Reminded me of a bit of a harder Night Bitch, or Her Body And Other Parties- language the cuts about what it means to be a woman today, and societal places, and the horror of existence. I really enjoyed this and it will stick with me.

3.5 stars rounded up. This had The Yellow Wallpaper vibes and also reminded me of Rebecca, Midsommar, and Carmilla. The diary format was used well to show how the way the main character changes slowly throughout the book. This book was really good at building up suspense and using descriptive language to paint a picture and build a feeling of dread while keeping the story moving. The ending felt a bit abrupt though. I was hoping that the build up from the first two thirds would lead to something more, but the ending did make sense and work with the foreshadowing spread throughout.

This atmospheric, creeping literary horror was incredibly geared toward my interests, and I'm not sure why I never quite felt grabbed by it. It could just be that I've never been partial to epistolary novels, though I tried not to hold that against it.

The middle third of the book was most compelling to me - the beginning dragged a bit, and the end was...less satisfying than I had anticipated. I still haven't worked out exactly why. Regardless, there were at least moments that will linger with me, and it's worth recommending to fans of the genre.

DNFing this one - I'm just so bored. I am not enjoying this narration style and at least one surprise is already spoiled by the marketing of the book itself. I'm sure others will love the journal-entry exposition, but I do not.

**Thank you NetGalley and ECW Press for the eARC**

3.5 stars

This story is told entirely through diary entries by 29-year-old Ada Byrd, the main character who's just moved and started a new job as a teacher in a small town in the fall/winter of 1901. Ada has taken the role begrudgingly, as she had to leave her last post due to scandal right around the time that this town's previous teacher had to leave to tend to her sick mother. Ada is unmarried, a personal failing for the time period, and suffering from extreme amounts of both childhood and recent trauma. As she settles in, she has to navigate small-town gossip, a strict economic divide, uppity students, and whatever the heck is happening in the woods. Because something is definitely happening in the woods.

The writing is tense, atmospheric, and creepy---it did a great job of building a tense existential dread throughout the novel, even when the plot was slow to progress. Which was most of the time. I enjoyed the diary format and Ada as a narrator, and the vibes in this book were absolutely there. I could visualize the setting and happenings very clearly. The build-up here was very slow but effective, but unfortunately, the ending felt abrupt. I wanted more horror here than I got, and would have liked a little less buildup in the first half of the book and a little more payoff at the end. I will keep an eye out for this author's future works, I think with the right story their writing would really work for me, but this wasn't quite that. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

A slow burn literary horror with absolutely stunning prose.

We follow Ada, a women in her late 20s in the year of 1901, who moves to a small religious town surrounded by forest to become the town’s school teacher.

This book is told through various journal entries as Ada both reminisces on trauma from her childhood and previous post, to her day to day experiences becoming accustomed to her new life. As she starts getting comfortable she begins hearing and seeing unsettling things in the forest, which causes her to slowly spiral into madness affecting her reputation with her students, friends, and the townies.

Gothic, queer, historical fiction that touches on topics of small town gossip, expectations of women in 1901, and the beauty and horror of the unknown in the natural world. There are some scenes and lines that will stay with me forever!

Highly highly recommend this one! 5 stars <3

Thanks to NetGalley and ECW Press for the ARC :)

Queer feminine rage, slow descent into madness, bird bones and moss—these are a few of my favourite things! A beautiful written and deeply haunting book, ‘Grey Dog’ by Elliott Gish is an epistolary novel starting in 1901, exploring sexuality, repression, rage, love, grief, and madness through the lens of 29-year-old school-teacher and amateur naturalist, Ada Byrd.

One aspect I loved was the way this book sits in conversation with gothic literary classics both explicitly—Wordsworth’s ‘Lucy Gray’ and Poe’s ‘Raven’—and implicitly—such as Bronte’s ‘Jane Eyre’, Perkins Gilman's 'Yellow Wallpaper', and James’ ‘Turn of the Screw’. And yet it feels so new and fresh, perhaps a novel future generations will consider ‘classic’.

I don’t want to be that person who’s like “this is the perfect novel”, but with every critique I find that makes me rethink. I found a lot of Ada’s backstory predictable, but the journey Gish takes the reader on to peel back the layers was delightful. The epistolary structure might feel exposition-y to some readers, but I feel like this device was used wonderfully and helped me immerse myself in the isolated, turn-of-the-century village of Lowry Bridge. Some readers, particularly those not familiar with literary horror, may also struggle with the unreliable narration and dislikable nature of Ada as a protagonist, but these are usually my favourite tropes of the genre.

I may be too eager with my stars, but I don’t care because I feel like this book deserves every single one. While I was provided an ARC of this book by Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I also bought a copy of the audiobook so I could absorb it again in a different medium.

