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    Bag Of Bones
    Bag Of Bones
    Bag Of Bones
    Audiobook21 hours

    Bag Of Bones

    Written by Stephen King

    Narrated by Stephen King

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    A powerful tale of grief, love’s enduring bonds, and secrets of the past from #1 New York Times bestselling author and master storyteller Stephen King.

    Four years after the sudden death of his wife, bestselling novelist Mike Noonan is still grieving. Unable to write and plagued by vivid nightmares set at the western Maine summerhouse he calls “Sara Laughs,” Mike reluctantly returns to the lakeside getaway. There, he finds his beloved Yankee town held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, whose vindictive purpose is to take his three-year-old granddaughter, Kyra, away from her widowed young mother, Mattie. As Mike is drawn into Mattie’s and Kyra’s struggle—and as he falls in love with both of them—he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs…now the site of ghostly visitations and escalating terrors. What are the forces that have been unleashed here—and just what do they want of Mike Noonan?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateJun 27, 2005
    ISBN9780743563307
    Bag Of Bones
    Author

    Stephen King

    Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes the short story collection You Like It Darker, Holly, Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King. 

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    Reviews for Bag Of Bones

    4.5/5

    384 ratings80 reviews

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    • 4/5
      good ghost romance.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Great story. It has a bit of everything- history, small town paranoia, old grievances, mystery, ghosts!, hauntings, creepy villains, and even some good old fashioned romance. Plus Murder. A great yarn you'll get lost in and be sad when it's over.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      An amazing novel by Stephen King who is an award winning author because of his other famous books,over more than twenty books. This haunted love story Bag of Bones is about a bond and connection about a lost love and a new love. Love that a has a horrible past about a young child who was shot and killed. A forty year old bestselling author Mike Noonan who lost his wife Jo. But now Mike is now starting to have these dreams causing him to move back to his summer house. Also he soon finds a town that he loved that looks similar on the outside but somehow had changed, thats what money can do. Max who was a filthy rich millionaire who has a young granddaughter and he wants to take her away from her young mom. More and more Mike Noonan keeps getting haunting visits but again in his dreams. This book will leave you gripping on to it because again Stephen King has done it again with an forgetting love story from his powerful imagination.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      I know that King often gets criticism for his longer stories, his large novels, because they're so darn long. But, for me, those are some of my favorite stories and Bag of Bones is no exception.I think that this is quite possibly the creepiest full-length novel of King's that I've read so far. More than once the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and the fine hairs along my arms followed right along. I kept telling myself I'd stop reading it at night, but I never adhered to that promise. The man knows how to write a ghost story and I think even if I'd read it in broad daylight next to a sun-facing window I would've been just as creeped out at some parts. And the chills start pretty close to the beginning of the book and then sneak up on you afterward.The characters are compelling and I found myself invested in all of them, including the ones who barely got any page-time.I will definitely say that there are parts in this book that are not for the faint of heart. There are a lot of things that happened in this book which I was not expecting and which were quite disturbing. That's not a complaint, but I don't think it'll ruin the book or the experience of it to give that bit of caution.I also find this to be maybe the most satisfying book that I've read from King so far, as odd as that may be to say about a story like this one.While there were some parts that were a little bit slow, they didn't last long and nothing actually felt like it dragged. I think this is definitely a book that I'll always save from the donate bin and take down from the shelf again from time-to-time.Heck, who knows. Maybe I'll even be buried with it one day. ;)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Geez, Stephen King can tell a story. In its own way, this one is right up there with THE SHINING.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      The book was excellent and the movie was pretty good also. The movie was a little hard to follow with the constant switching back and forth between eras.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Very slow start. It takes 77 pages for Mr. Noonan to go to the house King so obviously wants him to go. 77 loooong pages! And until Max Devore calls on page 115, I came dangerously close to quitting reading this! But the call happens, the story ramps up, and I thoroughly enjoyed the 400 plus pages that followed! Like the back of the slip cover reads, this is "A Haunted Love Story". Centered around Sara Laughs (the lake house) and a horrible deed done in the past, the decedents of the TR have a bucketful of reckoning to do, and something, or someone, is game to see that they pay! The characters in this novel may be nothing more than a "bag of bones", but I really came to care about them and what happened to them, and that, for me, makes this a very good read! (minus, of course, the first hundred pages or so...)

