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Beth Hahn
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The Singing Bone: A Novel Hardcover – March 1, 2016

by Beth Hahn (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 236 ratings
See all formats and editions
A convicted killer’s imminent parole forces a woman to confront the nightmarish past she’s spent twenty years escaping.

I found you. That’s what Mr. Wyck told her: I found you.

1979: Seventeen-year-old Alice Pearson can’t wait to graduate from high school so she can escape the small town in upstate New York where she grew up. In the meantime, she and her friends avoid their dysfunctional families while getting high in the woods. There they meet the enigmatic Jack Wyck, who lives in the rambling old farmhouse across the reservoir. Enticed by his quasi-mystical philosophy and the promise of a constant party, Alice and her friends join Mr. Wyck’s small group of devoted followers. But their heady, freewheeling idyll takes an increasingly sinister turn, as Alice finds herself crossing moral and emotional boundaries that erode her hold on reality. When Mr. Wyck’s grand scheme goes wrong, culminating in a night of horrific violence, Alice is barely able to find her way back to sanity.

Twenty years later, Alice Wood has created a quiet life for herself as a professor of folklore, but an acclaimed filmmaker threatens to expose her past with a documentary about Jack Wyck’s crimes and the cult-like following he continues to attract from his prison cell. Wyck has never forgiven Alice for testifying against him, and as he plots to overturn his conviction and regain his freedom, she is forced to confront the truth about what happened to her in the farmhouse—and her complicity in the evil around her.

The Singing Bone is a spellbinding examination of guilt, innocence, and the fallibility of memory, a richly imagined novel that heralds the arrival of a remarkable new voice in literary suspense.
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  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Regan Arts.
  4. Publication date
    March 1, 2016
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1942872569
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1942872566
  8. See all details
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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
236 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers enjoyed the book's readability and writing quality. They found the writing descriptive and believable. The characters were well-developed, with the author getting inside their heads. However, opinions differed on the story quality - some found it engaging and suspenseful, while others felt it was predictable and difficult to follow.

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ReadabilityWriting qualityCharacter developmentStory quality
24 customers mention "Readability"24 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging with suspense. They enjoy the characters and story, which immerses them in a psychopath's world. The book is described as intense, well-written, and suitable for book clubs.

"...but overall a good, dark fascinating read." Read more

"...of the characters but once I did I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the story however toward the end it all just Unraveled." Read more

"It was a good interesting read with lots of suspense!" Read more

"...That doesn`t work for every story, but here it is well done...." Read more

19 customers mention "Writing quality"16 positive3 negative

Customers enjoy the book's writing quality. They find it well-written, descriptive, and believable. The author uses alternating perspectives and years to create an immersive reading experience. Readers appreciate the rich descriptions and realistic narrative style. Overall, they describe the book as thought-provoking and exciting.

"It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel! The writing is sophisticated, the characters are nuanced, the plot is complex, and the structure of..." Read more

"...Ms. Hahn writes well with alternating POVs and years...." Read more

"...in the present tense, I enjoyed the intrigue and mystery and rich descriptions." Read more

"...The novel is beautifully written, the characters well developed, and the plot will hold your interest until you read the last word...." Read more

11 customers mention "Character development"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's characters well-developed. They appreciate the author's insight into the characters' minds and that it's about real people, not monsters or supervillains. The character Alice is described as beautiful, scary, vulnerable, and cold.

"...The writing is sophisticated, the characters are nuanced, the plot is complex, and the structure of the novel is incredibly tightly-woven...." Read more

"...figure out what I thought of the characters but once I did I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the story however toward the end it all just..." Read more

"...The novel is beautifully written, the characters well developed, and the plot will hold your interest until you read the last word...." Read more

"...Some really great characters that we never got to deeply understand..." Read more

27 customers mention "Story quality"16 positive11 negative

Customers have differing views on the story. Some find it suspenseful and engaging from the start, while others found it predictable and difficult to follow the plot line. There were also complaints about repetitive scenes and an unsatisfying ending.

