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keiraonyxraven's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When Mouse’s grandmother passes away, her father asks her to clean up the inherited house ready for resale, but this spiteful old woman held secrets and so did her long past husband. As Mouse begins to find clues and evidence of unusual events and strange phenomena, she begins to question if she and her beloved dog, bongo, are really safe in this old house and the land surrounding the property.
This was a more slow-paced novel, but with copious amounts of suspense and mystery. I adored the build up of this story, it was creepy and unsettling and the use of repetitive language added another layer of eeriness. As with all their books, Kingfisher’s descriptions and settings really transported me within the story, and I cannot fault their ability to create an immersive and engaging reading experience.
My only criticism of this novel was the ending. Unfortunately I felt that a lot of the threat was taken away at the 70% mark and it lost the unsettling factor from the build up that I really enjoyed. The threat was re-established in the last 5% and I enjoyed the very end, but I did feel that between 70% and 95% my interest dwindled at little.
That being said, I still highly enjoyed this novel, the first 70% was almost flawless in terms of suspense and build-up, and the last 5% was adrenaline-filled and had a great twist. Overall, I would recommend this novel and would encourage any horror fans to give Kingfisher’s books a try.
This was a more slow-paced novel, but with copious amounts of suspense and mystery. I adored the build up of this story, it was creepy and unsettling and the use of repetitive language added another layer of eeriness. As with all their books, Kingfisher’s descriptions and settings really transported me within the story, and I cannot fault their ability to create an immersive and engaging reading experience.
My only criticism of this novel was the ending. Unfortunately I felt that a lot of the threat was taken away at the 70% mark and it lost the unsettling factor from the build up that I really enjoyed. The threat was re-established in the last 5% and I enjoyed the very end, but I did feel that between 70% and 95% my interest dwindled at little.
That being said, I still highly enjoyed this novel, the first 70% was almost flawless in terms of suspense and build-up, and the last 5% was adrenaline-filled and had a great twist. Overall, I would recommend this novel and would encourage any horror fans to give Kingfisher’s books a try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Animal cruelty
jessereadsthings's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Animal death, Racism, and Rape
aparker89's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Everyone knows that a hoarder's home is a nightmare in and of itself, but what if that hoard was hiding something even more devilish. When Mouse's grandmother finally passes away and her house needs to be dealt with, she doesn't know what to expect. She also doesn't know that there might just be monsters awaiting her arrival. Between reading her dementia addled grandfather's journal and dealing with a mountainous mess- what could possibly be worse. Well Mouse finds out... but thank goodness for hwr coonhound to keep her grounded through an adventure that can't quite be understood but definitely is a doozy!
I still can't get over the fairy monsters in pure hillbilly fashion... they will be haunting my dreams for years to come!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Stalking
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Abandonment, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
provo's review
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Scared the shit out of me in so many ways, but not enough to give me nightmares, as long as I read in daylight.
Would recommend this to people who like the level of horror that „The Blair Witch Project“ has (because there are things-you-can-see-or-maybe-not in the woods).
The first 25% are the horror of having to clean out a hoarders house and, knowing that this is something I will have to deal with some day, ignited a terror of its own.
The next chapters, up to 65%, were the scariest to me because I found the stuff with the diary, the manuscript, those fucking stones and the question if any of this was real at all - until thankfully foxy, skip and tomas showed up - way scarier than the effigies, though they definitely had their own flavor of fucked up. The intrusive thoughts were actually the worst and they are the reason I put a psychosis content warnings in the review. .
The latter half of the book was still scary, but in a more uncanny way and not as psychological draining as the first half.
To me, this book could have been unreadable (because I can not deal that good with horror) - but all the characters are so loveable and it is clear from the start, that Mouse and her dog will make it out alive.
I will definitely check out other books by T. Kingfisher.
Would recommend this to people who like the level of horror that „The Blair Witch Project“ has (because there are things-you-can-see-or-maybe-not in the woods).
The first 25% are the horror of having to clean out a hoarders house and, knowing that this is something I will have to deal with some day, ignited a terror of its own.
The next chapters, up to 65%, were the scariest to me
The latter half of the book was still scary, but in a more uncanny way and not as psychological draining as the first half.
To me, this book could have been unreadable (because I can not deal that good with horror) - but all the characters are so loveable and it is clear from the start, that Mouse and her dog will make it out alive.
I will definitely check out other books by T. Kingfisher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Body horror
Moderate: Dementia, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Miscarriage
elly29's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Satisfyingly creepy and well-plotted. It's about a woman who cares for her dog, and wants to help folks when they ask for help. I loved Foxey, and that it was a woman and an older woman who get to have the adventure. And this novel. Is. Out. There.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
A but slow at the beginning, and bit fast at the end. Creepy all the way through. Seriously: Cotgrave and everything surrounding his death is sooo twisted.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, and Death
Minor: Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Animal death
zachisreading's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
The Twisted Ones is a book that does a lot of things right. You'll find yourself propelled forward by the main character's wit into a curious mystery that becomes more and more strange the further in you go. The haunting refrain of her step grandfather's journal, from which the book takes it's name, will stick with you between readings. It is a hard book to put down, and even harder to stay away from.
