I loved The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich. The story starts out as a missing person mystery and the main character, Mina, returns home after a lengthy absence to help an old friend who has a strange illness. You learn of Mina's past trauma and how it affects her current life while she tries to find out what's happening to her friend. The people of the town think Mina's mom is a witch because of her odd ways and she thinks her mom might be a witch too. Each chapter takes you to a different time to reveal the young girls being taken into a strange underworld of abuse by men and the vile things that happen to them there. This book keeps you reading with twists and turns that go from mystery to fantasy and finally, horror. I liked the connection between past trauma and Mina's OCD behaviors and how she was able to find healing through reconnection to her past. Bravo!

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬:
I absolutely DEVOURED this book—AND this is a debut?! WHOA! It was a chilling read that weaved a bit of horror, paranormal, thriller, and mystery. This is a modern retelling of Dracula (and I am a huge fan of all things Dracula!) and it did not disappoint. I really enjoyed all of the characters in this one and found them to be powerful, multi-layered, and complex with plenty of depth. The first chapter hooks you in and takes you on a wild ride filled with darkness, folklore, mythology, suspense, and a bit of ‘madness’. Kurtagich knows just how to get your attention, suck you into the story, and keep you guessing until the very end. I also really enjoyed how the author added in some mixed-media bits such as letters and tests—it made it fun and unique. If you are looking for your next fast paced and haunting horror read that will leave you on the edge of your seat then definitely check this one out!

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗜𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗘𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
✦Strong, badass female characters
✦Dracula retelling
✦A debut horror book
✦Darkness, folklore, mythology, suspense, and ‘madness’
✦Mixed-media (Such as letters and texts)
✦A book that keeps you guessing until the very end

𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4/5

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: Aug. 27, 2024

Dawn Kurtagich, author of the YA series “The Dead House”, brings a next level, paranormal horror with her new novel, “The Madness”.

Mina Murray is a psychologist, helping women suffering from trauma disorders. After suffering a trauma herself as a young woman, Mina left her hometown of Wales, leaving her mother, lover and best friend behind without a word. Now, years later, Mina’s former best friend, Lucy, reaches out with a desperate cry for help and, of course, Mina races to her side. After seeing Lucy and her illness in the flesh, Mina begins to recognize Lucy’s distinctly odd symptoms as they were also experienced by a patient of hers in London. But how have two very different women, who have never met, have in common? What is causing them to be so ill and how does it relate to the hundreds of other missing women around the globe?

“The Madness” is a modern retelling of “Dracula”, but Kurtagich brings her own brand of flair and passion to the pages. In this version, Jonathan Harkness is a jilted lover, gravely disfigured by a “dog” attack years before. Mina, too, has been traumatized so severely that she suffers from tics and compulsions in order to seek control. Take these two struggling, yet fascinating characters, add some age-old vampires (my favourite) and top it off with a sprinkle of the dangerous power of the patriarchy and you have “The Madness” in all of its glory.

Mina is the protagonist, and we learn, slowly, about who she is and what she went through in her past. But there is also an unidentified (at the beginning, anyway) woman who tells her story of what goes on behind the walls of the nightclub with no name and the strange but beautiful Castle in Wales. There are brief moments of female camaraderie in the darkness, and my heartstrings were definitely pulled.

“Madness” is a gothic horror, with a psychological twist. Vampires have been inundating our fiction for the last few years, but it is rare to come across a vampire story that is so creepy and entertaining and Kurtagich was able to pull it off. I hope to see more from Kurtagich, especially if she is going to continue to put her own spin on classics like “Dracula”, because she absolutely rocked it out of the park.

The Madness
Dawn Kurtagich
08/27/2024

“..womens traumas are treated as a kind of madness, something that takes a life of its own..”

Wow. Just wow. I made so many annotations on this one. Simply to go back and look up all the terms and the history that this book is steeped in. Dawn Kurtagich has embedded so much Welsh folklore that I am currently trying to book a trip to Wales and immerse myself even more. Let’s be real, the concept of the undead known as the vampire has wreaked havoc for at least a thousand years. There must be some truth to it!

Inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula we have Mina and Lucy. Best friends as children who have grown apart, but when Mina is called upon by Lucy, Mina will stop at nothing to get to her. Listen, I could talk about every aspect of this book for days, from the psychiatric ward to Mina’s mother, to the jaw dropping ending that left me saying --- oh yes!!!! Give me more! It is hard to write a review for a book that you want in hand without giving spoilers.

The Madness is immersive and the perfect blend of horror and paranormal mystery. I cannot wait to see what Ms. Kurtgich comes up with next!

Title- The Madness by @dawnkurtagich
Rating-
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I buddy read this with @fullybookedinkentucky and we got truly enjoyed this one.

I don’t typically read horror books with this element but I truly enjoyed this one. The writing was brilliant. The author’s use of paranormal and psychological elements, combined with Welsh mythology, folklore, and feminist themes, results in a fresh and intriguing perspective on the modern retelling of Dracula.

Synopsis:
Beware what waits in the shadows…

With one unexpected email from her estranged best friend, Lucy, Mina Murray’s carefully curated life is turned upside down. Leaving behind her psychiatric practice in London, along with her routine and the calm it brings, she returns to the windswept shores of Wales. Faced with everything she’s left behind, she soon discovers that Lucy’s symptoms mirror those of her mysterious patient with amnesia hundreds of miles away.

With nothing but an untreatable sickness connecting the two women, and with Lucy’s life on the line, Mina finds herself asking questions and being drawn ever-deeper into a web of secrets, missing girls, and the powerful, nameless force at its center—one that has been haunting her for years.

As terrible, ancient truths begin to reveal themselves, Mina prepares to confront her own darkest secrets, and with them, an evil beyond comprehension. Together with a group of smart, savvy women, Mina seizes one last, desperate chance to stop the cycle that began so long ago. But there are dangers to inviting the attentions of what might not be a man, but a monster…

Give this one a shot when it comes out on August 27, 2024✨

Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Press publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a quick, entertaining read about Mina, who suffers from her compulsions; trying to support a patient who presents with delirium and a strange rash. When an old friend reaches out with the same symptoms, Mina becomes involved in the hunt to uncover the connections between several missing women. I enjoyed the characters in this one and could absolutely picture this as a movie. There is a mystical element as well, which makes the story a little more entertaining in my opinion.

I truly enjoyed this read! It was a great way to bring a classic back to life, and had me on edge the entire read. I think the author did a great job setting the mood and making you get the creeps while telling this story.

“ I control the chaos. I tame the fear”

The Madness was enticing to say the least.

I was immediately drawn to Mina’s character. She lives this seemingly tame life and plays it safe but you can tell so much about the character through her internal monologue.

I am always a sucker for retelling and Dracula has always been my favorite. This followed the dark, mysterious and creepy vibes very well.

The mystery illness was interesting and it kept you wanting to continue to read to see what it’s all about.

Mina’s a deep character. Her OCD is controlling her and the way the author portrayed it is just the kind of rep mental illnesses deserve.

Mina having to return to her hometown to help her ex best friend uncover the reasonings for this mystery illness shows so much depth and growth in the healing of trauma.

Having to overcome trauma and learn to open back up and allow people into your life is a part of trauma that deserves recognition and Dawn Kurtagich gave this the grace it deserved.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publisbing for the eARC!

Definitely pick this one up, I hear the first edition will be extra pretty!!

Thank you net galley and to the publishers for this ARC. I really enjoyed this story. From the very first chapter I was hooked and I wanted to continue. Talk about a binge read. Great characters and plot. As the story went on things got even better and the ending was perfect. I highly recommend this book and I will be looking forward to what the author does in the future. 4 out of 5 stars !!!

