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Meat

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Alternative cover edition of ASIN B01LZM8T8V

Emmet has a vested interest in keeping his neighborhood respectable. When he sees strange individuals coming, but never leaving his neighbor’s house, he begins to suspect that something nefarious is going on. Now that he saw a small child walk in but never walk out, he and his wife Clara need to figure out what is going on. They will stop at nothing to rescue the innocent boy that is trapped inside before it’s too late.

50 pages, ebook

First published September 26, 2016

38 people are currently reading
115 people want to read

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Bones Monroe

40 books11 followers

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5 stars
34 (20%)
4 stars
66 (39%)
3 stars
42 (25%)
2 stars
17 (10%)
1 star
9 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
Profile Image for Mort.
Author 3 books1,633 followers
April 8, 2018
I'll admit it, I can be a bit of a sucker for dark humor.
Interesting story.
Profile Image for Gianfranco Mancini.
2,340 reviews1,074 followers
March 5, 2017
Vote: 3,5

Never judge a book by its cover...
I was expecting a "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" style gory story from synopsis and cover art, but this short tale was more a cheesy funny wicked and full of twists episode of "Twilight Zone"/"Tales from the Crypt" tv series.







Emmett and Clara are the perfect couple of neighbors you always wished for... and Clara's "Riverdance Retribution" made me laugh for good! XD

Not what I was expecting at all, but a real nice surprise.
Profile Image for Angel Gelique.
Author 19 books476 followers
February 6, 2017
3.5 stars, rounded up.

While spying on his neighbor Jason, Emmet notices that the meat he's cooking looks odd--nothing like the typical cuts of beef available at the market. He then discovers that people go into Jason's house but they don't leave. Suspecting foul play, Emmet takes it upon himself to investigate the matter more closely. He's certain that Jason is up to no good and he's determined to save his neighborhood from whatever mischief is afoot. But Emmet is about to regret his decision to interfere.

First, I have to say that the cover of this book does NOT fit the story! That's okay, of course, since you shouldn't judge a book by its cover anyway. But still...!

At first, I wasn't so fond of the author's writing style. I thought it was a bit too simplistic. But as I read more of the story, I became engrossed and curious to know what Jason was up to. Was he really as sinister as Emmet believed? What was he doing to the all the people who visited him but never left? What's the purpose of the mysterious box in his possession? No spoilers here--go read the book! :-)

This story is reminiscent of those wonderful Twilight Zone episodes--full of mystery and bitter irony. It was an entertaining, quick read.
Profile Image for Jeffrey Caston.
Author 11 books198 followers
March 6, 2021
I found this short story entertaining, but I ended up wanting to like it more than I actually liked it. It is creative and has some clever ideas. And there's a nice twist that I didn't see coming, so that speaks well of the writer's creative talent. But the narrative was a bit choppy. And it could have benefited from another read-through. The story is told largely through dialogue. We have three main characters, Jason, the person we think is the bad guy, but , which is really cool. Then there is Emmet, a nosy neighbor who . And Clara tries to indulge Emmet but then sorta sees his way. It relied on images created by the dialogue more than actual descriptions. Now, having read it all, that technique makes sense and I see now that was the right choice.

Despite some issues, I would recommend this for someone looking for a dark, but thought-provoking read. I was short enough you could get through it all in one sitting pretty easily.
Profile Image for Dez Nemec.
1,077 reviews32 followers
April 6, 2018
I found this book for free one day and I judged the book by its cover and bought it. Let's face it - that is a GREAT cover!

Jason has nosy neighbors. He can see them watching him with binoculars. But he knows that they are just looking out for the neighborhood to ensure nothing nefarious is going on. Besides, Jason has a job to do. And a large box in the basement...

Emmet and Clara (particularly Emmet) are those nosy neighbors. They know that Jason doesn't leave the house for work, and they have seen people coming in at all hours. So naturally he's selling drugs. Or himself. But regardless, that is not what is needed in a good neighborhood. Plus he seems to be eating some kind of weird meat...

I read this story thinking it could be going in 2 directions. Instead it took a hard left, skidded off the road, and flew into an open field. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was satisfying nonetheless.
Profile Image for Kay Oliver.
Author 11 books198 followers
December 5, 2017
This short story smashed together many elements, mystery, thrill, suspense, horror, moral and ethical dilemma, a blurred line between good and evil and a twist at the end. The characters seemed awfully cheesy and weak to me however though the story of the box was quite interesting.
Profile Image for Deb.
825 reviews27 followers
February 1, 2025
Great horror story!

