Beautifully crafted, Grey Dog explores queer longing and womanhood in the early 1900s.

Set in the early 1900s and told through journal entries, this story follows Ada, a 29-year-old teacher. Trying to hide her past, Ada begins her new teaching job in the small town of Lowry Bridge. This book is deliberately, beautifully slow. The story starts out cozy but is undercut by a chilling atmosphere. Imagine a beautiful picnic in the woods, birds chirping, sun shinning with branches snapping, eyes watching—that sums up the first half of the book pretty well.

What begins as moments of confusion and uncertainty blossoms into questions of what is real and who Ada really is. This book reminded me of the power of epistolary novels. How can you build tension when everything has already happened—when the character is recounting their experiences? This is always the challenge with novels told through journals or letters, and this book did it magnificently. I felt the tension, the panic, the slow descent into madness. It is a slow build, but one I found gratifying.

With commentary on God, Christianity, the role of women, and desire, Grey Dog was full of so much more than I expected.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW Press for this copy for review.

Content warnings: Child loss, domestic violence, murder, violence, gore, misogyny, adultery, sexual assault, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child neglect, animal death, miscarriage, child abuse, sexism, and confinement.

It's 1901--to be a woman is to be hemmed in and made small in the service of others. But the Grey Dog wants different for you, wants YOU. A creepy slow burn I could not put down. It was everything I wanted from Laird Hunt's 'In the House in the Dark of the Woods' and a true heir to Sylvia Townsend Warner's 'Lolly Willows'.

Elliott Gish’s debut queer Gothic novel, Grey Dog (ECW Press, 2024), is one of my most anticipated releases of the year. Intense, foreboding, and atmospheric, Grey Dog is the latest in queer horror, and it’s a must-read!

Set in 1901, the novel is structured as the diary of Ada Byrd, a spinster and schoolteacher, who arrives in the isolated small town of Lowry Bridge under a cloud of misery after things went awry at her last post. Starting afresh with new students, Ada explores the surrounding woods and makes new friends who know nothing of her past. Slowly, Ada begins to hope for a future at Lowry Bridge and a place in the community. Maybe, in this new place, Ada can leave her past behind.

Slowly, however, strange events begin to take place: a swarm of dying crickets, a self-mutilating rabbit, a malformed faun. Ada believes that something disturbing and inhuman lurks in the woods, pursuing her from afar and presenting her with these offerings—offerings that both repel and intrigue her. As the creature she calls ‘Grey Dog’ encroaches, Ada’s sense of reality blurs and her past returns to haunt her as she confronts the rage simmering inside her.

I hesitate to say more without giving the plot away! One of the charms of this novel is its suspense and mystery, which quickly gives way to horror in the second half of the novel. Gish has the incredible ability to generate a sense of fear and danger in even the most seemingly innocuous moments. By structuring Grey Dog as Ada’s diary, the novel is confined to her perspective, which unravels more and more as the text goes on, although there are clues that Ada may not be as honest as the diary form suggests she will be. The reader feels as though they are living in Ada’s head and experiencing the confusing, haunting events of the novel along with her.

As historical fiction, Gish pays close attention to the social and gendered contexts which confine and police Ada throughout the novel. Ultimately, Grey Dog is a book about rage—queer rage and women’s rage—and the pain of emotional and physical abuse. Ada can only repress her anger at the injustices of her life and the lives of those she loves at the hands of those who seek to control her. When the dam finally breaks, the result is both extraordinary and dreadful in equal measure.

I loved Grey Dog. I could hardly bear to put it down. I’m reading it for the second time this week and it’s just as fantastic as it was the first time. This novel has become a new favourite for me and I look forward to reading Gish’s future work!

" It happened again. God help me, it happened again."


The story begins in 1901. A lady is going to fill the post of teacher in a small village town, 20 miles away from Portsmouth. The train she is on is stuff-packed. Mr. Grier, an acquaintance of her father, will come to pick her up from the station. At his house, she will board. She is Miss Ada Elizabeth Byrd. This is her story. She writes down everything date-wise. She had been posted at Willoughby before coming here.
She is pondering after looking at a door in Grier's house. She is always worried about how much Mr. Grier has been told about her year in Willoughby, the place of her previous employment.

