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A review by amandamlyons
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
5.0
A House With Good Bones is the story of Sam Montgomery, a woman in her thirties who has been quite happily caught up in her career as an archeological entomologist- until her current project is interrupted by the discovery of human remains and she has to take a break until its resolved. Not wanting to inconvenience her roommate and her bratty cat, Sam opts instead to head home to her mother's place until either the project is back on or the length of the trip is up and she can go home. Simple enough, right?
Except when Sam arrives she finds her typical anxious but artsy mom isn't herself- and all of the little things her mom did to make the house her own after her grandmother passed away have reverted to a not so pleasant past version which is all too familiar to the parts of her that remember growing up in that house. Something's not right and what should have been a breezy couple of weeks at home are looking like they might involve figuring out why her mother is so much more anxious than usual, why there are vultures lingering all around the house, and just why there are no bugs anywhere near her grandmother's creepily pristine roses.
T. Kingfisher remains one of my favorite speculative writers for a handful of very good reasons. The characters are quirky but realistic, the story is very much one of horror but also amusing and playful, and we inevitably always seem to find some form of unexpected treat hidden somewhere in the narrative. All of these things are found within the southern gothic, A House With Good Bones, and I am happy to say that I ate this one up with all of the same relish and amusement as I've found in each of her other books. If you're hoping to read something unexpectedly charming, relatable, and nicely placed between horror and the fantastic you'll probably enjoy this one too.
Except when Sam arrives she finds her typical anxious but artsy mom isn't herself- and all of the little things her mom did to make the house her own after her grandmother passed away have reverted to a not so pleasant past version which is all too familiar to the parts of her that remember growing up in that house. Something's not right and what should have been a breezy couple of weeks at home are looking like they might involve figuring out why her mother is so much more anxious than usual, why there are vultures lingering all around the house, and just why there are no bugs anywhere near her grandmother's creepily pristine roses.
T. Kingfisher remains one of my favorite speculative writers for a handful of very good reasons. The characters are quirky but realistic, the story is very much one of horror but also amusing and playful, and we inevitably always seem to find some form of unexpected treat hidden somewhere in the narrative. All of these things are found within the southern gothic, A House With Good Bones, and I am happy to say that I ate this one up with all of the same relish and amusement as I've found in each of her other books. If you're hoping to read something unexpectedly charming, relatable, and nicely placed between horror and the fantastic you'll probably enjoy this one too.