Review featured in Unnerving Magazine Issue #15

Henry's latest gripping and tense release should appeal to horror and thriller fans alike. Her storytelling is simplistic and without frills while letting the remote location and isolation of the mountain speak the loudest. The heightened tension of the atmosphere swells as Mattie warily navigates her husband's ever-changing moods and intensified anger. Add in an enigmatic cryptid and three blundering college students trespassing on the carefully crafted secluded homestead Mattie's abusive husband has carved out and it's a well-plotted recipe for violence ending in disaster.

While the entirety of the book takes place within a few days, Mattie's physical and emotional isolation makes every second longer. Her husband's controlling behavior adds a tightrope of anxiety to the already oppressive pressure until it bursts, spewing forbidden knowledge of Mattie's previously unremembered life. Vast potential is waiting for her—if she can survive her husband, the beast, and the unmerciless weather long enough to get off the mountain. Having much of the creature's savagery happen "off-screen" compounded the suspense but could have been a missed opportunity to dip toes fully into horror. A blend of creature and psychological horror, Near the Bone formulates a human evil worth loathing and a feral creature that perhaps begs further understanding.