As someone who is intrigued by folklore, I found this book to be a captivating read. The author skillfully infused Scottish mythology with his own creative spin, making the creature we encounter much more terrifying than the original folklore. Even more impressive, the origin of this being was thoughtfully explained, adding an often overlooked layer of depth to the horror genre. Despite its shorter length, the pacing was spot-on and I never found myself bored. The writing flowed nicely and was easy to read, with realistic dialogue that added to the overall authenticity of the story.

One of the best aspects of this book was the vivid atmosphere it created. I was fully immersed in each situation and could easily picture everything in my mind's eye. However, I did wish that the author had delved more deeply into the strained relationship between Beth, her sister Zoe, and their abusive father. While it was mentioned, their emotions and feelings towards their father were not explored enough. Additionally, I felt that Zoe was included simply as a plot device and could have been given more depth as a character.

A big thank you to Keith Thomas and NetGalley for the arc.

The Dunnie, a horrible and beastly creature, supposedly based on English-Scottish folklore, is a creature that personifies our worst habits. While the book makes for good reading as a tale of horror, it misses out on a deeper characterisation of Asher, his days at school, and his grief and rebelliousness.

Mary Schwob Arceneaux wakes up in the middle of one night in 2008 to discover that Frank, her husband, a man who has abused and belittled her for 24 years, is not in bed. When she goes looking for him in his favourite room, the library, she finds him engaged in a bizarre ritual with Terry ‘Goat’ Pratt, a man she detests as much as she detests Frank.

Fourteen years later, Frank has dementia and is losing control. His daughters, Zoe, with partner Faith, and Beth, with her 12-year-old son Asher, have returned home to help put his affairs in order.

Asher’s school has threatened to expel him over various infractions. Beth hopes that spending time with his grandfather and playing in the woods around their home will help calm him, and save him from inheriting the rage of his grandfather, once an abusive brute who mysteriously turned benevolent around the time of Asher’s birth.

Lonely and despised by his family, Frank underwent an occult practice to rid himself of his anger. The anger was expelled from his body and took the shape of an evil creature, the Dunnie, that needed to feed on small animals to stay alive.

Now the Dunnie has grown and her anger has increased and Asher's grandfather can no longer control the creature. Will Asher succeed in keeping his family safe?

Speaking of the curiosities in his grandfather’s collection, Asher says, “They’re not so bad,” to which Beth responds, “In the daytime, they’re not.”

Another time, when Asher says, “Pa never really seemed to care much about money,” Beth says, “When you’ve got enough of it, you don’t.”

In the best traditions of the horror genre, we are moved to care for Asher, who is hurting and misunderstood. In the same vein, Beth disregards Asher when he sounds the voice of alarm

Asher gets into trouble at school. He is unable to process his grief in the wake of his father’s death. We are not told who his father is, or how he died, which is a big omission in the family’s back story. Clearly it’s important, since Asher is unable to cope at school.

Since so much of the story hinges on Frank’s anger issues and his belittling of his wife and children, it would have been great to actually see that angry display of rage, set against the vision of the lovely grandfather that Asher knows. Both these significant personality changes are only told to us, never shown.

Also, Mary is missing from the present-day events. We learn much later that she has died. Again, an omission. Since she was the one to bear witness to the strange ritual that changes Frank, she should have been around to experience this difficult time.
Mary had the makings of a good character.

In fact, after Mary’s death, none of the living female characters are strong enough. It is only the men who make things happen, including Frank, Asher, Goat, the strawman.

Apparently Frank attaches as little importance to women. Why else would he burden a 12-year-old boy with information about the Dunnie? Such a serious matter should have been shared with his two adult daughters and yet when Asher asks him why he won’t tell his mom and aunt Zoe and the police, Frank says the police would not believe him. He has nothing to say about Beth and Zoe.

Ironically, the Dunnie, the beast of a monster goes by the pronouns she and her.

I liked the writing, especially the bits about the house and Goat’s house and the strawman. In fact, I found the strawman scarier than the Dunnie.

The Dunnie was a great horror novel, but I would have liked it to go beyond. The issues relating to anger, grief, domestic abuse, dementia, even the soul and its significance, remain unaddressed.

The book also includes an excerpt from the author’s next book in the series, The Mutter.

Stories need to be dangerous, Pa tells Asher. This one certainly is.

What if you could completely remove a negative part of your personality? Would you do it? What if it created something horrific that you were forced to live with and care for the rest of your life? That's what Asher and his family are up against when they go to visit his grandfather. Dealing with the onset of dementia, Pa isn't who Asher remembers him to be. But there's also something horrific in the house with him as well.

