The prolific T. Kingfisher aka Ursula Vernon is back with a slice of Southern Gothic with A House with Good Bones.
From the time Samantha arrives back at her North Carolina family home, she feels something is off.
The longer her visit goes on the stranger things get, with her mother acting extremely off, especially when it comes to her long-time dead grandmother.
While the book certainly creates a slow burn of dread, the pay off here feels quite weak.
The real issue is that the characters feel quite hollow and even Samantha as our lead never really becomes relatable to the reader and this makes the family dynamic, which can often make or break a horror story, feel a little tiresome.
You kind of wait for something to happen but the intensity never really builds to a point to keep the reader engaged.
This is a surprising misfire for Kingfisher, who has a catalogue of excellent stories in her back catalogue, including Nettle & Bone and The Twisted Ones.
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher is available now in all book formats from Titan Books.
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