      1 person found this helpful

    • 5/5
      Great book Ive read it 2-3 times and enjoyed the audio!
    • 5/5
      I love this book. Keeps you going from the first chapter.
    • 5/5
      Such a fantastic ghost story. Every chapter was intense l.
    • 5/5
      One of his best. I think it takes you through every emotion.
    • 2/5
      It was alot of build up for a ok ending.
    • 1/5
      Long drawn out love story with very little ghost, for a ghost story. Not what I signed up for.
    • 5/5
      Riveting book. My favorite Stephen King novel, to date. Two “scenes” have me literal goosebumps. Didn’t want it to end.
    • 2/5
      The book was decent. My bad review is for the audiobook itself. Makes a skipping noise and the narrator sounds like he is speaking in to a tin can. Glad to be done with it.
    • 5/5
      Bag of Bones is less scary, and a lot less horrific than many of King’s novels. It is more of a ghost story and a little bit thriller. There are some gruesome pieces and a little torture, which is rough, but milder than many others in his collection.
      It is one of my favorite King audiobooks. It’s so nice to hear him telling the story, and with the perfect Maine accents, of course.
    • 5/5
      Stephen King does gothic. Amazing story, there’s a bit of a lull in the pace towards the end of the first third, but it’s well worth waiting through.

      Kings narration is too notch as far as I’m concerned. I’ve read some options that he is an awful narrator, but for me hearing him reads his own stuff gives me the sense that we’re sitting in rocking chairs on a porch while the old fella spins me a yarn. (This is a good thing.)

