks to NetGalley and to the folks at MacMillan/Tor for an eARC of A House With Good Bones in exchange for a fair review. You can snag a copy for yourself starting on March 28th.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2023/03/22/a-house-with-good-bones-a-review/

This is my second book by Kingfisher and it’s fair to say I’ve got a new auto-buy author!

I absolutely love the way that Kingfisher can mix humor with unsettling scenes and underlying tension. Our main character and narrator, Sam, is a hoot to follow along with as she worries herself over what’s happening with her mom. Sam felt so real through her dialogue and rabbit holes of wandering thoughts. Each reaction felt like something I might say to myself, minus the fact that Sam is filled with way more bug knowledge than I could ever pretend to know.

On top of a fabulous main character, Kingfisher transports us to an isolated lane in North Carolina that crafts the perfect setting. Sure, the neighbors are a bit odd and there are several vultures just hanging around outside, but the creepiest part is what’s happening inside the house. The scares aren’t over-the-top. They may be subtle at times, but overall the story consistently has a sense of unease.

I highly recommend going into this one as blindly as possible. I didn’t reread the synopsis before picking it up and I think that helped everything feel very fresh and unsettling as it was happening.

A huge thank you to Tor Nightfire for my gifted copy!

I really enjoyed this book. This is the first gothic novel I've read, and I think I like the genre. The book is overall engaging - some of the horror elements are a bit obvious before our MC figures it out, and the middle of the book was slow for me, while the ending felt a bit rushed. I enjoyed the characters and the world building - though some of our MC's humor/snark fell flat to me. I am interested in reading more T. Kingfisher after reading this.

Source: DRC via NetGalley (Macmillan – Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire) in exchange for an honest review
Publication Date: March 28, 2023
Synopsis: Goodreads
Purchase Link: Amazon

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Why did I choose to read this book?

In the last 7 years of blogging about books, I’ve learned what I like and don’t like. I am surprised to find that I like horror novels a lot more than I thought I would, and I am a wicked sucker for a haunted house story. A House With Good Bones promised not only a haunted house but generational trauma and legacy so I requested it immediately from NetGalley.

What is this book about?

Samantha gets a call from her brother that her mom isn’t acting right. She’s an insect archaeologist but when her current dig in Arizona uncovers human remains and has to be put on hold, she takes the opportunity to stay with her mom in North Carolina. She and her mom are close, and she loves her mom, so the fact that certain things are out of sorts are very obvious to Sam. This book is about uncovering what is bothering her mom and how Sam has the power to help save everyone in their small neighborhood from the consequences of her ancestor’s actions.

What is notable about this story?

Hello yes, I appreciate positive, fat representation. To see a character who is fat and healthy just living her best life was a refreshing element. There was the inclusion of her grandmother’s t(h)aunts (LOL) about her weight, but that fueled the forward motion of escape and recovery from the past.

THE HANDYMAN THAT WORKS ON THE HOUSE IS SO GODDAMN ADORABLE. Seriously, I need a sequel to this that is just Sam and him getting together and fighting supernatural forces together.

The supernatural is just normal. Gail, a neighbor from down the street, is a witch. Everybody just accepts it. She can do some magic and helps when she’s needed. Inclusion of this kind of magic person also felt nice, like they can just live normal lives and people leave them alone about it.

I appreciated that Sam’s mom (Edie) did enough to stop the cycle of parents being cruel to their children. Edie has such a strong and loving bond with both her children (Sam and her brother) and does everything she can in this book to keep the issues with the haunting from affecting them. Edie could have easily been just as mean as her mother had been to her, but she chose not to be. I really respect that Kingfisher included this as a thread in the tapestry of escaping the influence of terrible relatives.

The vultures were REALLY COOL.

I laughed so many times reading this book. The humor is delightful.

Some haunted house stories feel really dark and have deep mysticism woven into them. Haunted houses are often a larger than life foe, hungry and full of intent. They want to fuck you up and then they want to be left alone. Haunted houses are usually in the middle of the woods, at the end of a long drive with a creaky gate, or at the top of a windy hill or cliff. Kingfisher breaks with those trends and has written a story that plops a haunted house in the middle of everyday life. It’s on a street with several other houses. There are block parties and barbeques! Sam’s grandmother had the best rosebushes in the area!

