The Singing Bone

Dark and suspenseful, The Singing Bone by Beth Hahn tells the story of a group of teenage friends who are taken in by a master manipulator who has life changing plans for them. Beautifully written, the novel features vivid characterization and a plot that pulls you in. Beth Hahn is a writer I've followed since she was a child (yes, she's my daughter) and I'm excited that her novel will soon be available for you to read!

The Singing Bone will sneak up on you; you won't realize how caught up you are in this story until you look up and see how much time has passed. Almost like the young boy Stuart, the reader watches the story of Alice and her friends as they become family to Jack Wyck, a convicted killer. The stories twist, pile on top of one another, switching between characters at will to give another perspective. From past to present we see the terrors of Mr. Wyck's home, we watch from the perspective of a doc [...]

A convicted killer`s imminent parole forces a woman to confront the nightmarish past she has spent twenty years escaping.Have you ever read a book that really pulls you in even though you can't explain why?,I felt like that about this book.The story is not action packed or have any plot twists but it is very creepy and has an air of menace,you know something bad is going to happen,you just don't know or to who.The story flips back and forth between 1979 when Alice and her friends Molly,Stover an [...]

Rarely have I come across a novel this complexly woven, finely written, witty, and suspenseful all at once. It reads like a dark, rich tapestry, with all the characters' stories looping together in startling, satisfying ways. Once I was fully "hooked" (give it a few chapters--it WILL hook you), I found myself wanting to speed through the book simply to find out what happens next, but then was constantly forced to slow down to appreciate the language. Beth Hahn's sentences have more in common wit [...]

The Singing Bone is the story of a group of teenagers in NY who become involved with Jack Wyck, a narcissistic pyschopath, in 1979. "Mr. Wyck" as he likes to be called, seems to have the ability to control everyone he comes into contact with his Mansonesque methods including fear, intimidation, and violence. It all falls apart one fateful evening as several horrific acts of murder bring about the end of their mind-controlled, drug-filled life with Jack Wyck. The story toggles back and forth betw [...]

1979, a mysterious and charismatic man, four impressionable teenagersWhat could possibly go wrong?Quite a lot actually! I don’t have words to describe how good this book is so I am not going to try.The “Singing Bone”, is from a folktale which Professor Alice Wood is researching in 1999; but once she was seventeen and her name was Alice Pearson. That was in 1979 when she and her friends, Molly, Stover and Trina met Jack Wyck………READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pashtpaws Breakaway Reviewers re [...]

I requested to read "The Singing Bones", by Beth Hahn, months agoAnother book 'cover' ( which I loved), is what first caught my attention. Where did it go??? It was AWESOME!!! This book cover looks more generic. The description sounded exciting- suspenseful - and uniquely fresh. The title of this novel had me very intrigued also.Even though it took me awhile to finally read this novel ( having 20 + others to read with archive due dates)I was so excited when I sat down to begin "The Singing Bone" [...]

Whoa, what a pleasant surprise! This was far better than I expected. I bought this as one of those cheapo ebook deals which meant that I hardly spent any money on it (if any at all). Usually, this is a kind of hit-or-miss situation with a strong lean towards the "miss" side, but from time to time I am lucky and actually manage to buy a decent book!Well, putting my stingy book shopping habits aside: The Singing Bone is a well-written book about the notorious tale of the psychopathic cult leader a [...]

There is not much of a mystery in this literary mystery, as the publisher calls it. It reads more like a coming-of-age story, if you grew up real fast with a brutal cult leader and had lots of drug-fueled sexcapades with all your friends. The events of the past are laid out from the start, and the only thing that is not clear is the extent of the violence, and the culpability of Alice, a surviving member. There were some indications that this was going to be a thriller, with creepy cult wannabes [...]

The Singing Bone is about four friends Alice, Stover, Molly, and Trina who are lured into a Manson-like cult in 1979 led by the charismatic Jack Wyck. In 1999, a documentary filmmaker reconnects with the former Wyckians as he tries to make sense of events that lead to murder. Although I found the tone creepy and could not read this late at night, I was completely enthralled with The Singing Bone. It's well-written and it was fascinating to see how the characters transformed in Wyck's chaotic wor [...]

4.5 stars. Draw your own conclusions as to why, at this particular point in history, I'm drawn to stories about charismatic sociopaths who attract the weak and vulnerable and lead them to tragedy and ruin, but here we are. I've read a couple lately and comparisons are inevitable. The Singing Bone delivered in places where The Girls fell slightly short, for me: tension-building, mystery, and a visceral view of the characters' unraveling that made the horror simultaneously chilling, tragic, and co [...]

I almost gave up on this book because I found it very slow and confusing to start. But then the creepiness factor kicks in and you have a solid cult story. I expected more of a thriller with this book and while there are some mysteries, I wouldn't classify it that way. I liked how the story shifted back and forth in time. What I felt was lacking was some character development and motivation. I still have a lot of unanswered questions and felt some parts of the story were unnecessary. But the wri [...]

It surprisingly pulls you in, even though you don't really want to know what happened. Knowing that stuff like this has happened makes it more believable, otherwise you would not believe how stupid these kids are

Let me start by saying that I don't think this will be a five-star read for everyone, and that I wouldn't unreservedly recommend it- but it really tickled my particular fancy. It's the last(?) in a string of books I've recently read that explore how an antisocial or disturbed influence at the wrong time can under the right circumstances produce chaos and violence, and how ripe the teenage female psyche is to be both prey, and predator. By the final third of this book, I felt so attached to the c [...]

