The House of Little Bones

By: Beverley Lee

Narrated by: Alastair James Murden, Punch Audio

Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

He thought he was untouchable.

David Lansdown, esteemed British horror writer and supernatural sceptic, is used to basking in the glow of the press....

Until a hastily snapped photo hits the headlines and makes his affair with his publisher’s son public.

When David finds himself at Bone Hollow, a house with a glass wall overlooking a wild and desolate moor, his only concern is writing his next best seller to bury his misdeeds in the past.

But something stirs beneath the earth. Something bound to the land. Something determined to take everything from him.

Luca Fox-Waite is still in love with the man who cast him aside, but his own childhood demons lurk in his shadow. As he discovers more about Bone Hollow’s history, he finds himself ensnared in its story - a story steeped in time and tragedy.

Because curses lie in bones, and they do not die.

The House of Little Bones is a tale of avarice, adoration, and of how the sins of the past cling to the living, as well as the dead.

©2021 Beverley Lee (P)2021 Fireside Horror

alright

a bit boring 😴 the best part was the end
probably would not recommend the person reading did alright too

Quiet horror

When horror author David Lansdown is forced to retreat from the spotlight after an all too public scandal, he heads out to the remote countryside to stay at a house called Bone Hollow. The house is new but the land it’s built on has a dark history. David tries to immerse himself in his writing but is plagued by strange occurrences. Meanwhile, David’s cast aside lover Luca Fox-Waite begins digging into Bone Hollow’s grim past and we learn more about Luca’s own haunted childhood. As both storylines come to a head, Bone Hollow might just change supernatural skeptic David into a true believer.

I listened to The House of Little Bones on audiobook, which was the perfect choice. Beverley Lee’s beautiful writing really lends itself to being read aloud. I loved this quiet, heartbreaking, atmospheric horror novella. All the stars!

A twilight zone-esk slow burn creep

I always loved the twilight zone as a kid, and I think that’s why I enjoyed this book so much. It’s a slow burn creep rather than overtly in your face gore, and horror.

David is a best-selling horror author whose personal and professional life have collided. Entrenched in scandal, David decides he needs to get away for a while to find some inspiration. What better place for a horror author than a possessed house?

Luca is the son of David’s wealthy publisher. Since childhood Luca has always known there are things that lurk in the shadows, though nobody believes him. After he and David are exposed as lovers, David cuts him off and abandons him. But as soon as David arrives to the house in bones hollow, Luca’s intuition begins to tell him something isn’t right with the house.

Every day that David is in the house in bone hollow, something new and strange occurs. Each thing more sinister than the last.

By the time Luca learns the truth behind the mystery of bone hollow and the curse that clings to the bones buried beneath the Earth there, it’s too late to warn David.

A Quick, Tasty, Dark Fiction Treat!

The House of Little Bones is a novella-sized tasty little treat! It would make for a superb Twilight Zone episode, or perhaps an episode of Creepshow!

To sum it up: An older, famous, (yet, waning), horror author named David gets caught on camera with a young man, a young man, (Luca), that happens to be the son of the owner of David's publishing company. Needless to say, dad is angry and determined to split the two. David is secretly shipped off to a small town and commanded to stay where he is and write. A place to stay has been arranged, David is brought there and banned from all outside contact, including Luca. Strange things begin to happen in David's new home and that's all I'm going to say about that. Will Luca and David ever be able to get together again? What's going on in that house? You'll have to read this to find out!

I enjoy folk horror and even though the narrative starts in the city, it ends up in that small town, where everyone is a stranger and where secrets are kept for generations. I enjoyed Luca and David as characters, and of course, hated Luca's father with all my heart. What I especially liked here was the folk story at the end. That information gave more meaning to the events that were occurring. I think I might have liked to have read the story already knowing that, but having already read it, I guess I'll never know!

The narrator, Alastair James Murden, was excellent. As he is performing the opening and ending sequences his voicing is way over the top, (it reminded me of those old horror movie previews, (PERFECT!), but it settles down with a wonderful English accent which is also perfect for this tale.

This audiobook was a dark, delicious tale, performed perfectly and I highly recommend it!

*Thanks to the author for the audio download in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*

Oh, how I love thee, Miss Beverly Lee

I’m gonna need more, please.

I love how a writer can tell such a powerful story in under 200 pages. Which is exactly what Beverly did here, with The House of Little Bones.

With a sprinkle of heartache, a pinch of dark secrets and a dash scandal… we have ourselves a deliciously haunting story, with folklore being the cherry on top. It was a delightfully eerie tale of betrayal, the supernatural and heartbreak. *chef’s kiss *

The audiobook was narrated beautifully and was a nice addition to this, already, wonderfully creepy story.

The House of Little Bones

“Regret took hold of his mind and shook it between merciless teeth”
This book took hold of my mind and shook me mercilessly. It took me a bit to write the review because even though I finished reading the book, I was not done with the book. More likely, the book was not done with me.
David is a famous writer and his indiscretions get him in deep trouble when he gets caught dating his best friends son, Luca. His best friend is also his book publisher. He is forced to get out of the spot light and escapes to a house called Bone Hollow on the Corpse Road by the locals.
Luca has premonitions that something is wrong and he can’t get in touch with David. David is dealing with his own paranormal problems as the old legend, the Bone Crone, has awakened and wants him off her land.
The positions we humans get ourselves into when we think we are infallible and invincible, and how quickly life changes. The House of Little Bones is about so much more than what is on the surface.
This is a sad tale of relationships between a father and son, between forbidden lovers, between best friends, and what happens when a vengeful spirit gets in the middle.
One of my favorite parts about this book is that David and Luca are obviously gay lovers and it does not make any difference. There is no hatred because of sexual preferences, no slang or insults. It is just about their love for each other and is only forbidden because the relationship with David’s best friend.
Also, I want more about the asylum. I bet there is a another book just about that place.