Review: Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Author: Christina Henry
Publisher: Berkeley Books
Publication Date: April 2021

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.

Near the Bone involves Mattie, who lives with William, in the woods. Their life is hard and dangerous.   Mattie has fleeting memories of her time before living with William. William is not her dream partner and he leaves her little time for day dreaming.  I have not been having very good luck with thrillers lately.  I had high hopes for this one, but sadly it didn't fully work for me. I am on the fence about this book.  I liked aspects for the story, but really dislikes other parts.

I like Mattie.  Her life was brutal (trigger warning for harsh domestic abuse).  She started out as a timid mouse and grew into a strong woman by the end of the book.  I was rooting for her to survive.  I also thought there was good tense atmosphere at times.  I was definitely on the edge of my seat.  What I didn't like was the rest of the characters.  They were annoying and forgettable.  I also detested the ending.  Authors, can you please stop with the unanswered questions?  Why make a reader go through all of that tension and then not give any hint as to what was causing it?  Also, what happened next? I want a good thriller with a good ending.  I'll continue my hunt.

 

Breaking Wild by Diane Les Becquets

by:  Diane Les Becquets
published by:  Berkley
publish date:  February 9, 2016

It is the last weekend of the season for Amy Raye Latour to get away. Driven to spend days alone in the wilderness, Amy Raye, mother of two, is compelled by the quiet and the rush of nature. But this time, her venture into a remote area presents a different set of dangers than Amy Raye has planned for and she finds herself on the verge of the precarious edge that she’s flirted with her entire life.
 
When Amy Raye doesn’t return to camp, ranger Pru Hathaway and her dog respond to the missing person’s call. After an unexpected snowfall and few leads, the operation turns into a search and recovery. Pru, though, is not resigned to that. The more she learns about the woman for whom she is searching, and about Amy Raye’s past, the more she suspects that Amy Raye might yet be alive. Pru’s own search becomes an obsession for a woman whose life is just as mysterious as the clues she has left behind.

I say it here often:  I love survival stories.  This was a great one!

Amy Raye is a hunter.  She leaves her hunting party to go on a solo hunt and she doesn't return.  As Amy Raye's story unfolds what may have happened becomes less obvious.  Her marriage was in trouble.  She was having an affair with one of the members of the hunting party.  Pru Hathaway has to deal with all these questions as she is out in the treacherous weather looking for Amy.

Breaking Wild is told from alternating view points.  Pru and Amy both tell their stories throughout the book.  Both are remarkable women.  They will leave you anticipating what will happen next.

This is an excellent book to read while it's still cold outside!  It's very atmospheric.  I highly recommend it!

Adrift by Paul Griffin

by:  Paul Griffin
published by:  Scholastic Press
publish date:  July 28, 2015

Matt and his best friend, John, only came out to Montauk for the summer to make a little extra cash and then head back home. A seemingly basic plan for two guys from Queens.

And then Matt meets Driana.

Because it’s always about a girl, right?

The girl leads to a party, the party leads to a boat, which leads to being adrift at sea with three rich kids who have no clue about how to navigate a boat, let alone actually survive.

I mentioned recently that I really like survival stories.  This one was no exception.  I hadn't heard of this book from any of the usual sources, so when it popped up at the library I was excited to read it.

Matt and John come from a blue collar lifestyle.  They're working hard for their summer money when they run into a group of rich kids that invite them to a party.  Matt drags John along because he wants to see more of Driana.  This turns out to be a disaster because one things leads to another and Matt, John, Driana and 2 of Driana's friends end up in a small boat out at sea.  They are totally lost with no supplies and no one knows where they are.  What they don't know is that there is a hurricane coming.  

This was a tense book.  Not everyone survives.  There's gangrene and sharks and a dead body hanging around.  However, it was a really good story.  It held my interest the entire way through.  I would recommend this book to people that like this sort of thing.  Readers with just casual interest might think it's a little overboard...hahaha see what I did there.  

Girl Underwater by Claire Kells

by:  Claire Kells
published by:  Dutton
publish date:  March 21, 2015

Nineteen-year-old Avery Delacorte loves the water.  Now a sophomore on her university’s nationally ranked team, she struggles under the weight of new expectations but life is otherwise pretty good. Perfect, really.

That all changes when Avery’s red-eye home for Thanksgiving makes a ditch landing in a mountain lake in the Colorado Rockies. She is one of only five survivors, which includes three little boys and Colin Shea, who happens to be her teammate. Colin is also the only person in Avery’s college life who challenged her to swim her own events, to be her own person. Instead she’s avoided him since the first day of freshman year. But now, faced with sub-zero temperatures, minimal supplies, and the dangers of a forbidding nowhere, Avery and Colin must rely on each other in ways they never could’ve imagined.

I'm a sucker for survivor stories.  Shipwreck, plane crash, whatever, I love them.  This one was really good.  Girl Underwater might be the best book I've read this year.   Way to knock it out the park on your first book Claire Kells!

Avery and Colin both come from the Boston area but they do not come from the same side of the tracks.  Avery comes from the affluent area and Colin comes from a working class neighborhood.  They both end up in California on the same swim team.  They're flying home for Thanksgiving when their plane crashes into a lake in the Rockies.  They both survive along with three little boys.   The story tells of their 5 days on the mountain and how they survive afterwards once they have to go back to their real lives.  It's told going back and forth between before, during and after the crash and how Avery and Colin's relationship develops.  

Would I recommend this book?  Yes!  Definitely!  To anyone!  I was so sad when this book was over.  I want to read another one just like it.  Anyone have any recommendations?