I really enjoyed this novella. It was a page-turner, and I couldn't wait to find out how it ended. The descriptions of the Dunnie were horrific and spine-tingling. I read parts of this at night, and definitely had to pause until the next day because I was getting freaked out. I was really pleased to read that Keith Thomas is planning additional stories based around the same town and character. I finished the story and still wanted to know more about Goat. Who he was, what his story was about. I am really looking forward to reading more work by Keith.

A surprisingly unsettling little horror novel that slowly creeps up on you then kicks the freaking chair out from under you...so strap in people.

This was a fun and enjoyable horror novel that I'm glad I took the time to read. The characters are relatable. The horror is frightening. And there's never a dull moment. Highly recommended.

Solid 3.5 rating. Interesting plot, fleshed out characters and fast paced. Read this in one day. Would love to see it continued as more folk horror Irish tales. A writer to keep an eye on.

Wow. This book had some blurbs that I liked, so thought I would try it. Great choice. This book had very enjoyable characters, and a great story with great pacing. I really enjoy stories with folklore included, plus it was very well written. Can't wait to read more from Keith Thomas. #thedunnie #NetGalley

Do you think that your emotions can take a shape? well it can according to The Dunnie.

The Dunnie is based in English-Scottish folklore. Asher, a problematic twelve year old boy travels with his mom to his grandfather’s house. His 'Pa', as he calls him, used to be an ill-tempered man, age changed him - according to his mum and aunt zoe. Unfortunately, he's starting to suffer from dementia. His two daughters agree that he has to go to a retirement home. One day, Pa tells his grandson that he can't leave his house, he has to stay there to feed the Dunnie. His grandson thinks that this is all part of his dementia and ignores him.that is, until he listens to a ragged breathing coming from the vents inside his grandfather's home.

When trying to feed the Dunnie with a sheep, Pa gets stopped by his daughter. He argues with Asher that it's been two weeks since he last feed the creature. That's when everything goes sideways.

The author crafts a compelling and eerie tale. I felt like me too in the Pa’s house and I could hear the breathing. But I wanted to know about this strange Goat guy and what was his business with the scarecrow. But anyway,The writing is great. The atmosphere gets into scary territory, and fast! The Dunnie alone is terrifying! I truly recommend this one to horror fans

This was fine! The characters were a bit flat, but the central monster was very scary and the conceit of the monster is an interesting take on domestic violence.

I didn't like this book at all. Kind of corny. It's sad because I really enjoyed this authors film.. it does have a monster in it that's rooted in Jewish folklore.

This book hit the spot for me. For a horror novella the length of the book (145 pages) didn't take away from characters, action, or the thrill. I love how Keith Thomas used folklore & magic to create the Dunnie and his imagining of it's physical appearance.

The MC Asher is struggling with behavior and school, so his mom Beth brings him along to Pa's house. Asher soons find out there is a monster in the house and has the responsibility thrust onto him to help his grandpa kill it.

A part of the story I found thoughtful was Asher coming to terms with the Dementia, that he will be saying goodbye to the grandpa he knew. He ponders the disease, how it progresses, and how it must feel for the person with it. The dementia plays into the story as Pa will sporadically forget about the Dunnie lurking in the house.

If you enjoy folklore/dark magic, monsters, or horror anthologies (like Masters of Horror or Cabinet of Curiosities) you would enjoy this novella.

5⭐

CW: gore, domestic violence (mentioned)

4 stars

Published: 10/31/22

**ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
#NetGalley #TheDunnie

**Note to publisher/editors. At 86% when Faith is being dragged down the front steps, it says "her feet" which is not possible at that time.**

Basics
genre: horror, novella
setting: ancestral home in a small town
themes: generational trauma, inherited rage, family

Characters
Frank: abusive husband turned mellow grandfather
Beth: Frank's younger daughter, Asher's mom
Asher (mMC): Beth's son, middle school aged
Zoe: Frank's older daughter
Faith: Zoe's girlfriend
Terry/"Goat": Frank's creepy friend
Mary: Frank's deceased wife

Pros
+ dark rituals & animal sacrifices
+ creature feature
+ gore
+ souls removed through sinking hands into skulls
+ removal of emotions creates physical, horrific form
+ the house is a cabinet of curiosities, with animal heads, creepy paintings, bones, books, and everything macabre built into its insides
+ creeping atmospheric vibes
+ heavy breathing in the vents reminds me of how you can hear Australian possums gasping outside at night. Scared the sh*t out of me when we first moved to Australia.

Cons
- that freaky deaky cover giving me nightmare fuel (which is appropriate for the book, I just hate it personally)

Comp Recs: Strangled by Marie Ann (some entity in the house structure)

TW: emotional and verbal abuse, dementia, gore

While I originally thought was a basic monster tale actually ended up being really cool. The set up made me worried but the creature itself was actually scary and everything around the stopping of it was very interesting and done quite well.