Then, in the last handful of chapters, I felt the book fumbled the dismount. Too much was revealed too fast and too completely. Significant parts of the mystery wind up tossed to the curb in the fantastical reveals. The monsters wind up being too human, largely discarding the eldritch horror that fueled the book up to this point. The unknowable becomes known, at least in part, and that removes some of the terror.
Still, it's not a book to be left unread. It's creeping horror is a lovely, well-crafted thing that could easily have felt dated if not for the protagonist's thoroughly modern voice. Plus, there's a dog. And everyone needs more dogs in their lives. Even fictional ones.
Then, in the last handful of chapters, I felt the book fumbled the dismount. Too much was revealed too fast and too completely. Significant parts of the mystery wind up tossed to the curb in the fantastical reveals. The monsters wind up being too human, largely discarding the eldritch horror that fueled the book up to this point. The unknowable becomes known, at least in part, and that removes some of the terror.
Still, it's not a book to be left unread. It's creeping horror is a lovely, well-crafted thing that could easily have felt dated if not for the protagonist's thoroughly modern voice. Plus, there's a dog. And everyone needs more dogs in their lives. Even fictional ones.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Infertility
Minor: Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Stalking, and Racism
thekeytotheend's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Body horror, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Dementia, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Gun violence, Racism, and Torture
anna_hepworth's review
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is creepy, and dark, both in the real world and the fantasy world sections of the story. And yet it never made it over the line to horror for me, and I'm feeling a little bit let down by that.
In the real world sections, our protagonist--Melissa, known as Mouse--is dealing with the house of a recently deceased family member. Said family member was nasty through and through in their dealings with other people, and the house turns out to be a hoarding nightmare. I found myself repeatedly baffled by sections of this, which I think just come down to the reality that other people's families are weird. I did rather love the bit part player, Enid, who is the barista in the nearest town, and who seems rather unflappable. And the nearby household of Skip, Foxy, and Tomas, who are integral to the story. So, Vernon has done very well (as ever) with bringing together a fabulous cast.
In the fantasy sections, there are any number of nasty body horror things going on, although for a long time Mouse writes them off as either dementia (their grandfather's writing) or suggestibility (their own observations). Which should bring with it a creeping sense of dread for the reader, but I found that Mouse was overly analytical about the horror tropes, and so kept throwing me out of the feeling. No idea whether that was the plan.
The author's note discusses other texts that this is in dialogue with -- I wasn't familiar with the primary one, and possibly if I had been this might have worked better.
But as ever in Vernon's work, solid writing, fascinating premise, good world-building and character development, and a generally good story.
In the real world sections, our protagonist--Melissa, known as Mouse--is dealing with the house of a recently deceased family member. Said family member was nasty through and through in their dealings with other people, and the house turns out to be a hoarding nightmare. I found myself repeatedly baffled by sections of this, which I think just come down to the reality that other people's families are weird. I did rather love the bit part player, Enid, who is the barista in the nearest town, and who seems rather unflappable. And the nearby household of Skip, Foxy, and Tomas, who are integral to the story. So, Vernon has done very well (as ever) with bringing together a fabulous cast.
In the fantasy sections, there are any number of nasty body horror things going on, although for a long time Mouse writes them off as either dementia (their grandfather's writing) or suggestibility (their own observations). Which should bring with it a creeping sense of dread for the reader, but I found that Mouse was overly analytical about the horror tropes, and so kept throwing me out of the feeling. No idea whether that was the plan.
The author's note discusses other texts that this is in dialogue with -- I wasn't familiar with the primary one, and possibly if I had been this might have worked better.
But as ever in Vernon's work, solid writing, fascinating premise, good world-building and character development, and a generally good story.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Mental illness
There are two individuals with explicitly mentioned mental illness; the stories of both are handled well by my standards.ghostams's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! It was an insanely amazing mix of folklore, family history, isolating energy, small town vibes, and childhood-level fear. Definitely a book I wish I could forget, just to read again, even though it was terrifying in the best way. Plus, the characters are so unique while being regular folk. Also, the dog doesn't die and is arguably the hero!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Mental illness and Grief
Minor: Racism, Emotional abuse, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Confinement, Child death, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Death
breazatoth's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Satisfying Appalachian folk horror, complete with roots of where some of our monsters began. Ending didn't hold up to the rest of the book, but the cast of characters was the shining star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Confinement, Death, and Dementia
Minor: Domestic abuse, Child death, and Death of parent