Member Reviews

I thought it was really interesting way of having the story unfold from the perspective of multiple villagers with different motivations. The ending was superb.

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The Hounding is the perfect winter read! I've so enjoyed this dark, brooding, strange story of five sisters - Anne, Elizabeth, Hester, Grace and Mary - orphans living with their elderly, blind grandfather. The sisters become the subjects of unsettling rumours, and strange secrets, and as the novel unfolds unearthly things seem to happen. Fear sweeps through the girls' village, fuelled by misogyny and fear and ignorance. The fate of the sisters hangs in the balance, resulting in a tense, quietly thrilling reading experience. It made me think about how the world has historically viewed women, especially certain women who don't comply with the usual order of things, as somehow threatening, and how this needs to change. I will certainly read more by this author.

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The Mansfield sisters are for sure a force to be reckoned with. Anne, Elizabeth, Hester, Grace and Mary see no need to conform to expectations of behaviour outside of their home, the girls all in mourning remain dressed in black, a shadow in the periphery. There is fear in the unknown and what a perfect demonstration.

The narrative brings multiple POVs from the residents of Little Nettlebed, and you gradually come to know the girls through glimpses and fleeting interactions, rumours and gossip. This of course as well as the residents themselves: there’s the men, then there’s Temperance. Like her namesake, the embodiment of moderation and reason, an ally in a swarming mob.

The sisters each have their own remarkable personalities. Anne is the one most people talk about. Anne resembles the motherly force in the household. As the eldest sister, she has a bewitching effect on so many, with men often ending up treating her (and any sisters in her company) in a rude, demeaning and aggressive manner in response to a perceived ominous force. (How dare a woman have any power/influence/impression over a man.) That is until Thomas comes to understand her beauty - after all it appears it is not something you notice, but something you come to learn.

This is a tale of the relentless pursuit of the Mansfield sisters, from a man’s word, in light of a sighting, a rumour entrenched in the unholy, that is sure to send a shiver. A tale where it is better to be a hound than an unwell woman.

I cannot express how much I loved so many parts to this book, I could keep going on and on, I’m trying to restrain myself so you all actually read this far.

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC - what an absolute treat this was! I absolutely recommend you all read this.

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The Hounding is an electrifying debut that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go until the final page. Xenobe Purvis masterfully weaves a tale of mystery and psychological tension, creating an atmosphere so thick with dread you could cut it with a knife.

The protagonist is hauntingly relatable, caught between the sinister pull of the past and the chilling realities of the present. Purvis’ prose is razor-sharp, vivid, and evocative, painting a world that’s as eerie as it is immersive. Every twist and turn is meticulously crafted, keeping you on edge and guessing until the jaw-dropping conclusion.

This book isn’t just a thriller, it’s a deeply unsettling exploration of guilt, obsession, and the lengths to which we go to protect our secrets. The Hounding will stay with me for a long time. A true gem of modern suspense.

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Told via multiple POVs, and reminiscent of Virgin Suicides, this is the story of Mansfield sisters, who are too much for their small village men.
The themes and the concept/premise are interesting. Purvis’ craft is great, especially considering this is a debut novel.
As for the plot and characterisation, I wanted more focus, clarification and exploration. I understand that how the society perceives these young women was the main point, however when we have multiple POVs, the focus shifts at times.
3.5 stars.

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I did enjoy this novel but wanted more. I felt the ending came abruptly and it could've benefited from being longer and more detailed. For example, I felt like the sisters themselves had very little character development and remained distant to the reader - I found myself more interested in the lives and relationships of other characters such as Robin and Richard, Temperance and John, and Thomas and his brothers/family. I found the repeated refrain that it was preferable that the girls to be dogs than 'disobedient' females to be heavy-handed and over-egged - one would hope the reader could make that inference for themselves.

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The Hounding tells the story of five sisters living in a village who are accused of turning into dogs. It's told from the perspective of the people around them including their grandfather, the pub landlady, and the ferryman. I can see the comparison to the virgins suicides with this framing, and the crucible with the mass hysteria that can get whipped up when conditions are right. Overall I enjoyed it, even if I would have enjoyed seeing the perspective of the sisters themselves.

