Bad II the Bone: Supernatural Thriller from the Street (Bad II the Bone Series Book 1)

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He also writes a lot about Magical Negroes. A friend and I were just talking about this in reference to a different King book and I said to her, "It's just the price of admission with King. In the course of the story, Sara Tidwell is repeatedly gang raped, forced to watch as her only child is drowned, then is strangled herself while still being raped.

Her remains and those of her murdered son are moved around, buried, unburied and then reburied, not even allowed to rest. Though everyone knows who is responsible for her and her son's disappearance and presumed death , no justice is served and, when the Tidwell family won't lie down and accept this state of affairs, the township turns against them, to the point that someone leaves an animal trap in the woods which eventually kills another of the Tidwell children.

The Tidwells and the other members of their small community, under this duress, leave the township. And while, on the one hand, I don't think that King, in text or without, condones what happens to Sara Tidwell, her son or the rest of the Tidwells, at the same time, the story is set up so that Sara's revenant and vengeful spirit is the ultimate villain of the piece, a monster that has to be vanquished by the white male middle-aged hero of the piece, largely to save the life of a beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde haired little girl.

That…doesn't really sit well. It's a very gristly lump to digest, imo. But, thinking about it longer and further, I feel like my issues are actually bigger and deeper than that. Upon more thought, the closest comparison I could come was, ironically enough, a story written by one of King's sons, Joe Hill. Sara Tidwell is inarguably a victim here. Mattie Devore, love interest of the protagonist, Mike Noonan, and girl in a fridge, is unquestionably victimized in the course of the story, first by Max Devore, who attempts to literally buy her daughter, then attempts to use the law to steal her daughter and finally, tries to kill her daughter.

Devore uses his money and influence to get the town to turn against Mattie, to get her fired from her job and, eventually, he pays to have her killed. As a result, Mattie's daughter, Kyra, loses her only remaining parent; though only three years old, she is equally victimized by Devore. Reaching a little further, you could argue that the town mothers including Noonan's wife, Jo are victimized by the men who raped and murdered Sara Tidwell and murdered her son; Sara's revenge against them spans generations, culling the family lines of those men who wronged her—and robbing those women whose worst sin was marrying into those families of their children.

In Jo Noonan's case, there's an open question of whether Sara's interference even deprived her of her life. So there's a lot in the fabric of the story that could be said—about patriarchy, about misogyny, about abuses of power, and about race. And, to be fair, I do think that King attempt to address some of these things. But I don't think King's own collection of privileges puts him in the right place to truly or adequately address them and the fact that he lenses the entire story through the viewpoint of an avatar much like himself—a wealthy, white, middle-class man—means that the horrible abuses against all these women are second fiddle to that avatar's man pain and his quest to extricate himself from those same sins of the father or great-grand-uncle, as it were.

So, though Mike is a likeable enough character, his happy ending isn't as satisfying as it might otherwise be, coming, as it does, at the expense of all these wronged, victimized and otherwise unavenged women. Sara Tidwell is a supernatural monster whose bones and those of her son are destroyed by lye, denied both her revenge and a respectful or peaceful burial. The last scions of the families that did this to her escape. Mattie Devore has the momentary triumph of knowing her custody of Kyra is secured, but she dies frightened and in pain, half her face blown away simply because of a dead rich man's sour grapes; Devore has already killed himself is out of the picture before the hit against Mattie is even enacted.

Kyra is orphaned and traumatized by both the living and the dead. Though no specific number is called out, at least four other mothers lost children to the terrible revenge set in motion when Sara Tidwell was murdered as she was. So putting a smiling face on the relatively happy life that Mike will go on to live over these piles of bones is both a little macabre and an almost brilliant if unintentional illustration of why all these things still happen and still matter.

It could be better. I wish it were better.

