Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.
There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.
When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for a creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.
NEAR THE BONE by Christina Henry
PUBLISHED: 2021
GENRE: Horror > Thriller, Psychological Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Fantasy
MY RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Here's a book that had me gripping the cover tight enough to leave finger-marks, turning pages frantically, and yelling "run!" loud enough to frighten my cat from my lap more than once.
Christina Henry has a way of chilling me with her books. Near The Bone was the perfect cocktail of suspense, horror, blind fear, and atmospheric storytelling that leaves you jumping at every small sound.
From page one we're led to believe that the cold, Amish-like existence Mattie lives is not by choice, and the flickerings of memory her husband dismisses as dreams may in fact be something more.
"William said that place isn't real, it's a dream, a dream sent by the devil to tempt you away."
I began to have my suspicions about her past, but never did I expect the extent of what was gradually revealed to us. The truth is critically timed and when it is revealed the tension swells, getting bigger and bigger like a snowball running down a mountain.
Her husband, William, is as much a monster as the one that roams the woods surrounding their cabin, abusive, possessive and controlling to the point where Mattie isn't allowed to roam beyond a certain perimeter of their cabin without his permission - even their food store is off limits. It's a situation made worse by the sudden appearance of a creature that is not only killing the animals in the woods, but stringing them from the trees in a sinisterly deliberate warning. It's clear this is no ordinary creature, and William quickly decides to take the hunting of it into his own hands, not for the glory, but to keep strangers from coming in pursuit of it and drawing too close to their cabin. Mattie isn't meant to engage with people - and the reason soon becomes painfully clear.
"He's angry because now I know what he's really afraid of is people. He doesn't
care about the creature in the woods or what it might do. He just doesn't want
anyone else to come looking for it and to find us."
I honestly didn't know which monster I wanted her to run from fastest, the creature or her husband. And in this way Christina Henry has created a multi-layered horror story, not exchanging one nightmare for another, but making them overlap into one life-threatening chase!
Mattie could in so many ways have been presented as a victim, but instead her strength and capacity for endurance is what I admired in her character. It made me will her to survive with greater fervour.
The ending was a little open ended, but concussive enough to make me realise I'd been holding my breath since page one and could now justify letting it go. I don't know if a follow up book is necessary, but I would run to bookstores to buy it if it was ever written!
Let me know your thoughts if you've read this nerve-wracking book!
If you haven't, happy reading!
Zuzu
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