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T Kingfisher

The Twisted Ones Kindle Edition

by T. Kingfisher (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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Winner of the RUSA Award for Best Horror

When a young woman clears out her deceased grandmother’s home in rural North Carolina, she finds long-hidden secrets about a strange colony of beings in the woods in this chilling novel that reads like The Blair Witch Project meets The Andy Griffith Show.

When Mouse’s dad asks her to clean out her dead grandmother's house, she says yes. After all, how bad could it be?

Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself.

Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale.

From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher, The Twisted Ones is a gripping, terrifying tale bound to keep you up all night—from both fear and anticipation of what happens next.

Print length

399 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publisher

Gallery / Saga Press
Publication date

Oct. 1 2019
File size

1487 KB
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Enabled
Word Wise

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Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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Books on World War II appear spontaneously in any house that contains a man over a certain age. I believe that’s science.
Highlighted by 353 Kindle readers
I’d go to… to a mall or a Walmart or something. Surely unholy abominations wouldn’t follow me to Walmart.
Highlighted by 195 Kindle readers
It is an immutable law of the universe that whenever you listen to NPR in a strange place, it will be Pledge Week.
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Product description

Review

"...has [Peter S.] Beagle’s knack for creating colorful, instantly memorable characters, and inhuman creatures capable of inspiring awe and wonder." ― NPR Books, on THE SEVENTH BRIDE

“She knows her genre and audience well enough to perfectly walk the line between comfortingly familiar and delightfully fresh and subversive.” ― SF Bluestocking, on THE SEVENTH BRIDE

"The writing. It is superb. Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher, where have you been all my life?" ― The Book Smugglers at Kirkus Reviews, on BRYONY & ROSES

“There is nothing I love more than to be taken by surprise by a story that is so unexpectedly great like this one is.“ ― Kirkus Reviews, on The Seventh Bride

“It’s Wes Craven meets L. Frank Baum, or Narnia for those of us who thought Narnia smiled without showing enough of its teeth.” -- KB Spangler, Digital Divide, on Summer in Orcus

“Reads so fast and so effortless that you don’t realize how in thrall you are to it. It’s the sensation of being a little kid who stayed out too long past dinner and sure, you were having fun, but now it’s a moonless night and the forest is dark and you are hopelessly lost. This is righteous, folkloric horror, and the devil is waiting in between these pages.” -- Chuck Wendig, NYT bestselling author of Blackbirds and Wanderers

"Innovative, unexpected, and absolutely chilling, T. Kingfisher isn't just breaking into the horror scene, she's breaking it down. With a hammer." -- Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author Mira Grant

"A deliciously horrifying read. I adored it. In turns deeply human and uncanny, The Twisted Ones reads like the world's most terrifying episode of Hoarders. Don't sleep on it. In fact, be prepared to never sleep again." -- Nebula Award-winning author Alyssa Wong

"A weird, shimmering story told with sharpness and grace - somehow both wild fairy tale and quiet, personal horror in equal measure. It's a strange and lovely balance, expertly crafted for daytime laughter or nighttime trembles." -- Cherie Priest, author of The Family Plot and Maplecroft.

"By turns warm, witty, and frightening, with a charming protagonist, a diverse and vibrant supporting cast, and -- best of all -- a noble, dimwitted dog. Fair warning: there is a razor in the center of this confection, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I won't be forgetting grandmother's house anytime soon." -- Nathan Ballingrud, author of Wounds and North American Lake Monsters

"The Twisted Ones is a weird, shimmering story told with sharpness and grace - somehow both wild fairy tale and quiet, personal horror in equal measure. It's a strange and lovely balance, expertly crafted for daytime laughter or nighttime trembles." -- Cherie Priest, author of The Family Plot and Maplecroft.

"A dark fairy tale adventure for contemporary readers. Mouse is a great character and the journey is enchanting in the best way – full of terror and humor and friendship.” -- Jeffrey Ford, author of Ahab's Return and A Natural History of Hell

"Righteous, folkloric horror. The devil is waiting in between these pages." -- Chuck Wendig, New York Times Bestselling author

"This occult thriller with heart boasts genuine scares." ― Publishers Weekly

Laden with cosmic fright, The Twisted Ones connects the foreboding of ancient folklore with the horrors of modern life. But it does so with a sharp, witty voice and a compelling first-person protagonist who finds herself precariously straddling worlds she never knew existed. -- Jason Heller ― NPR Books

My favourite thing about the novel…is the unpredictability of how the story progresses, the subversion of the most common horror tropes. Fear not, we know from early on, given the framing narrative, that the dog survives. ― The Book Smugglers

"A fresh spin on traditional [southern] gothic elements.” ― Chicago Review of Books --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

