A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher had been sitting in my TBR pile for months. Books with reading deadlines kept pushing it further down my priority list, but I knew I had to get to it eventually. Before this one, I had never read any of T. Kingfisher’s work. I knew that I was going to like it; certain enough to buy two titles from her before reading one. I didn’t realize how much I was going to like it.

This was one of the books I brought on vacation with me to Alaska. I finally read it when flying back home, and didn’t even mind when my second plane was delayed. It had me that entertained.

Summary:

Sam had already sublet her place when the job got delayed and the site was shut down. She’s got some longer-term side projects to keep herself occupied in the meantime, but she needs a place to stay. Coincidentally, her brother has recently expressed some concern about their mother, who has been living on her own. It’s the perfect occasion for an extended visit.

When she arrives, she slowly begins to understand why her brother has been unnerved. Their mother seems subdued and afraid. Perhaps even more disturbing, she’s undone all the changes she’s made to the house since it became hers. It looks the way it did when Sam’s grandmother was still alive and in charge of the place. That’s stirring up a lot of unpleasant memories. She works hard to convince herself that they’re no more than that: memories, mixed with some more recently-uncovered family secrets.

My Thoughts:

I knew that I was going to enjoy T. Kingfisher’s books. I heard from enough trusted opinions that I would. It’s also a big selling point that she writes female protagonists who are a little older. As much as I love them, characters in their teens and early twenties grow harder to relate to at my age. With Sam’s attitude toward life, she could easily be one of my friends. Plenty of people had made the recommendation on that point alone. It worked.

However, no one told me the tone of her writing. I might have given it a higher priority if they had. This is absolutely a horror novel. Its atmosphere is chilling and creepy, and filled with an ever-growing tension. It is also hilarious. All throughout, there are witty one-liners and outlandish metaphors. It had me stifling outbursts laughter even while on the edge of my seat. That’s a combination I love, but don’t see often. I don’t imagine many authors have both the desire and ability to pull it off. Jason Pargin is one such example, but there aren’t a lot. I personally use sarcasm as a coping mechanism, and I like seeing characters do it too.

In addition to representing women well into their adulthood, Sam also gives some much-needed representation to larger bodied women. She has a great attitude about her size, approaching it with the same humor she does everything else. There’s an element of realism you don’t get to see elsewhere when a character who is past their prime needs to run unexpectedly and suddenly she has to hold her boobs in place with one hand because this was unplanned and she isn’t wearing a sports bra.

I enjoyed A House With Good Bones a lot. I don’t know if T. Kingfisher’s other books are written in this same voice, since I do know she’s experimented with her genre. I’m definitely excited to get to more titles from her, and I’ve already got one in my TBR stack.

Content Warnings: Insects (including swarms), Grief, Blood, Vomit, Alcohol & Heavy Drinking, Body Shaming, Cannibalism, Fire & Burn Injuries, Graphic Descriptions of Injuries, Racism, Religious Trauma, Mentions of Drug Abuse, Mentions of Child SA

After I Finished A House With Good Bones

Once I was done with that one and back on land, I then dove into an ARC I received directly from the author. We’ve been following each other on TikTok for a while and I really enjoy her content. When I started seeing her post about the world and plot from her upcoming novel, I knew I wanted to get my hands on it. As soon as I knew she was ready for ARC readers, I reached out to volunteer. I’m so glad I did, and I already can’t wait for the next.

My next review will be for The Call of Wind by K.R. House.