Can we talk about this being aptly named? This whole book is madness! Within the past year, I’ve started reading more horror, and The Madness is a top tier creepfest. So much trauma and so much to wonder about throughout. This was haunting and I refused to read this at night. I loved the addition of the patient file reports and the depth it gave to the plot. I don’t want to say too much and give anything away but suffice it to say, I will be reading Kurtigach’s next book.

oh wow. i’ve been a HUGE fan of dawn kurtagich for years. i obsessed over ‘and the trees crept in’ for multiple years beginning with 7th-ish grade. i’m now going into my junior year of college. her adult writing style is similar enough to her YA books i loved so much that it still felt nostalgic. i was enrapture the entire book, excited to see what came next and if my theories were true. the triggering aspects were really well done, they weren’t graphic in a way that wasn’t needed and very clearly not for plot, but enough that we understood what was happening and the horror of it. Mina’s OCD compulsions were very interesting as well, i do wish there had been like one more paragraph showing how the somewhat aided her in the end as it felt almost like they were forgotten, even though i understood the connection. i really, really enjoyed this book. the mysteries were the perfect level of solvable as you’re reading to see what’s going to happen for some things but still have surprises and shocks. kurtagich remains one of my favorite authors for sure!!

Classic horror lovers are in for a treat with this modern and creative spin on an old favorite. Cleverly tucked between the pages of The Madness, readers can find nods to the original source material (that I will leave as a surprise), while also offering a fresh new story with a modern twist. The Madness had me spellbound from the first page and hooked until the last.

Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

The beginning of the book was quite engaging and interesting, with a Mina the likes of which I've never met before in a Dracula-inspired novel (retelling, shall we say). I found the middle of the story to somewhat lag, with some of the character interactions not really going anywhere in so far as the plot was concerned. The last act, however, was a pleasure to read. Not to mention that throughout, Dawn Kurtagich's writing is beautiful--and the folklore that is drawn from kept me interested from the start.

4 ⭐️ Enjoyed this modern retelling of Dracula. Fast paced and chilling, just what a horror novel should be! Great characters!!!

Set in London and Wales, the story is steeped in Welsh folklore. I love that the characters are named for the characters in Dracula. It took me just a bit to discover it!

Mina Murray is a psychiatrist who left her small village in Wales years ago. She left her mom, boyfriend, best friend and has some strange quirks too! Then a strange illness in a patient and a cry for help from her best friend Lucy, takes Mina back home again. A chilling tale follows with a race to stop the Fampir.

Thanks NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm going to be honest, it completely flew over my head that this was a Dracula retelling. I haven't read it yet, so I cannot make comparisons on that front other than the lore I know. Which, from my understanding, I do believe the author did a good job of. Also, I read this on kindle, so there were a few formatting issues, some of which I'm not sure were the author's style choices or just issues with uploading and formatting.

I liked the plot, and for the most part the style of writing. However, I did not like that there was no differentiation between POV and differing timelines. I am not sure if this was a style choice by the author or formatting issues with the kindle version. Other than that, the book wasn't bad! There was one plot twist I was not expecting.

Although I do not think I would read the book again, it is not something I regret reading.

A reimagining of Dracula with Mina as the protagonist with a little witchiness thrown in . When Mina living In London gets word that her friend Lucy is very sick she leaves her job in London to go help her. This book is thrilling , suspenseful and action packed. With all your favorite characters from the original . Must read for Dracula Fans

I really enjoyed this book. The Madness is a perfect mix of mystery, horror and suspense.
The main character, Mina, is a psychiatrist who is also dealing with her own mental turmoils. She's called back to her home town when an old friend asks her for help.
From there we pulled into mysteries surrounding missing girls, a strange illness, a gothic castle, and masked men with supernatural force at its center.
Would definitely be a great fall read.

Overall, a very fun read. 

Mina Murray is a London-based therapist who was recently assigned a client with some weird symptoms - hallucinations, amnesia, a weird rash, and calling someone Master. Then Mina gets an email from her childhood best friend in Wales; Lucy is sick and the doctor’s don't know why. She is desperate for help. When Mina arrives in Wales, she finds Lucy has similar symptoms. What is going on and how can Mina save Lucy’s life. 
I really enjoyed following this mystery with Mina and seeing what was at the center of the illnesses. I also enjoyed going between London and Wales. There was a lot I did not know about Wales folklore.
Sometimes I felt like it jumped around a bit - between flashbacks, Mina’s love life, and the actual case. I was also very surprised with the direction this book ended up taking, but I ended up enjoying the book alright.

“𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘵, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯’𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘣𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺.”

When Mina Murray receives an email from her estranged best friend Lucy, she leaves her psychiatric practice in London and returns to her home in Wales and the people she abruptly left behind years ago.

