Near the Bone

Near the Bone by Christina Henry is harrowing novel of survival, fear, and fight. Part wilderness/survival horror, part creature feature, and part crime, this book has a lot going on. Mattie lives in a cabin on a mountain with her husband William. One day they discover some disturbing animal remains and the mysterious creature responsible. Yet this creature quickly proves not to be the only monster in this story. There were some really scary parts in this book, and I found the protagonist's story to be very emotionally impactful. There were so many times when I was angry and sad. Other parts of the book were genuinely suspenseful. Unfortunately there were other instances when the plot felt a little too unfocused and events and information seemed like Diabolus ex Machina. In my opinion there wasn't enough focus on some elements of the plot, especially the monster, throughout the book. Henry choose to leave a lot about the monster mysterious, and while this can sometimes be an effective means of triggering fear, in this case I kind of just found it vague. I'm tempted to say this could have been a short story or a novella, but I do think the more suspenseful sections were well done. Overall I rate this book ⭐️⭐️⭐️