This story was a quick read. It was quirky and fun! The ending kind of took me by surprise! I will read more by this author. Thanks to Bones Monroe for this read!
Profile Image for Ali  O.
786 reviews44 followers
November 30, 2024
Meat by Bones Monroe
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is a very entertaining and creepy horror novella. Emmett, the nosey neighbor, watches others go into Jason’s house, but they don’t come back out. Emmett wants to be a hero and save people, but his nosiness doesn’t pay off in this case. There’s some
This book provides a great amount of mystery, suspense and sadness too.
You can’t always tell who’s good or bad!
This is definitely an exciting and quick read!
Profile Image for Rainbeaux Harvest.
237 reviews5 followers
December 31, 2024
The 'Burbs,' one of my favorite movies. That is what I pictured in my head as I read this. I pictured Bruce Dern and Tom Hanks in the basement trying to find evidence of shenanigans. But the movie never ended like this story did. I think if the movie had ended like this book, it would have been 100x's better. It was a short read, but it got to the point. There are questions that could have been answered in the story, but having the final mysteries makes you want to read more from the author.
Profile Image for Nicole.
109 reviews8 followers
July 29, 2022
Book was ok

The theme of this book could have been amazing. The story behind it just was not there .
There was so many good details that could have given the story line so much power and could have been genuinely a creepy book .
Profile Image for Marbea Logan.
1,302 reviews17 followers
September 11, 2018
This book may have been short, but it was insightful and full of mystery and eye-opening drama. i agree with the author's interpretation of there book. the authors words are below. *d o not read spoilers*


Author’s Note

If you or anyone you know has been affected by cancer, you’ll agree, it sucks
ass! Yeah, people can beat it but its specter is always there, will it return? It’s a heavy
burden to bear. In a certain sense, cancer is forever. If not the disease, then the threat
of it.
That’s what this story is about. Healing. But healing with a price because you
know, nothing is free. So what price? Your memories…all of them. Your body is
made whole but your memories are erased. On the other side of the box (that’s another
story), who are you? If you lose all your memories, are you the person you were? In a
sense, did you die? If you agree that you do die when you lose all your memories,
then cancer won right? If you don’t die then, well, who are you? Where is your ‘you’
without your memories.
Maybe it’s not ‘I think, therefore I am’ but instead, “I remember, therefore I am”.
I think memories are more important than we give them credit for.
Profile Image for J.
3,965 reviews33 followers
November 10, 2024
This was a story that I happened to choose since the premise sounded interesting.

Otherwise Meat wasn't really a horror story but one in which you have in your head how the story is going to turn out. At the same time you are with Jason's (the protagonist) neighbors as they try to unravel the strange events that occur next door.

The story is told from multiple viewpoints thus it bounces from one to the other while always trying to skirt telling the true story. In the meantime you don't learn really anything about Jason but that the snoopy neighbors are rather in a toxic relationship with one another, which seems to resolve a bit towards the end of the book.

Otherwise the story honestly would be a bunch better if we could get some answers since the book is rather vague such as who is the shopkeeper and what is his relationship to the events, how did Jason come across his role and where did this contraption come from?

All in all it was an okay short read with a bit of a thrill, but no real horror for those who are looking for something quick to read.
239 reviews1 follower
September 4, 2017
I was blessed with a free copy of this book and have chosen of my own volition to share this review with you!

This novella (really short) truly challenges the mind. What is good? What is bad? Can actions that look bad really be good? This story caused me to think these thoughts.

People go into the neighbor's house, but don't come out. There is weird meat in the neighbor's basement. What is going on here...read this tale to find out!
Profile Image for Sea Caummisar.
Author 82 books1,386 followers
October 25, 2019
The cover of this book pulled me to it. Then the reviews boggled my mind. I had to read this short story for myself to see what the book was about. A guy is spying on his neighbor. Yes, the circumstance is odd, but there's an explanation for everything that I would not have guessed in a million years. There's one scene in particular where one neighbor beats another with a hammer. I liked that part. It was a very light read, and I guess parts were even funny.
Profile Image for S. Policar.
Author 24 books135 followers
September 22, 2025
The title of this is a little misleading imo. But, I guess it makes sense considering how the story starts. This is a short, so I can't really get into much without giving spoilers away, but I really liked it. It was has an old Monsters, Tales from the Crypt, or Tales from the Darkside episode vibe that I'm always here for. So if you like short horrors that make you think, grab a copy of this one.
Profile Image for Matt.
221 reviews16 followers
October 18, 2025
Jason is just your average suburbanite. Well, mostly. He offers a special service that seems to attract many people. They arrive, but they never seem to leave. His busybody neighbor, Emmet, is determined to figure it out. Sometimes things are better left unknown.