"I stumbled looking at that door, and not only because my legs were stiff with disuse from the journey, for there had been another red door, only a year ago, that had irrevocably changed the course of my life. As I looked at Grier house, I felt that I could see that door laid neatly over this one—that I was in Willoughby again, watching that door open onto my ruin."


She joins the school where most children are farmer's kids, she teaches them in her unique style, takes them to the woods, and shows them insects and animals. I witnessed some beautiful natural settings. Wilderness, grassy, woody, and full of insects and skulls. She also portrayed the social setting and demarcation between the families in that small place.

"They were of course from the other side of the bridge—the side where, as her husband had said, people ain't quite like us."


Then there are some queer and creepy things that happen to her again and again. She does not know what it was all—her illusion or some impending danger chasing her. She wants to tell all those hideous, horrible things that were happening around her. But she shies away, yet she wants to unburden her soul to someone. I enjoyed how these scenes were depicted. The characters in the book are unique and developed really well by the author. I liked them. That strange Melville girl child and her strange father, Agatha. They stay with you.

In the past month, I have read so much women's writing and women's-centric themes. I have requested this book to change my taste, to get some horror, as it is claimed in the blurb, gothic horror in historical fiction. Though creepiness was there, there were some scary, macabre scenes. But they were kept under control and beautifully incorporated into the plot. But as I ended, I found that it was another book that was nothing but all about a woman's fury, frustration, sensuality, shame, and emancipation.

Being the debut novel of the author, I will highly appreciate the story-telling skill; it is clean and
figurative language. Very imaginative. At some places, her sentences are explicit in meaning, and at other places, they are non-literal. A push factor, which I consider an incentive for a reader, was present. The author pushed me ahead in the plot with her off-centre yet lucid writing. Her way of keeping the reader engaged in a scene was amazing; she will force you to keep thinking, like, 'Was it about the wind in the trees? or about an animal moving around in the brush? Or was it about derangement? or was it just deceptiveness? or the cleverness of the characters involved? Was it about the shame and scandalous past of the characters?'

I will especially mention the scene when 'Ada' is stuck inside the school and there is a storm outside. She is preparing new words for the kids, and a danger lurks from outside, and all those scenes where Ada turns violent and loses her temper are impressively written. This book was an almost five star reading experience for me throughout. The writing, story telling, and historical Gothic setting were all to my taste, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Only the ending was not as per my expectations; it would have been made a bit bigger, both in message and in story. Also, while incorporating so many mysterious and hideous scenes, somewhere the author stretched the story out and made it a bit slow in the middle. The title Grey-Dog remained a bit deceptive, as I kept yearning for the appearance of that hideous creature after every macabre scene. But for me, overall, this book was an amazing read, and I will recommend it to all. It had a greater message than a mere horror tale. A promising author.

Read this story of a woman's rage and rescue, of a woman's frustration and freedom, of a woman's shame and sensuality, of a woman's fear and ferocity!

"Have you not guessed it yet? I am not a place where nature can be weeded and tamed and kept in order. I am tree roots- and dark hollows- and ancient moss- and the cry of owls. I am not a thing that you can shape, not anymore. I am no garden, but the woods, and if you ever come near me again, every bit of wilderness in me will rise up to bite you. I will tear your throat with my teeth."



At the end, I will say, I felt like some gelatinous clouds of frogspawn were turning into wriggling pollywogs!
Thanks to Netgalley and ECW Press for an advance copy.

the review is also posted on
https://bookbrooder.com/2024/04/11/gothic-horror-or-a-womans-rage-grey-dog-by-elliott-gish/

A slow, s l o w burn taking place in the early 1900s, “Grey Dog” is a very literary take on historical fiction that deals with early 20th century women’s issues, trauma, and the female rage that builds up inside in response. Told through journal entries, 30-year-old teacher Ada is on the fast track to spinsterhood when she arrives in the small, isolated town of Lowry Bridge. This less-than-ideal teaching position is presented as a fresh start and last chance for Ada, who is desperately trying to escape her mysterious, troubled past. However, the more time she spends in Lowry Bridge, the stranger things become.

