The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis is a tense, atmospheric debut that masterfully builds dread with every chapter. The remote setting adds an eerie backdrop to a story filled with psychological twists and unsettling revelations. Purvis crafts a slow-burning narrative that rewards patient readers with a deeply haunting payoff. It's a gripping read for fans of quiet horror and psychological suspense.

I was very kindly sent this galley by a publicist, and I must say I was very pleasantly surprised! It's not that I didn't find the premise of this book to be interesting, but rather that I've read a lot of stories in this realm (in one way or another) very recently, so I was expected to be burnt out, but instead I found Purvis's writing to be so captivating and compelling that I binged most of it on my CTA rides in two days. I think what's most special about this book is that it's told around the girls, and that isn't a common thing we see in a lot of literature today. Obviously, The Virgin Suicides is a great example of this, but this is different to me because of how gracefully it perches on the themes of how women and girls have been preyed on in the past, how alcohol influences even the best of us, and how utterly helpless people become at the feet of gossip and rumor. I really, really enjoyed this and hope it does well in August!!

I book that I just couldn't put down. I love the vivid descriptions throughout the book. It truly meets the suggestion that it's The Crucible meets Virgin Suicides.

Man, this was GOOD. I particularly love all of the "unhinged-young-woman" books that have been buzzing around in the last ~5 years, and this was an excellent addition to the club. Can't wait to see what comes next from Xenobe Purvis.

"The Hounding" is everything I need in a book. There was alternating POV's focusing on religious zealotry, alcoholism, magical realism, lust, love, aging, toxic masculinity and the feminine divine. I was already sold on the description "The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides," and I see it: the five headstrong Mansfield sisters vs. everyone else who feels entitled to make decisions on women's bodies, fueled by fear and resentment. Most women would agree - it's safer to be a dog than a woman (or group of women) walking alone at night.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Five sisters live with their grandfather in a secluded house. Rumors swirl about the girls and they are targeted by some of the villagers.

Thank you, Xenobe Purvis NetGalley, for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also, thank you publishers for your hard work!

Wow, this book was really something I had to take my time to read and enjoy. I don't read a lot of books dealing in the past like this, but ever so often when I do, I really enjoyed them. You get to see what it's like back then and just feel how the women felt and the men! Oof, do you want to strangle them! There are so many things this book teaches you, and just the fact people believed things people said so easily is just unbelievable to me. The characters you'll either love or hate and the pacing is definitely one you'll have to get into. This book isn't something everyone will enjoy, but for those that do, it's well worth the read. For this reason, I thought this would be horror based, and it's not. Even so, I still enjoyed it.

Five sisters that aren't exactly ladylike are all the town seems to be able to talk about. Soon enough rumors are being spread about them.... strange ones. Are they really turning into dogs, or is it something else? Is it just a  man who has a problem with the family? What will become of the sisters once things get out of hand? Will they actually turn out to be dogs and forced to leave town, or will there be destruction?

This book shows what the spread of rumors can do to people. Also, what men were like in the past. Men were listened to more and more respected than women back then. Today.... that can be an issue sometimes depending on the man, but not getting into that. This book is a great read if you really take the time to immerse yourself into it.

This hypnotizing novel takes place in a small English town in probably the 18th century. The villagers of Little Nettlebed have always been suspicious of the Mansfield girls - they always seemed a little too odd, a little too forward. The five sisters live with their well-to-do grandfather - their family prospered during a rough time for the community, and so the village has always been begrudging of this. After their beloved grandmother dies, the girls all wear their mourning black and can be seen crossing the fields and the river. From the perspective of the ferryman - they are up to no good and perhaps even evil - as he transverses the river each day ferrying passengers, he can think of nothing else but the drought that has scorched the riverbed and these strange creatures that he finds monstrous in their behavior. One day he thinks he sees a girl turn into a dog. Ominous barking is heard throughout the fields and around the village. Wild animal carcasses are left torn apart nearby. Told from multiple perspectives from the ferryman and the tavern owner's wife - but never the Mansfield girls themselves - this mesmerizing novel builds with dread and suspense. Clearly something terrible will happen, but are the daughters actually changing into dogs or is it just another case of villagers allowing their superstitions to morph into unfettered violence? This unsettling book would be a good suggestion for readers of Ottessa Moshfegh.