Without knowing anything about this book, I can safely say that the cover drew me in and creeped me out at equal measure.
This was a quick read that does the job of unsettling you quite good. I liked the main character, who was a young boy getting to know the concepts of grief and seeing those around you growing old. His coming to terms with family relationships between his mother and her own family merged well with a folkloric evil that terrorized them all. There were parts I felt really creeped out, and parts where the story made me really sad.
I’d be on the lookout for more work from this author, from what I gather, he wrote stories like this one and I’d love to know what he did with some other themes.
Recommend this one if you like horror and look for something easy and quick.

It fills the void for existential folk-lore horror that has you absolutely sure this is a real thing that can get you in the corner of your room while you're reading. It's an interesting take on the English-Scottish tales and gives them an entirely new meaning of creepy. Our author essentially explores what all horror usually does, and how abuse and trauma can affect our minds, body, and soul. Letting in the wicked and grotesque to scare us into being a new person once it's over. It was a good fast-paced read with intense descriptions of what was happening around our main character. I'm sure our monster's description could scare quite a few people if they didn't know what they were getting into! I gave it 3 stars but I would actually say more like 3.5 if I was able to rate it that here. I enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. A lot of the characters are hard to feel for and sometimes it felt a bit pointless with what they're doing. I think that's why I didn't do the full 4.

The Dunnie is unlike any other book that I have ever read, both for the good and the bed. While extremely unsettling in places, the author does an excellent job of pulling the reader into the story and keeping them there. I would definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings ahead of time though.

Pretty fun quick read. Had a few gory spots which I wasn't expecting, pleasant surprise. Only complaints is the kid seemed older with some of his dialogue and actions and the ending felt a little too quick or cut short. Overall I enjoyed it and would recommend.

Asher is a 12 year old boy going to stay at his senile grandfather's (known to him and his mother as Pa) house till his mother finds a suitable care facility to move Pa to.

In one of Pa's more lucid moments he tells Asher about the thing living in the vents in the walls. It's the Dunnie, and Asher can see it too, Asher also witnesses his Pa dragging a sheep into the house in the middle of the night.to feed it. he's been forgetful lately and its getting hungry. Who knows what or who it's going to eat next...

The ideas in this book are a lot more effective than the the writing. There's a really scary book to be made out of the ideas in this, but this book isn't it.

It's a clever twist on an old Cronenburg movie plot that should have worked much better than it did,

The main reason for that is the workmanlike prose. there's no atmosphere built at any stage. Asher doesn't ring quite true as a 12 year old, Pa's Alzheimer's seems to switch on and off as is convenient for the story and the big finale doesn't feel as dramatic or tense as it should be.

The book starts with three full chapters set more than a decade before the events of the main narrative to give some explanation for later events. The resulting shift forwards in time, and the switch of central character felt like an awkward leap after three chapters. Maybe it would have felt less awkward as one long prologue (which is what it actually is), or even inserted as flashback chapters later on... As chapters 1,2 and 3, it felt wrong.

Having said all that, I'm probably overanalysing it. since the other book I'm reading at the moment I read this on my phone when I found myself with time to kill and my other book not with me) is very heavily stylised and in depth, while this is a quick easy read. I was never bored while I was reading it so it did its job in entertaining me while I was reading it and I can't fault that. At only 120 pages it certainly doesn't outstay its welcome.

If you're looking for a quick and easy read, there's no reason not to go for this. It has some genuinely good scary ideas floating around even if they're not given the oomph they should have. Maybe it should be marketed more as a YA book, then people are more likely to overlook the flaws (I know I would be).

The Dunnie tells the story of Asher, a kid that has trouble in school and his mother visits Pa, Asher's grandparent whose memory is fading. Asher remembers Pa with affection and love, something Beth, his mother, can't relate since Pa wasn't a good father to her. But when they arrive at Pa's house, Asher notices something is wrong, not only with Pa but with the thing that's hiding inside the vents.

Interesting concept, I liked the folk around the story but the writing style wasn't my thing, I'd love to read the mutter next thought.

This is the first horror novella that had me fear-sweating in a hot second and looking at the cover, it’s easy to see why. The premise was well thought out, the characters well rounded and tangible and the dunnie will absolutely be hiding in my nightmares in the future.

THE DUNNIE
By Keith Thomas

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to review!

Super creepy novella.

A mother and son have to visit grampa's house to assist him due to his worsening dementia. Upon their arrival Asher, the grandson, hears strange noises in the heating vents and asks his grandfather about it. When the old man's mind is working, he is able to warn Asher about the Dunnie but, time is running out because they are moving him into a nursing home and grampa's mind is quickly diminishing.

He has been keeping a monster at bay all of these years by feeding it and keeping it locked up but now his health is failing and the Dunnie is getting very hungry. Asher must find a way to destroy the monster before it kills his family and only his grampa and a creepy character named Goat can help him with the answers he needs.

Fun and scary read. English-Scottish folk lore horror.