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A House With Good Bones

A Barnes & Noble Best Horror Book of 2023

A haunting Southern Gothic from an award-winning master of suspense, A House With Good Bones explores the dark, twisted roots lurking just beneath the veneer of a perfect home and family.

"Mom seems off."

Her brother's words echo in Sam Montgomery's ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam's excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn't what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she's the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what's got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

Also by T. Kingfisher
What Moves the Dead

What Feasts at Night
Nettle & Bone
Thornhedge
A Sorceress Comes to Call

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256 pages

Average rating: 7.06

99 RATINGS

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7 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
May 19, 2024
8/10 stars
I picked this up because I have loved everything else I have read by this author.

I am not usually into horror, but this one had enough humor in it to allow me to gloss over the scary parts enough.

I would have given it 5 stars, but I didn't like some of the voices that the narrator chose for some of the characters. A 59-year-old woman shouldn't sound like she is in her 80s. The handyman sounded like he was dumb as dirt by his voice, but he was definitely smart, judging by the things he said.

I would recommend this story.
Anonymous
Mar 23, 2024
8/10 stars
4.5 stars!

This book is pretty much everything I wanted [b:Mexican Gothic|53152636|Mexican Gothic|Silvia Moreno-Garcia|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1607462569l/53152636._SY75_.jpg|73647361] to be, but wasn't. We get the gothic vibes (even though this was just a house and not a mansion), the creepy happenings, the secrets, and the hauntings. tbh, I actually liked that it was a house and not a mansion like in Mexican Gothic or [b:Rebecca|17899948|Rebecca|Daphne du Maurier|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386605169l/17899948._SX50_.jpg|46663] - it flipped the concept of a gothic book around, since we normally expect dark mansions with secrets. But this was just in a chill suburbian neighborhood.

Also the main character was *chefs kiss*. She was perfect for the story, so snarky and with a distinct, individual voice. I loved that her career ended up being really helpful for her in the situation, and it was just like ~character flavor text. It was super relevant. Have I mentioned that I love T Kingfisher's characters? Both in [b:Nettle & Bone|56179377|Nettle & Bone|T. Kingfisher|https:i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1645110008l/56179377._SY75_.jpg|87513158] and in this book, they jump off the page. I want to be friends with all of them and just crack jokes and make sarcastic comments. And of course, just like in Nettle and Bones, the side characters were awesome. They were all such interesting people and I wish they (especially Phil and Gail) could go on further adventures with the main character.

The magic stuff was a little bit confusing, but I didn't even really mind that because the rest of the book was so good. I just sort of hand-waved it and went with what I could gather from the situation. Loved the creepiness of the underground children and the vultures. There's just such an ~atmosphere that the author is able to evoke that complements the gothic vibes within the house itself so well.

T. Kingfisher is definitely quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! I can't wait to read more of her books! :)
LMahoney
Jan 26, 2024
10/10 stars
Great gothic horror book and the reader for the audiobook was superb! I laughed aloud a few times. And openly gasped once too!
SlowTreeBear290
Jan 12, 2024
2/10 stars
YAWN.
Anonymous
Dec 04, 2023
10/10 stars
This booked f*cked me up. My dreams were wild and horrifying while reading this book. I love a good Southern Gothic and this absolutely delivered. The author obviously doesn’t know about my fear of swarms of ladybugs, but she provided numerous swarms of ladybugs that about did me in.

Sam, delayed on her archaeological dig, comes home to stay with her mom in the south vs going back to Arizona where she resides as an adult. Her mom is staying in her mother’s, Gran Mae, house that she inherited when Gran Mae died. Sam’s brother, Brad, has been telling Sam that something seems wrong with their mom.

Sam sees the oddness for herself and she starts experiencing some wild and terrifying incidents in the house. Now, Gran Mae was not a nice woman. She had bucketfuls of issues and she was a demanding and cruel mother and grandmother. But she had a fabulous rose garden!

Sam’s mom and Sam end up finally talking to each other (honestly, that took a little too much time to get to a real conversation about the horrors happening between those two) and then everything just comes crashing in. Literally.

AMAZING book! I really really enjoyed this despite the ladybugs.

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