This book really scratched an itch that has long been waiting to be acknowledged. It was a very fun, quick read that felt very reminiscent of "The Crucible". That being said, if you're familiar with the classics or any 17/18th-century and Restoration works, "The Hounding" feels like a derivative. It's easily accessible to readers, with characters who feel both nostalgic, doll-like, and charming in a whimsical and witchy way. If I hadn't felt like I'd read the story a few times before, this would have been a whirlwind of a novel and jumped to the top of my reads so far.

Because of its nostalgic writing and accessibility to older texts, I'll be recommending it as a "gateway" read for my favourite older texts. On its own, the story holds well in its mystique.

Thank you to NetGalley for facilitating this advanced copy.

The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (Publishing in August 2025, thank you @henryholt @netgalley for the #gifted ARCs)

THE HOUNDING opens with a flash forward to the future: a dead body, villagers carrying stones, and five sisters watching them come. Then we go back in time through the “season of strangeness” that preceded the novel’s opening. After losing their parents the sisters live with their elderly grandfather in a small village in eighteenth-century England. The villagers always give the sisters wary glances and are a little afraid of them, thinking “they need disciplining,” and viewing them as “wicked” girls barking in black dresses masking bushy tails and pretty mouths filled with yellow pointed teeth. They were “wild, inhuman–not girls at all.”

I confess that as I was reading this felt a little straightforward and predictable but it’s a book best considered in its entirety. This is one of those novels that tricks you into thinking it’s a simple story but as it progresses you see the layers of depth and symbolism embedded in the narrative. I never doubted the quality of the writing. Purvis succeeded in transporting me back to the 18th century; I felt like I was there with the characters, and the beautiful way things were described enamored me to this novel.

I was expecting the story to take a different turn, to see the female defiance play out in ways that are more akin to what it might look like when applying a lens that incorporates my own modern sensibilities. Upon reflection, I love the choices Purvis made. There is a subtlety to the exploration of themes that is more aligned with and true to the historical setting, more realistic, but still with a hint of magic and hope.

This novel led me to ponder a number of questions; what we wish for the people we love even when the world has other ideas about how they should behave and exist, how far we will go to protect the people we love, how the history of our families and places of origin stay with us even when we try to shed them, and ultimately, is it better to hide or be confined or to be free. This isn’t out for awhile but definitely one that should be on your radar.

The Hounding proffers a unique and intriguing phenomenon is young girls that ostensibly transform into hounds, and indicates the havoc they wreak while transformed; I felt like this overarching plot idea could’ve been further encompassed throughout the book. The main perspective being of the men in the town, while it was reminiscent of something like The Virgin Suicides, really took any excitement out of the book, since all it really ended up being was bigoted pontificating upon the well-being or devilry of these young girls. and I would’ve preferred more in depth explorations of the girls themselves, as they were the most interesting aspect of the novel by far. Other than this qualm, the book was definitely written well, and I think it will do well amongst those who enjoy this type of rural ostracism and the concept of a feminist twist on the concept of the witch hunt.

“The Hounding” by Xenobe Purvis is a highly original immersive novel about the power of fear and suspicion that takes place in a small village in 17th century England. It is an eerie tale filled with folklore about 5 sisters who supposedly transform into strange doglike animals. The vicious rumor started by a vindictive and abusive character causes the village to boil over not unlike the mob mentality of today’s society. The story has gothic tones and speaks beautifully about the tendency to demonize strong independent women who don’t conform to societal norms. The addition of the supernatural folklore, ravens, river creatures and the barking in the night will captivate you making it impossible to put book down and will give you much to think about after it ends.

Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Hounding is one of those rare novels that doesn’t just tell a story—it casts a spell. From the first page, I felt drawn into the strange, humming tension of Little Nettlebed, a village perched on the edge of something wild and unknowable. The atmosphere is dense and dreamlike, yet grounded in the everyday rhythms of 18th-century rural life: the creaking ferry, the hushed barroom gossip, the heat of a suffocating summer. At the center of it all are the Mansfield sisters—five girls who barely speak, rarely emerge, and seem to exist more as myth than flesh.

