Amazon has this listed under short stories, and it’s 331 pages, so yeah, no. It’s in the number of pages I have an issue, because some of Mattie’s inner dialog is so repetitive that it gets old fast. The reader fully understands how horribly abused she is, and the book could have shaved a lot of this monolog, and that issue wouldn’t have lessened in the slightest.
Also, the “thing in the woods” wasn’t done well enough for me. It’s too vague, and its actions are never explained. I wish that if there were going to be a paranormal element to the story, it would have been more realized. Then towards the end of the book, William has a secret exposed which doesn’t mesh with the rest of the book in which Mattie says the only time he leaves her alone is on grocery day. The ending wasn’t gratifying either.
But the thing about this book is that it’s hard to put down once you start reading. There’s this constant drama going on, and all these new, bizarre elements suck you into the drama immediately. Henry has created a very sympathetic character in Mattie because of the level of horror she’s going through. It is a weird but satisfyingly addictive read.
Near the Bone is available on Amazon, Bookshop, and B&N.
About the Book:
A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all.
There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.
When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.
Rae's Reading Lounge 
I’m not a fan of “bad things that happen in the woods” stories, as I like to hike in the woods. And I agree 331 pages is not a short story!
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