A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

I have only ever read one other T. Kingfisher book, A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, and I enjoyed it greatly, enjoying its coziness and humor. It was with great enthusiasm that I grabbed her newest novel, A House with Good Bones, as soon as it appeared on our library shelves.

Sam is visiting her mother in North Carolina in the house where her grandmother grew the loveliest rose garden in the state. But things aren't exactly great. Her mom's acting weird, there are vultures circling the house, and then she finds a jar of human teeth buried in the backyard. 

I thought this book was just as brilliantly done as the previous book I'd read. It was very funny, but it was also creepy and I could just see the neighborhood and the house and feel the tension rising. 

Now, there are some legitimate criticisms of this book. It's clear from about a quarter of the way through the book what the "mystery" is and it takes until the last quarter of the book to really get to horrific scenes. But none of that detracted from my sheer enjoyment of this book or prevented me from reading just one more page until far past my bedtime.

5/5 stars

Lines of note:

Lammergeier Lane was a type of subdivision that we have all over the South, although I don't know if they've migrated out to other areas. You'll be driving along a rural road, surrounded by trees, cow pastures, and the occasional business that sells firewood, propane, and hydraulic repairs. Then you'll see a dilapidated trailer and a sign for a private drive. You turn onto the drive and suddenly there are a dozen cookie-cutter houses lining the street, all with neat lawns...

You are required by tradition to have the dilapidated trailer, which is generally owned by a grumpy survivalist who refuses to sell. Otherwise the residents will have nothing to complain about and will become fractious. (page 4) 

I do not know this type of subdivision, to be honest, but I can really visualize it. 

My hair is a comb-eating monster that is technically "curly," in the same way that a cassowary is technically a bird. Its factual, but leaves out a lot of the kicking-a-man's-bowels-out-through-his-spine bits. Not that my hair has ever done that. To my knowledge. (page 13)

Cassowaries are very wary about humans, but can cause serious injury or even death to human and dogs if they're provoked. They have been labeled "the world's most dangerous bird." 

A cassowary eating a banana. Source

I missed my roommate's cat. Salem is a demanding jerk, but having a cat around means that there are never any unexplained noises. If something crashes or thumps or goes bump in the night, you think, It's that damn cat again, and don't worry about it. (page 39)

Ha ha ha! This is exactly right. If I ever live in a house without a cat again, how will I explain all the unexplainable noises?!

I was wearing an oversized T-shirt with Eeyore on it and no pants. I was also not wearing a bra and I had probably drooled on the pillow. Lovely. Good first impressions are so important, don't you think? (page 68)

YOU GUYS! I had a kidney stone once (well, more than once, but let's not focus on that) in 2008. I woke up in agonizing pain and my husband bundled me up into the car in my pajamas to take me to the ER. I was not wearing a bra and was wearing Eeyore pajamas. This is a true story. I felt this scene in my very soul. 

I did know a fascinating fact about Japanese millipedes being on a multi-year cycle like cicadas and emerging in massive swarms that can coat train tracks and cause derailments, but long years of experience have taught me that very few people want to hear about this while they're eating. (I am an endless font of horrible knowledge at parties, but I try to wait until after the food has been cleared away.) (page 72)

Ha ha ha. One of the things I loved about this book was how much Sam's career (she's an archaeologist who focuses on bugs) reverberates in her thoughts. I think Kingfisher did such a great job of making Sam a real person. 

While Phil probably didn't care much about my great-grandad, I kept reading bits aloud to him anyway. (page 138)

I do this ALL THE TIME with my husband. As a matter of fact, I read him the line about Salem the cat from above. It's just such a real thing.

[From the acknowledgments] Finally, thanks to my husband, Kevin, who often has a manuscript shoved in his face at the halfway mark while I wail, "Tell me if this shames my ancestors!" He is a good person and probably should not have to put up with that, but I greatly appreciate that he does.

The next time you're out driving and you see the vultures at the side of the road, acting as nature's cleanup crew, give them a nod. They're doing vital work, and we would miss them very, very much if they were gone. (page 247)

As Elisabeth says, always read the acknowledgments. There are such gems in there.