'Greater Sins' is a phenomenal piece of storytelling. Absolutely brilliant! Immersive and atmospheric, creepy and dark, it will stay with me for a very long time.

It's set mainly in 1915, in a remote farming community in the wilds of Scotland. When a woman's body is discovered in the marsh, a series of strange and sinister events occur. The two main characters, Lizzie and Johnny, are both strangers in a strange land. And both at risk of dark and dangerous forces.

This is historical fiction at its absolute best. I will definitely be reading anything Griffiths writes next...

This was a slow burn read that gradually pulled me in as Lizzie and Johnny, wife of the local laird and farmhand respectively, are drawn together over the discovery of an ancient body in a peat bog. Who was she? What happened to her? The superstitious Scots of their small Highland community begin to blame her for everything from the rain to the death of a local boy wounded in WWI, which is raging far away.
As the story unfolds, we learn the back stories of both Lizzie and Johnny, the coincidences that draw them together, and the tragedies that may ultimately pull them apart.
I liked the feyness of this story, the suggestion of superstition and witchcraft that pervades the pages. The unfolding plot pulled me in and kept me reading. But it was the characters of Lizzie and Johnny that really made me stick with the story. They're both so complex, flawed and vulnerable that you cannot help but let your heart go out to them and hope for a happy ending for them both.
The story is peopled with other characters, too, all trying to lead their best lives but distracted by challenges, petty differences, jealousies and resentments. They all add to the reality of the community and give a real sense of life in a small Highland village in the early twentieth century, portrayed without sentimentality or overegging hardship and poverty.
A really good read.

In 1915 Aberdeenshire, an isolated farming community find their hard lives complicated further by the discovery of a woman’s body in the peat bog.

Perfectly preserved, the peat woman sparks superstition and fear in the locals, especially as uncanny weather draws.

Lizzie, the neglected wife of a rich landowner gone to war, and Johnny, a nomadic singer and farm hand hiding from a past where he was called Jack, are thrown together by their discovery.

I had originally expected a crime novel from the premise. However, the story isn’t about the peat bog body at all but rather Lizzie and Johnny’s pasts.

A character-driven novel set in an eerie and desperate part of the land.

What an astonishing first novel! I absolutely loved ‘Greater Sins’ by Gabrielle Griffiths. Set during the early years of the First World War the novel conveys the tense brooding atmosphere of the highlands and a community where superstition is deeply embedded. It is community also where classes divisions are tightly drawn and the crossing of these divisions is frowned upon. All these factors combine and come to a head in a story that will draw you in.

Greater Sins by Gabrielle Griffiths is a haunting and atmospheric book that masterfully weaves together history, mystery, and the supernatural. Set in 1915 in the remote Scottish community of the Cabrach, Aberdeenshire, the story begins with the discovery of a perfectly preserved body in a peat bog. The body is unearthed by Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy local landowner, and Johnny, a nomadic singer and farm hand, setting off a chain of events that will unravel deep secrets and challenge the boundaries of right and wrong.

For Lizzie, the discovery brings long-buried questions about her own past, while Johnny, whose past is clouded with its own darkness, finds himself threatened by the unearthing of a history he has tried desperately to leave behind. As the two of them navigate their increasingly entangled lives, a series of eerie and unsettling events occur. These events seem to mirror the haunting echoes of the First World War, casting a long shadow over the already strained lives of the community. The isolation of the town, the harsh weather, a damaged soldier, and inexplicable occurrences all contribute to a growing sense of unease.

Griffiths has created a vivid and evocative tale that immerses readers in the time and place of early 20th-century Scotland, capturing both the beauty and the brutality of the community. The book takes on a gothic tone, exploring the darkness of human nature, the prejudice of an isolated society, and the damage caused by men’s bad behaviours. At its heart, Greater Sins is a story about the supernatural and the horrors people inflict on each other, set against the backdrop of war and societal constraints.

This powerful and thought-provoking book blends folklore, psychological horror, and a sense of creeping dread, making it a compelling read for those who enjoy dark, gothic fiction with layers of historical depth. The atmosphere is thick with tension, and the book's unsettling pace keeps readers captivated until the very end, leaving them questioning the line between the horrors of human actions and the supernatural forces that may haunt them.

