A review by outsmartyourshelf
Near the Bone by Christina Henry

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Mattie lives in a cabin on a mountain with her abusive husband, William. She isn't allowed to wander far from their home, & she has never seen anyone else for as long as she can remember, but when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox, she realizes that they're not alone after all. Something strange is in the woods, a natural predator, so William wants to get rid of it as he fears it will bring more people up the mountain to hunt it. 

This starts off quite slowly, but gradually builds to where a small group of people are fleeing for their lives from whatever is killing everything around it & leaving their corpses strung from trees. This part of the book is gripping, especially as Mattie starts to remember her life before William. Talking of William, never have I wanted a character to meet a sticky end as much as I wanted him to. I have rated this 3.5 stars as it wasn't quite as good as I had hoped, but it was a decent read. 
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