Bone Harvest

By: James Brogden

Narrated by: Liz Jasicki

Length: 14 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From the critically acclaimed author of Hekla’s Children comes a dark and haunting tale of an ancient cult wreaking bloody havoc on the modern world.

Struggling with the effects of early onset dementia, Dennie Keeling now leads a quiet life. Her husband is dead, her children are grown, and her best friend, Sarah, was convicted of murdering her abusive husband. After Sarah’s tragic death in prison, Dennie has found solace in her allotment, and all she wants is to be left to tend it in peace. Life remains quiet for 12 years, until three strangers take on a nearby plot and Dennie starts to notice unnatural things. Shadowy figures prowl at night; plants flower well before their time. And then Sarah appears, bringing dire warnings and vanishing after daubing symbols on the walls in Dennie’s own blood.

Dennie soon realizes that she is face-to-face with an ancient evil - but with her dementia steadily growing worse, who is going to believe her?

©2020 by James Brogden (P)2020 by Blackstone Publishing

Good book and reader

I have sure if I’d finish the book at first but I’m glad I did because it got better and better!

that first part!

goregous opening chapters that ultimately lead to a fun slow burn folk horror with an anticlimactic and fatalistic end — worth it for the first half alone

weird, very weird!

after the first hour and a half I almost returned this book. but I gave it a chance. it got better but really strange. good story line. the narrator did a good job.

Slow Burn Folk Horror

IF YOU LOVE - AHS Roanoke, The VVitch, Antlers, True Detective S1, Midnight Mass - you'll probably enjoy this book

OVERALL - 5/5, will read again, love the layered themes of the plot, characters i enjoyed following through their lives and as they met one another, a perfectly set backdrop to contrast with the main conflict.

horror - 3/5, while i found the horror elements intriguing, for the most the most part there are no jumpscare moments. there is a fair amount of blood, guts and everything nice but be warned, there is animal death/mutilation. luckily its really not to animals we have an emotional connection to ( the pets are safe ), so just proceed with caution if you are extremely sensitive to such topics. the first bit is told during ww1, so yeah, war.

characters - 5/5, no matter what the book summary says, dennie (the old lady) is not the main character for the simple fact that there are multiple - we spend a lot of time with each and get to know their fears, aspirations, vices and beliefs. dont get stuck that you dont meet dennie right away, because you spend the time before her gaining a pivotal foundation for the rest of the events that take place. a sign of good characters - even if they're on the dark side so to speak, you cant help but hope they get a happy ending too.

spice - 3.5/5, there are some spicy scenes ( yay! ), but nothing is very detailed ( aw shucks ) and most of the action trails off once we meet dennie and her neighbors.

plot - 5/5, while i LOVE the premise and overall story, there are moments where it tends to slow down : not a problem for me personally could be a dealbreaker for someone else. the characters carry the story in these moments so theres *something* going, but if you're here for ACTION! you might be disappointed. the religious horror elements were well thought out and surprisingly unique. there is intentional social commentary embedded in the main and sub plots, but they are expertly subtle until the author brings them to the surface. the mixing of past and present works extremely well with the focus of an ancient god and his followers existing in the modern age. wild, primordial nature meets garden plots in small town england.

narrator - 4/5, there was pretty distinct voices and cadences for each character, but some of the male and child vocals seemed off

the chemistry between characters...

I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of this book. it was a wild brutal ride through the description of somebody overwhelmed by violence through war and just seeking to survive, the introduction of a cult and promise of great thing. I was enjoying the story so thoroughly as it set up the world, the rules, and the depths of the characters. however... through the final quarter I just find convenient plot writing the protagonists out of trouble with just enough scrapes and bruises to seem justified. ((like how can person do convenient thing?))
So for just the premise and the first three quarters alone this was a great story. but I'm sorry I did not care for the climax or ending whatsoever.

Excellent Horror

Elated by this free audio book that served up horror at its best. I am so pleased to have discovered James Brogden who is a masterful writer…a rare find for the horror genre.

Really Fresh Structure--King Fans Should Buy

I read another review that didn't like the book because of how long it took to meet the main character.

On the contrary, I found that refreshing, and it gave a really deep backstory that gave the reader a ton of insight into what was going on, beyond what the protagonist knew! It played with the reader knowing more than our hero, and how things that may seem innocuous are actually dark and sinister because you know our villain's backstory in full.

There are great twists throughout, and it even ends with more structural uniqueness which I won't give away--I'm a huge fan of Stephen King, and I can tell this author is too. The narrator does a great job at putting you in the shoes of the main character and speaking with her voice without being distracting when she played other characters.

Bone Harvest is a great example of British folk horror, and I am so glad I took a chance on it!

3 Hours Until You Meet The Main Character

I thought the wrong book was uploaded. Nope. It tells a completely other story about Gods and sacrafices while we follow a deserter during WW1. Any notion of the MC having dementia is wasted by the first 14 (audible) chapters. Why? because we've seen the impossible already. Nothing is going to seem far fetched. I'm getting my token back.

The narrator isn't bad. She just has the voice of someone who you would expect to read Peter Rabbit or Paddington Bear. Horror isn't her genre.

The book isn't scary. I'm not a tough guy and I'm just shrugging off everything they've done. it's incredibly boring. Maybe someone else will find joy in it.