Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Classic Christina Henry - horror and fear but done quietly, subtly and so dramatically it could've been taken out of a noir film.

Another chilling offering from the reigning queen of horror. This time we are gifted an original tale rather than one of her superb classic reimaginings. I would describe this as eerie, horror-lite as opposed to the commonly used gratuitous gore many other modern horror authors delight in. Part psychological thriller, part unexplained horror it unravels the mystery of the occupants of the cabin in the woods and what becomes of them.
Absolutely a must-read author for me.
Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall rating : 4*
Writing skill : 4*
Pace: 4*
Characters:4*

This was surprisingly great. I say surprising because I'm not a massive fan of fantasy, but this was written so well I could believe it all. It was also gripping, suspenseful and hard hitting, so much so I finished it in 24 hours. This is the first Henry book I've read, but I do have Alice which I am hoping now to get to very soon.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Titan Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

CW: domestic violence, mentions of sexual assault, graphic depictions of death

Just a heads up before we get into the review, this is going to be fairly brief (in my terms, at least) as there are a lot of points to this novel which I would consider spoilers and part of why I enjoyed this novel so much was because I had no idea of the complexities of the plot going into the novel.

We’re introduced to Mattie (Martha) as she stumbles across the sight of a dead fox in the woods, however, we quickly discover that it isn’t just whatever killed and left the fox that is the most dangerous creature in the woods. I loved Mattie and was rooting for her throughout the novel. I felt her fear and survival instinct were very believable, especially when you learn more about her life with William. Henry has a brilliant ability to convey so much in so few pages, which gets you to the heart of the action much quicker and you have a sense of urgency and tension right from the start.

I loved the way Henry would slowly reveal more and more information about Mattie’s life, as well as the world she has found herself in. Every time I thought I had pieced things together, something else would be thrown my way whether it be something major or just a minor comment which would cause me to question everything I had read so far - whether it was Mattie’s life with William or the creature in the woods. Henry has a brilliant command of language as she tells the story. I was addicted from the first chapter and finished the novel in one morning as I just had to get answers. There was so much to be worried about for Mattie that it was impossible to know what to give more attention to, which made the novel even more enjoyable and chaotic.

Whilst I did love this novel and how gripping it was, I’m slightly conflicted around the ending. Although the final line was incredibly powerful and most people will love where it ended, I was hoping for a little more (which is just entirely selfish on my part). Without going into specifics and spoilers, I would have liked more clarification over a couple of things towards the end and certain revelations. I have my theories, and again for some readers that will be enough to completely satisfy them, I would have just preferred something a little more concrete.

Overall, this was a wonderful way to spend a grey October morning and it has further cemented Henry as one of my favourite writers. There aren’t many other authors that can explore whether the women in fairy tales should be more afraid of the chilling creature they’re warned about, or the men that are warning them as brilliantly as Henry, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

Real rating: 3.5 stars

It's not often I find thrillers actually thrilling. Near the Bone, however, is an absolutely thrilling, dread-inducing read from start to finish.

You can tell something's very wrong right from the beginning and it has nothing to do with the looming, mysterious beast that lurks in the woods. The book is told from Mattie's perspective so we're just as confused as she is as the story progresses, if not more.

Near the bone is just a great thriller; it's fast-paced, full of action, and actually quite suspenseful. I really enjoyed reading it! If you're looking for a new thriller to read, or just hoping to read a spooky book this October, I recommend this one!

As a fan of Christine Henry's 'Alice' duology, I was very excited to dive into a thriller that I hoped could emulate the atmospheric feel of those books. Unfortunately, I was left feeling rather underwhelmed.

Mattie has lived in the cabin in the woods with her husband William for as long as she can remember. Isolated from the wider world, she lives a simple existence. But she has always felt as though something is missing, some part of her past that is desperate to tell Mattie something important. When she discovers a dead fox in the snow, surrounded by strange footprints and the roar of a beast nearby, Mattie sets off on a trajectory that will leave her fighting for her life. But who is the real monster in the woods?

