The Twisted Ones

Okay, so let me start off this review by saying that I am the BIGGEST horror wuss, so if you're an aficionado take this review with a grain of salt. (Maybe the whole jar, actually.) I like gothic tales and ghost stories but I don't like graphic violence or books where the pets or the love interests die, so as you can imagine, reading horror is usually an especially fraught experience for me. I love the aesthetics, I just hate the misery-- and I get super, super anxious while reading.T. Kingfisher understands the desperate need among the anxious for vibes and aesthetics but no Super Bad Things in horror. Between this book and WHAT MOVES THE DEAD, I ended up both charmed, amused, and scared out of my pants, but both had satisfying endings that were bittersweet (bonus in this one: the dog doesn't die). I think people reading this expecting, I dunno, Stephen King, might be mad, but man, what an amazing story. Apparently it's a sort of expansion/homage to Arthur Machen's "The White People." I've never read that story but I'm sure the author did a great job (God bless the public domain).This story is about a woman named Mouse who is tasked with cleaning out her grandmother's house when she dies. But her grandmother was a hoarder-- and her step-grandfather was apparently harboring some pretty insane delusions about people he calls "the twisted ones." Mouse finds a journal in his bedroom detailing some of his ramblings, with references to a manuscript and something he calls The Green Book. The more she reads, the weirder it gets. But then Mouse starts to see things in the wood: creatures that shouldn't exist and places that should be there. And then she starts to wonder if maybe her step-grandfather wasn't really delusional after all.I don't want to say anything else because some people are out there giving way too many spoilers in their reviews and less is definitely more, but I LOVED this book. I loved Bongo the Hound. I loved the people Mouse encounters who help her on her journey: Enid the Goth barista, Foxy the hippie, and Tomas and Skip, people living at the commune (one of them is bipolar and the rep is so casual). I loved how creative and creepy this world that the author built felt. I've seen people calling it folk horror and after thinking about this, apparently that's the kind of horror I like. Cozy horror with vibes. If you enjoyed this experience, books with similar themes are YOU LET ME IN, THE CHINA GARDEN, and THE STRANGER. I loved all of these books so apparently creepy rocks and creepy trees are my thing. Go figure. Either way, T. Kingfisher is the only person out there who I trust to scare me properly and politely.The only reason this isn't getting a full five stars is because I wanted to find out what was really going on with the grandmother and get more closure with the book. I feel like a lot of things were left to the reader's imagination or whatever, and sometimes that feels like cheating. I'm not mad, though.4 to 4.5 out of 5 stars

A small backstory:Melissa (a/k/a Mouse) along with her dog, Bongo go out to the backwoods of North Carolina as her grandmother passed away leaving a house that needs to be cleaned out, but with a warning from her dad that the house could be bad as her grandmother was a hoarder of all things. Mouse just decides to "step into it" and do what needs to be done to help out her dad no matter what.Not too long after "tackling the dirty job of cleaning the house" Mouse takes a hike out into the woods with her dog, Bongo and stumbles across an area with some freaky stones. From that point on in the story, things go totally weird and spooky things start happening around her grandmother's house.Mouse eventually meets her neighbors (Foxy, Tomas and Skip) which tell her crazy stories about "things out in the woods" and when Mouse discovers an old journal from her step-grandfather, Cotgrave and his ramblings of what he thinks is out in the woods, the creepiness hits the fan!That is about all I can give on a small backstory without giving away spoilers so if you want to know more about this book, then go read it!Thoughts:This was a great tension twisted (definitely a great title for this book "twisted") edge of the seat - no holds barred creeped out crazy horror thriller! Wow! First time reading this author and this book just took me into an insomnia fueled freaky dreams a couple or so nights as it dug deep into my psyche!The story is told from the pov of Mouse throughout the whole book and what she goes through with finding the "things" out in the woods. I really liked all the characters and loved the dog, Bongo.The book had some creepy moments kind of in the beginning of the story but it was spotty here and there throughout until I hit the 50% mark then it totally went "bonkers" and I had a hard time putting it down! Total overdrive scary stuff right after the halfway mark and totally kept me wanting to read the story without taking a break! I have been wanting to read this book for awhile so I am happy that I finally dived into it as it was one creepy ride into the unknown backwoods filled with spooky things!However, having said all that this book went totally into the twilight zone strange after the 70% mark as I wasn't expecting the story to go the way it did which drops this book down a star. The story does a complete 360 degrees from "spooked scared out of my pants" to "hyperventilating let me out of this book zone"! lolI know one thing for sure and that is if I find any weird stones in my backyard I am leaving the damn things alone! Not adventuring into the wild woods to locate any sources of where they came from as that is what happens in this story. Like the old saying "ignorance is bliss" would have worked well in this story!All in all though the book has plenty of spook moments and the characters dialogue kept me giggling as I would find myself laughing while reading the book as the character quips were priceless. Giving this book four "Freaky Folklore" stars!

