My Two Cents: BORROWED BONES by Winona Morris

In "Borrowed Bones" by Winona Morris, widower Russ Simmons can't let go of the past. Unable to move past his wife, Liza's unexpected death, he spends his days lingering in the home the two of them shared, gazing out the window at the crepe myrtle tree Liza adored, and toward the dense woods through which she'd loved to roam. Trapped in an endless cycle of grief, he begins to develop the unshakable notion that those woods are looking back at him.

In the small town of Hachette where Russ lives, strange and gruesome occurrences develop: mysterious disappearances, grisly unexplained deaths, all connected to the forest surrounding Russ's home. After he one day discovers a bizarre pile of bones hidden among the trees -- a haphazard assortment arranged to look almost human-like in shape -- he begins to suspect the events plaguing Hachette are connected to him somehow. And when he finds Liza's favorite necklace, one she had been buried with, dangling from a tree limb as if in offering to him, his growing suspicions are all but confirmed.

As Russ's life and mental stability slowly begin to unravel, he's forced to confront the dark force that lurks within the trees behind his home, and the monstrous grief over Liza's death that threatens to consume him.

I think one of the cruelest aspects of grief is how life simply moves on in the wake of loss, whether those who have suffered that loss are ready or not. Day to day interactions and tasks continue, no matter how stubbornly or desperately we try to cling to a past in which our lost loved ones are still with us. Morris captures this painful reality perfectly and poignantly. Russ helplessly watches as friends and family learn to navigate their lives without Liza, while his own seems to stagnate, leaving him mired in sorrow. While others try to coax him out of his self-imposed exile, he resists every step of the way, terrified that moving on means letting go and losing Liza forever.

Although there are moments of gore, "Borrowed Bones" is a ghost story at its heart, and about the lengths we would be willing to go to for one last chance, one final moment with a lost loved one. Morris's writing is effortlessly eloquent, her imagery wildly imaginative, and her characters achingly real. I was already a huge fan of her work, having read and loved shorter stories she's written (which is why I jumped at the chance to read this), and she brings that same deft hand and attention to detail to "Borrowed Bones." If you're in the mood for atmospheric grief horror with just the right mix of folk horror and cryptid lore, this book needs to be at the top of your TBR list. It's one of my favorite reads so far this year.

"Borrowed Bones" releases June 22, 2026. Preorder here.