But it is just more bones than flesh. View all 4 comments. Some ghosts can be deadly Not long after his arrival, a c Some ghosts can be deadly Oct 03, J. This is King's strongest novel of the new millennium. In fact, it's excellent. Pacing, character, story, plot flow, and horror are all masterfully handled by the master himself. It isn't overly long and in need of editing either. View all 6 comments. Easily my favorite Stephen King novel ever, and I've read a wide cross section of different eras of his stuff.

This is a ghost story It's a book about loss and grief, but also a suspenseful mystery with a super spooky atmosphere, set in a creepy, unincorporated and sparesely populated fading resort community with a dark historic past. The mystery and the hauntings are linked in with a child custody battle, complete with a nefarious old Easily my favorite Stephen King novel ever, and I've read a wide cross section of different eras of his stuff. The mystery and the hauntings are linked in with a child custody battle, complete with a nefarious old villain, and a damsel in distress.

At the center of it all is Mike Noonan, a troubled best-selling writer naturally , who is greiving the sudden loss of his deeply beloved, spunky number one fan, his wife, and, he has reason to believe, their unborn child. View all 35 comments. I remember reading this when I was My dad bought me the hardcover for my birthday, and I remember reading it on a plane. That's about all that I remember about it, though, other than a vague recollection of liking it, hence my pre-Goodreads rating of 3 stars.

Now, 16 years later Please don't do the math. It will hurt me in my soul. I've picked this book up a few times over the past It just wasn't the rig I remember reading this when I was It just wasn't the right time. But I'm glad that I read this now, because I loved it. The quick and dirty summary, before we get started: Successful author Mike Noonan's wife, Jo, dies suddenly, and after Mike's suffered 4 years of lonely writer's block, he finds himself drawn to his summer home on Dark Score Lake, where things start to get weird. Alrighty, let's get the nitpicks out of the way, shall we?

That's quite clear enough from Noonan's own perspective, and from the conversations he has with his agent. So it's pretty annoying to have nearly every male character that encounters Mike to have to comment on Mike's Successful Author Status, usually in the form of The Husband Of The Fan relaying his hallowed Favorite Author Status on behalf of said wife.

And often in a sort of apologetic way, as though she should really be more discerning, but he writes the stuff, and they ARE women, so it's probably OK. In pages, ONE man is reported to have read one of Mike's books, and that man is his agent. Even his publishers are women, Debra and Phyllis. I don't really know why this bothered me quite so much. I understand that a romantic aspect being a main component of a book will make that one that appeals to more women than men.

But it just seemed to be overkill. Everyone has to mention how much women love his books, even when said woman is not around. Possibly a rolling-pin to the noggin worthy offense. There was really some awkward dialogue in this book. I think that's been present in just about all of King's books, but as I get older, I notice it more. It's just little things, things that bother me and feel And yes, she's not the trailer-trash one would expect her to be. It sounds like it would be coming out of the mouth of a 45 year old WASP, calling on business. This book was set in , not This is something of a slow build of a book.

Once it gets going, it goes, but Mike is a bit slow on the uptake with some things, and so it has to kind of be knocked into his head, which takes repetition. Not only for him to get it, but I presume for the reader to get it and understand the importance as well. King often takes his time to make sure the scene is set and the symbolism and symmetry are in place before letting things get good and rockin'. I appreciate that, but I think Mike could have maybe picked up on a few things a bit faster.

To me, they were pretty obvious Those are all of the negatives I can think of right now. I'm tired, though, and it's past my bedtime, so I'll get to the good stuff quickly.

I loved the way that this story unfolded. I love how all the little pieces of mystery eventually came together. The picture that they formed was horrible, and ugly, and hateful, and sad That seems like such a strange sentence to type, but I don't know how else to describe it. The things that happened should not have and I cannot help but understand the rage and the pain and the sense of betrayal In a way, I was rooting for her to win. I just couldn't bring myself to call her evil My heart broke for her.

One thing that King does exceptionally well is build a community, and in Bag of Bones, I think this is one of his best. Very close-knit, very proud and quiet and The way that this community exists is just as creepy and scary for their everydayness as the things that draws Mike to Sara Laughs and keeps him there. The characters were great, and I loved the way that Mike kept his wife alive in his mind and heart. She died on the first page of the book, and yet she had such an active place in his life, and I loved her character.