The story is quick and interesting. It has a very unique concept and the ending left me thinking (just how the author probably wanted). Definitely thought provoking.
Profile Image for Alina.
968 reviews7 followers
February 24, 2017
Whoa

Such a twist. I truly enjoyed reading this. Nothing was as it seemed. Such a creative and original idea for a story. A really good short read that will leave the reader pondering about perception. Definitely recommended.
Profile Image for Artist_carrie .
708 reviews11 followers
March 25, 2018
Well you know that old saying don't judge a book by it's cover this book proves it. I really liked this little story. I was given this book by the author and choose to review all of the above is my honest opinion.
243 reviews2 followers
April 10, 2018
What a horror story

This was a good horror story. It has the same base as his curious good stories. The main male character looks evil but is good. I just wish his stories were longer
96 reviews1 follower
December 27, 2018
Tiny deep story

This story actually made me think. I was thinking it was just a little horror story with some humor thrown in, it is. It is also much more, a twist ending and nothing is what it seems. It is a short read but definitely worth reading.
128 reviews2 followers
September 13, 2019
Very interesting

Not scary, but curious. Very curious. At the end of the books, there is an "Authors Note" which really makes you think & puts things into perspective. Really good story overall. And "Don't call me woman!"
Profile Image for Emeline.
72 reviews5 followers
January 23, 2024
This book had a great concept. It could have easily been a 4 star book. But the writing was atrocious at best, and had very poor editing. Everything was breezed over and there was a lot left to be desired.
Profile Image for Tara Durham.
200 reviews4 followers
November 6, 2024
Ok as for the story, it was a fun little story. I’m only knocking it because I felt like the cover and synopsis were somewhat misleading. I’m glad they didn’t give much away and spoil the story, but expected something way more gritty.
Profile Image for Ronald Keeler.
846 reviews37 followers
March 4, 2017
Meat by Bones Monroe has a strange, frightening, attractive cover. The author name could be a pseudonym, maybe not but it goes along with the cover. The combination attracts readers like me who favor horror and thriller books. What did I actually find? A benevolent "terminator." You will have to read the entire short story to find out how I interpreted this. You may disagree. At 50 pages and at a price of USD 0.00 (not Kindle Unlimited) it is an easy investment and an interesting time filler. The surprise is (and this is not a spoiler) the horror is almost not there. The "almost" is because there might be a few snippets the reader will think it is gross or yucky but the overall content is very tame. I was surprised.

Clara and Emmet are neighborhood busybodies. They really need to get a life. Absent that, the couple spies on neighbor Jason. They note that Jason has visitors but sometimes the visitors enter Jason's house and never exit. Clara is pretty accepting of whatever Jason is doing; he is not hurting anybody as far as she can see. Emmett, however, needs to feel he is doing something. Dean McHenry went into Jason's house and never exited. Emmett wants to know why and is determined to find out. At the same time he wants to enlist Clara's aid but she is unmotivated. How can he prove to Clara the existence of nefarious activities on the part of Jason?

Emmet is a man of action. Breaking into Jason's house he finds some evidence of unusual activity. If that wasn't bad enough, he observed neighbor Ingrid entering Jason's house with her son Matt. The boy didn't come out but Ingrid exited the house crying. That did it for Emmett. It was time for action. Entering Jason's house, Emmet fought Jason and succeeded in giving Jason a dose of his own medicine (not literally).

Jason has now disappeared. But the story is far from over. It will linger on in the lives of Jason's' "victims." But they were not really the victims of Jason. Who was responsible?

This is not a formulaic horror story. It is horror with a conscience and is quite unusual. This short story is appropriate for 15-year-old readers and up. Young adult readers might think some of the descriptions are more yucky than horrific.
Profile Image for Natasha.
92 reviews6 followers
June 11, 2017
4 stars only because parts were absolutely hilarious.
Profile Image for Brad.
834 reviews
September 15, 2017
Disappointing... I was expecting so much, and it barely delivered. I loved the premise and the mystery of "the box", but it just didn't do it for me.
Profile Image for Regina.
2,153 reviews37 followers
March 26, 2018
Could use some cleaning up with a good editor but I liked this original short story.
Profile Image for   Me  myself and random stuff.
68 reviews3 followers
August 22, 2019
wasn't as dark as I expected but then again I watch David firth so maybe I'm just desensitised to lumps of meat and stuff like that, the story was clever though and i enjoyed it
1 review
October 5, 2019
Great story

This story had me on edge the whole time, I look forward to reading more works of Monroe's making. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK !
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews

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