it had an interesting premise, but the ending made me a little bored and let down i thought the characters where well developed at the start and got lost somewhere in the middle in my opinion.

This was not what I expected
But
It was really good
It did start off a bit slow for me as we get to learn about Sam and her past
Sam is back at home with her mom because of an incident at work, but something just seems off with her mom, and the house, and the neighbors.
There's just this mask of uneasiness in this story
You keep getting the feeling something is not quite right but you just can't pin it down
When the true evil in this book was revealed, it freaked me the fuck out
It was creepy y'all
Gothic horror inscribed with magic and a ton of family drama
Solid read!!

I've been meaning to read a T. Kingfisher novel for forever now, I feel like her name has been everywhere lately. what a great first pick! I love a gothic story, and I especially enjoy southern gothic. Based on how much I enjoyed this one, I will prioritize picking up more of her work very soon!

Another inventive horror novel from my favorite new author, T. Kingfisher. For some reason I tend to find her horror a little underwhelming compared to her fantasy, but I loved the characters in this story. I’ll always read anything she publishes—even her grocery lists!

T. Kingfisher never disappoints. A wonderful mystery, with such an enveloping ambiance. I would definitely recommend it for people looking for new dark mysteries with a quite new author

A House with Good Bones is another fantastic book by T. Kingfisher. As always, I love that her protagonist was not a teenager/early 20's character, but was a fully mature woman who come homes to find her mom potentially having a mental health crisis. But with all the creepy bug infestations happening in the house, pictures falling off the walls, everpresent crows, and lack of functional internet, things are pointing to a more supernatural explanation.

This was requested when I first found out about NetGalley and I had requested so many ARCs that I could not get to all of them before they were archived. I really wanted to get to this one, as it seemed interesting. If I can find this somewhere for a reasonable price, I will try to get it! I am giving this book three stars, as I don't want to give it a good or bad rating, since I did not get to it and we have to leave a star rating.

This story is told in first person by Sam Montgomery. I loved her character. She was funny and relatable. Well, maybe not so much the bugs, unless you’re into insects. She was full of bird and insect references. I enjoyed the bird and ladybug information. Not sure about the vultures, though I guess they eventually grew on me.

Sam is temporarily staying with her mother in her dead grandmother’s former childhood home. Sam’s grandmother was a real piece of Southern work and all that entails from adhering to the 1950s version of women’s traditional place in the home to always acting like a Southern lady. Gran Mae had me screaming in frustration with her roses and manners and not so subtle racism. I love roses (so do my local deer), but hers were creepy.

The supporting characters were eccentric and amusing from the witch down the street to the curmudgeon next door. I especially enjoyed Phil, the master gardener and handyman. He had manners and took most of the happenings in stride with a calm demeanor.

The story was strange and intriguing, just what I’d expect from Kingfisher. This is my third read by this author. If I had any complaints, it would be that a few things were repeated and not as funny the second time.

Recommended for the fun and eccentric characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Nightfire for a copy provided for an honest review.

I don’t think there are many authors more reliable than T. Kingfisher. I have now read Nettle & Bone, Thornhedge, What Moves the Dead, and A House with Good Bones. I have loved them all!

In A House with Good Bones, Samantha moves back into her childhood home after being furloughed from an archeology project. But the house is different from when she left it. What happened to the brightly painted walls her mother favored? And why is that hideous racist painting back up on the wall? It’s as if she’s stepped back in time to when her grandmother was alive and owned the property. As memories of her grandmother resurface, Sam begins to research their family history, and a dark tale of sorcery becomes a very real threat.

A House with Good Bones is wonderfully dark and atmospheric, but with the quirky charm that makes me so fond of Kingfisher’s books. She takes a gothic mystery and sets it in a rural subdivision. And down the street, one of the neighbors has a pet vulture. Even in its most horrific moments, this book doesn’t take itself too seriously.

I’m glad Kingfisher has a significant back catalog, ensuring I won’t run out of her stories any time soon.

Thank you to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review.

Not my favorite of T Kingfisher's work, but I enjoyed the adventure and will certainly keep reading. Overall, it was an interesting variation on the haunted house motif.

Compared to their other books, this one is my least favorite. I love Gothic thrillers, but there was just something about this one that was just meh for me.

It's a house they all grew up in. . .full of nostalgia, and a love of place and family associated throughout the years during their childhood visits. They never could realized how deep the reap goes back. . .

