A House with Good Bones

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.

I absolutely loved this. First let me just say that I’m not a huge horror fiction reader – I scare easily and can’t watch horror movies… BUT I’m able to tolerate horror in books better, though they can still creep me out. Lately I’ve been wanting to dabble and read some horror because I haven’t read any in some time and I’m strangely in the mood for it. Seeing as what I read is hugely dictated by my mood, I jumped into T. Kingfisher’s A House with Good Bones and it was exactly what I was looking for.

I love gothic fiction, something about the creepy, atmospheric feel of it is just the perfect amount for me to be slightly scared without being downright frightened. Jane Eyre and Rebecca are some of my favourites and I haven’t read gothic fiction set in present day so this book particularly intrigued me.

Set in North Carolina, Sam visits her mother in the house she grew up in, but something is off. Her mother is not her usual self, she’s lost some weight, and she seems to be constantly anxious about things around the house. I love Sam. As the narrator of the story I felt an instant connection to her and personality. She’s archaeoentomologist and she’s endlessly fascinated by bugs, but she also loves boxed wine and British murder mystery shows. I don’t necessarily love all those things, but I greatly related to her skepticism about ghosts and her drive to investigate things for proof and scientific explanation.

Maybe for seasoned horror fans this book wouldn’t be creepy/scary, but it sure was for me. T. Kingfisher does an excellent job making the ordinary creepy. I was skeptical about things feeling gothic and creepy because it’s set in present day in a suburban house but at the same time that’s EXACTLY what made it scary. If anything it made me a little glad I WASN’T living in a house, if only to be safe from certain things in the backyard or vultures perched on the roof.

It’s light in parts, creepy in others, and also manages to be funny in different moments. The last quarter in particular does a great job in tying things together. This is my first T. Kingfisher book and it certainly won’t be the last.

Thank you Tor Nightfire for sending me a copy for review! All opinions my own.