I’ve been on a T. Kingfisher kick lately so I was super excited to read this book - and it didn’t disappoint! I loved the slow build-up of creepiness/tension and I never wanted to put this book down. The ending was very fast-paced and satisfying overall.

Kingfisher is also just super weird (which I love) and I always end up feeling very connected to her weird interests by the end of the book. This time it was vultures, which I’ve now learned to respect and appreciate!

3.5 stars

Who says you can never go home again?

Sam Montgomery's brother called to tell her that something was off with their mother, Edith. So, Sam goes home. She is looking forward to spending time with her mother while enjoying a break from her job as an archaeoentomologist (Bugs are her thing).

Sam instantly notices that her mother is not quite herself. Her mother is guarded and anxious. She is no longer the carefree mother she knew. Soon other things begin to seem different in the house as well. Her mother has repainted the walls. They were once painted vibrant colors that gave the house life and a cool vibe, but her mother has since painted the walls the colors her Gran Mae liked while she lived there.

Then there are the ladybugs and the rose petals. By themselves they do not seem strange but trust me, they are very, very strange in this book. Plus, when vulture watch your house and only your house, be afraid because that is just creepy. How many times a day can the hairs stand up on the back of your neck? How many strange occurrences can you endure before you begin asking questions or get the heck out of there?

This was a creepy and gothic feeling book. I would have been out of there lickety-split. But not Sam or her mother. As the tension mounts and things get creepier by the second, the characters find themselves in danger.

I enjoyed how T. Kingfisher set the stage. It was both atmospheric and gothic. The characters were interesting and there was more to several of them than meets the eye. The creep vibe in this book was strong as was the writing. It had the right amount of tension and what-did-I-just-read moments. I didn't feel that this book was scary but enjoyed how creepy it was. It's strange, a little out there, yet entertaining and tense.

Fans of T. Kingfisher will enjoy this one.

“The roses say to say your prayers”

Sam visits her mother in North Carolina after her brother expresses concern over her wellbeing. She’s excited to spend some time with her to relax and take some time off work. On Sam’s arrival, things end up not being as expected. The home’s decor has changed back into what her grandmother used to have when she was alive. Her mother is on edge and seems scared as if someone is watching. To make matters worse, the neighbors’ vultures are watching the home as if they know something. The neighbor actually does know something, but can’t tell Sam what’s going on for some reason.


On top of the weird behavior her mother is exhibiting, Sam begins hearing voices in her head and experiences sleep paralysis for the first time ever. She even finds a jar of buried teeth in the garden. Sam realizes something weird is seriously going on and can no longer deny it.


T. Kingfisher maintains her signature humor and unique plots in A House With Good Bones. There’s the perfect blend of fantasy and horror that balance each other out. The atmosphere is creepy and almost suffocating, with a sense of unease throughout the story. The writing is fast paced and very easy to read.


The characters are lovable and Sam was very quirky. The mother daughter dynamic was done very well and I enjoyed that they shared everything with each other. As always, there is a lovable animal companion – Hermes the Vulture. The side characters are also charming in their own ways with witty banter.


Overall, this makes for an enjoyable read and I recommend it for any fans of Kingfisher! Make sure to be on the look out for this one on March 28, 2023. I’m already looking forward to her next novel. Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Entomophobes beware: this book will give you the heebie-jeebies. Yes, I chose that word with deliberate care: you will feel dread, you will feel disgust, but mostly you will have a feeling that seems, on the surface, to be slightly absurd and embarrassing but that will remain an indelible, whole-body revulsion nonetheless. Is it a bit silly to be afraid of—just say, for random example—ladybugs? Probably! Will feel the irrepressible urge to brush a horde of imagined little crawlers off you? Also probably! I certainly did. I have a phobia of insects, and T. Kingfisher’s newest horror novel A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher slowly but relentlessly played on that fear—much to my delight. Regularly reading horror can leave you numb to horror. Kingfisher doesn’t let that happen.