This is my second book by Kingfisher, and while it’s not my usual genre preference- it’s a good read.It’s light and fluffy with nothing too complex and not too many characters.If you’re looking for horror, this isn’t it. Nor is it romance, or fantasy. Nothing ever gets explained and the ending never really solves anything. It’s very realistic in that way, like she’s just retelling you something that actually happened and the drama never gets too intense.I recommend it if you’re just looking for a filler book.

Not scary at all, not even a little bit. If you're going in expecting a true horror story, this just isn't it.But the narrator was likeable, the characters who rallied around her were likeable, her dog was sweet and funny and the dorky, chatty, silly narrator voice and silly humour (a lot based around said dog) were endearing. I could get how people might not like this, it's definitely not an adult horror book and it shows that the author is mainly a YA author, but I wouldn't have picked this up if it hadn't been mismarketed and, actually, it was absolutely what I needed. It's actually, in the end, a fairly sweet and comforting book with some scary/horror elements, due to the characters and humour (and dog antics) I found it quite soothing and enjoyable to read and (no spoilers) but the end just felt like the end of a faintly spooky adventure. It was actually a very gentle, nice read, and really what I needed during a difficult time in my life.Also, if any parents are out there reading this who have teen budding-horror fans and aren't sure about horror, this is marketed as an adult book but is teen-friendly and gentle with just enough horror. No gore, no really traumatising events, nothing sick and depraved, characters who are nice and brave, a cute dog, some scares but nothing too bad. It scratches that spooky itch but it's not going to traumatise anyone, it'd be brilliant for those younger horror fans.All in all, comforting 'horror', enjoyable, fun, quite sweet, a little spooky, I think I'll reread as a comfort read because I really did have fun reading it...and I just liked the dog. But if you're a seasoned horror fan, don't go into this book expecting hardcore horror or big scares, it's more of a gentle ghost-story around the the fire level of spook than something that's going to stop you sleeping at night.

I did very much enjoy this book. It was atmospheric, perfectly paced and humorous.I believe this was my first ever folk horror read, although I didn’t much care for the centre plot of the story so to speak. However, I did throughly enjoy the book. Straight away from the synopsis I got MPHFP vibes. Step-grandfathers journal and a series of horrible terrors. I found the characters very strong and likeable. It really brings back that old fashioned neighbourhood spirit. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and found it so humorous at times.Back the issues I had with the plot. What I liked was a unique twist, normally it would be a teen and her family, not perhaps a young women on her own. This did add a good perspective to the story. Before you found out what the mystery was the author definitely kept you guessing, planting different theories through the narration. It was such a huge premise and build up that I struggled with the idea that revealing the big mystery would perhaps ruin the book but this wasn’t entirely the case, For me even when the mystery was revealed it fell short for me and I didn’t much care for it. The way it was delivered was good but I didn’t like the idea. It was just missing something.For me there are so many loose ends and things weren’t really explained enough to help understand what was going on. I feel like the book should of been been longer.In short I very much enjoyed the story but it was the centre of the plot and idea I didn’t much care for. It wasn’t what I was expecting. From the quote on the cover I guess I was expecting something more demonic & paranormal. I find it so hard to explain 😅 but was a good read.

This is a cosmic horror book where a lot of the horror comes from the utter alieness of the terror contrasted from the mundane details of normal life. This means a lot of the terror comes from the things that aren't explained and the implications that creep in. This felt very real. The sort of story, well, the sort of characters that feel like real people. Bongo is very definitely written by someone who has had beloved hounds and loves them with a clear-eyed understanding of what they are.It does make this unique, most of the traditional cosmic horror tend to be narrated by characters who don't feel like real people. Lovecraft's ...well, even calling them 'protagonists' is giving them too much credit, they're barely even plot devices. Most of the traditional cosmic horror writers were bad at characterization. It made it easier to ignore the actual impact of the horror.Cosmic horror doesn't usually scare me. This came a lot closer than I expected it to.

First off, why write under a ridiculous pen-name, and than give the game away within the book? Never mind.The main character, "Mouse", is quite likeable, with a lot of wry humour to share, and really she is what saves the story from being a mediocre horror tale. The main premise, of a horrific fairy-type realm, seemingly inhabited by lots of animated bones, "just around the corner", is OK as it goes, but it is just put there on a take it or leave it basis, with no explanatory backstory. The author's declared aim of using a fragmentary second hand account of the hidden realm to provide background detail because it would be more realistic, really didn't work for me, and I found it mildly frustrating. Not saying this is a bad story, I did finish it, but it could have been so much better.

This book was interesting from the very first page all the way to the very last. The main character, as narrator, was believable and just like someone you've known in your life. I found myself wanting to make time to read this and never got bored with it. Just the kind of book I love, unusual but strangely realistic too.