Thank you to NetGalley, Elliott Gish and the publisher for letting me review an ARC of Grey Dog!

I really, really liked this a lot. It read like a classic horror book from the late 1800's written in diary entries.
It is very much a slow, slow burn about this woman coming to a small desolate town to be a school teacher and she is trying to outrun her dark past. Part classic horror and part folk horror. I loved the atmosphere and the sense of dread that was so heavy, especially towards the end of the book- the ENDING!! omg I didn't see that coming. Really enjoyed my time reading this and can't wait to pick up a physical copy to annotate !
pick up if you love slow burn horror centered around female rage.

Grey Dig is an aching, creeping slow burn that crawls on hands and knees toward a surprisingly vicious end.

Readers should be aware: when I say this is a slow burn, I mean it. Think The Witch. This is a book I would recommend to readers who are seeking an oddly cozy, sapphic horror. It’s important to note that the first half is cozy, then an eerie half. The writing is thick with descriptions of the environment. The reader is immersed in Ada’s narration and the world she finds herself a part of.

However, I found the writing to be a bit too slow of a burn for me. Some portions were difficult to get through since they lost the tension and receded into slow-burn fiction rather than slow-burn horror.

i spent ages ploughing through this being like !!! please can i get to the content i know i’ll like !!! but the slow burn of it all was too slow for me. found it fundamentally boring unfortunately! seems a shame because i think it sounds like something i should love.

My thanks to Netgalley and ECW Press for my free digital ARC!

4.5 stars

It's 1901 and Ada is a young schoolteacher desperately seeking to leave her scandalous past behind. She finds a fresh start in a tiny rural town where Christianity and tradition reign. Ada, with her queerness and love of natural oddities, flora and fauna, slots into her new life uneasily, but willing to try to put her past behind her. She manages for a while, until unsettling visions (grisly malformed animals, swarms of insects) begin to plague her.

Lowry Bridge one of those places ruled by a small group of pious women, who know everyone's business, and anyone who fails to live up their nigh-on impossible standards is snubbed and shunned. One of those people is Mrs Norah Kinsley, a mysterious widow who befriends Ada. I loooooved Norah, and honestly wish we had more from her perspective. Maybe Elliott Gish fancies writing another book focused more on her. 👀 I loved Ada's character though, so was more than content to stay in her head for the whole book. Though the cast of characters is large, Gish does a superb job of fleshing them all out and making them unique. The children Ada teaches are vibrant and lively (except for Muriel who is ethereal and haughty); Ada's father, absent for most of the book, manages to be ominous, cold and calculating even in his absence; Agatha, a sunshine ray of a woman wasted as the meek wife of a reverend.

Ada's slow descent into madness is gripping. As she's tormented by some unseen being, the line between reality and fantasy becomes increasingly blurred. Gish takes what it means to be an upstanding, well-mannered woman of the early 20th century and grinds it beneath her bootheel. She explores sexuality, sensuality, freedom, the restraints placed on women then (and now), and how a woman might break free of those restraints. It's beautifully written, deliciously creepy, unsettling and infuriating.

It is a very slow burn though, so go into it with patience and you will be rewarded!

Grey Dog is a literary horror that explores womanhood and queerness in the early 1900s. What it is to be a woman full of trauma, rage and grief — and to feel longing for another woman but unable to act on it.

It’s absolutely beautifully written. It’s atmospheric, and despite being written like journal entries, it still manages to make you feel present in the story. It’s as if you’re there, with Ada, experiencing it all first hand.

There’s so many things I loved about this and it’s one of those books you just gotta read to fully experience it. It starts off slow, but it’s very intentional, and it makes the story so much more impactful as you follow Ada into her madness without realising it.

I would absolutely recommend it for people who’re into literary horror, sad queer stories and The Witch (2015) vibes.

/// Thank you to ECW Press and NetGalley for the ARC and to Elliot Gish for writing something that hits you so deeply.

I wanted to read this one as it had an interesting premise and I am rediscovering my love of horror.

This book is categorised as horror, for me this is correct but don’t go into this one expecting a straight horror novel. It is a slow-burn psychological horror that built up tension and got weirder and weirder as Ada’s mind unravels.. The book reminded me very much of The Yellow Wallpaper.

Ada is a complex character and not always likeable but I enjoyed the way her behaviour changed from conforming to ultimately rejecting all the social norms of the village as her rage grew. i was constantly questioning whether the things she was seeing were real or all in her mind.

The writing was fantastic, even though some of the scenes were grisly and the atmosphere got more and more tense I couldn’t stop reading. The author did a great job of making me feel how Ada felt (that I’m losing my grip on reality).

