Near the Bone

this was so much more intense than i expected it to be. it hit the ground running page one, pulling zero punches with throwing you into the physical and emotional abuse that the main character is and has been experiencing, all surrounded by this very isolating physical location, adding to the horror of the actual abuse.

i expected this story to be slow and quiet but full of tension, i guess based off the title and summary it just was giving me those vibes, but the story was actually non-stop speed, hit after hit, which i did not expect, and genuinely could not put down. the balance and juxtaposition between the journey the main character goes on, getting out of the ironclad grip of her kidnapper and abuser, and the real escape from whatever else it is that suddenly appeared on the mountain and is hunting them, was in my opinion, masterful. survival is a constant question, but from what? i ate up this narrative line.

i think one thing i would've liked more is honestly a completely personal taste thing. not necessarily more explanation about the thing in the woods, but ... i guess i wanted something a little weirder done with it. i kept expecting it to lean a little further into the supernatural (like, why does mattie keep sensing them) and i think there could have been a really cool weirdness there that would've made this an all-time favorite read for me. instead that part just fell a little flat. it felt like a missed opportunity on the commentary of abuse and fear and trauma that i kept feeling it skate against but never lean into. then again, maybe it was trying to be subtle on that point. i just can't tell if it was or not.

other than that though, really truly enjoyed this, probably one of my favorite thrillers so far this year. definitely a surprising read as this book randomly just popped up on my radar like a week ago and happened to be available from my library in between some of my other holds. super glad i picked it up, and i'm sure i'll be thinking about it for a long while.

tw: physical abuse, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, child abuse, kidnapping, gore, mentions of miscarriage, mentions of rape, confinement, animal death