I loved so much about this book. I enjoyed even the sections of nothing-much-happening, because even when nothing is happening at the moment, the reader is getting to know the characters or the community, or just taking a little walk down memory lane and getting a feel for the relationship that was so recently lost. This book was such an emotional roller-coaster, and I loved it. It had me in tears right off the bat, because one thing that King does amazingly well is writing characters that I can understand and relate to even if sometimes they talk funny.

And Jo's death right at the start of the book, and Mike's reaction to it, just got me in the feels. I understood his need to know why she had been keeping secrets, and I willingly went along with him to find out. I felt like, by the end, I'd been a silent observer of their lives. I loved this book, and despite my criticisms, I think it's right up there among King's best. There are a lot of similarities in this book to 's Lisey's Story, only told from the other side of the page, if you will.

In this, the writer's wife is the one to die, and in Lisey's Story, the writer himself dies.

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But both stories pick up from there with the coping and grieving, and the quest to understand WHY their loved one died There are also several tie-ins to other novels that King's written - Insomnia, for one, and Needful Things. It's kind of a bridge between the Derry novels and the Castle Rock novels. It's not really set in either one, truly, though it passes through both. Anyway, it's now after 1: So I'll stop now and just say that I loved this book despite it's occasional awkwardness.

It's heartbreaking and beautiful and ruthless and eerie all at the same time. Definitely worth the read. View all 11 comments. Mar 12, Phrynne rated it really liked it. I enjoyed it very much anyway and it was certainly a page turner. This is one of his ghostly, horror type stories and at times it was very spooky and frequently very gory.

Close to the Bone (Widow's Island, #1) by Kendra Elliot

In fact very Stephen King. Not the best book I have read by him but still very worthy of 4 stars. Muy buen libro de King. Un excelente inicio de novela. Ya en la mitad las cosas se empiezan a poner un poco pesadas y repetitivas. Tiene partes que son bastante lentas. Lo recomiendo sin dudarlo. Tiene mucho misterio, mucho. This was a weird novel for me. For the first pages or so I kept thinking that it was by leaps and bounds the best Stephen King book ever.

But then things got strange in a way that only King's novels can and I was left feeling like maybe I'd been in a car accident but had blacked out and couldn't really remember the whole thing properly. I think that you either like Stephen King's stuff or you don't. I have been reading him si This was a weird novel for me.

I have been reading him since the seventh grade and I'm never bored with his stuff and always end up thinking that even if I don't connect with every story, he is a genius. Can you imagine what it would be like to have him for a friend? I thought the beginning of Bag of Bones was a bit of a departure for King. The whole set up was very subtle and the story was quite poignant. Of course there was something bizarre developing in the background--it's a Stephen King book! But, what pressed upon me during the first part of the novel was that it was light on the weird stuff and I still loved the story.

That just proves what a great writer he is and maybe my point is that he can lay off of his signature crazy shit sometimes. In this case, the weirdness really snuck up on me and last forty pages or so just seemed sort of bizarre and out of place with the rest of the book, almost like he got to the end and was like, "whoa! I need to spice this up! I had some questions.

What was the big dream about "low sperm count" supposed to mean? Was that a line of thought that was never completed or were we just being diverted? Also, Micheal Noonan obviously stayed on the TR after the storm. What was his relationship with the townies after the way he had been treated? I thought that was a major part of the book and it was dropped. Overall, I liked this book but it had some problems mainly towards the end.

But, really, who am I to judge? I quit halfway through, switched to an action novel which cleared my head and allowed me to continue the laborious trudge. The best thing about this novel, aside from reaching the end pages… it could have been pared back to and I would have been happy , was its intricacy.

Almost everything tied in to the end. Of course, for a novelist like Stephen King, I would expect nothing less. Could Mike have figured ever Slow moving. Could Mike have figured everything out sooner and prevented much of the bloodshed? Yes, they all turned out to have significance, but for a long while he ignored things that he really should have worked much harder to understand.