“Grey Dog” may be a slow burn, but it pulls you right into its immersive dark and gothic atmosphere and grips you tightly until its well-deserved payoff of an ending that gives new meaning to supporting women’s rights and women’s wrongs. The horror elements are less so horrific/scary as they are eerie/unsettling, adding to the novel’s uncanny ambiance. If you’re looking to lose yourself in beautifully crafted prose immersed in a visceral, haunting atmosphere while delving into feminist themes, I wholeheartedly recommend this compelling read. One of my favorites this year!

This creepy folk horror is set in 1901, told through the writings of Ada Byrd, a school teacher who has accepted a post in a small town to escape the scandal that caused her to leave her last teaching position. Ada is fascinated by the owl skull and feathers and bits of stuff she finds in the woods. Not every thing she finds out there, though, is natural. The thing waiting for her in the woods is unsettling, but I found myself more horrified by the idea of how powerles Ada was against the members of her new community. The unpleasant depictions of pregnancy and childbirth also got to me.

Okay, I really liked this one. It’s considered a literary horror novel, but it has elements of possession/satanic horror. It’s got female rage. It’s got witchy vibes. It’s got “don’t go into the woods” vibes. It’s got “is she crazy or is this real?” vibes. It’s got pretty much everything I love in a novel!

The book is set in the early 1900s. It’s slow paced, but deliciously so. It takes its time. It keeps its secrets. The main character’s past is given to us in glimpses until finally her life is laid out before us like a decomposing feast. There’s scandal. There’s intrigue. There’re moments your heart breaks for the main character and moments you question if she’s as likable as you originally thought.

The writing and storytelling are excellent, especially for a debut novel. There were so many beautiful lines. I was highlighting like crazy. I will definitely be looking forward to more books by this author!

The only thing that kept me from giving Grey Dog a perfect 5-star rating was the ending. The story is told in journal entries, which I loved in the beginning, but towards the end of the book, I started to feel like this format actually held the book back. There were so many things I wanted to see at the end, but I was left to assume instead because the main character hadn’t written them in the journal. I wanted more. The ending just didn’t hit as strongly as I think it would have had we been given another scene or two.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this book. When I wasn’t reading it, it was calling out to me, and it was impossible to ignore. Don’t ignore the Grey Dog’s call. Go to it. Embrace it. Read it, and then let me know what you think!

Ratings:

Plot: 👹👹👹👹👹 /5
Characters: 💁‍♀️💁‍♀️💁‍♀️💁‍♀️💁‍♀️ /5
Atmosphere: 🦉🦉🦉🦉🦉 /5
Scare level: 💀💀💀 /5
Ending: 📝📝📝📝
Overall: 🐺🐺🐺🐺 /5

Really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to pick up other books by the author. Really creepy, but equally wonderful and fast paced.

Seeking a fresh start, Ada moves to a quiet village in 1901. Very quickly it seems that something isn't quite right however, and many of the residents seem to have something to hide. As time goes on, the reader and Ada both will begin to question whether anything is truly amiss, or if she is simply going insane.

Told through Ada's diary entries, "Grey Dog" immediately immerses you in its world. The dated language, vivid environments, and puritanical townsfolk made me feel like I had been transported to the past instead of alienating me as a reader.

"Grey Dog" is a perfectly paced, psychological slow burn. Odd things appear almost immediately, capturing your interest and curiosity from the first pages. As the story progresses, more questions arise than answers, and even the well culminated ending leaves you with a few more.

The main themes throughout center around independence, misogyny, female rage, societal expectations, and the self-fulfilling prophecies that can come from these. The plot, setting, and themes all drew a very close comparison to Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" and Robert Eggers's "The Witch." "The Witch" is a very strong comparison. Despite being set nearly 300 years apart, it almost felt like a companion piece.

My only critique comes from the ending, where I just wanted a bit more. With about 10 more pages, I would have felt more satisfied. Though, I don't believe this was unintentional. The story was paced perfectly, but just stopped a bit short for me. Regardless, if you enjoyed "The Witch" or slow burns in general, I am almost certain that you will enjoy "Grey Dog," which truly has its own story to tell.

Thank you to ECW Press for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

An entrancing slow burn, that is so atmospheric it doesn’t drag at all.

I’m very keen to see what this author does next!

𝟯.𝟱 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥𝗦 𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗗 𝗗𝗢𝗪𝗡
This book had it’s ups and downs but it was pretty good overall.