Full review to be posted to Ginger Nuts of Horror before publication date.

Well, this was not what I expected. The last maybe quarter of this book is where everything goes nuts and in a bunch of different directions. I loved it. It's a slow burn, at first. I feel like it really got started about halfway through, but I really didn't mind the lead up. It made the end that much more unexpected and crazy. It was a pretty quick read, but I can't tell if it was because it wasn't super long or because I couldn't put it down!

When Sam goes home to stay with her mother for a few weeks, things are... odd. The house has been restored to look exactly like it did when her abusive grandmother owned it, and her mom is acting strangely – behaving in ways that would have pleased the old woman, had she not died twenty years ago. She’s acting almost like she thinks she’s being watched. And she is, in a way – a flock of vultures are constantly perched nearby, staring at the house. And the more Sam digs into the reasons behind her mother’s strange behavior and the weird things happening at her house, the more unsettled she gets – until she finally unearths a truly dangerous secret.

I’ve read several books by T Kingfisher, and I have to say she’s as delightful a writer as ever, even when her books are super creepy. The characters are fantastic - Sam is a great main character, and her engaging and witty first-person narration is fun to read. The book is pretty fast-paced and I had a hard time putting it down.

Representation: fat main character

CW: fatphobia, abusive parenting, gore

Sam Montgomery never thought she would find herself back in her Grandmothers house, but after her most recent dig was postponed and a worrying call from her brother, she see's it as the perfect time to check in on her mum, and as soon as she see's her, she know's something is wrong. Sam's mum has lost weight and seems overly protective and jumpy, and add that to the decorative changes to the house and Sam is definitely worried. The more time Sam spends in the house, the more she realises there is something wrong, Vultures seem to circle it and finding a jar of teeth buried in the back garden certainly doesn't seem normal. To find out what's going on, Sam will have to go digging into her families past, learning their secrets. But with secrets come's danger, and these are secrets that are certainly better left buried.

I loved this book, so bloody much, and that was large in part to Sam, our MC. She's a character I couldn't help but bond with pretty much instantly. Her wit, scientific mind and hopelessness when it comes to the opposite sex make for a character that is easy to empathise with, and I loved all the little bits of introspection we got, whether these were to do with her uncovering the mystery of the house, or little insights we get from her about bugs thanks to her being an archaeoentomologist, someone who studies ancient bugs. She is described as fat, but has such a healthy relationship with her body, as well as her family... well most of them anyway, and I loved all of her interactions with her mother, as well as the other characters we meet along the way.

Kingfisher keeps our side cast tight knit, but that benefits us because we get a good insight into all of the characters, and they all play a part in the story some way. From Sam's mum who has gone from being vibrant to a shell of the woman she was before, to Gail, the woman Sam's Grandma used to religiously call a witch, Mr Presley the nosy, curtain twitching neighbour who has an unhealthy relationship with the government and Sam, Mr Presley's grandson and Sam's mum's gardener/handyman. They all add to the tension, drama and sometimes the hilarity of the story, and were all brilliantly brought to life.

If I had to use one word to describe this book it would be creepy, and that was a word that Leah and I threw around our discussion because it wasn't outright horror, there were no jumpy scary scenes, and even the ones filled with tension, and there were plenty, were almost watered down thanks to Kingfisher throwing in her standard dark, witty and sarcastic humour. I can't tell you how many times this book made me chuckle, even at the peak creepy moments, and this meant that I enjoyed it more because I never felt overly scared at any point. The story builds slowly, there is a lot of introspection and Sam trying to work out what the hell is happening, but you know that something is going to happen, you just don't know when, and when it does the story takes off at a break neck pace and I was glued to the pages.

What starts off as a haunted house story, transforms into sometime much much creepier, and it's only through Sam's delving into her family's past that we start to see the pieces come together. Leah and I both had a few theories as to where the story was going and we were so close, but Kingfisher managed to throw a few twists in there to keep us on our toes. We spend a lot of time building up to the big reveal, but Kingfishers writing style brings a heightened level of tension to the story that keeps you in it's grips, so between that at the random bug and vulture facts that were thrown in ( I love a story where I learn something) this was a story I seriously struggled to put down.

