I read The Girls for a book club recently and was less than impressed. (It was miserable.) The Singing Bone is a huge step up. Interestingly, they're more or less the same story-- sort of cheap knock-offs of the Manson family. Hahn's take is more thorough, well-parsed, and compelling. Some of the threads that make it interesting, folklore woven throughout, aren't fully completed. The book would have been stronger if it was slightly more rounded out, but it was ultimately an interesting read.

In the 1979 Alice and her three friends start living with Jack Wyck, a charismatic cult guy in the woods.  20 years later a documentary film maker starts making a film about Wyck and the events in the 70’s and starts trying to track Alice down. Alice, now a professor of Folklore, is forced to confront the horrors of her time with Wyck, her memories of that time, and the fallout of the documentary. 

The description of this book makes it sound like it’s going to be a suspense thriller, but it’s not. I found the book creepy and atmospheric, and while I enjoyed the book nothing about it really shocked me. It’s a slow burning book, but the addition of the folklore aspect was interesting to me as well as the documentary aspect.  I enjoyed Hahn’s writing but I wish this book had a bit more too it and grabbed my attention more. I did find the characters a bit flat at times and at some points I feel like the dual timeline got away from her a bit. This book does have an open ending so if that really bothers you I wouldn’t suggest this but if you like slow burns that have a creepy atmosphere I think it’s worth a read.