I ended up mainly skimming the last 50% of this, and that was mainly down to my lack of emotional connection to the story and the characters. Mattie is very repetitive in her actions, constantly going over an internal monologue about her husband and her predictament. She's also not really developed all that well. Beyond the role of downtrodden wife I never really saw who Mattie was. Speaking of which - there's a lot of domestic violence. William is an abhorrent character, but it just all feels a bit surface level. There's no nuance to his character. He's just a monster. Which is probably the whole point of the story, but I still don't think this was enough to make me care.

It's also very apparent from early on what happened to Mattie, and where the story is going, which meant there was no surprises and no build up of tension. It's just all a little flat. By leaving the monster largely to the readers imagination makes its scenes less impactful. I never felt scared, I never felt on edge - which is what I wanted from this story more than anything else. There's no atmosphere, with none of the whimsy and hints of terror and gore that I've come to expect from Henry. It's almost as though she didn't really know what to do with this monster she creates or where to take the story beyond the obvious. By trying to combine the two elements of a physical monster and a more metaphorical monster we are left with two separate stories that do not combine together well, and instead leave the reader feeling incredibly confused - with an ending that resolves nothing.

Hints of interesting stuff, but this suffers from an inability to adequately take two concepts and make them work in synergy. I'll still continue to read Henry's work though, as her writing has the potential to be wonderful.

Christina Henry is definitely earning the title of Queen of horror to me, Christina Henry is an expert at her craft. This storyis a great read for those readers stepping their toes into horror, but I would recommend it to both new and seasoned horror fans. I you will be absorbed up in a supernatural tale of survival to rival theKing of Horror

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book did not make a lot of sense. Which is quite sad, considering the beginning was very promising.

I enjoy Christina Henry’s writing style and the atmosphere she creates in her books, and ‘Near the Bone’ has not been different in this aspect. While it’s not the book I liked the most from Christina Henry’s novels, I thought it was interesting, scary and well-written.

Mattie went through so much in this story and my heart felt for her, and I was reading page after page hoping for some kind of happy ending for her – she definitely deserved that. ‘Near the Bone’ is definitely one of these books that keep you absorbed fully in the story from the very first page until the very end. I felt like the story was intense throughout the whole narrative, but unfortunately, I ended up feeling like the end came too quickly, too abruptly, and many things in the story didn’t reach a completely satisfactory resolution. However, it’s definitely a well-written and intense book worth reading.

I am most familiar with Christina Henry's retellings (The Mermaid is a personal favourite), but between last year's The Ghost Tree and her latest book — Near the Bone — I'm becoming a huge fan of her horror titles. Near the Bone is a fantastically tense, incredibly immersive, and totally brilliant bit of horror writing. Like most tense, thriller-type books I can't say too much for fear of giving things away, but I'll do my best with a short review.

Told from Mattie's perspective, we learn early on that something isn't quite right and perhaps things aren't what they seem. Henry teases out the facts of Mattie's life in a masterful way, filling every page with tension from beginning to end. I literally could not put this book down — fun fact: I cooked dinner and brushed my teeth with this book in hand. What better endorsement could you want? I was totally hooked and loved the way this story unfolded.

Mattie is a fabulous character. Seeing her complex situation, emotions, and ingrained behaviour and reactions is heartbreaking, yet so satisfying when her survival instincts kick in as she's determined to escape the monster in the woods. She has a deeply satisfying story arc and she's an incredibly compelling character.

Again, I just can't say much more about this book without giving anything away. But I can confidently tell you that if you're a fan of supernatural horror, thrillers, or tension-filled books in general you absolutely must pick up Near the Bone. This is easily one of my favourite books of the year!

If you're curious about content warnings, please do message me! I don't believe in the whole 'content warnings count as spoilers' thing, but I think this is one of the rare cases in which that might be the case.