Leah described this as a cosy horror and she really nails it on the head (has she created a new sub-genre, who knows?), it's creepy without being overly scary, humorous even at the darkest times and filled with brilliantly written characters. I already loved Kingfishers writing, but after loving this so much I will definitely be checking out her horror backlog as well as all the fantasy's I already have on my TBR.

Kingfisher has such skill with crafting the slowly creeping in horrors that A House With Good Bones. Kingfisher's style is more spooky unsettling and I like it. A lot. There's slow spiraling mystery. Believable and relatable situations. Just GOOD writing.

CONTENT WARNING: fatphobia, blood, gore

Once again, I had a wonderful buddy read with Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog. Both of us are a little bit on the scaredy cat side of things when it comes to horror, but Kingfisher’s books seem to fall more on the side of what I’d call … cozy horror? If that’s even a thing, and if it isn’t, it is now. Let me get into why I call it that.

I’m certainly no connoisseur of horror books, but I have read a few Kingfisher novels, and really enjoyed each of them. Just like in her other books, she incorporates a wonderful mix of dry, witty, sarcastic humor and just the right amount of creepy tension to make this the kind of book that we couldn’t put down. In fact, we found ourselves rushing through the discussions so that we could get back to reading to find out what happens next.

I absolutely loved the main character, Sam. She’s fat. She’s smart and nerdy. She’s in her early 30s. She’s hilarious. And her internal banter was the kind of internal banter that I find myself engaging in. As an archaeoentomologist, she’s got a doctorate and works on archaeological digs, examining bugs to learn more about how people of the past lived. But it also gives her an almost encyclopedic knowledge of insects, and she gets excited about them. I love a nerdy character, and Kingfisher wrote a fantastic fat character. Despite growing up with plenty of fatphobic comments, she has a healthy relationship with her body, and I absolutely loved everything about Sam. Part of what I especially enjoyed was the way that she spent so much of the book trying to fit what was happening into the paradigm of scientific and logical thinking, even when there wasn’t necessarily a logical or scientific explanation possible.

The relationships in the story were wonderful. Sam and her mother, her brother, and the other people in the neighborhood were all done beautifully. There were some relationships that were healthy and supportive, others that were unhealthy and dysfunctional, but they all felt incredibly realistic. Every character who was introduced was well-developed and nearly all of them played an important role in the story, and I enjoyed getting to know each of their different quirks. I have to admit that I adored Phil and was team Phil all the way.

As for the horror, instead of being terrifying, this was more creepy than anything. That isn’t to say that I’m not going to struggle to fall asleep, because I’m pretty sure that I will, for at least a couple of nights. And I’m definitely going to avoid rosebushes for a while. But what I most enjoyed was that this was so much more than a haunted house story. While the haunted house reveal was relatively obvious, that wasn’t the twist in the story. The big reveal was so much deeper and creepier than anything I was expecting, and I joked around with Becky that I’d have to change my gasp factor to an “eek factor” because I literally kept saying, “eek” while reading. Becky and I really worked to figure things out, and no matter how hard we tried, we got close but didn’t quite realize how deep this reveal was going to run.

Overall, this is peak Kingfisher at her finest, and I loved every second of this hilarious, creeptastic story. It had me laughing out loud, and I loved the fact that it taught me a few random facts about bugs and vultures (yes, vultures). I’m not going to be the most fun person at parties if I bust out these facts, but it’s definitely a fun book if you aren’t afraid of a little creepiness, and you like to laugh. As I said, cozy horror.

This was my first T. Kingfisher book, but definitely won’t be the last. “A House with Good Bones” was equal parts quirky, comedy, and horror. The way Kingfisher writes is incredibly comfortable; like your best friend is sitting down to tell you a crazy thing that happened, only that thing is outside the world of everyday normalcy.

