Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - A House with Good Bones

Horror usually isn't my thing, but liking T. Kingfisher's fantasy books, I decided to give this one a go. I'm glad I did!

Kingfisher is great with writing multidimensional characters with flaws of their own and their interpersonal relationships. That is what shines bright in this book as well. I enjoyed reading about the difficult relationships between the different generations of the same family, and their own ways to deal with mysteries and difficulties. The neighbors offer a good place to compare with the main character's life. A House with Good Bones ponders over some hard themes, such as loss of a family member and grief, doubting one's self-worth and emotionally abusive family relationships. The book, however, offers more hopeful outlooks on the same issues in the form of caring for one's community, forming new friendships and finding new insight into oneself.

The horror elements get increasiongly more creepy, from a slight feeling of something being off up to creeping uneasiness,

supernatural affairs, and slight body horror

"You're a scientist," said Gail, watching me. "I realize that makes this hard for you. I'm telling you, what's happening isn't something you're going to be able to put under a microscope. I'm hoping it'll go away on it's own."
"Does anything ever go away on it's own?" I asked.
"More often than you think. In this case I truly can't be sure. I don't know everything.
"I'm starting to be sure I don't know anything", I muttered.
She smiles. "That's a good place to start."

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wildflowerleahg's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious fast-paced

4.5

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theredheadprotagonist's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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ktv's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The ending was so weird. The middle section up until she finds the teeth was slow. I don’t even remember what happened then. I didn’t like the voice for Phil. It sounded too much like his grandfather. I couldn’t visualize him as someone close to Sam’s age. Everything happened in the last third of the book which wasn’t bad but it could’ve been more interesting.

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just_one_more_paige's review

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adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I’m getting really into Kingfisher’s writing, after loving Nettle & Bone last year and just recently really enjoying Thornhedge. I found this one at my local bookstore in the used section and decided, even though horror isn’t really my vibe, to go for it. Which turned out to be an extra good call as, when I opened it to start reading, I saw that it was actually a signed copy. What a cool surprise!

When Sam’s newest dig site (for her job as an archaeoentomologist) has to go on an unexpected hiatus, she takes the opportunity to head back to her childhood home in rural NC to check in on her mother. Sam had heard from her brother, after his last visit, that she’d been acting strangely. So, she shows up ready to drink boxed wine and watch British murder mystery shows. And realizes that maybe her brother was right… The house she remembers, all the eclectic art and bright colors, had been changed back into the sterile “perfect home” look that it had been when her grandmother was still alive and living there. And her mother is acting a bit off, jumpy and nervous and not at all like herself. Between that and the vultures everywhere and the invading bugs and jar of teeth buried in the garden, Sam’s scientific mind is struggling to explain everything away.

This was a super slow build into the horror that really worked for me. The slow crawling growth in those vibes matched the roses/garden/bugs themes that were central to the setting/plot really well. As I started reading this, a friend messaged to say they had liked it, that it had just the right amount of creepy…and I couldn’t agree more. The atmosphere was spot on, but never too much for this scaredy-cat reader. I don’t want to give too many details away, because that ruins the fun, but the little bit of magic/supernatural that comes in to bring the plot home (as it were) was well-used, in combination with the rose garden and vultures and bugs and isolated/rural setting (including standard angry old man neighbor). And the “big creepy” that came with the finale was horrific enough to deserve the build, but not overwhelming or overdone. Again though, I have to ask (especially after just reading it in House of Hunger too), whyyyyyyyyy does horror always have to include loose teeth?! Ohhh my squeamish comes out with them.

I *loved* the narrative voice. Sam’s super intelligent snarky-ness was fantastic. It’s different than the more fairy tale style narrations of Kingfisher’s other works (at least the couple I’ve read), which I maybe should have expected due to the genre change, but really didn’t. However, it was a pleasant surprise, because it was so well written. Self-deprecating, smart, sarcastic female MCs are a personal favorite of mine (and Sam’s passion for insects was especially endearing, on top of that). Plus, I enjoyed her scientific “prove its anything but” approach to horror too.

Another thing I loved was the recognize-ability of the south, especially the rural NC that I know (and love/love-hate) in these pages. It had the classic old lady silly (and racist Confederate) house art, phone/internet access realities (as in, a lack of functionality), Cheerwine (iykyk…but we at least agreed on its gross-ness!), cultural traditions (including openly recognizing racism from the white population, which isn’t as typical, so that was a pleasant surprise), attics chock full of both legitimate old family heirlooms and useless “can’t throw this out” stuff, the giant armpit humidity vibes, neighborly small talk and suspicious/reclusive neighbors, and so much more. The recognizability of many of these mother-daughter (and about grandparent) interactions, about propriety and making the front of a perfect home/family, fit the setting and story really well, and were both well portrayed and wonderfully, lightly, satirical.

The finale was a really unique take on the way that rage builds over a lifetime when sidelined and ignored, the power that yearning for something different and working to protect it once you have it (especially when it began with a child’s desperation), can take on. It allowed the addition of a lovely emotional depth to a typical horror story. I really enjoyed my time with this book; totally entertaining.

“It’s easy to think that sweet people are weak…”

“Like many family dynamics, it didn’t have to be healthy, it just had to work.”

“Ultimately, I’m still just a white women form the South, with the accompanying combination of hypersensitivity and total obliviousness.”

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