An original and very entertaining take on the haunted house genre with a delightful voice that lifts up the story. 

• Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
• Entertainment factor: ★★★★★
• Originality factor: ★★★★★
• Psychological factor: ★★★★☆
• Cosmic horror vibes: ★★★☆☆
• Witchy vibes: ★★★☆☆
• Haunted house factor: ★★★☆☆
• Dysfunctional family factor: ★★★★☆

A House with Good Bones is a haunted house story mixed with psychological horror and witchcraft and cosmic horror told in a very delightful fun way. It’s a story about family, with strong and wonderful characters and a brilliantly witty voice that brings the story to life. 

It consist of 247 pages. 

Plot

Sam Montgomery is an archaeoentomologist whose dig has been postponed due to human remains that were found at the dig site. While she has already rented out her room for six months she has nowhere to go but to go home to Lammergeier Lane in North Carolina.To her old grandmother Gran Mae’s house where she lived with her mother Edie and brother Brad after their father died. Gran Mae held an iron grip on her household and Sam doesn’t remember her as a nice person. She always warned them about the Underground Children who were going to get you of you weren’t behaving as she wanted. Gran Mae has been dead for twenty years and her mother lives in her old house. 

Although Edie is nothing like Gran Mae, the opposite, when Sam returns home she notices strange changes made to the house. Edie always loved bright colors, but now her house is painted beige, just like Gran Mae would have liked. She even hung Gran Mae’s old confederate painting up on the wall, which she definitely doesn’t like. She also has lost a lot of weight and behaves very anxious. Something is wrong and Sam is afraid it’s the onset of dementia or maybe she has a stalker. When she talks to Edie’s neighbor Gail who’s a friend of Edie she reacts very evasive. 

But then Sam starts to experience strange things in the house, she feels her hair is being brushed while she is sleeping or rather she is awake and thinks it’s sleep paralysis.There’s also a big infestation of ladybugs in the middle of the night in her bedroom and slowly she starts to think she must be but going crazy. Or is there something else going on? Something that goes within the family. 

Short Review

Sam is the narrator of the story. She has a fun and witty voice with dry humor and tells the story from a scientific point of view, that is, she takes on everything in a very rational way, until she has to admit that there’s more besides science. When the strange things start, she first looks for rational explanations, she researches what’s happening and  she even does research about her own family. Which surprises her. 

Sam is witty, smart, overweight, independent, cares for her mother very much and does have an open mind. And she has a lot of humor. Her voice, the way she tells the reader what’s happening and how she goes about it is very funny and enjoying. Her dry humor lights up the story and makes it such a fun and entertaining read. Her voice is interesting and makes you involved in the story from the start. 

The story itself is a slowly build narrative that unravels the mystery piece by piece. It starts small with phenomena that could be due to psychological factors, but then it gets stranger and weirder, until Sam finds out that witchcraft an sorcery are real and can result in some crazy cosmic horrors. It’s not a very scary book, but the scares are original and creepy and the cosmic horrors are creative as well, as will give you goosebumps. 

It’s also a very informative book. You’ll learn about insects, roses and vultures on the way, which makes it also very interesting. Sam’s point of view is very interesting due to her profession and also her delightful character. 

The other characters are fleshed-out as well. Edie, Sam’s mother is quite a character and only until the end we get to know the real Edie who’s very much like her daughter in many ways and also brings a lot of fun and warmth to the story. Phil, Edie’s handyman serves both as a love interest for Sam and a person who’s the victim of her funny and tactless behavior and comments which very much leaves him undisturbed which makes it even funnier. And Gail the neighbor at the end of the street and old enemy of Gran Mae but best friend of Edie is quite a character as well. She’s a willful and independent woman who’s smart and brave and a witch. All these characters together make this book an entertaining and fun read. 

There’s also the character of Gran Mae who Sam remembers as a not so nice, racist woman who wants to keep up appearances no matter what. Edie’s childhood was traumatic and Sam understands because she grew up with Gran Mae while Edie was handling two jobs to move into their own house as soon as possible. So Sam first hand experienced the malice of Gran Mae. But everybody has a history and is formed by their past and Sam gets to find that out as well and adds a bit of understanding Gran Mae’s behavior. The themes of abusive behavior and a traumatic childhood that can be passed on to the next generation play a big part in the story. Although it isn’t too dominant, it’s the basis of the story. 

A House with Good Bones is a fun and entertaining haunted house story with psychological and cosmic horror vibes with wonderful characters and themes like a dysfunctional family and childhood trauma that leaves noticeable marks that don’t leave after death. 

Read more reviews of books by T. Kingfisher:

• The Hollow Places (2020) review