I really enjoyed the characters of Adam and Gail. Sam was extremely relatable, funny, quick-witted and someone I would genuinely want to be friends with.

The story is unlike any I have read before. Points a very imaginative back story. As weird as parts were, I was fully here for it. A lot of fun over all.

I don't know how the author managed to write a genuinely creepy book that also made me laugh out loud but mission accomplished. Strong, likeable characters kept me turning the pages.

I think that people who enjoy milder horror will like this but fans who have higher expectations in horror this probably isn't what you're looking for. Wasn't a bad story just took a very long time to get to the meat and then there wasn't much of it.

Yes! I loved this creepy book by Kingfisher. An unassuming MC who is just a plain Jane visiting her mom for a short visit in between jobs. Moving back home is never an easy feat, especially as a grown adult. Our MC comes home and quickly notices strange behaviors and changes that quickly escalate into horror. I loved this story for the MC, Samantha "Sam", her quirky mom , Edith, and the characters on the street, including the vultures! A fun but action packed horror book typical of Kingfisher, leaving me wanting more books like this! Great for fans of horror, fantasy, paranormal>magic all with a sense of humor.

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

I am from the "HUGE fan of T. Kingfisher" camp but I felt a little underwhelmed by this one.

Protagonist, the brassy entomologist Sam is sent home to the deep south when her archeological dig is foiled. Upon arrival to her grandmother's-now-mother's house, she realizes her caring yet sassy mom has become somewhat jumpy and subdued. As Sam tries to keep her wits about her, can science really explain all of the strange happenings in the household that are causing her mother to become so perturbed?

Thumbs up: Sam is a lovable character, she is incredibly quick witted, fat-positive, and smart as hell. The banter between characters felt believable and the side characters felt well-rounded. Additionally, I voted on the dark garden storylines are really looking like where its at for 2023 fantasy themes and this was a chip on that bingo card .

Thumbs down: It really took awhile for this car to get going. I felt like nothing was happening for so long, I sort of forgot I was reading a creepy novel. I wish there was a bit more scare early on but certainly not a bad novel. Just a little on the slow side.

Was it a nail biter? Meh. I loved "Nettle & Bone" and was really looking forward to something more creepy. However, I felt it was stretching to try and be off-beat and lost a bit of the eeriness along the way. That being said, I wouldn't say it was a bad book by any stretch of the word, I would manage your expectations about the horror aspects. Slot it under "funny-creepy" and have a great time! However, going into it with such high expectations really let me down.

I feel I am being generous by giving this novella three stars. My first T. Kingfisher experience was with What Moves the Dead, which is phenomenal, so I immediately jumped on the chance to read an advanced reader copy of A House with Good Bones. I had high hopes. Unfortunately, I found the plot to be formulaic and entirely predictable. This, coupled with several major flaws in the writing (particularly in the dialogue), pacing, and character development (or lack thereof), makes for a story I had to force myself to finish.

While I liked the main character for her interest in insects and her snarky attitude, I found that her personality fell flat throughout most of this story – a shame, since she seems to be written with the intent of being a strong leading character. The first two-thirds of the story is a slow burn reminiscent of Gothic revival literature, but many of the omens fail to evoke a true sense of dread (at least for me). What follows is a climax and conclusion that feel rushed and sloppy, with too much information, supernatural happenings, and action to absorb and too many revelations on the characters' familial history packed into just a few pages.

This story didn't work for me, but I can see how the conversational writing style and the pacing – which both make this book read like a movie – will appeal to other readers!

Thank you to NetGalley and TOR for the digital ARC.

