Near the Bone

Christina Henry's Near the Bone tells the story of Mattie, a meek young woman who has lived at the top of a lonely and desolate mountain with her much older and abusive husband, William, for pretty much as long as she can remember. One day, while out checking snares for rabbits as part of her daily chores, per William, she finds a dead fox in the snow. It's odd because what animal would kill something in the winter and then leave it there? When William goes to investigate, he becomes concerned that a large predator, such as a bear, might be prowling the woods around their cabin and depleting their winter food supply. Even though William discounts Mattie's concerns, like he does with anything she says, they investigate and discover what appears to be the creature's lair in a nearby cave, complete with bones and viscera neatly divided into sections. This ain't no normal grizzly bear, that's for sure. However, William seems more concerned about the giant animal bringing others interested in hunting it onto his mountain, instead of fearing for their safety, and his worst fears are confirmed when the odd couple meet a man named Griffin.

Griffin happens to be a cryptozoologist hunting this odd creature, but he doesn't get time to explain this, as William just wants the young man off his land, despite the fact that the area and caves surrounding their cabin is public land. Mainly, he doesn't want Griffin to look at his young wife, but Mattie's fearful demeanor sets off warning bells for Griffin. Unfortunately for Mattie, William seems convinced she was flirting with Griffin and not only beats her mercilessly on the way back from the cave, but also leaves her, broken and bleeding, in the snow and darkness, helpless against the creature should it decide to attack.

The next day, when William is off buying supplies to kill the demon he is convinced God has sent to test him, Griffin and his best friend, C.J., find the cabin. Mattie is petrified and only wants them to leave before William returns, for everyone's safety, but when she overhears they plan to go to the thing's cave, she urges them to leave through an open window. When they see the bruised state of her, they know something is seriously wrong with her "marriage" and insist on helping her, but she sends them away, only to run into them later in the day after they had joined up with another friend, Jen. Mattie was ostensibly bringing William a sandwich as he was digging traps for the creature, but really she just wanted to see where he was in the hopes of finally making her escape from him. Well, she finds William alright, threatening the newcomers to the mountain and let's just say the altercation doesn't end well. Now, Jen, C.J., Griffin and Mattie determine that they need to get down the mountain to escape not only the totally insane William, who is down for the time being, but also a potentially murderous beast that Mattie is certain stalked her the previous night that she spent in the woods. The creature also likes to display its kills once it eviscerates them and hangs them from the trees by their entrails, as Mattie had seen earlier. Can the trio escape the danger all around them, even though one of their group is now badly injured? Also, Mattie is starting to remember more and more about the "dreams" she has been having, bits and pieces of her life before William. Let's just say her life has been no fairytale.

Sometimes, it's just not clear who the real monster is, but in Mattie's case, she has two of them pursuing her, one man and one beast, and it will take any and all reserves of bravery and strength if she plans on surviving the day.

That's all I'm going to say about Near the Bone, at least story-wise. I tore through this book in 2 days and loved every minute of it. I have been following Christina Henry for a few years now and everything she writes is at least good, and most are really great. Near the Bone is my favorite so far. When I got to the last page and turned it for more, I was shocked it was over. Don't get me wrong, the ending is absolutely perfect. It left me with a few unresolved questions, but it was still a perfect ending. If you love a psychological horror, you'll want to read this. Into creature features? Same. Near the Bone is damn near perfect. Highly recommended.