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What Members Thought
Mouse and her dog Bongo have come to her recently passed grandmother's house in North Carolina to clear it out and get it ready for sale. It's an enormous job because Mouse's grandmother was a hoarder. All the time in the remote house has Mouse noticing some seriously disturbing things about the woods surrounding the old house. As Mouse investigates, spurred on by a journal from her grandmother's late husband, a mysterious other world begins to intrude.
And I twisted myself about like the twisted ...more
And I twisted myself about like the twisted ...more
This was creepy. I don't generally read horror, but I like T. Kingfisher's work a lot (both the adult fare and her children's books as Ursula Vernon) so it was a no-brainer that I'd read this book.
The story was a nicely eerie, with genuinely frightening parts. I liked the seriously weird, odd and frightening Twisted Ones, and there are scenes when Kingfisher had me thinking I'd take a break from the narrative; what kept me reading was the author's humour. The main character Mouse's narration wa ...more
The story was a nicely eerie, with genuinely frightening parts. I liked the seriously weird, odd and frightening Twisted Ones, and there are scenes when Kingfisher had me thinking I'd take a break from the narrative; what kept me reading was the author's humour. The main character Mouse's narration wa ...more
‘And I twisted myself about like the twisted ones.’
This was pretty creepy in places. Foxy and Bongo were the stars of the show.
This was pretty creepy in places. Foxy and Bongo were the stars of the show.
You have to clean out the house of your "mean as a snake" hoarder grandmother whose place just happens to sit in an isolated area right beside a deep forest.
What could possibly go wrong?
Solid folklore horror.
8/10 ...more
What could possibly go wrong?
Solid folklore horror.
8/10 ...more
3.5 stars really creepy fast paced horror read.
Sometimes you get into a story not expecting much and it knocks your socks off? This was like that. This is The Magic Faraway tree but now imagine everything that could go wrong.
A simple story effectively told. Bongo and Foxy will make this forever memorable.
And that’s why reviews are more important than stars, it captures the nuance of the book. Does it tack ...more
A simple story effectively told. Bongo and Foxy will make this forever memorable.
Bongo is an excellent watchdog, by which I mean that he will watch very alertly as the serial killer breaks into the house and skins me.
And that’s why reviews are more important than stars, it captures the nuance of the book. Does it tack ...more
A haunted house story mixed in with creepy woods, supernatural horror and a sprinkling of hoarding? Yes.
3.5 stars
Very creepy/spooy but it turned to mostly weird. It also took some time to get the story going (as I find is the case with most of the books by T. Kingfisher that I've read so far). Liked the characters though and was rooting for them. Bongo being my favourite of course :D
The narrator at times seemed to read in a staccato way.
Really want to give this one 3.5 stars. 3 is too low, 4 too high… Argh!
Characters 8
Atmosphere 8
Writing Style 7
Plot/Premise 6
Execution/Setup 6
Enjoyment/Engrossment ...more
Very creepy/spooy but it turned to mostly weird. It also took some time to get the story going (as I find is the case with most of the books by T. Kingfisher that I've read so far). Liked the characters though and was rooting for them. Bongo being my favourite of course :D
The narrator at times seemed to read in a staccato way.
Really want to give this one 3.5 stars. 3 is too low, 4 too high… Argh!
Characters 8
Atmosphere 8
Writing Style 7
Plot/Premise 6
Execution/Setup 6
Enjoyment/Engrossment ...more
I enjoyed this and it was weird! I like weird!
I love the premise. Very fae, which I've been wanting for a long time. While some of it didn't work for me, a lot of it did.
I didn't find it scary, but that is not surprising (books/movies/etc. just don't affect me that way). Others may find it horrifying.
At best, it's a very entertaining read that has a lot of creep factor going for it ("I twisted myself around like the twisted ones, I made faces like the faces in the rocks..."), at worst, it introduced me to something I now plan on reading (Th ...more
I didn't find it scary, but that is not surprising (books/movies/etc. just don't affect me that way). Others may find it horrifying.
At best, it's a very entertaining read that has a lot of creep factor going for it ("I twisted myself around like the twisted ones, I made faces like the faces in the rocks..."), at worst, it introduced me to something I now plan on reading (Th ...more
3.5 stars ~read this for halloween 🎃
lots of fun, but not really scary. the first half was a little creepy, but the second half was mostly action + reactions. i’m not sure i like how much the narrator keeps talking to the reader and reflecting back on events. i do love the imagery though, especially with the deer effigies. also very believable characters/inner voice. but it’s so similar to the hollow places (which i absolutely loved and was actually published after this one). both feature:
- a sa ...more
lots of fun, but not really scary. the first half was a little creepy, but the second half was mostly action + reactions. i’m not sure i like how much the narrator keeps talking to the reader and reflecting back on events. i do love the imagery though, especially with the deer effigies. also very believable characters/inner voice. but it’s so similar to the hollow places (which i absolutely loved and was actually published after this one). both feature:
- a sa ...more
DNF 20% in
Jun 05, 2019
Justine
marked it as to-read
Oct 12, 2019
Andrew Tucker
marked it as tbr-horror
Aug 14, 2020
Joseph
marked it as to-read
Aug 30, 2020
Nataliya
marked it as to-read
Aug 30, 2025
Bradley
marked it as to-read