What I found especially powerful was how the story unfolds entirely through the eyes of others. We never fully hear from the sisters themselves. Instead, we see them through the distorted, often contradictory perspectives of the townsfolk—some fearful, others fascinated, a few quietly empathetic. That choice felt deliberate and brilliant. It reminded me just how easy it is to build entire narratives around people we don’t understand, and how dangerous that can become when fear takes root. The novel moves with a quiet but relentless momentum, never relying on dramatic reveals or overblown suspense. The dread is in the details—in the bark heard at night, in the glances traded across rooms, in the small, sharp cracks in ordinary life.

Purvis doesn’t just write historical fiction—she inhabits it. Every word feels like it belongs to another time, yet the themes are achingly current: the way societies punish difference, the fragile line between reality and hysteria, the price young women often pay just for existing outside the expected mold. There's something both deeply feminist and subtly subversive at the heart of this story. It doesn’t shout its message. It whispers it—slowly, insistently—until it’s impossible to ignore.

By the time I reached the end, I was left with that rare, slightly aching feeling I only get from certain books: a mix of admiration, sorrow, and an almost selfish desire for just a few more pages. I already know I’ll reread it—not just for the story, but for the mood, the craft, and the quiet brilliance in how it all comes together.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company | Henry Holt and Co. for generously providing me with a digital review copy of this hauntingly original and beautifully crafted novel in exchange for my honest review. I’m truly grateful for the chance to discover this unforgettable debut.

the book had an interesting concept, but i wasn't really all that into it. i even considering dnf'ing it around 25% in, but ultimately decided to just see where it went. unfortunately, it remained fairly boring, spare for the end. however, i did adore the messaging near the end! (2.75★)

Set in a small village in the British countryside in the 18th century, the story unfolds around the Mansfield girls, always a little mysterious, a little disliked by the villagers, seen as a little to bold, too standoffish, and then, the rumors begin that they were seen turning themselves into dogs. The story stays pretty distant from the girls themselves, focusing instead on the villagers relations to the rumors, which lessens the emotional impact of the narrative. Timely, despite its setting in the distant past, the questions it raises are still being wrestled with today - how closely is one required to follow conventions, what is a woman’s place in society, and what happens when conventions are challenged?

Thank you NetGalley and Henry and Colt for this ARC! This book is one that immediately captures your attention, from the title to the cover to the premise, and maintains that interest all the way through. It is short, but not lacking, and really reminds me of those old classics that leave you satisfied by the time you are finished reading.

The title and description caught me immediately. Did the girls actually turn into dogs? Was it someone's overactive imagination? A tall tale? See how a small village copes with rumors...or maybe it's real.

This book is blurbed as being The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides and honestly I couldn’t have described it better myself. It was moody, tense, incredibly atmospheric, and for sure a slow burn. I found a lot of comfort in its slowness though, sitting down to read this made the volume of the world turn down. For as guarded as these characters were it was still easy to connect with and understand them. Definitely a weird book but I loved it more it for that.

Summary:
Set in 18th-century England, this book chronicles the intertwined lives of the townspeople and the enigmatic, eccentric Mansfield sisters. As the narrative unfolds, tensions escalate when the town's men begin accusing the sisters of possessing supernatural powers that allow them to transform into dogs.

Review:
I couldn't put this book down—it was so engrossing that I finished it in just two days. The Mansfield sisters and the relentless persecution they endured left a lasting impression on me. The author takes a bold narrative risk by telling the story solely from the perspective of the townspeople, offering only sparse commentary from the sisters themselves. This shift not only reinvents a familiar tale but also challenges the reader's assumptions.

Moreover, the novel serves as an excellent teaching tool for exploring the concept of the unreliable narrator. One of the main townspeople, who is responsible for fueling the rumors about the Mansfield sisters, is depicted as suffering from religious delusions and harboring a deep-seated misogyny. Despite his evident bias, his account gains credibility among the townsfolk, prompting readers to question the veracity of his narrative.

At its core, the story addresses a critical issue: the demonization of girlhood. The Mansfield sisters embrace their true selves, unapologetically loving who they are without conforming to societal expectations. Their defiance in the face of prejudice is a powerful commentary on how even the simple act of being comfortable in one’s own skin—whether human or dog—is often seen as transgressive.

I highly recommend this book and eagerly anticipate what Xenobe Purvis has in store next.

gorgeous and haunting book with a very interesting set of protagonist sisters, who we get some distance from by reading from basically everyone except them's perspectives. gorgeous prose and strong themes. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.