I'm not generally a horror girl. But since I've found T Kingfisher, my genre pref list is listing toward horror. . .and Sam Montgomery is one of the funniest protagonists around! If she gets booted from her protagonist gig, or her archaeoentomologist career, she could be an awesome standup comic! So many of the characters had me in their grips - Gran Mae - a fierce grandma, Gail the Super Neighbor, Phil - we all need a Phil, Hermes, complete with rats, and ever ready Brother Brad on Stand By in AZ. And Mom? Well. . .she was the one to be rescued, and Sam + her TK avengers did it!

A fantastically funny-creepy story. After reading it, you'll never look at roses, vultures or ladybugs the same way.

My wand summons 5 10-ft tall stars, formed by locally swarming lady bugs.

*A sincere thank you to T. Kingfisher, Macmillan-Tor/Forge, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.*

I great slow burn of a horror novel that makes you question everything as things start to get scary.

All the wit and warmth I've come to expect from this author; this one is Southern Gothic, I guess? Kinda? I really liked it. I'm always going to be invested in an overweight, early-30s, snarky archaeoentomologist, and as always the supporting cast are fun, too - admittedly I thought this book was going to go easy on the horror, based on the first few chapters, so I spent most of it breezing through, enjoying the ride, all 'aren't vultures cute?' and 'gee, lady, your grandma was so mean', and then woooow, that ending. What a corker. Enjoyed the 90s-style epilogue, too.

I don't think i realized this was a gothic horror until I started it, but it was ok.
Typically not my favorite genre, but the author kept it going and I ended up liking it.
Thankful for the ARC

T.Kingfisher will forever be in my top favorite authors! The storytelling portrayed from them, Makes you want to keep reading and hooks you until the very end of the book!

Although this story was a little predictable vs some of their other books, the aspect of a creepy haunted house with mentions of vultures hanging around is all I ever need to read a spooky horror book!

The story takes place with two children and their mother. After the children receive some weird phone calls from their mother, The daughter decides it is maybe time to check up on their mother. Once the daughter gets to the mothers residence, things don't seem as they used to be. Is their mother sick and losing her mind? Or is there more to the naked eye?

5 star read for me!

I am not a horror reader and have been trying to expand my horizons into uncomfortable territories. T. Kingfisher has been the perfect author to get into horror with and is fast becoming an instant read for me. A House With Good Bones is about Sam, an archaeoentomologist, who is returning to her childhood home to find the house, and her mother, a bit... off. I know fungus has been having it's fun in the horror genre the last couple of years and it's fun to see some bug based horror, especially through a more scientific lens. My one and only gripe with the book is that the end conclusion seemed to come to fast for me, but I find that is often the case with novellas.

I absolutely love how T. Kingfisher writes characters, I felt attached to this mc from page one. I love the cozy witty banter, the comfort of the writing, so, so good! That being said, I did feel a little lost as this story grew wild and out of control. I am a huge fan of events spiraling, but this one felt a little clunky. I'm not sure if it was that I couldn't completely visualize what was going on, if I needed more description. But also I felt like a huge part of this book was our mc coming to the realization that the house was haunted and like... yeah of course it was. And then suddenly EVERYTHING WAS HAPPENING.
Of course I loved the biological explanations, not sure how T. Kingfisher makes me fascinated about bugs, like wow that takes talent. I literally want pet vultures now. I'll forever be picking up her books because of the characters, the humor, and the cozy vibes.

This was a novel that had me hooked from the beginning. I couldn't wait to see what would happen next and was flipping the pages reading chapter after chapter and couldn't put this one down. I recommend this one!

T. Kingfisher writing horror is always going to work for me. If you’re coming to A House with Good Bones for the kind of over-the-top, grotesque tropes that sometimes characterize the horror genre - this is not the book for you. But if you like a more subtle, intentional building of tension and weirdness this is a perfect choice.

I particularly appreciated how this focused on the impact of a grandparents' abuse, and how that trauma translates across generations. Kingfisher was able to frame a discussion with nuance around how a grandparent can act with how they believe is love but leaves behind a hurt that is passed through to future generations. I love horror with a message, and this book did everything right in this aspect.

The length of this book is halfway between a novel and a novella but it feels like it was exactly as long as it needed to be. The pacing was solid, the pieces of information scattered throughout the pages leading a very clear path to the conclusion (more clear, in retrospect), and the dialogue was natural while also being key to the plot. For all the times Kingsher’s stories sometimes don’t hook me with their characters, she will also deliver with her prose.

If you like a horror novel more rooted in Southern Gothic overtures without gratuitous gore, A House with Good Bones is going to deliver. The sensation of reading this will stick with me, even if I can tell the plot and characters will fade - which is all I’m really going to ask for from the genre.

Thank you to the publisher Tor Nightfire for providing an e-ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.