A review by girlontheverge
Near the Bone by Christina Henry

dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

 
A creature feature that unfortunately doesn’t quite deliver. 

Part of this is personal preference - I’m not a huge fan of domestic violence themes, especially when it’s a large aspect of the story, although visualising
Mattie boot the absolute waste of skin that was William off the mountain was quite satisfying.

I thought that the whole atmosphere of the book was very well done. You felt the cold and the night creep in, and when the birds fell silent it felt very real. Unfortunately I don’t think this book lives up to its promise, it falls (where a lot of books in this genre do) at the last hurdle wherein the ending is too abrupt and leaves us with unsatisfying answers (or none at all as the case is here). 

Are we meant to draw parallels between the mother monster trying to protect her young and the fact that Mattie’s mother couldn’t? What are we to do with the info that William was just a casual drug dealer? Who the fucking hell was Heather?!

Anyway,  it’s over now at least.
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