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Greater Sins by Gabrielle Griffiths
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1915 an isolated Scottish community has been disturbed by the discovery of a perfectly preserved body in a peat bog. Lizzie the wife of a wealthy landowner and Johnny a farmhand are the ones to find her. A series of events occur ruined crops a young soldier returns home seriously injured, and stormy weather. Lizzie and Johnny try to quell the rumours that this has something to do with the body they discovered as the community look for someone to blame.

Suspicion, romance, and rumours. The atmospheric writing was intriguing as well as unsettling at times. Told from two points of view and two timelines we jump back and forth between 1905 and 1915 as we discover the past and present of the two main characters.

A great gothic debut by Gabrielle Griffiths!

What a wonderful debut novel this is! It showcases some wonderful subtle horror that certainly creeps up on you! Set in Aberdeenshire during WW1 this historical folklore novel is not one to miss! It reads very well & even with some typical Scottish dialect dotted in I didn’t struggle to understand what was going on! The characters felt very relatable & I truly enjoyed this one!

A debut gothic tale set in an isolated Scottish community during World War one. Sinister and atmospheric, it is a we l written debut novel.

What a talented author , for this to be Gabrielle Griffiths debut novel is exceptional. This unsettling novel engrossed me from the first page and held me to the final sentence. Creepy and delightfully gothic.

A dark, gothic folk tale wrapped up in the rumblings of WWI, the bad behaviour of men and the prejudices of an isolated Scottish community where the discovery of a body, buried in a bog unleashes nightmares and excuses for terrible behaviours. This is a powerful little novel that splits horror between what beleaguered people do to each other and the supernatural.

Richly written, great characters. It just took me a little while to get into it. Thank you to the author. publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this.

This was very atmospheric and enjoyable! Must say I didn’t realise how much romance would be involved but, as someone who usually struggled with this being too heavy handed, I had a good time with it. It was full of the intrigue and melodrama that I wanted from a book with such a setting and was very haunting and suspenseful at points. Weird that this is the second book I’ve read this year with a bog body featuring heavily, but I won’t complain. I was a spooky and fun concept.

If you like a closed-in, sinister rural feeling, with a hint of something supernatural, or simply mass hysteria, then this is the book for you. When the powerless are made to feel even less able to control their lives, who will they blame, and what extremes will they go to?

In rural 1915 Scotland, in a farming community, something sinister is found under the peat: a box with a desiccated woman with long red hair inside. Found by Lizzie (wife of the landowner of the area, who had just gone off to war) and Johnny (a travelling singer who is looking to put down roots) brings the Bog Woman down from her grave and into the village, and then trouble starts to happen. Weather-ruining crops, bad dreams and sleepless nights flowing through the farms, people begin to blame the Bog Witch and want her gone. But Lizzie and Johnny want the truth about her, and they want to fight to prove people's superstitions are baseless.

It's a great story set against the backdrop of World War One, where superstitions are king, and you can feel the tension and hysteria ramping up the whole way through. A great story!

1915, the Cabrach, Aberdeenshire. Cabrach is an isolated Scottish community, and the storyline is set partly during the early years of WWI.

The locals of Cabrach have reluctantly begun to wave their menfolk off to war, but in the meantime, Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy local landowner, is collecting moss with another woman from the village to be used in bandages for the army, when they come across a box buried in the peat bog, and when they look inside they find the perfectly preserved body of a young woman. The body is lifted from her final resting place by Lizzie and Johnny, a nomadic farmhand, known for his charm and loved for his singing and storytelling in the local inn.

The community however, is uneasy with the discovery, especially as everything starts to go wrong soon after - there’s the atrocious weather that ruins badly needed crops, a young soldier returns from war, badly hurt both physically and mentally, and there are unexplained events to contend with too.

Beautifully written, this debut novel flitting between 1905 and 1915, (where we learn more of Lizzie and Johnny’s pasts), is steeped with suspicion, fear, passion and Scottish folklore.