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Clues that he tried to find answers to, but then gave up. In fact, he accepts with little regret that the answers were so close at hand but he was distracted from searching for them. Admittedly, the distractions were significant, but there were still large gaps where Mike could have picked up the puzzle pieces and figured things out. Another factor that detracted from my enjoyment was the almost apology that SK makes through Mike in the epilogue. It is said that a story tells something of the author, I wonder if this tells something of SK? Overall, it was too slow, the characters unique, but lacking emotional depth.

This will be my last Stephen King novel for a while. Ghosts, you have to love a story filled with ghosts. Mar 03, D.

Not Even Bones

Woodling rated it liked it Recommends it for: And not only did they work together on some novels but King has mentioned how much he admires 'Ghost Story', so maybe? This was great writing with an interesting plot being weaved to form a masterful picture, but I think it is a picture that brings nothing new to the table and it was too long in the weaving. Bag of Bones was a labor to read but overall was still good. Dec 03, Colin Andersen rated it it was amazing. Probably, for me, the best Stephen King horror novel.

I am not easily scared by ghosts and other paranormal entities since they mostly live within the pages of horror fiction. But this one has sections, like the ghost that shuffles the magnets stuck on a freeze, that gave me an instant on-rush of fear-hormones. A brick-sized page turner!

Er vermisst seine Jo, kann nicht mehr schreiben und sucht einen neuen Sinn im Leben, dass ihm momentan so sinnlos erscheint.

Stephen King zeigt hier einmal mehr, was er besonders gut kann. Umso mehr betrifft es einen dann, wenn diesen Leuten schlimme oder unheimliche Dinge passieren. King schafft es hier wieder von einer Liebe zu schreiben, die in meinen Augen sehr ans Herz geht ohne je kitschig zu sein. Zweitens begegnet Mike im TR einer jungen Mutter und wird in deren Sorgerechtsfehde hineingezogen. Hier gibt es einige Szenen, die wirklich gruselig sind, ohne Blut zu verbrauchen. Oder ist das gar nicht Sara? Stephen King weicht in diesem Buch nicht von altbekannten Techniken ab.

Oft werden kommende Handlungen angeteasert, so dass man als Leser am Ball bleibt um zu wissen, warum es so kommen wird. Book 1 in the Widow's Island Novella Series is a wonderful look at the life of an island off to the Washington State coast. It is also a great little cozy mystery that, while short, packs a lot into its' pages. I loved the previous collaborations of these two authors, Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh, and all their standalone, individual books.

This short novella has a mystery, a budding romance and suspense. A lot to pack into a novella. She has been laying low at her grandmother's home when she is called to investigate human remains found on a nearby private island. Nearly twenty years ago Cate's friend, fourteen year-old Samantha Bishop went missing. Two years ago another fourteen year-old, Becca Conan, disappeared without a trace. Could the remains be one of these missing girls? Cate and her best friend, Deputy Tessa Black, must uncover who the remains belong to and, possibly, solve a twenty year old murder.

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Oct 16, Luli rated it really liked it Shelves: You can find this review in English below. Este relato corto es el primero de la serie y promete. El romance se queda en la primera etapa, esa de conocerse y pas You can find this review in English below. El romance se queda en la primera etapa, esa de conocerse y pasar tiempo juntos.

This short story is the first in the series and it sounds promising. Elliot mixes suspense and personal relationships perfectly. This time the format does not allow the plot to have enough complexity, everything happens fast and with little development, although it is interesting. There is another parallel plot that remains unresolved and that, I guess, will develop throughout the series. The romance is in its first stage, that of getting to know each other and spending time together.

But surely the author will not disappoint. We will have to follow the series to see how it goes. Nov 16, Carla Johnson-Hicks rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a series written by Kendra Elliot and Melinda Leigh, with them alternating books. They are all novellas, yet read like a full length story.

