Title: A House With Good Bones
Author: T. Kingfisher
Published: 2023
Genres: Southern Gothic Horror
Page Count: 247
Fable Rating: 3.7
My Rating: 3.5
Table of Contents
Introduction
A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher is a southern Gothic horror that was a highly anticipated read of mine. After devouring What Moves The Dead I was looking forward to seeing more from this author. The book has a witty, sarcastic, main character which is expected and appreciated in a Kingfisher novel. This is a spooky modern haunted house novel with themes of generational trauma that also happens to come with an adorable vulture. I wanted this book to start my autumn TBR off right. Unfortunately I have mixed feelings about this book. It didn’t score very high for me personally.
We follow Sam Montgomery an archaeoentomologist and our protagonist, as she finds herself staying at her family home with her mother after her dig site job ends abruptly. After a long drive to her hometown, she’s relieved to finally be done with driving and perhaps even get in a a nap. However, Samantha soon begins to notice strange changes not only in the house but also in her mother’s behavior. Could this be what her brother meant when he expressed concern over the phone about their mother? The character, charm, and color from the house have vanished, and her mother’s behavior is so worrying that Sam is contemplating taking her to the doctor. Is it delayed grief for her mother, Sam’s grandmother? Is it dementia? Or is she being stalked or threatened? Sam is determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s condition and even starts to think about what it would take to get her the care she needs. She talks to her mother’s handy man, her mother’s neighbor, and her late grandmother’s rival to try and seek answers. But then, she experiences inexplicable events that even her college degree can’t help her comprehend. Is that a hand in the background of that photo? Why doesn’t the backyard have ANY bugs? OMG is that a jar of teeth? It becomes clear that she should move her focus to digging up the truth behind what’s going on with the house. She soon discovers maybe some things should stay buried when the questions of whats going on with her mother, the house, and her ancestors is answered….
My Review
I rated this book 3.5 stars. With the rating system I use it was technically the highest end of a 3 star so I felt comfortable adding .5. There were a lot of elements of this book I really enjoyed but unfortunately it fell mediocre on my scale because it left me wanting more in more than 1 category
Samantha Montgomery is the protagonist in this story. She is a 30-something plus-sized archaeoentomologist (someone who studies insects in archaeological remains) who clearly loves her job with how much it is mentioned throughout the book. She is a witty, sarcastic character who fits right in with a lot of T. Kingfisher’s other main characters. She loves boxed wine, bugs, self-depricating humor, and British crime shows. There are moments where she will sort of break a fourth wall and talk to us, the reader, that I enjoyed, it’s the kind of humor I find commonly mixed in a Kingfisher novel. Her mother is acting strange and there are strange happenings around the house that she is trying to hide from Sam, but that is where some of the logic is lost on me. There is an incident that causes the mom to tell her daughter-in-law she’s not allowed at the house for her safety, but allows her daughter to stay for an extended period of time. That doesn’t seem like Samantha’s mother, who is made out to be amazing and loving, would do. Mr. Pressley is the nosey, paranoid old man who seems like he should have had a bigger role in the story, but did not, and that’s another common theme I noticed. Characters being introduced that just fell flat. The neighbor and Sam’s late grandmother’s nemesis would have been my favorite character, but she just fell flat for me as well. Sam goes to her multiple times for help and just doesn’t listen, which was boring and frustrating. Her feathery friend is adorable, her garden sounds amazing, but its just a fly by thrown in there comment that is the most important thing about her. It was thrown in what perspective she could help from and it seems like that was the only point of it. I would have loved to see more of this character.
The story takes place in a rural suburb in North Carolina. Most of the story takes place in the family home, and honestly, mostly on the couch. The house itself wasn’t even a substantial enough setting for me when this is supposed to be a haunted house novel. The first 3/4 of the novel is just Sam sitting, eating, drinking wine, and trying to use the internet but remembering it doesn’t work. This, mixed with the fact that her finding answers is very, very delayed, makes the book extremely slow. We get a lot of details about the mom’s job when the only plot point it serves is for Sam to have moments in the house alone. We get lots of facts about bugs and roses, which, honestly, I again expected to play a bigger part. They definitely were used in the story, but not in as interesting a way as I would have thought. There was for sure some cool visuals like the ladybug swarm, the sleep paralysis, the visit from a family member, and the kids at the end.
The writing style of Kingfisher is very distinctive. A sarcastic, dry humor from the characters. The story is told like a friend saying listen to this crazy story I’m gonna tell you that happened to me. I really enjoy this about her writing and its something that has has me coming back to read more of her books.
I wish we had more details about the genealogy and how that played a part in everything that happened. While we did get some sort of explanation, it felt very bare bones. The first 3/4 of the novel was slow, but the ending picked up. The visuals at the end were enough to make my skin crawl and my eyes to move faster than my brain could. The ending wrapped up nicely with no loose ends, but I definitely had a longing for more details about almost everything. The explanation for the strange things that were happening around the house and the reason why mom was acting strange was both figured out and resolved extremely quickly. The reasoning for it was just kind of mediocre. After it’s resolved, the real ending starts, which is a plot twist that was both predictable and not. I feel like the reason for the house’s weirdness and the underground children mention was a HUGE blatant foreshadowing that was super predictable. The parts with them having to escape the house, however, were not. This is where the story actually becomes good.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I gave this book 3.5 stars. It was slow and there was a lot of it that fell flat but I’ll admit I did read it pretty fast. Even though it was slow-paced it didn’t drag. I found myself wanting to finish it so I could find out what happens, but I also found myself thinking “there’s no way that’s it” until the ending quarter. I enjoyed a lot of the visuals which is another thing I think T. Kingfisher excels at. 3.5 stars is a perfect rating for me. Its not a book I will remember forever but its not one I will forget soon.
Let’s Chat
Have you read a novel by T. Kingfisher? If you read this one, what did you rate it?
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