Ian Downunder vs Burrowed Bones

Ian steps into Hatchette and learns the forest listens… mostly to him crying while reading Winona Morriss’s Borrowed Bones.

TITLE: Borrowed Bones

AUTHOR: Winona Morris

GENRE: Horror

PAGES: 201

FORMAT: eBook

PRICE: eBook $4.99, Paperback TBA

Release Date: 22^nd June

G’day all, it’s your ARC reader from the rain-drenched, red mud-covered land of Australia, checking in after finishing an absolute cracker of a grief horror: Winona Morris’s Borrowed Bones. If you want a book that hits you right in the feels, this one’s for you. So grab a coffee and settle in while I tell you why this is a must-read.

This is Winona Morris’s debut novel. Her specialty before this lay in short stories and flash fiction, which is where I first became a fan, back when we were battling it out in Patrick McNulty’s monthly flash-fiction contest, Flashes of Horror. So when Winona put out a call for ARC readers for her debut, I instantly put my hand up, and I’m glad I did because this one is a banger.

The story is set in Hatchette, a small town where everyone knows everyone, looks out for each other, and where nothing strange or untoward happens… until it does. Russ Simmons has just lost his wife to cancer. A beloved member of the community, she is sorely missed, but no one feels her absence more deeply than Russ. Their house was meant to be the place he and his wife started a family, grew old together in, and lived out their days. Now he sits there alone, ruminating on a future he will never have. The house was chosen because of his wife’s love of nature, the view of the nature trail leading into the forest, and the myrtle tree in the backyard that catches the light just right. After she passes, it takes some time before he can walk the trail again, and when he does, he thinks of his wife, of everything she meant to him, and of the grief that pours out of him like a tide. His love is so loud it speaks to the forest, and the forest listens. From within its depths, something emerges which speaks to him with voices far too familiar. It visits him, watches him, this thing that isn’t human but is learning to be.

Meanwhile, Hatchette is shaken by a string of disappearances, violent incidents and deaths, the circle of violence all surrounding Russ’s house. Suspicion grows, the town closes ranks, and Russ finds himself at the centre of it all. How it ends, I won’t spoil. You’ll need to read it for yourself, and I urge you to do just that.

This is a phenomenal novel about emotional devastation and the power of grief. Sometimes we hold on to the people we’ve lost for so long it’s unhealthy because letting go feels impossible. The love is too powerful; the ache too deep. Borrowed Bones explores what happens when someone clings so fiercely to memory and longing that they’ll sacrifice anything for even a shadow of what they lost.

Morris’s writing is rich, poetic, and full of emotional weight that hits hard with each word, and man, that ending lands like a punch straight to the gut. For those of you who have recently lost someone dear to them, I urge you to tread lightly, but if you need a good cry, this is one that will have you reaching for the tissue box. 

I give this a perfect 5 empty tissue boxes out of 5.

Ian Gielen is a writer of all things spooky and a horror fanatic. Ian embraces his inner geek with pride, his dedication on display in the intimidating collection of horror novels and video games that threaten to take over his living space. He is mad for all things Alien, Star Wars, and cats; his furry companions are always there to keep him company as he scribbles down his latest ideas. With the sheer number of furry and human companions in his life, it’s a wonder he isn’t a little crazier than he already is.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing, nor do the views or opinions of Crystal Lake necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or its staff. Thank you for understanding.