Near the Bone

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review. TRIGGER WARNINGS: Abuse, sexual abuse, controlling spouse Christina Henry’s Near the Bone was without a doubt one of the most chilling reads I’ve ever read! There was so much horror to this novel and not all of it was monsters! I mentioned the trigger warnings forefront this time because this book is deeply seeded into some scary things. The book itself is still amazing, but I wanted readers to be aware of the characters’ dark history in this one. It left me chilled and with a mess of emotions whirling about. Mattie lives with her husband, William, in a remote forest on a mountain. It’s always just been the two of them but then one day when checking the traps for their food source, Mattie finds a chilling pair of footprints that are not like any animal she’s ever seen before. She and William discover a cave of horrors that belong to this creature and William becomes set on hunting down this monster once and for all. Though while journeying through the forest they run into a new problem, intruders. A group of hikers are out and about conducting research and when they encounter William and Mattie it sends a spark of familiarity with one of them. Mattie has lived a secluded life for many years because her husband deemed it so, so seeing other people left her a little off-kilter. All the while, Mattie is overcome with dreams of another life. One about a young girl with her family. A life of before…soon a new horror story is revealed to Mattie day by day as memories long forgotten resurface. This my friends was the truly scary part of the story. It left me chilled. Christina Henry is proven once again to be a master storyteller, even of the hard topics. That William is an abusive d—husband has you rooting for Mattie with every little act of defiance that she commits. When the strangers soon turn to trying to help Mattie escape William, Mattie has to relearn what humanity is truly like. Oh and all the while they are being hunted down by a monster they cannot see, one that moves so quick no one ever has the chance to scream. Blood trails and animal parts are left strewn about the forest in a macabre matter. This story is not for the faint of heart in more ways than one. Near the Bone was a heart-racing read on many levels that it has a greater magnitude of “page-turner.” Still, you can’t help but turn the pages as fast as you can to see what the outcome will be. You hope for many things, but only a few will come true. That doesn’t make this a disappointing read in the least, it makes it one emotional gut punch to the feelings though. In short, Near the Bone was one of the most soul-chilling reads I’ve ever read. It’s definitely a horror story to be sure and I stress again it is not for the faint of heart. The trigger warnings I mention only touch the surface. There is another one that I will say connects to a controlling spouse, I intentionally left out the actual word for spoiler purposes, but figured you might be able to gain an idea from the last part. This book was horrifying to say the least, but masterful storytelling and underneath it all, a story of hope…as most “monster” stories can be. That last piece of positivity was everything though. Sadly, while I hoped for answers as to this mysterious monster stalking the woods that only seemed to appear recently, those were not so forthcoming. I can understand leaving it a mystery in some sense, but what baffled me was that this monster literally only came about recently, so it left me wondering where was it in those early years of Mattie and William’s lives in the forest? It was puzzling for sure and that we only catch glimpses of it had me even more intrigued…yet still utterly horrified! The mysterious monster was definitely a puzzle I would’ve liked solved, but I can mostly live with not knowing…except the bit about where it suddenly came from though! Lol. If you’re looking for a positively terrifying read this year, Christina Henry’s Near the Bone is the read to go with! It’s so utterly bone-chilling, that you will never want to go camping again! I knew there was a reason why I didn’t like going into nature! This is a read not to be missed for fans of horror! Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars Near the Bone releases April 13, 2021

Well folks, I do suppose I am now in my horror era. This book was really good, and I enjoyed the fact that there were multiple horror elements on top of the obvious one we learn from the blurb. I think it’s definitely worth mentioning the literary value of this book with its portrayal that there can be more than one type of monster in the world. I think it could be a really great book club book with discussions surrounding these different types of monsters. This was a really gripping, interesting read.

While this story was ok, it wasn't great. I was a bit disappointed. There wasn't much written about the monster and we were never told what it was. The Monster was a side character in the story, not a main character. I wanted more monster action. Overall, the story was ok, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to my friends. It was a bit slow and not enough monster action.

GREAT plot and characters

Right from the beginning, Henry's book takes ahold of you and doesn't let go. The story of Martha, aka Mattie, is one of pain, loss and terror. Not only does she have to battle the beast that is her husband but there is another beast that lives out in the woods that is stalking them. The tension never lifts in this story and as others get involved and puzzle pieces are put together, it is a crazy ride that I enjoyed all the way to the end.

This book was phenomenal!! I love isolation horror, winter horror, and horror that examines the real life terrors that women can face in the word. I also love a good monster. This book has all of that. Mattie is one hell of a protagonist. We are really inside her head the whole novel, and her arc is harrowing, inspiring, and satisfying. I absolutely adored the growth and sense of self she displayed through the events of the novel. Christina Henry’s writing always carries a fairy-tale like sense of possibility and otherworldliness, even when it’s firmly rooted in the horror genre, and the evil just doesn’t quit coming. I absolutely love the balance she strikes in this novel. This was the perfect mix of horror and hope — enough horror to satisfy someone looking for a bloody creature feature, and enough hopeful fairy-tale influence to really *feel* like Christina Henry. I know it’s a cliche to say I stayed up late to finish it, but I literally stayed up until 5 am Wednesday morning (the day after the book’s Tuesday release) because I *had to know what happened.* I really couldn’t put it down. It hooked me from the first chapter. Lastly, the audiobook is really, really, amazingly good. The narrator is absolutely perfect; she captures Mattie perfectly. So if you're into audio, this one is great in that medium.

Christina Henry’s Near the Bone was my first of her works that I have picked up. I really enjoyed it! Which I am glad because there are quite a few other titles of hers that really interest me. First off, if you are a fan of Darcy Coates then you will probably love Christina Henry! Near the Bone is a story shrouded in mystery that Henry slowly pulls back the veil inch by inch. Mattie, or Martha, is a young woman estranged from the rest of the world. She lives on a mountain with her husband William who is very cold, strict, and controlling. In other words he is abusive to Mattie. When their life in seclusion is threatened by a mysterious beast William decides it is God testing him. That he must kill the beast in order to prove he is faithful, and he will be rewarded. Mattie is a beaten and broken down young woman. She keeps getting odd flashes in her mind that William says are not real, and they aren’t memories. However, she feels as though something isn’t quite right. She is much to fearful to anger William though due to the repercussions, and continues on in her daily routine. When strangers threaten to encroach upon their land in search of the mysterious creature William decides he must take action to not let that happen. Mattie starts to feel a little more odd about her visions or memories. Something doesn’t feel right. Will the creature undo them? Will strangers ruin their secluded life? Or is it all simply in Mattie’s head? Christina Henry writes very well, and reveals things at an even pace. Keeping just enough suspense to keep you turning that page, but not making you wait in limbo until the end. The story was fresh, fun, and sometimes the things you can’t fully see are just as scary if not more so than what you can. With many evil aspects to this story it will have you grow very attached to some characters, and loathe others. I give Near the Bone by Christina Henry four and a half stars out of five stars. I felt that it was a brilliant story, and there was so much that was happening that I kept having questions. I wanted so badly to reach into the book and strangle some people! This story is pretty much a double whammy. I only deduct half a star because I yearned for a bit more in the ending. One aspect that I wanted to know what would happen. However, overall I loved the entire journey! Until next time, my friends.

The book was great, scary, suspenseful, all the good stuff. But good god why are the 3 people so incredibly stupid? It was like a mock comedy and I could never actually figure out if it was meant to be that way. Everything else was serious and it was like the 3 people were supposed to be comic relief but they were just so insanely dumb it made it hard to read through some parts without wanting to reach through the screen and slap them.