She was suffering from a gun shot injury and came home to Widow Island to recuperate. Her recuperation is cut short when a skeleton is found on a nearby island and she is the only agent close enough to respond. Cate teams up with her old friend Tessa Black, who is a deputy. When Cate and Tessa were 15, a friend disappeared, so they are wondering if this skeleton could be her, or is the local girl who went missing two years earlier. We also meet Henry, the new doctor to the island, who did not know that meant he was also the coroner.

There are some sparks between Henry and Cate that I hope will come to fruition in future books. Close to the Bone was a great start to this series. It is surprising that even with the short novella length story, the plot is well done with all the elements of a good mystery. The characters were fleshed out enough that I got to know them well enough to be looking forward to what will come next in their lives. Well done Kendra Elliot. I listened to this book from Kindle Unlimited and enjoy the narration for this quick read and I hope to continue listening to this series.

Oct 29, Jennifer rated it it was ok Shelves: This wasn't Kendra Elliot's best novella, but it wasn't bad either. There was decent character and setting development and I'm interested in reading more about this place. The romance was barely there, and that's ok, too, since I know there are future installments to enjoy. Overall, a decent beginning to a novella series.

Christian Grey rated it liked it Shelves: There is world building to add in a short book. It felt as though it came out of left field. Another chapter or two and maybe this could have been really good. Nov 14, Cyndi rated it really liked it Shelves: This was a good start to the series! Interesting characters and good suspense! I would have loved for it to be longer! Nov 27, Asheley rated it really liked it Shelves: FBI agent Cate, deputy Tess, and local physician and coroner Henry are called in to investigate a set of teenage bones that are found on a small island in the Pacific Northwest.

There are currently two teenage girls missing from the area: This story is told from Cate's point of view. Cate normally works back on the mainland but she is on med FBI agent Cate, deputy Tess, and local physician and coroner Henry are called in to investigate a set of teenage bones that are found on a small island in the Pacific Northwest. Cate normally works back on the mainland but she is on medical leave after an accident has forced her to take some time off. Since everything is slower on the island and there are no agents present to begin this investigation, her boss asks her to come off of medical leave and get started trying to figure out who this teenager could be.

I love that there is a connection between Cate and Tess. They do a great job of staying professional during what has the potential to be a very personal case, but it is obvious throughout the story that they have a deep underlying friendship. I also love Cate's relationship with her grandmother Jane and the budding relationship with Henry, who is new to town and trying to establish his medical practice. This is a nice, atmospheric and well-paced suspense story. The small-town setting is great and there are quite a few suspicious characters among the townspeople.

Actually, I think this story can also be technically categorized as a romantic suspense, but I would say the romance is more of a budding romance. It never gets in the way of the investigation and I'm curious about how this will play out in the next novella since the two involved do not appear to be the focal point of the next story. Currently the Close to the Bone audiobook is offered in Kindle Unlimited as both an ebook and audiobook option, meaning you can "read and listen for free. The audio is short - less than three hours - so I listened when I got up extra early and was doing morning work around the house.

I'll read and listen again with the next novella and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this audiobook to those interested. Close to the Bone by Kendra Elliot Series: Widow's Island 1 Narrated by: Nov 12, Velvet Messer rated it it was amazing. What a great start to what I'm sure will be a fabulous new series! As always Kendra didn't disappoint with this excellent novella. The characters are wonderful and the storyline is beyond superb.

My only complaint is that it's not long enough. I would love for this series to be full length novels. It's just so damn good. But what do you expect it's Kendra freaking Elliot! I'm so, so excited for this series and to see What a great start to what I'm sure will be a fabulous new series! I'm so, so excited for this series and to see where it takes us. Hell check out any book by Kendra Elliot. They are all fabulous! Nov 18, Colleen I really like Kendra Elliot books, and hadn't seen this one yet.