Teaming with gothic horror, enthralling prose, beautiful and horrific descriptions and with a complex female main character, The Madness is a beautifully written psychological horror that touches upon the effects of trauma and the mistreatment of women by society on a systemic level.

Mina is a complicated character that is initially gripped by her rigid mindset and the compulsions of her OCD, but as she attempts to assist Lucy and unravel the mystery of the illness that has afflicted her and several underprivileged young women, she is forced to confront her trauma and is able to both reconnect with her mother and her former love and develop new relationships with other women who share in her mission.

I also felt that The Madness could be viewed as an examination of the difficulties that women with chronic illnesses face in general, as they sometimes are left to suffer with debilitating symptoms due to a lack research or skepticism regarding their ailments.

The less known about the novel going in the better and there were some twists that I was surprised by. Thank you to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Graydon House Books and Dawn Kurtagich for providing access to this excellent ebook.

(Review has been posted on Goodreads 07/08/24)

That was… a lot.
I’ve been a HUGE fan of Dawn Kurtagich for years, so you would think I would be used to her intense writing and the horrifying themes incorporated into her books. But I found myself completely unprepared for Madness.
Plot Review:
First of all, this is not just a Dracula retelling or a Vampire book based solely on the horrors that these monsters create.
This is also a deep dive into the ways that women𑁋mostly “troubled” women𑁋are treated in today’s society. Especially when they go missing and police make assumptions or no one even bothers to go looking for them.
I was ready for a Vampire story, but not at all ready for how heavy this book would make me feel.
To summarize the plot: This book is about Mina Murray, a woman focused on controlling every single thing that occurs in her life. However, when a desperate friend seeks Mina’s aid, she is forced to return to her hometown and confront her past and the people she hurt. Along the way, though, she realizes that a dark conspiracy is tainting her hometown and killing innocent women.Together with other brave, fearless women, Mina seeks to stop this evil for good.
This book has a lot of focus on Mina working to resolve her past trauma and reconnect with the people she left behind in the wake of a horrendous attack that changed her forever. Of course, the Vampires are hovering in the background and take center stage at one point, but only after I had sped through a large chunk of the book.
For a book about Vampires, I was hoping to see them more explored. We get intense, but brief, descriptions of what they are like when Mina is actively fighting them, but I would have loved more to be developed about their characteristics. Especially since this book draws on what I believe is Welsh folklore and mythology. I loved that aspect, but using it to paint a better portrait of the Vampire species would have been appreciated and is one of the main reasons I took away a star.
The other big reason I did so pertains to the plot line involving Lucy, Mina’s close friend. This may be heavy on spoilers, but Lucy is turned into a Vampire. Which was interesting and I was kind of excited about that to be more explored or left open for a sequel.
But…
Mina kills Lucy.
So…
What was the point of even revealing that she is alive?
It felt strange and uncharacteristic of our main character to kill her, not to mention somewhat sloppy and overall unnecessary to the story.
Thankfully, this happened at the end of the book and didn’t spoil my overall enjoyment.
Characters:
Turning to the characters, I really enjoyed their diversity.
Mina was an interesting character to follow, especially. Mainly because we see her struggling with past trauma which has evolved into OCD and acute paranoia.
Not only that, though. I loved seeing how her experience had pushed her to help other women struggling through similar situations. Mina was a very compassionate character who truly wanted to help those overlooked by the system. Her character was amazing and inspiring, so no complaints there.
However, I wish we had explored Mina overcoming her OCD and paranoia. Instead, it was something chucked to the wayside after everything was over. Seeing her take it into hand and work to resolve her fears would have been a good way to end the story.
But, I guess we can’t have everything.
Concerning other characters, I loved how each woman had a unique and discerning voice and attitude. They all brought something interesting and new to the story, especially Mina’s mom, who is the first to mention Vampires in this story. She was the main conduit in which Welsh folklore and mythology was explored and I’m a HUGE folklore buff, so learning more about this was really fun and engaging for me.
Thanks, Mina’s mom.
Overall Thoughts:
This book was engaging and spooky, with a deeper meaning that penetrates deep. While I wish more was explored about Mina’s struggles and the Vampires so central to this story, I still adored Kurtagich’s story and the way she continues to bring horror to life.



Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the chance to review this ARC!