Near The Bone is the disturbing story of Mattie and William who live a very basic and lonely life on a mountain. Mattie totally relies on William for her survival and knows she must never make him angry, although that is much easier said than done. One day Mattie discovers signs of a large and unknown creature being in the area near their cabin and realises the danger they are in. Then 3 strangers arrive on the mountain who are hunting this mysterious creature. William is not at all happy with their presence and Mattie's existence becomes even more miserable as a result.
I'll start by saying this was my first Christina Henry book but it definitely won't be my last. This woman can write an atmosphere let me tell you. The whole book felt creepy AF and weirdly quite claustrophobic despite being set in the open mountains. There was a definite feeling of being trapped there and not knowing how to escape. Mattie was an amazing character who showed immense strength of character but also great vulnerability at the same time. I was rooting for her from the first page! In fact, I really liked all the characters as they were written exactly how you would imagine them to be with really well developed and unique personalities. And whenever the creature appeared it definitely filled the pages with such a dark presence that was almost tangible.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend it for thriller / horror fans.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a copy of this book in return for an honest opinion.

This was such an engrossing horror novel! After reading several of her novels, I have come to realize that Christina Henry knows how to tell a good story and she proved it again with this new release, Near the Bone.

This is the kind of horror novel that will really appeal to thriller readers like myself who love the tropes surrounding kidnapping stories. Mattie is a compelling protagonist who is stunted by her early captivity and clearly suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. Her social and educational deficiencies made sense, but it did make it a bit frustrating to read from her perspective at times.

Yet while this story will appeal to thriller readers, this book should definitely be classified as horror. I loved the narrative choice to "hide" much of the horror from the reader, which made it so much more suspenseful and psychological. I was gripped into the story from the very beginning and it held my attention the entire time.

In terms of a story, this one was fairly simple, yet very effective. I thought the ending was very predictable. While not the most innovative story, it still made for a very enjoyable read. Like the author's previous horror novel, The Ghost Tree, I found this one to be very accessible. This would be a great place to start for readers looking to get into the horror genre. I always appreciate that Henry avoids the kinds of problematic content that often plagues the genre.

Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. I would widely recommend it to both new and seasoned horror readers alike. If you are looking to get wrapped up in a thrilling supernatural tale of survival, then this is an excellent one to pick up.

I loved Near The Bone; Mattie is a brilliant character, I willed her to escape and have as happy an ending as she could in her position. William was a believable abuser, a very scary man, but best of all was the creature! It turned into a brilliant creature feature with a battle to get out alive, brilliant!

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Titan Books in exchange for an honest review.

Christina Henry is back in full form! After being a little disappointed by The Ghost Tree, I am pleased to report that Near the Bone is a truly fantastic creepy tale.

It tells the story of Mattie, a young woman who lives with her husband William in a remote forest cabin on a mountainside. A strange creature appears on the mountain one day, something which is like a bear and not. It soon becomes clear though that things have not been right long before that. William is a very controlling person and he doesn't like that the arrival of the creature appears to be affecting his tenuous hold on Mattie.

I was utterly mesmerised by this story. Henry knows how to build tension and there were absolute piles of it in this book. The relationship between William and Mattie is one of the main driving forces and it was harrowing to see the unpleasant reality of it slowly unfurl as I read on. As with many of Henry's books, Near the Bone has a strong focus on feminism and gender roles and this is handled extremely well. I felt such a strong connection to Mattie and everything she goes through broke my heart a million times. Every character was so real to me and they all had depth which made you either love or hate them.

So I have covered the characters and relationships side but what about the horror? Well rest assured, this book has plenty of that. There are some particularly gruesome scenes here and also a lot of the slower, more tension-based horror that I mentioned earlier. I think this book is particularly effective because it has both domestic horror (from the threat of William) and the horror that comes from being hunted by a supernatural creature. It provides a variety in the kind of fear you feel as a reader and as a bonus it appeals to all tastes.

Christina Henry is one of my favourite authors and with books like this, it isn't hard to see why. If you want a tense, absorbing horror with brilliant characters and a heartbreaking plot, I urge you to check this book out. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 stars

https://lynns-books.com/2021/06/03/near-the-bone-by-christina-henry/
4 of 5 stars
My Five Word TL:DR Review : Cryptid monster horror survival story

Near the Bone is my second Christina Henry story and I seem to be on a roll because I enjoyed this one as much as the last one I read (The Ghost Tree).

This is a psychological as well as slasher style horror story. There are plenty of double meanings together with a setting that feels almost claustrophobic.