Dec 10, Interesting read, if short. Very short, maybe 90 pages. I've read another novella series written by Elliot and Leigh, so I pretty much knew what to expect. The investigation-lite in this one was wrapped up; but there is an overarching plotline concerning a longtime disappearance and probable murder that will wind through the series, however long it might be. Enjoyed it well enough t Interesting read, if short. Enjoyed it well enough to keep reading the series. I do like both of the author's work, both separate and together; and they can be counted on for an above average, intriguing small town RS mystery.

No sooner is she back home then bones are found and she is handed the case in conjunction with local law enforcement who happens to be her best friend and the island's new doctor who thought he left violent death behind back in LA. The atmosphere of the group of islands, the introduction to the characters, and the appearance of the bones made for a great introduction to a new series.

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Close to the Bone introduces a place touched by the past and where mysticism and the supernatural are not laughed away. The discovery of some bones on one of the smaller islands near the home of a reclusive writer whose daughter went missing is the catalyst to bring together Cate and her friend Tessa to investigate the crime. Cate left the island and rarely visits, but now an injury that has left her scarred in more ways than one has brought her back.

She feels the pull of the island itself, the need to discover who the bones belong to, and also explore the attraction with Henry the new doctor. Cate is the lead investigator and chooses to go back to the beginning and investigate the more recent missing girl's case. Henry works his first case as a coroner and feels a connection forming with Cate who plans to leave after she is cleared for regular duty back in Seattle.

And, what of the twenty year old missing girl case that weighs heavily still on Cate and her best friend, Tessa, their missing best friend, Samantha? This was novella-length and I was impressed with how well the author introduced setting, characters, and the case. The atmospheric backdrop and how the past weighs heavily on the present was a nice touch to set the mood and draw me in swiftly. The case of the bones is investigated and comes to a swift conclusion and the romance progresses nicely because of the page length, but there is also what will probably be the ongoing case of the older crime running through the series.

I look forward to what comes next in the new installment that will shift authors and shift to the second female lead, Tessa. This was my first occasion to listen to Christine Williams work. I thought she did a nice job. Her men's voices could be froggy, but I did like the way she spun out this story and would enjoy more of her work. All in all, this first installment was a good hook and I enjoyed it. I look forward to what comes next in the series. Mike begins having recurring, disturbing dreams and visions, and realizes he shares a psychic connection with Kyra.

Max and his personal assistant, Rogette, try to drown Mike but he survives with the help of his wife's spirit. Max unexpectedly commits suicide that same night. Mike sees a pattern when he sees that local inhabitants have names that begin with "K" or "C" and learns how relatives of townspeople have drowned in childhood. While Storrow and the private detective he hired are celebrating the end of the custody battle, Mattie attempts to seduce Mike. As they are embracing, Mattie's trailer is subjected to a drive-by shooting, injuring Storrow and the detective and killing Mattie.

The detective is able to kill the driver and incapacitate the shooter with Mike's help. Mike then grabs Kyra and drives back to his home. The shooter's buddies try to stop them, but refuse to follow him to Sara Laughs. Under the influence of Sara's ghost, Mike is tormented to drown Kyra and commit suicide himself. Jo's ghost prevents him and calls his attention to the novel he has begun to write.

In the pages there are clues that lead Mike to discover documents Jo had hidden, among them a genealogy showing Mike's blood relationship to one of the town families. Several families whose origin lay within the town had firstborn children with "K" names who were all murdered—Kyra, as a descendant of Max Devore, is scheduled to be the next to die. The genealogy also shows that Mike and Jo's child would have been the next firstborn child with a "K" name in the family line.

Bag of Bones

Mike realizes this must be Sara Tidwell's curse for something that had been done to her. He leaves and searches for Sara's grave, stopped by the ghosts of several members of the old families. He learns in a vision that these men had viciously raped and killed Sara, and drowned her son Kito in the lake; all the "K" children who died were descendants of those men.

Mike reaches Sara's grave and succeeds in destroying her bones, ending the curse. Upon returning to the house, Mike discovers that Rogette has kidnapped Kyra. He follows them to the lake, where Mattie's ghost appears and knocks Rogette into the water. Rogette tries to pull Mike in with her, but is impaled by wreckage from the dock.

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