This is my first T Kingfisher title, although I have several of the author’s novels.
Vultures roosting on the mailbox, rose bushes in revolt, a mother possibly showing signs of dementia, a jar of teeth in the yard…how could I pass it by?
This book had me from word one. I loved Sam from the beginning. She was funny and likable and very human. The little side trips into entomology and useless facts about roses and their history was informative and not off-putting.
A hunky gardener, the tinfoil hat-wearing neighbor, another neighbor that might be a witch…it all meshed well and made for a thoroughly enjoyable read. (Although, Mom might really need to cut back on the box wine.)
My only complaint about this book, other than I wouldn’t have minded if it had gone on for another few chapters (it felt a little rushed at the climax), is that, toward the very end, it veered off into the cosmic. Not my favorite lean when it comes to a comic horror novel. What could have been an easy 4.5, for me, dropped to around a 3.5. I might go as far as a 4, just for Hermes, the one-winged vulture.
T Kingfisher…I’m looking forward to reading more from you.

In A House With Good Bones we follow Sam who’s staying with her mother while her work is on hiatus. Her mom’s been acting a bit off however, especially when the topic of Sam’s grandmother comes up. As Sam tries to figure out what’s going on with her mother things start to get stranger and stranger and things from her family’s past start to come to light.

This book was so delightfully fun, bizarre, and creepy scary. T. Kingfisher’s writing unfolds so effortlessly and was easy to fall into. The pacing was just right to get to know the characters and follow the clues and background of what was happening in the story and build tension. I love the unique protagonist and the different characters we encounter and the use of nature and the occult was really fresh and interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is probably a kind three stars from me, because even if I didn’t personally enjoy the book, I could see it being great for others. I WANTED to love it. REALLY wanted to. I dearly love other T Kingfisher books, her style and characters are always so strong. What Moves the Dead was one of my favourite reads from 2022 and Nettle and Bone is a masterpiece. But god, it just feels like she was trying so hard to be kitschy and eccentric with this one that it comes across as forced and desperate.

Our protagonist, Sam, shows up to crash with her mom for a few months as she’s between work gigs with nowhere to go. Sam and her mom, Edith, have a super strong bond, some of which comes from having survived living with Sam’s stern, judgemental Southern Belle of a grandmother, Grand Mae. From the moment she arrives Sam can tell something is off, her mom has dropped a ton of weight and seems to be walking on eggshells in the house she’s the sole occupant of. Cue Sam taking absolutely forever to figure out the truth, and then a rushed ending with the strangest deuteragonist I’ve ever seen.

Like I said, I wanted to love it, but all of the amazing, subtle character work Kingfisher usually seems to put into her stories was missing here. The protagonist was a caricature of a strong female, and everything about her was so aggressively forced upon the reader that I complained to no less than three people about how often this book brings up Sam’s passion for bugs. Oh my god, the BUGS. WE GET IT. YOU KNOW A LOT ABOUT BUGS. Also, we make sure to tick all of our boxes so the reader knows the character is progressive; pointed comments about the character being fat that seemed so strong-armed that I assumed they would lead to some important reveal (they didn’t, she’s just fat, which I LOVE but if it doesn’t add anything to the scene you probably don’t need to tell me this often), small asides to let the reader know they’re white, but they’re *progressive* white people (there were no POC characters in the story so again, we seemed to just be checking a box), Gilmore Girls levels of twee banter between mom and daughter.

Again, I really wanted to love this book as I have so much love for the author. And people are clearly enjoying it, so I’d never say it’s a bad book; it’s just far too heavy handed for the low page account for my personal tastes.

Unique southern regional family supernatural story with a humorous element that will appeal to horror readers.

The first thing Sam notices when she arrives at her mother's house is the vulture sitting on the mailbox. Instead of being spooked by it, she wonders what type of mites are breeding in the bird's feathers. She doesn't start to worry until she goes inside and realizes that her mother, a women who loves vibrant colors, has painted the walls white and rehung the portraits that they hid away in the attic after her grandmother's death. Her mother's entire personality has changed. This is the most entertaining haunted house story I've read in quite a while. I enjoyed it, especially the unique protagonist, but some of the horror elements were described in a way that felt a bit silly.