As the story begins we meet Mattie. She’s doing the rounds, checking the traps for animals caught when she comes across a dead fox. The fox hasn’t been eaten, just mauled and left, which is unusual in itself, added to that, the strange tracks that accompany the kill really give Mattie pause (paws or maybe even claws) for thought. They look like bear prints, but on a massive scale. Mattie doesn’t however have time to dwell, no lollygagging or gathering wool here, back to the cabin with haste before she receives punishment for her tardy behaviour. She tells her husband of her grisly find and the two set out to follow the tracks – which mysteriously disappear.

Mattie has lived with William for as long as she can remember. she sometimes has snatches of fleeting memories that elude her before she can grasp their meaning. Meanwhile, William is always there, watching, controlling, and punishing her. Mattie has learned to be quiet, to speak only when spoken to and to make herself almost unnoticeable. The appearance of a second monster into her life spells real trouble but maybe also the possibility of escape.

I’m not going to go into the relationship between Mattie and Williams other than to say it is an abusive one. Mentally and physically abusive (so keep that in mind). Mattie is on the verge of becoming a shadow self, she’s beaten, raped and starved on a regular basis and yet, because of the length of time she has spent enduring such horrors she doesn’t realise just how terrible her situation really is. She is William’s wife, she must obey him and be dutiful. The appearance of a second monster on their isolated mountain really upsets the strange existence they have. First, William becomes almost unhinged about the presence of an unusual creature sharing their space (with reason as will be eventually revealed). Second, rumours of a mysterious critter brings strangers to the mountain in search of myths and legends. Both of these act as catalysts to trigger memories in Mattie that leave her questioning the life she has accepted as normal.

Okay, I won’t really go into the plot with this one. We have a creature capable of stalking unseen and unheard, the very forests themselves go quiet upon its approach. It can remain unseen if it wishes and it’s tracks oftentimes disappear. We have William, a monster himself by all accounts. Armed and dangerous he resolves to rid the mountain of this newcomer and threat to his life.

So, the setting is great. High on a mountain. No roads. Freezing cold temperatures. This is not the sort of place that people seek out as a rule. It really plays into the story giving it a ‘closed’ feel. Hemmed in for the most part by cliffs there is basically one route on or off the mountain. No electricity, wi-fi or roads. It’s your basic nightmare, particularly when there’s a huge creature running around outside and for the most part if feels like the characters run around in ever decreasing circles never gaining any momentum.

The characters. Well, William is an absolute horror and almost invincible in the way that only truly bad characters in horror stories can be. Mattie is a great character. You really, I mean REALLY, feel for her. The terror and desperation she feels on a regular basis – before three strangers stumble into her life and unwittingly try to help her – giving her not just new feelings about what is really happening but also massive guilt because they have now become her responsibility.

What I really liked about this is the tension that Henry creates. The characters quite often stumble around in circles making outrageous mistakes, much akin to teenagers in a Halloween movie, and the only one that seems capable or really perceiving the threat is Mattie. Strangely enough, Mattie and the creature almost seem to understand each other in the most unusual way. I wont’ say more because I don’t want to give away spoilers.

The other thing that I really liked is that this is a look at the real monsters that are present in our everyday lives that we simply fail to see. Of course, a huge hairy creature with long claws, a monumental roar and exceptional strength and speed, yes, now that’s a monster, but at the same time maybe it’s simply a creature also trying to survive on instinct.

I really enjoyed this one. I’m not going to say it didn’t have a few plot holes here or there or that at times it wasn’t frustrating in the way that slasher horrors can be annoying, but, it kept me pretty much glued to the page. A strange combination of psychological thriller and creature feature horror. Sleeping with the Enemy meets Predator meets ‘insert whatever horror you deem most appropriate after reading’.

To be clear, when I say I ‘enjoyed’ this – well, I was hooked, about Mattie’s story initially but then about the creature and the final outcome. However, perhaps ‘enjoyed’ is the wrong word in some respects. To be clear, there are strong themes present here plus a level of slasher horror that will make some readers grab for the nearest cushion to hide behind. You have been warned.