T. Kingfisher, also known as Ursula Vernon, is the author and illustrator of many projects, including the webcomic “Digger,” which won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story and the Mythopoeic Award. Her novelette “The Tomato Thief” won the Hugo Award for Best Novelette, and her short story “Jackalope Wives” won the Nebula Award for Best Story. She is also the author of the bestselling Dragonbreath, and the Hamster Princess series of books for children. Find her online at RedWombatStudio.com. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07P55QS3X
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gallery / Saga Press (Oct. 1 2019)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1487 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 399 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #9,429 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #15 in American Horror Fiction
- #72 in Occult Fiction eBooks
- #101 in Occult Horror Fiction (Books)

Customer Reviews:
2,844 ratings

About the author

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T Kingfisher

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T. Kingfisher is the vaguely absurd pen-name of Ursula Vernon, an author from North Carolina. In another life, she writes children's books and weird comics. She has been nominated for the World Fantasy and the Eisner, and has won the Hugo, Sequoyah, Nebula, Alfie, WSFA, Coyotl and Ursa Major awards, as well as a half-dozen Junior Library Guild selections.

This is the name she uses when writing things for grown-ups. Her work includes multiple fairy-tale retellings and odd little stories about elves and goblins.

When she is not writing, she is probably out in the garden, trying to make eye contact with butterflies.

www.redwombatstudio.com

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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5

2,844 global ratings

5 star		46%
4 star		29%
3 star		16%
2 star		6%
1 star		3%

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Top reviews from Canada

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Melissa Pearce

What a wild ride.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on March 9, 2023

Verified Purchase

This is the first book I've read in ages where I've desperately scrabbled away at it and finished less than a week after starting.

I used to be a voracious reader. I would go through books like candy. This one shook that hunger awake again.

Monsters lurking in the dark. Weird, unsettling, wrong places just beyond the backyard. Horrifying realizations that are just another brick in the wall of what the eff. Kindness from unexpected people.

I have never been so invested in the fate of a fictional trio as I have been in that of Mouse, her dog, and their unlikely ally.

Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Helpful

Anne

Fantastic creepy read!

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 10, 2019

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Picked this up in a Kindle version after I saw it mentioned on someone’s book blog. OMG. Inspired by Arthur Machen’s The White People, which I didn’t at first know, and have never read - but it doesn’t matter if you have. Although I love classic horror, so I may have to seek out the original story.

Mouse, the main character, is a fabulously snarky, sarcastic creation, and if on occasion the snark was a bit much, I forgave the author. Foxy was also a fantastic character, and I laughed out loud at some of her lines. In fact, the book is a great combination of funny and weird and scary. Did I mention weird? In all the best ways. I should have been doing a dozen other things, but after page 150, I kept thinking, one more chapter. Or, I’ll take a break at page 200... 250... No. Didn’t happen. I steamrolled through the last 200+ pages in one sitting.

There were scenes that made me the hair rise on the back of my neck. It’s not a terrifying book, but there were some seriously creepy parts. I could not put it down til I finished it, and it was a great October, the dying time of the year, read. Highly recommended!

3 people found this helpful

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Leona Lacroix

Not bad

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 6, 2021

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Caught my attention right away at the beginning then it got a tad dragged out. Finished it because I felt obligated

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Barb SImmons

Edwardian horror meets Lovecraftian myth

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 1, 2019

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in a small town in the South. "She was born mean and graduated to cruel..." When freelance editor Mouse and her dog Bongo agree to clear out her hoarder grandmother's house, Mouse doesn't know what she's getting into. But her questions grow. Is that knocking sound in the woods really woodpeckers? Are the deer running through the yard at night only deer? And why does Bongo hate the white stone in the yard ? Full of memorable characters, high adventure and sheer terror, Ursula Vernon writing as T Kingfisher absolutely nails it. Reading the last chapter had me repeating oh my god, oh my god, oh my god as I crouched on the edge of my seat. A glorious read!

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Headline required because Amazon said so.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on May 22, 2021

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First off, this was one weird story that had me hooked with its simple narrative style. At times somewhat slow, sometimes funny and always enjoyable, this one had me hooked from the start. Even the slow parts filled with varying dogs ... (jeez, let one go once and your a marked dog for the rest of the book) . As I was saying, even the slow bits had a vaguely creepy feel, as you know that place is somehow wrong.

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cando

It was ok, but I wanted actual horror.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 30, 2020

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I love how well written this was! I'm giving 4 stars instead of 5 because it was recommended to me as horror and I found it to be more mystical/young adult general audience horror. The story had a really great lead-up, but I was disappointed to find out what 'The Twisted Ones' actually are.

3 people found this helpful

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LeafGreen

a scary fairy tale

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 3, 2019

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This precisely straddles the line between dark fantasy and horror (in a good way). I would have liked leaning into the horror elements more often, but that is 100% just personal preference. I read this a week ago and it stuck with me and you should let it into your brainmeats too.

One person found this helpful

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Patty R.

A bit strange but enjoyable

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 10, 2021

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I enjoyed this story even if it gets a bit strange in places.