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Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

This is an eery novel set in the small village of Little Nettlebed in 18th century Britain. We follow a family of five young sisters living alone with their blind grandfather, having recently lost their grandmother, and the villagers around them spreading rumours that something is not as it seems with these girls.

The notion that these girls can turn into dogs originates from the drunk and unreliable town ferryman who glimpses something strange in the distance and is then fuelled on over time by other accounts. We watch as the townspeople (men), begin to conspire together that despite the hardship these sisters have experienced there is an unexplained weirdness that they will not let go. In no time a group of sisters is transformed within the imaginations of these townsfolk from innocent young girls to a pack of wild dogs.

It is never truly revealed as to whether these sisters are truly turning into dogs, and I don’t think we need to know. It would have been nice to have more material from the perspective of the sisters, to see their dynamics and the feminine urges and rages they must be experiencing as the refuse to back down from the villagers accusing them.

Themes of group conformity, misogyny, prejudice, and patriarchal suffering.

Overall, a really enjoyable read, I would say it is a mix between The Virgin Suicides and Lapvona. Definitely recommend, a fantastic debut.

FAVOURITE QUOTES:
“She thought about what they all went through each day: the great, gruelling trial of being a woman in a world governed by men. How painful it was, and how humiliating.”

“The old thought returned to him, that he’d rather they were dogs than damaged girls. He’d rather they were free than confined by him.”

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I can’t believe this is a debut! The writing was mesmerising and haunting, Purvis managed to capture the essence of summer and the stifling heat so well. I really enjoyed the switch in narrators and the unreliability of it all. As readers we never truly know if someone is perceiving something as true, we’re just as lost as the villagers. The sisters, their grandfather and the other characters were such vivid people that this felt like a movie playing in my head. Dizzying and addictive this was a fantastic story with such an interesting premise.

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This book is a masterpiece. A hauntingly beautiful story of superstition and how it is rooted in misogyny. Set in an 18th century small village on the River Thames, the book tells the story of 5 sisters after the loss of their parents and grandmother through the viewpoints of different people within the village. The girls are suspected of changing into dogs and terrorising the town, stemming from accusations by the deeply chauvinistic ferryman. A reflection on how women are expected to fit into prescribed gender roles, and how society falls to pieces when they don’t. I loved it.

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‘We went out when we weren’t supposed to, we were too free, and this - all of this - is our punishment. It has nothing to do with us becoming dogs, and everything to do with the fact of us being girls.’

In eighteenth-century Oxfordshire, in the oppressive heat a neurosis is strife in Little Nettlebed concerning five sisters: Anne, Elizabeth, Hester, Grace, and Mary live in a nice home on the outskirts of the village plagued by the recent death of their grandmother and matriarch as their parents are dead. Despite their significant loss, people in the village find the girls sense of connection with one another and unconventionality gives the locals plenty to gossip about. Joseph, the girls’ grandfather is a sweet, yet old man, struggling with the decline of his sight whilst trying to raise the girls and keep his property in order with the help of maids and a new farmhand Thomas. One of the main complainants of the girls’ behaviour and strangeness is started by Pete Darling, a ferryman who works transporting villagers from one side of town to the other, and his religious fanaticism seeds a evil belief of why the Mansfield girls are strange. A fascinating and fast pace reflection on the strangeness of women, and ultimately the strangeness of how mere girls being unconventional threatens society itself.

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This engaging examination of superstition, suspicion and misogyny in a small village in early 18th century England is absolute dark perfection.
On one level, there's beautiful and evocative nature writing that conjures up a tranquil pastoral scene. This soons turns rotten and sinister when the Thames dries up in a heatwave and fish are dying on the riverbed.
On the next level is the village itself , burdened by poverty, male violence and drunknesd. It's an oppressive society, dicated to by the chiurch and by tradition where people are expected to fit onto ascribed roles.
Then there are the young women and girls who are rumoured to be morphing into dogs.
The five sisters of the story are vividly drawn and unforgettable, as are the whole cast of characters. The grotesque foibles and insular notions of the area and its people are cleverly depicted. The sense of time and place is engaging and immersive.
This is a deeply atmospheric book with a riveting storyline. I loved this. What a stunning debut.

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