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again – I love it when an author takes something we are used to seeing as hidden/broken/shunned/etc and makes it a normal part of every day life. THE NEIGHBORS COULD BE LIVING IN A HAUNTED HOUSE makes this all the more scary.

Was anything not so great?

I didn’t really walk away with any criticisms. If I had to say one thing, it was that the fat representation nods sometimes took me out of the story. Sam would go on mental rants about how doctors will celebrate weight loss even if it meant having a leg cut off (for example) and it felt a little like a soapbox moment – a moment that wasn’t necessary for the story’s progression but a statement about the world in general. A small quibble, and definitely not enough to keep me from devouring the book.

What’s the verdict?

5 stars on Goodreads and if you are a fan of horror you’ll definitely want to check this one out. It takes a lot of the tropes and asks you to think about them differently and my brain enjoyed that very much. This one is a confident purchase recommendation, but definitely request it at your local library too!

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)

I’m a huge fan of haunted houses, shadows that move in the darkness, voices that whisper horrors, errors from the past that come to life…
And I thought I would have it all in T. Kingfisher’s A House with Good Bones. It did start strong: a mother who isn’t acting as always, the longing shadow of a grandmother who was not the figure one associates with grandmas… The pacing was slow, but never felt stagnant. Sam, our main character, could have been better fleshed, but her thoughts felt real when dealing with something that could potentially mean the deterioration of the mental health of someone you love.
Then the pace changed, something lurked in a photo, something was found in a jar, the family roots started growing even bigger and darker… and it lost me. There is one exact moment, one exchange of information, when even my expression changed when reading.
And then the plot twist appeared out of nowhere (which I will not mention, and maybe it’s not even a plot twist at all but just a change in tone) and I ended the book with the sensation of having started something and then ending something completely different (which, consulting the reviews, people seem to absolutely love, maybe my mind played with my expectations and just could not bear the leap of faith).

Kingfisher’s writing is superb, as usual. The description of even the littlest of details can evoke an image that stays with the reader. And the dread is there, I can assure you, from the hints in conversations, to the colour in the walls, to the vulture standing in the mailbox.
It just turned up that they were not, as I first thought, winking at me, but to a completely different audience.

This is an excellent southern gothic thriller for springtime!
Sam is an entomology, the study of insects and their relationship to humans, the environment, and other organisms. After one of her latest projects gets derailed, she heads to her mom’s for an extended visit. Usually after a long day, Sam loves to watch murder mysteries while drinking boxed wine. A woman after my own heart. When she arrives she finds the house looking oddly like it used to when her grandmother was still alive & her mother is acting all kinds of strange.

Insects, flowers, a haunted house…vultures! Sounds like quite the springtime read. I enjoy T. Kingfisher’s writing. She has such a way of drawing me in, making me want to know what happens next but still giving us this little bit of humor that makes me come back for more. It’s the kind of horror I can usually get on board with because I’m never really scared and almost always find a chuckle somewhere. Sam was such a hoot and being a southern girl myself, I found her delightfully relatable at times. The magic in this story was somewhat interesting yet lacking in some way…? I can’t quite put my finger on it…maybe I wanted a little more to the story as a whole. Overall, fun and quick read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for a digital ARC.

If you had told me before reading this that I would want a pet vulture, I would have never believed you, but here we are.

Samantha's brother is concerned about their mother. "She seems off," he said. So, when her work project gets postponed, she travels to North Carolina to see for herself. She is immediately concerned. The walls and decor of the house, usually bright with color, are now painted off-white. Old Confederate photos hang on the wall once more. While this is peculiar, she is most concerned because her mother also appears unwell. She has lost weight, jumps at the slightest noise, and is misremembering the past. She is also suddenly religious and no longer tolerates cursing in the home; she is becoming more and more like Sam's dead grandmother; something is definitely wrong. The longer she stays in the house, the more things become worrisome. Sam, a scientist, shrugs off the weirdness with logic and rationale—until she can't.

T. Kingfisher expertly crafts this Southern Gothic novella, writing about ordinary characters doing ordinary things in a ordinary houses while slowly building tension one unordinary incident at a time.
As the story unfolded, I could not stop reading. I finished this in one day. I had to know what was happening. The ending was superb. I will happily read anything T. Kingfisher writes—even a grocery list.