"...The writing is sophisticated, the characters are nuanced, the plot is complex, and the structure of the novel is incredibly tightly-woven...." Read more

"...the characters and I enjoyed the story however toward the end it all just Unraveled." Read more

"...beautifully written, the characters well developed, and the plot will hold your interest until you read the last word...." Read more

"It was a good interesting read with lots of suspense!" Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended.
    Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    It's hard to believe that this is a debut novel! The writing is sophisticated, the characters are nuanced, the plot is complex, and the structure of the novel is incredibly tightly-woven. It’s also exceptionally well-written. It’s also just a little scary... in the creepiest way possible, because it’s about real human beings, not monsters or super-villains. The humans in The Singing Bone creep me out because they offer a raw glimpse at our human capacity for darkness, violence, and betrayal. But at the same time, this book is also about the human capacity for resilience, tenderness, honesty, vulnerability. The yin and the yang. It’s about the complex and often contradictory aspects of who we are, the faces we put forward, and what we are capable of at our core. It’s about how we view ourselves, how we present ourselves to the world, and how we open ourselves to others with some combination of trust and caution. It’s about memory, privacy, the longing for connection and belonging, and so much else. Highly recommended.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Msanza
    4.0 out of 5 stars Hahn also did a great job showing Alice's descent into madness and her strange ...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    The beginning was slow, but once you get to chapter four the novel takes off. Ms. Hahn writes well with alternating POVs and years. Ms. Hahn also did a great job showing Alice's descent into madness and her strange relationship with the cult leader, Mr. Wyck. Some parts were a tad unbelievable (like how Alice wound up as a highly-regarded professor), but overall a good, dark fascinating read.
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  • lizy Gaines
    3.0 out of 5 stars Builds and builds then falls apart at the end
    Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    It took me a while to get into this book and to figure out what I thought of the characters but once I did I enjoyed the characters and I enjoyed the story however toward the end it all just Unraveled.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Lydia Ice-web
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Other than it being extremely tiring to read an entire novel written in the present tense, I enjoyed the intrigue and mystery and rich descriptions.
    Helpful
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  • peony
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not sure the ending satisfied me, but as far as the story was ...
    Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Reminiscent of The Manson Family, the psychologically disturbed older man who charms young people and binds them to him by feeding them drugs until they no longer recognize right from wrong. He then becomes their leader/lover/God. Not sure the ending satisfied me, but as far as the story was concerned it was a good ending.
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  • Kindle Customer
    1.0 out of 5 stars I don't hate books very often but I hated reading this one
    Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I don't hate books very often but I hated reading this one. Each chapter rotates back and forth between past and present which for me, made it extremely difficult to follow the story line. ugh. It was such a chore to read this...I skipped a lot of pages and made myself finish. By the end, i could have cared less about any of the characters and if it had been paperback (instead of Kindle) I would have gladly thrown it in the trash. Don't waste your time with this one.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Reading after midnight
    5.0 out of 5 stars excellent debut novel by a writer to watch
    Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Beth Hahn's first novel, The Singing Bone, is a dark study of the difficulty of escaping the past. No matter where you go or what you do to escape, it follows you relentlessly and destroys you when it surfaces. Alice Pearson assumes a new identity and establishes herself as a professor of folklore only to be confronted by an old enemy. Flashbacks to Alice's teenage years draw the reader from the present into the seventies and the man who destroyed her youth and innocence. Jack Wyck might be in jail but he is determined to reclaim Alice. The novel is beautifully written, the characters well developed, and the plot will hold your interest until you read the last word. Even then, you'll find yourself haunted by the folk ballad, "Two Sisters" whose motif runs through the novel like a threnody or sorrow and loss.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Joanne Crittenden
    4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    It was a good interesting read with lots of suspense!
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