description: Bag of Bones is partly inspired by Daphne du Maurier's classic Rebecca, but there's more than homage in this novel of horror and romance. Like du Maurier's Manderley, King's scary old place (on the shore of Maine's remote Dark Score Lake) is haunted by the late lady of the manor. There are many gory ghosts afoot though: men, women, and wailing kids. The hero, a thriller novelist, stirs up hell's angry shades while investigating his wife's death. It turns out she either had a dark secret herself or was onto some dread scandal lurking in Dark Score Lake. As in King's previous book, Wizard and Glass, the fabric of reality is thin, and nosy narrators are in peril of plunging right out of this world and into a rather hostile otherworld.  Bag of Bones is a writer-haunted book, too. The spirits of Herman Melville and Ray Bradbury are deeply felt, and so are the tale's two romances (the hero muses on his marriage and falls for a young single mum with a marvellous psychic daughter). There is also good-humoured satire of the real bestseller book world--the hero complains that "the publicity process is like going to a sushi bar where you're the sushi." In its deep concerns with love, sprawling families, the writer's life, endangered children and good old-fashioned storytelling, the book resembles a John Irving novel. It is also absolutely classic Stephen King, packed with nifty turns of phrase, irreverent wit and lurid ghouls who grab you from beneath the bed while you cower under the covers. --Tim Appelo
language: English
title: Bag of Bones
titlecomplete: Bag of Bones
characters: Mattie Devore, Sara Tidwell, Kyra Devore, Mike Noonan, Max Devore, Jo Noonan
genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense, Paranormal, Supernatural, Ghosts, Horror, Fantasy, Audiobook
ratings_count: 194510
places: Derry, Maine
awards: awardedAt: 883641600000
name: Bram Stoker Award
category: Best Novel, awardedAt: 915177600000
name: Locus Award
category: Best Dark Fantasy/Horror Novel, awardedAt: 915177600000
name: British Fantasy Award
category: Best Novel
publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Audio Books