      Go, listen!
    • 5/5
      It has been quite some time since I have picked up a SK book. There are several reasons for that. I much prefer his older books-Salem's Lot, The StandMisery, although I think it was right around the time Misery was released that I started to lose interest. I did listen to Duma Key and quite enjoyed it, but until I came across Bag... I haven't read him of late. While Bag... is one of his older books now it is new to me. I enjoyed it from the first word until the last. One scene near the end literally made me cry, actually shed tears. I have been known to laugh out loud at certain books but seldom do I cry. That said, I passed the book on to my 23 year old daughter and she didn't care for it at all and disappointedly gave it back to me. I firmly believe that we readers enjoy our reading selections based on many factors, not the least of which is time and place. A reader must be in the correct frame of mind for the particular tome they are delving into. They must be attuned to the author's tone, the book's setting and the method of delivery. I often give the example of Tale of Two Cities by Dickens. I read it several times for school and on my own but I never enjoyed until I got it on audiobook. For some reason it fell deftly in order. all the myriad aspects of the "two cities" making sense finally, like a jigsaw puzzle when the final piece slides into place. It became one of my top 5 favorites, but took its sweet time getting there. I find King's books have a similar method of appeal to me. I dare say despite my review there will be those that don't care for it still but at another time may find it entertaining. I found its haunted aspect convincing, its narrator endearing and its leading characters of interest, drawing me back into the story daily anticipating danger from spirits and living threats alike. The setting , always important in King's books is part of the pleasure for me. Sar Laughs, the haunted house in this story, is fascinating and truly frightening. I could believe that it empowered its ghostly inhabitants with the ability to convey messages that kept the story moving along. I found myself wondering at "things that go bump in the night" at my own home. Try this one and see if you like it. Just try to determine if you are in the mood for a scary story, a story that depends on historical details and human frailty to carry you breathlessly to an ending rife with the failings of man causing their own downfall.
    • 3/5
      This is a middling Stephen King book for me. I think he repeats a lot of themes he's already explored, but it's still as suspenseful a page turner as any King novel. The main character is a writer, and I think he gives some glimpses into King's writing habits.
    • 5/5
      I read until my eyes were gritty, splashed some Visine in them and devoured another 2 or 3 chapters befoer sleep overtook me.
    • 5/5
      My favorite Stephen King book. I love a good ghost story, and I absolutely love this book.
    • 5/5
      Bag of Bones follows a writer four years after his wife has died, as he tries to find his writing ability once again in a house that he shared with his wife as a vacation home for years. In the process he finds that his wife may have been killed by supernatural forces, while he becomes involved with a widow and her child, who are under attack from the widow's father-in-law, who wants her daughter for unknown reasons. This book, simply put, was awesome, and classic Stephen King. It has many elements from his works and enough references to know that his shared universe isn't going away anytime soon. It also had a character's death that I was woefully unprepared for, and really hurt by, as I had grown to like them as a person. I absolutely loved this novel and it comes highly recommended from me.
    • 4/5
      There are so many good reviews of this that of course I had to read it. It?s one of King?s many books that I never got around to, and with the number of books this man writes and publishes, I?m not surprised it took me this long to read it. Mike Noonan is an author, a good mid-list author at that. He leads a comfortable life with his wife Jo in New England. When Jo unexpectedly dies of a brain aneurysm, Mike is left alone and almost incapacitated by her sudden death. His wife also left him with a bit of mystery and he wants answers. Since Jo?s death, Mike has developed writer?s block, something he?s never even briefly experienced in his career as a writer. Thinking a change in scenery will help with his writer?s block and hopefully quell the obsession he?s developing with his dead wife?s coming and goings, Mike heads to his vacation house on a lake in the woods of Maine. Shortly after arriving, he finds himself caught up in a nasty custody battle over a three year-old girl he accidently made friends with when he saw her walking down the middle of a busy road. Unwilling to let Mattie, the young mother, get destroyed by the system, Mike steps in and learns what it means to be a stranger in this part of Maine.I jumped into this book anticipating a full out ghost story and found myself in the middle of a custody battle. Strange how books emerge sometimes. The ghost element was more than strong and I liked the small town history and how it all tied back to Mike and the property he owns but the custody battle felt like it really never fit for me even when every last tie was explained. I think my expectations were set up to be very different from what I actually got in reading the book. This sounds negative but it?s not. It just wasn?t what I had in mind when I started this book. That said, I did enjoy this book very much. It reminded me of 11/22/63 in the slight love story that starts to develop, and then when the ghosts start in, there?s nowhere to hide for the reader or the characters. This book spooked me early on but as the story got going, I was more interested in the ghosts themselves than some of the living characters. Anything that scared me in the beginning was out the door by this time because I wanted to know every last detail of this town?s ghosts and have them out every bitter secret.Even with all the ghosts and their brutal pasts emerging, the main story was sad. Mike Noonan is a man lost without his wife and drifting without a career now that he can no longer write without getting violently ill. When he decides to visit the lake home, he hopes he?ll be able to write again, and when he does, it?s not what he thinks it will be. He ends up have to mourn not only his wife but a part of his life he never thought he?d lose. The custody battle is heartbreaking, as all are, but there?s a cruel aspect to it all that ties back very well to the area?s unfortunately well-known and well-hidden past.There are a few references to Daphne du Maurier?s Rebecca in Bag of Bones. I adored Rebecca and referencing it here only made my love of it stronger. Why not invoke a book with a ghostly aspect to enhance another ghost story? I know many people might stay away from an author like King and may not like horror/ghosts stories either. Well, in some ways this book is many of those things but I still want to encourage you to try it. It?s a good story with some extra supernatural parts to make it interesting. It?s more than its ghosts. In other words, it?s a keeper.
    • 4/5
      This is one of those books that I had been meaning to read forever but kept putting off in lieu of newer books on my list. The first third of the book kept my attention and made it impossible for me to put it down. I was speculating and making theories (all signs of a good books for me) and all of that good stuff. However, the last bit of the book sort of drags out and I had to struggle through it. Though, I'm not sure if it was really because the book itself was dragging or because I took on such a long book and didn't give myself any sort of breaks (I feel this is necessary to mention because sometimes I do need breaks or I feel like it's a chore, it's a bad book habit- I feel this is something readers would have to judge for themselves).All that being said, I enjoyed my overall experience and am glad I finally read the book.
    • 5/5
      Just finished this book, what a wonderful tale! King steps a little bit out of his usual box on this one and it turned out wonderfully. It does start out a little bit slow for the first 100 pages or so, but after that i couldnt put it down. It has multiple stories going on that in the end all connect and come together beautifully, another one of my favorates from King.
    • 5/5
      Stephen King has a way of making me afraid to read in the dark, and Bag of Bones was no exception. A great ghost story that I just did not want to put down. Likable characters, except those you're not supposed to like, and wonderful story telling as usual. I also loved the reference to Ralph from Insomnia.
    • 3/5
      I was caught up in this one earlier on than most S.Kings. In fact I was totally enraptured right up until the end. A few pages to go and I was saying, "Wow, Stephie, this is the old you. You scared my pants off, you tied it all together, and now you left me feeling good." Then he decided he needed to do something dramatic. I won't be reading this one again the way I have the Stand.
    • 5/5
      I was scared, moved and thrilled by this book. I wish the miniseries had been 1/10th as good...
    • 3/5
      This novel started out a little slow for me. I think sometimes you finish reading a really great book and when you move on to the next one, it takes much to impress you. I also listened to the audiobook read by Stephen King and I think because of this I could not get close to the main character Michael. I always stick to what I'm reading so I started warming up to all the characters mid way. My favorite was of course Sara Tidwell. She was raw and perfectly described. The end was okay, but I've had by better by Mr. King.
    • 5/5
      One of Stephen King's subtler, and best books. Love the historic setting and the very slow buildup to an excruciating climax.