Gabrielle Griffiths writing skills are impressive - her descriptions of the landscape are such that you can almost smell the faintly organic odour of soft peat. The opening paragraph in particular, describing Johhny’s whisky drinking ritual, totally held me in its thrall. The characters themselves are blessed with a strong sense of individuality, and, together with a storyline that is both atmospheric and emotional, it gripped this reader right from the off. Recommended.

I really wanted to like "Greater Sins" by Gabrielle Griffiths but I couldn't get into it. I found the male character names (Johnny / Jack / James) too similar so found it difficult to follow at times. The folkloric element, about the preserved woman found in the bog, did intrigue me and how she haunted or affected the local community. Apart from that I struggled.

Set in a remote Scottish community during World War I, where the discovery of a preserved female body in a peat bog shocks the small, close-knit community of the Cabrach.
The story follows Johnny, a labourer and folk singer, and Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy landowner whose lives become unexpectedly linked as the mystery unfolds.

A hauntingly beautiful debut that combines history, superstition, and human frailty into a gripping and atmospheric tale. I look forward to reading whatever the author writes next!!

Greater Sins is a triumph; an accomplished debut from an author confident in her craft. It’s so beautifully written and from the outset I was immersed in the setting, watching and listening as events unfolded. The pace is leisurely which is exactly as it should be for a story set near the start of the First World War, in a small Scottish community. It’s introspective, claustrophobic and a real puzzle. A preserved body of a female is found in the peat bogs. It’s removed by Johnny, an itinerant labourer come folk singer and Lizzie, wife of a wealthy landowner. The discovery is, of course, a significant talking point as the locals consider who it may be, why she’s there and are there links to ancient folklore and customs?

The characters are really distinct. Johnny has a language of his own, but easy to understand even for those who aren’t Scottish. Lizzie is very different and it becomes clear that there are secrets to be revealed and connections to be made which will link people and events in the most unexpected ways. It’s multilayered and such a satisfying read. I love the artwork and colouring of the cover. It’s dramatic and there’s a hint of darkness in the woodcut style image. Certainly draws the eye and I hope this will be a huge success. An author to watch out for. My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

Although a bit bit of slow burner, it is well worth sticking with this book. Beautifully written and truly a masterpiece.

What an emotive debut novel this is, which held me in its thrall from beginning to end. Based in a small Scottish rural community in the early years of WWI, it is suffused with folklore, betrayal and jealousy. Revolving around the discovery of a perfectly preserved woman's body in a peat bog, the story expands into a tale of raw human emotion that is dark but exquisitely emotional. Griffiths' naturalistic writing style reminded me strongly of both Thomas Hardy and Benjamin Myers, and I became totally immersed in the inner and outer lives of her characters, playing out against the backdrop of war. Just wonderful...

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this book for free, in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts are my own and I was not paid to write this.

May 1915, The Cabrach, NE Scotland
The Cabrach is an isolated, small community where folk linger over their peaty whisky, wave lads off to war, where much is observed and later discussed with lively banter. Here, we meet Johnny, a nomadic labourer who sings for his supper and Lizzie, wife of the wealthy local landowner who lives in Blackwater House. The apparent peace of the area is disturbed when a preserved female body is discovered buried in the peat. Is it a ceremonial burial like many other peat bodies or something more recent and sinister? Two timelines, two points of view as their stories entwine in unexpected ways.
This is a very powerful and beautifully written debut from Gabrielle Griffiths. The setting positively oozes atmosphere, where a small community comes under a spotlight and so it's very intense as a consequence and also claustrophobic as so little is missed. The backdrop of war adds to the atmosphere, as although it's far away its presence hangs over the community and is deeply felt.
I love the way it's told, Lizzie's narrative is very different to Johnny's which contains much local Scottish vernacular which is totally suited to his character and social status. Although some of the words used are new to me, it's not hard to work out their meaning. What emerges is a complex, character driven tale of relationships, with a portrait of a marriage, of people trapped by their past or by circumstance. There are a multitude of secrets and duplicity alongside a vivid portrayal of a community steeped in superstition and folklore, all under the watchful eye of the Kirk. The characterisation is exemplary as they spring to life in full technicolour. The storytelling becomes grittier, darker and more mysterious as the novel progresses and as pasts connect and coalesce.
Overall, this is a very well written evocative tale, capturing people, time and place colourfully.