I really enjoyed this book! The characters are historically realized and all very interesting and diverse.
A bit dark, but the story is engrossing. ( )

A simple interesting mystery story. ( )

Intriguing book - set in 1603, begins with a body, ends with a crime solved, lots of village characters in between.
Hate the title, love the cover and size ( )

I love the premise of Bone House. I mean, COME ON! From the description, doesn't it sound complex and interesting? Well, unfortunately I have very little to say about it. I hate it when I read something that leaves me so completely ambivalent that I'm not even sure how I feel about the book.

The writing was beautiful, painting a hauntingly accurate picture of Gothic England. On the other hand, the descriptions were a bit much for me at times - rape, persecution of so-called witches, incest, mutilation - Bone House was interesting, but the some of the chilling details were just plain sickening.

After plodding through, determined to finish the book, I was completely disappointed by the ending. As I sit writing this, days later, I am still left unsatisfied by the author's choices. I did not care for the element of romance Tobin attempted to add to the story. It felt disjointed and just confused things for me.

Despite the fact that I didn't care for the story, I cannot bad-mouth the writing - Tobin is wonderfully original and artistic. The narrative flows effortlessly, and the prose is imaginative and picturesque. Betsy Tobin has created a marvelously dark, Gothic atmosphere in Bone House. Although I can't say it's a book that I'll recommend to friends, Bone House is a well-written and absorbing Gothic mystery. The writing is exceptional enough that I might give Tobin another chance. Her novel Ice Land looks interesting... ( )

http://tamaranth.blogspot.com/2006/06/58-bone-house-betsy-tobin.html ( )