Review of 'A House with Good Bones'

"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.

Review

Kingfisher does it again with A House with Good Bones, using their gift for masterful storytelling to creep out the reader and make them laugh simultaneously.

Creepy & Funny

A House with Good Bones follows Sam, an archeological entomologist, who is sent on furlough when something is discovered at the dig and decides to spend time with her mother in their childhood home. And then strange and unusual things begin to happen.

As a “bug expert,” she first notices that there is not a single bug in the backyard full of gorgeous rose bushes, her grandmother’s prized roses. Then her sleep paralysis, her mothers’ new high regard for her dead mother, and the sudden changes in the house.

Samantha is, first and foremost, funny. Kingfisher made Sam funny, spunky, and everything. She is curvy and plus sized, and highly intelligent. I loved everything about her and the fact that she was so incredibly nerdy. Her addiction to wine with her mother and staying up late to watch murder mysteries gives her this relatable charm. She is more than a character on a page; she is a real person who is quirky and completely relatable.

Samantha’s personality and tone are the driving points of the narrative because it lightens the narrative and ups the creepy factor of the story. Why? Because there is a natural human reaction to it. When she wakes to ladybugs swarming her room, to the arrival of sleep paralysis, her reaction is unease and terror sharpened only by her need to rationalize. As a result, it comes off as realistic. Even when the number of vultures circling her home continues to grow, little hands creeping up from the ground, and jars of teeth being found, every single reaction she had was one the reader could connect to. They were eye-bugging moments.

Final Thoughts

With A House with Good Bones, Kingfisher continues to impress me with her storytelling and characterization.

• Writing Quality : 9/10
• Character Development :9/10
• "Couldn't Put It Down"-ness : 9.5/10
• Intellectual Depth: 9/10
• Originality: 9/10
• Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

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About the Author

Cynthia Bujnicki graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. She has always loved to read since she was a child. A contributing writer for YA Fantasy Addicts, she is also the Editor-in-Chief for Cyn's Workshop. She lives in sunny South Florida with her husband, son and daughter and their two cats.