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Top reviews from other countries

L E L

Not scary but a lot of fun

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

Not scary at all, not even a little bit. If you're going in expecting a true horror story, this just isn't it.

But the narrator was likeable, the characters who rallied around her were likeable, her dog was sweet and funny and the dorky, chatty, silly narrator voice and silly humour (a lot based around said dog) were endearing. I could get how people might not like this, it's definitely not an adult horror book and it shows that the author is mainly a YA author, but I wouldn't have picked this up if it hadn't been mismarketed and, actually, it was absolutely what I needed. It's actually, in the end, a fairly sweet and comforting book with some scary/horror elements, due to the characters and humour (and dog antics) I found it quite soothing and enjoyable to read and (no spoilers) but the end just felt like the end of a faintly spooky adventure. It was actually a very gentle, nice read, and really what I needed during a difficult time in my life.

Also, if any parents are out there reading this who have teen budding-horror fans and aren't sure about horror, this is marketed as an adult book but is teen-friendly and gentle with just enough horror. No gore, no really traumatising events, nothing sick and depraved, characters who are nice and brave, a cute dog, some scares but nothing too bad. It scratches that spooky itch but it's not going to traumatise anyone, it'd be brilliant for those younger horror fans.

All in all, comforting 'horror', enjoyable, fun, quite sweet, a little spooky, I think I'll reread as a comfort read because I really did have fun reading it...and I just liked the dog. But if you're a seasoned horror fan, don't go into this book expecting hardcore horror or big scares, it's more of a gentle ghost-story around the the fire level of spook than something that's going to stop you sleeping at night.

One person found this helpful

Wen

I did very much enjoy this book. It was atmospheric, perfectly paced and humorous.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 13, 2020

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I did very much enjoy this book. It was atmospheric, perfectly paced and humorous.

I believe this was my first ever folk horror read, although I didn’t much care for the centre plot of the story so to speak. However, I did throughly enjoy the book. Straight away from the synopsis I got MPHFP vibes. Step-grandfathers journal and a series of horrible terrors. I found the characters very strong and likeable. It really brings back that old fashioned neighbourhood spirit. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and found it so humorous at times.

Back the issues I had with the plot. What I liked was a unique twist, normally it would be a teen and her family, not perhaps a young women on her own. This did add a good perspective to the story. Before you found out what the mystery was the author definitely kept you guessing, planting different theories through the narration. It was such a huge premise and build up that I struggled with the idea that revealing the big mystery would perhaps ruin the book but this wasn’t entirely the case, For me even when the mystery was revealed it fell short for me and I didn’t much care for it. The way it was delivered was good but I didn’t like the idea. It was just missing something.For me there are so many loose ends and things weren’t really explained enough to help understand what was going on. I feel like the book should of been been longer.

In short I very much enjoyed the story but it was the centre of the plot and idea I didn’t much care for. It wasn’t what I was expecting. From the quote on the cover I guess I was expecting something more demonic & paranormal. I find it so hard to explain 😅 but was a good read.

2 people found this helpful

Jennifer Power

Very readable cosmic horror

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 10, 2021

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This is a cosmic horror book where a lot of the horror comes from the utter alieness of the terror contrasted from the mundane details of normal life. This means a lot of the terror comes from the things that aren't explained and the implications that creep in. This felt very real. The sort of story, well, the sort of characters that feel like real people. Bongo is very definitely written by someone who has had beloved hounds and loves them with a clear-eyed understanding of what they are.

It does make this unique, most of the traditional cosmic horror tend to be narrated by characters who don't feel like real people. Lovecraft's ...well, even calling them 'protagonists' is giving them too much credit, they're barely even plot devices. Most of the traditional cosmic horror writers were bad at characterization. It made it easier to ignore the actual impact of the horror.

Cosmic horror doesn't usually scare me. This came a lot closer than I expected it to.

One person found this helpful

jfmdac

An entertaining read, but falls a bit short of the mark.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on July 24, 2020

Verified Purchase

First off, why write under a ridiculous pen-name, and than give the game away within the book? Never mind.
The main character, "Mouse", is quite likeable, with a lot of wry humour to share, and really she is what saves the story from being a mediocre horror tale. The main premise, of a horrific fairy-type realm, seemingly inhabited by lots of animated bones, "just around the corner", is OK as it goes, but it is just put there on a take it or leave it basis, with no explanatory backstory. The author's declared aim of using a fragmentary second hand account of the hidden realm to provide background detail because it would be more realistic, really didn't work for me, and I found it mildly frustrating. Not saying this is a bad story, I did finish it, but it could have been so much better.

One person found this helpful

Suzanne B

Great Book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

This book was interesting from the very first page all the way to the very last. The main character, as narrator, was believable and just like someone you've known in your life. I found myself wanting to make time to read this and never got bored with it. Just the kind of book I love, unusual but strangely realistic too.

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The Twisted Ones Kindle Edition

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T Kingfisher

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