Further, I read and listened to this at the same time. Mary Robinette Kowal, the author of the Lady Astronaut series, narrates this beautifully.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, Tor Nightfire, and Macmillan Audio for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

To start, I want to say that this horror book is good fun. I had a GREAT time reading this. The blend of humor along with creeping atmosphere and a slowly building sense of dread made this book engaging and entertaining from the first page to the last! I'm finding that humor tinged with comedy is a combination I love in fiction, and this book scratched that itch perfectly. I think that was a fantastic effect of T. Kingfisher's placing incredibly normal and relatable people in deeply unsettling situations. This book lost a half star only because I felt like a couple of its running jokes were repeated one too many times, although I do think that added to the author's portrayal of the monotony of small-town North Carolina. As someone who grew up in small-town North Carolina, I feel like I can say that T. Kingfisher absolutely nailed the setting.

In terms of the horror, I loved how this book began to include unsettling details early on and slowly built up until I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what was going to happen to Sam, her mom, and their friends. The pacing was excellent, and it never felt like the book was dragging. On the other hand, I also never felt like the story was progressing too quickly, and there was plenty of time for the mystery to build. As the story progresses, we're given a number of different possibilities that might explain what's going on, with each feeling as plausible as the last. I found that as the spooky events evolved, I was jumping around from one explanation to another right along with Sam and trying to figure out what was going on.

The last thing I want to mention is the characters. I found Sam to be an incredibly relatable character to follow. As a scientist, she approaches every situation with logic and skepticism, and I appreciated how her background influenced how she approached the creepy things happening around her. I also connected with her social struggles and health anxiety, which felt very similar to some of my own experiences. All of the side characters were fun and compelling and felt as well developed as Sam, and there's a vulture companion who is great. Even the antagonist (I hesitate to say villain) was portrayed as complex and oh-so-human in a way that I think is very thoughtful and poignant.

This book is fun, relatable, and engages with the darker side of family in a way that hit me right in the heart.

My first T. Kingfisher! Now I know what I've been missing -- I've been tempted by WHAT MOVES THE DEAD and NETTLE AND BONE plenty of times, but I never managed to get them to the top of my TBR...until now! I loved A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES! What a fun gothic novel: just enough creepiness to make you shiver but with a whole bunch of heart and a very good sense of humor. I'm very rarely swayed by a 'funny' narrator, but I loved Sam.

T. Kingfisher’s latest work of horror serves up some intriguing concepts, but largely fails to take them anywhere exciting. The book focuses on Sam, who temporarily moves in with her mother after an unexpected issue with her work. Her mother lives in the house that Sam grew up in, originally belonging to her grandmother Mae. Sam comes to find her mother is acting strange and paranoid, and bizarre things start happening to her the longer she stays.

The setting is somewhat southern gothic, creating an eerie atmosphere with vultures, swarms of insects, creepy rose gardens and the legacy of the Confederacy. Later in the book, however, the tone and atmosphere take a hard turn away from anything that could be described as gothic, the ultimate climax feeling much more like heroic fantasy than suburban horror. This shift is founded in the plot and makes sense, but doesn’t entirely pay off.

The biggest issue is that while Sam is a good character with an engaging voice, and I would certainly not say the book is boring, much of the story is rather slow and repetitive. Sam frequently finds or experiences something strange, does a cursory investigation into it, and then moves on. This pattern comprises most of the book.

Don’t get me wrong - good horror can follow this formula. But typically this time would be spent exploring themes or developing characters, and I just didn’t get that from A House with Good Bones. Where there are themes, they are presented in the most cursory way - evil supernatural forces as a metaphor for whatever the author wants to say is bad, without any true exploration of meaning or nuance.

This is a short book, so I can’t fault it too much for not having strong arcs. That being said, Sam doesn’t change much at all, nor do her flat, surface level relationships with the other characters.

This all being said, I still think it’s a decent book. The setting is cool, the voice of the writing is witty and super engaging, and it finds sources of horror in places that I would love to see explored in more fiction. And there are parts that are genuinely super creepy! I just wish there was more substance to the characters and the themes.

After finishing A House with Good Bones, I am reminded yet again that I am missing out by not having read T. Kingfisher’s entire catalog. In terms of content and genre, this southern gothic mystery is worlds apart from my first experience with a Kingfisher book (Nettle & Bone), but the fabulous storytelling, fun characters, and quirky humor are present once again, and it guarantees a fun time.