I received a copy through Netgalley, courtesy of the publisher, for which my thanks. The above is my own opinion.

Full review available on my blog 10th June.

Thanks to Titan Books for the eARC of this book. It has not affected my honest review.

Content Warnings: death, violence, gore, physical and verbal abuse, implied rape, kidnapping, murder, child abuse.

I ended up listening to the audiobook of this on release date, having had it preordered as soon as the links dropped. I highly, highly recommend the audiobook for this one. The whole atmosphere of the book is unbelievably unnerving. The narrator, Lisa Flanagan, does a fantastic job. Her characterisation of Mattie is really good and the whole story is really engaging as she tells it so well. It’s a quick listen, especially as once I started I couldn’t even think about stopping until I’d finished the whole story.

The way that Mattie’s past unfolded is played out spectacularly, and leans into the unnerving atmosphere as I found myself helplessly predicting what was about to happen with absolutely no way to fix or change it. William was completely and utterly unbearable. I spent most of my time reading this book muttering under my breath about how much I hate him. It’s a lot. This book is dark and delves into a lot of awful topics, including frequent discussion of abuse and reference to past rape, but I do feel like they were handled with as much sensitivity as could be expected for a horror novel.

I wasn’t expecting the fantastical elements to kick in in the way that they did, and ho boy did they kick in hard. There’s something terrifying about getting halfway through a book and feeling that everything is okay. When you get that ‘ending’ feeling in the middle of a book, you just know it’s all going to go horribly, horribly wrong. And it did. In the end I loved this book as much as I’ve loved all of Christina Henry’s previous books, and while I adore her retellings (and I’m looking forward to Horseman a LOT), I have been really enjoying the non-retelling horror she’s been writing!

‘Near the Bone’ by Christina Henry tells the story of Maggie and William who live in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. On an outing they stumble across some markings in the snow and animals hanging outside a cave. When they also find some bones and organs that were strategically placed, they realise they ain’t dealing with a normal creature.

We soon find out that they ain’t a normal couple either. William is abusive towards her. He makes her ration her food and is controlling her and her life, keeping her away from everyone and everything. He believes that she’s there to serve a purpose and to give him sons. Maggie is strong willed but scared of him at the same time and what he’ll do to her if she defies him.

When she tries to escape from the abuse put upon her she finds herself in more danger when the creature comes for her.

She soon figures out the creature is warning them.

When Maggie meets cryptozoologists who are on the hunt for evidence of supposedly mythical creatures, they soon find themselves on the run.

And more secrets are about to be revealed.

‘Near the Bone’ is full of suspense and chills. The book flash backs to when she first met William, revealing more about both characters and how they came to be living in the cabin.

I was sad, heartbroken, gripped, and on the edge of my seat all throughout the whole of ‘Near the Bone’. This book stayed with me for quite a bit after.

It’s different from a lot of Christina Henry’s recent novels but if you love her writing style and are a fan of horror stories with lots of creepy moments then I definitely recommend this one.

This is a great book about being trapped and survival. It is very atmospheric and quite creepy. It really is an immersive book. So we'll written and kept me hooked until the end.

dnf at roughly 10%

trigger warning
<spoiler> domestic abuse, gaslighting, gore</spoiler>

One day, Mattie finds the mutilated corpse of a fox in the forest as she goes to check the rabbit traps. The tracks they find seem far too big to belong to a grizzly, the biggest known predator for the area, so what the heck was that?

As I read the description, I thought Mattie and William were brother and sister and they had difficulties. But they're married, and there are rules.
Mattie is neither allowed any book that is not the bible or music. She has to ask for permission for anything, at the beginning she even had to have company to go to the outhouse. Even if there's something like wet stockings in the middle of winter, there is no way she can just go and change them, because that would mean making William wait.

William is controlling, abusive, moody, and treats his wife like dirt. There are no misunderstandings, as far as he's concerned Mattie is just stupid and has to be corrected and supervised at all times.

I know this is horror and this is supposed to make you uncomfortable, but for personal reasons there is no way I can read this and I really wish trigger warnings from the publisher were a thing included in the synopsis. It can be done, you know.

The arc was provided by the publisher.