There wasn’t a resolution as such but I don’t think it needed one the atmosphere the author created was enough for me.
Overall a fabulous literary horror with plenty of gothic vibes, I will definitely be looking for the author’s next book.

Thank you to Netgalley and ECW Press for the advanced reader’s copy in return for an honest review.

GREY DOG by Elliot Gish ~published April 9, 2024

I devoured this feminist, queer, subversive debut novel!

Many thanks to @ecwpress for the gifted advance reader copy.

Our setting is an isolated farming village in 1901. Through her own journal entries, we meet Miss Ada Byrd, a 29-year-old “spinster” school teacher who is moving to a new school after being disgraced by a scandal. As more is revealed to us about Ada’s disturbing backstory, it becomes clear that she is suffocating under the weight of the religious and societal expectations of the time, particularly because she is attracted to women. Ada begins to experience strange events and see and hear things that others don’t – is Ada losing her mind? Neither she nor the reader knows…

This was far more literary psychological horror than horror horror, which I prefer! Think Shirley Jackson or Black Swan.. a slow burn with a big finish. The epistolary format worked well and felt appropriate for the historical time period, and the writing was superb. My only quibble is that the ending felt like it has been done before. It’s still a good ending, just not necessarily a fresh one.

Not just a story here, but a statement, too. Keep your eye on this author!

*ad-pr: I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

Yet again I went into a book forgetting everything about the synopsis, and yet again it’s proven to be a great reading experience!

I didn’t know what to make of Grey Dog when I started it. In 1901, the main character, Ada, moves to a tiny farming community after having a mysterious negative past experience, taking up a teaching post in this isolated place. Here she meets some equally mysterious and often unnerving characters as she gets to know her new home, leading to some events I was definitely not expecting.

So without any spoilers, even ones that are potentially already on the back of the book, this is a book full of tense relationships, characters who aren’t always what they seem, and lots of sinister happenings. It’s a slow burn horror that lulls you into a false sense of security before bringing the horrific elements into play, letting you first fall in love with the characters who live in this seemingly ordinary place. I loved the build up, the twists and the small town creepiness, and would definitely recommend picking this up!

Thank you to @ecwpress and @netgalley for the chance to read this early 😊

**Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for the eARC of this title.**

I lovedddd where this book ended up but the buildup was a bit slow for my liking. It took me about 100 pages to get into the pacing of this one, but once I did I loved the horror and small-town elements.

I don't read a lot of what I would consider "literary" horror so I really enjoyed this debut despite it being outside of my normal reading. I would encourage fans of horror, small towns, and lit fic to give this one a try!!

Grey Dog by Elliott Gish #twentyninthbookof2024 #arc

CW: gore, death, including of a child, murder, miscarriage, sexual assault

It’s 1901, and Ada has taken a position as schoolteacher in a new town, hoping to hide from her secrets. As she settles in, she is desperate to leave her past behind. But soon, she starts experiencing weird phenomena, which both scare and excite her equally. As as works around her starts getting more confusing, so does Ada’s behavior, until finally it can’t be ignored, and Ada must decide if she will give in to the mysterious forces that are calling to her.

This novel consists of Ada’s epistolary diary entries, at first describing her new job, the village, her students, and quickly develops into her struggle with what’s real and what’s in her own head. The confusion has a sense of foreboding, and the odd events that she experiences get really creepy really fast. At first, it’s just Ada who is confused, but then it’s you, the reader.

It’s weird to say that a horror book is lovely, but that’s the most appropriate word I can use. It’s soft and lyrical and engaging. It’s a slow burn, but it pulls you right in. Its depictions of emotional abuse, female rage, and misogyny are not overt but they’re there just the same. I loved this book. I can’t believe this is a debut novel. I eagerly await the author’s next work.

Thank you to @ecwpress and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 4/9/24)

#greydog #debutnovel

Thanks to netgalley and ecw press for the arc of this book.

The best description I can give is the setting and time period of Anne of Green Gables and the unsettling, atmospheric “something’s going on but what” vibes of The Witch.

This book is SLOW, which I like and appreciate, but I found the last 10-15% too underwhelming for how much buildup there was.

Definitely more of a slow burn, perhaps a little too slow for me in parts, but worth sticking through to the end. One of the things that kept me going was the atmosphere and world building, which i think is a triumph to the author.

I loved this read so much that I also requested the audiobook to review as well. It’s a slow build-up horror story, set in a small Canadian town in 1901 (written in diary form🫶🏻) about a spinster woman who comes to teach and to escape her sordid to past.

I found not one flaw with this one - I loved the writing, the character builds, the setting and the ending.

Fuller review of the arc and the audio arc to come soon.