The latest archeological excavation has come to a halt, so Sam decides to take her extended time off in North Carolina to hang out with mom, drink boxed wine, and re-watch her favorite crime shows. Sam is optimistic about her visit despite the arduous drive from Arizona and the fact that an ominous black vulture welcomes her back to her childhood home. Sam scoots around the predatory bird and opens the front door to find that things have changed. The wild and fun color scheme on the walls has been replaced by bland, normal beige, and there seems to be an alarming absence of insects in Gran Mae’s garden. But what’s even weirder is that her mom is wearing rose-colored glasses. Grandma’s presence in Sam’s childhood is not remembered fondly, and her family has always acknowledged this fact. But now her mom is making excuses for the difficult woman, and Sam becomes alarmed by her anxious, people-pleasing behavior. As the strangeness mounts in the home, Sam’s logical brain is put to the test as she unravels her dark and dangerous family history.

Kingfisher has this wonderful power to incorporate humor into her stories, no matter the context or genre. It was an unexpected element in this spooky tale, and it quickly became one of the parts I enjoyed the most. Sam’s inner monologue was delightful. She’s incredibly weird, and I adore her for it. As someone who studies the history of bugs, Sam’s passion for creepy crawlies is infused into her very being. Her habit of naming a bug’s classification or background on its studied behavior could have easily been annoying. However, Kingfisher works in this characterization deftly so it comes off as endearing. Her scholarly mind is also fun to experience the horror through because she is so damn logical about everything. Sam doesn’t approach the situation from an “I’m a smart person with a doctorate and therefore better than you,” but more so with a hungering curiosity to find answers and with the gusto for research to make it happen.

A House with Good Bones has a pretty good setup. The fear builds nicely as Sam contends with the strangeness of her childhood home, but it gets unruly at the end. The family mystery pushing this story forward is delivered in teeny, tiny doses. Was it enough to stay step-for-step with the story? Sure. But I am left wanting more because it feels like the mystery was wound too tightly for the majority of the book only for it to explode at the end. The what-the-fuckery escalates too quickly after spending 200+ pages collecting little morsels. You can either walk away from this book happy for the instant gratification of reading a good, short tale or have whiplash from the rapid culmination. I experienced the latter. It didn’t ruin my time with the book, but I found myself wanting more from the secretive family.

Kingfisher plays around with the idea that our homes are safe, comfortable places and how quickly that security can be taken away. I enjoyed how Kingfisher reveals little by little how a familiar, beloved place can become something unknown and feared. Sam’s small discoveries upon returning to her childhood home immediately make her uneasy. It’s interesting that something as small as a new picture on the wall or a comment from your mom can immediately put you on guard. It’s that moment when the expected fails to happen, and you instinctively feel that something is wrong. The story’s subtle scare factors are the moments that have stayed with me the most. Even though it definitely gets weird and over the top at the end, most of the story is built with these small, unnerving moments that constantly keep Sam off-kilter while she tries her best to stay grounded.

I give kudos to Kingfisher for bringing the fear factor into this short tale. It’s not a knock-your-socks-off kind of scare, but I enjoyed many moments of dread and anxiousness. This low-level creepiness played off Sam’s demeanor incredibly well. As someone who would have run from the house screaming, it was fun to be forced to stew in the strangeness with this logical woman. If you’re looking to have your hackles raised, A House with Good Bones will certainly make you uncomfortable in your own home.

Rating: A House with Good Bones - 7.5/10

4.5 Stars rounding up to 5.

Thanks @TorNightfire for my gifted e-arc. I read my first T. Kingfisher last year and have been going through her backlist since then so I was super excited to read A House with Good Bones. It's a Southern Gothic Horror book. I would also call it, "cozy horror". It hooked me right away. As always we get that great sense of humor from T. Kingfisher, but also some really creepy stuff happening in a suburban neighborhood.

I loved Sam as the main protagonish. She's a spunky archeologist and her specialty is on bugs. She goes to stay with her mom while she's in between jobs. Unfortunately right away Sam notices that there is something wrong with her mom.

The book was really fast paced and I just had no idea where or what was going to happen. Never thought I would have a book making me like a vulture!

I did like this book more than The Hollow Places and The Twisted Ones. While those books were scarier, I like the characters in this book a lot more.

Highly recommend!

This was a fun one; unique and not at all what I expected. I very much appreciated the deep mother/daughter/grandmother relationship and was spooked more than once, however I could not get behind the ending. I absolutely will recommend this to readers who enjoy fantasy and magic in their horror.