This must be the year of the cult, and this is another Manson-esque story with a charismatic cult leader seducing a harem with promises of good times. Alice Pearson joins but later testifies against Jack Wyck. Now he's about to be released from jail, and if he doesn't kill her, her reputation as an esteemed professor of folklore may be destroyed the documentary film being made about Wyck as her past will also be uncovered. Lots of tension here, and a disturbing, chilling, menacing tone; the paci [...]

I really can't anymore with the Charles-Manson-look-alike kind of book and this one failed to engage me. It's not that it's a bad book (although I didn't find it especially interesting) but it's a story that's been told so many times--and even happened in real life--that it would have to be exceptionally done to grab my attention. I see that most people are praising The Singing Bone, so I'm absolutely in the minority here. I'd say it probably wasn't the novel's fault, just a mismatch between thi [...]

Received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I had a tough time starting this book - I think I was 25% through before I realized I was finding ways to read when I should have been doing other things. I was staying up too late, wanting to know what would happen. An excellent book - it is subtly written, and sneaks up on you, but it will completely hook you in. Well done, Beth Hahn.

This is the best meditation on violence and the susceptibility of youth that I've read in ten years. Beth Hahn is extraordinarily talented, and the protagonist, Alice, is a living person. I read this book twice, only because I couldn't believe I didn't have another Beth Hahn book to plunge into and love.

so good

In 1979, a tattooed man who calls himself Mr. Wyck lures a small group of teenagers to his New York farmhouse. Over the next six months, a series of increasingly disturbing events occur. Only one of the teenagers, Alice, returns home, though she’s anything but free.When the wider world discovers what happened in the farmhouse, Mr. Wyck earns the nickname Bogey Jack, and over the next twenty years, he becomes the stuff of urban legend. He’s the reason kids are afraid to play in the woods, and [...]

The Singing Bone is hard to put down. It begins with Hans, a controversial documentary filmmaker, who receives a package from a mysterious, legendary inmate, serving a sentence of 25 years to life: Jack Wyck. Hans’s previous film exposed cults and cult leaders and provoked a deadly violent episode at its inaugural screening, and Hans begins to research Jack Wyck’s story with great trepidation. When Hans contacts Alice, a professor of folklore, he unleashes ghosts that Alice has kept at bay f [...]

"He uses people up until there's nothing left."What I enjoyed most about this book is the exploration of the slow easy seduction a cult-like leader makes. Naturally, the mind wanders to memories of criminal Charles Manson and his own little 'family'- that had to be said. 17 teen year old Alice is the 'intelligent one' among her friends, earning her the nickname Genie from the magnetic conman Jack Wyck. It isn't long before she is just as mesmerized by the mysterious man as her friends are. With [...]

This was a dark and suspenseful read. The story is told very slow, you get to know all the characters and the author also gives us some time to understand how and why these four bright young people fell for Jack Wyck. It’s still hard to understand but I almost got it. It’s also a book about friendship and guilt and forgiveness. Alice, Molly, Trina and Stover are close friends since they very kids. Trina somehow comes along with a new boyfriend, Lee, and Jack and Allegra, two adults. Jack is [...]

I feel like I've heard this story before- oh wait, I have! Has anyone seen The Following with Kevin Bacon? Well let me tell ya, if you like this book, you'll love that show. Have you ever read anything about Charles Manson or any other cult novel? This book is no different. Now don't get me wrong- I love a good cult story, but something has to really stand out or be outrageously different from all the others for me to LOVE it. The folklore theme was something I was really interested in reading a [...]

This book is a well crafted story about a small group of young friends drawn into a "family" led by a charismatic man. Alice is the main character and we learn of her past as she herself confronts it through the probing eyes of a documentary film maker. Past and present converge as Alice's story unfolds and becomes more surreal. The threads are held together by the "murder ballad" folklore songs that Alice, now a professor, studies and preserves, and that also haunt her. This is a gripping story [...]

Occasionally you read a book that's truly unsettling in the best of ways. The Singing Bone is one of these books. The novel follows the story of a group of teens pulled into a cult and their lives afterward. Memories surface as a film director begins work on a documentary of the group and its leader who is about to be released from prison. Several characters have dark secrets that may or may not stay hidden under the camera's critical eye.

This story was a bit draggy at first and it took a while before it really began to hold my interest. Once it got going it was worth a read. Jack Wyck is basically a Charles Manson type who is able to manipulate a group of teens into participating in sex, drugs, fraud, and a murder spree. We are told the story through flashbacks that begin when the teens still had "normal" lives. I was given an advance copy for review

What an excellent debut story written by Hahn! Hahn's method for telling the story (mixing past and present, use of folklore, etc) is unique and really pulls the reader in. There are elements of mystery and suspense, and the story was haunting, like no other. This title has been on my to-read list for a while, and I'm so glad it made it to the top of the stack. Now I'll patiently await her next novel!

Wow. Good read. The simmering suspense definitely kept me reading to find out what exactly happened. It was interesting to see how these "cult" leaders gradually suck these poor kids in. Definitely a Charles Manson type read. I enjoyed the characters, and Alice's slow decent into psychosis. It seems so unbelievable that people can get sucked into this kind of brainwashing, and even when they want to leave, they somehow can't. Definitely recommend this book.

A strange and wonderful thriller murder mystery. From the start, not an ordinary sensational murder mystery based on a true legendary event, the depth and width of characters and time and place lured me into the drug-enhanced experience fashioned by the evil criminal mastermind. But the story is not about Mr. Wyck, and I easily identified with the observant film-maker and learned some truth about humanity. Great writing!