I do think that this book could have been a bit shorter. If it were shaved down a little, it would’ve made for better pacing overall. I enjoyed the second half much more than the first half. The vibes were immaculate throughout, I just felt like the plot was lacking in its intensity in the first half. I know that this could be intentional to pack a bigger punch in the climax, but it just felt dragged on in this case.

I do, though, absolutely love the whole unreliable narrator thing we’ve got going on. Are the things she is experiencing real? Is she experiencing hallucinations? Is she alone in this or have others experienced the same things? I also really liked the grotesque imagery we are fed throughout the novel.

I do really love the conclusion of the book and the sort of eerie-ness that comes with it. Just wish it was paced better overall, and with maybe a few less characters to keep track of.

A slow-burn, turn-of-the-century, small town paranormal-horror story that left me with questions about the power of female rage.

Before I get into the book review, to me, this story was almost identical to Diavola by Jennifer Thorne in terms of our main character, the pacing and the beats of the haunting. Even the main characters' names are almost the same. I actually referenced my review of Diavola to write this review. So if you liked Diavola, this is a good one to go with. Unfortunately, neither of these books was for me.

I like that the format of this book is in diary entries from our main character, Ada. We follow her from the moment she arrives as a school teacher in a one-room schoolhouse in a small village and follow her through to her last diary entry before she stops writing.

Strange things start happening around the town such as a swarm of bees, a rabbit biting off its own tongue and more. I like how Elliott Gish builds the setting. I felt like I was right beside Ada, shadowing her as she experiences these strange happenings. The pacing is very slow, but if you like vibes in your horror stories, then you'll appreciate the time Elliott is taking here.

We spend a lot of time experiencing the haunting, but I wished our characters, especially our main character had more agency earlier in the book. Between the meanness of people in the village, and the haunting, it felt like the story was happening to Ada instead of Ada leading the story. I liked the ending. We get some real bad girl energy from Anna which I resonated with and wished for more of.

Thank you to NetGalley and ECW for this ARC.

This book is best read while trying to identify headless creatures on your iNaturalist app. If people start looking at you strangely, growl.

Grey Dog is a slow burn horror that is all about female rage. The uneasiness creeps up on the reader and slowly becomes more and more terrifying. Told through the journal entries of Ada, we are as inside of her thoughts as we can be, experiencing secondhand the terrors that she experiences. I do wish this one was a bit shorter and got to the horror a little quicker but overall this is going to be a must read in the horror community.

Did I just read the perfect slow descent into madness???

Grey Dog is filled with female rage, literary goodness, and subversive witchy horror. Ada is a disgraced school teacher who has taken a post in a small community to appease her abusive father. As she starts to lose sense of reality, we also pick up pieces of her past and understand her history.

Grey Dog is filled with female rage, literary goodness, and subversive witchy horror. This was just SO good. I loved that this started as a very classic, woman in a new town story and ended in something much wilder. This is a love letter for fans of classics who also love a bit of wilderness horror. Think of LM Montgomery meets The Ritual.

Thanks Elliott Gish for the wild ride!

Well, This delves into female rage, oppression of women in the early 1900s. and mental health. It's a creepy descent for Ada, a woman who suddenly finds herself seeing horrible things (or does she?) I was pulled in and kept reading - it's a page turner. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary horror novels.

This book was interesting enough at first, but never really got going for me. The final 10% was more what I would expect from the middle third. It was slow and didn't really dive in to the horror that much at all. I just kept wanting it to get weirder or spookier. The beginning pulls you in with little mysteries about the narrators past, and while they aren't dragged out as much as the rest of the book, they are teased a bit too long for what they end up being. The writing and format were fine enough, I just wish there was more here to compel you to keep reading.

In 1901, spinster Ada Byrd accepts a reaching post in the isolated town of Lowry's Bridge. Ada tries to adjust to her new life and town and befriends both the preacher's wife and an outcast widow. Soon, Ada starts to experience strange things (dead animals, insect swarms), and she can't tell if they are natural phenomena or hallucinations. Ada starts to become more isolated as she loses her grip on reality .

This was a very, very, very slow burn literary horror that didn't quite work for me. The author did a great job at gradually building dread and slowly making Ada more and more unhinged. The pacing was very slow, and while a detailed account of daily life in 1901 demonstrated how terrible life could be for women in that period, the plot was so uneventful at times that it was boring. This was not my favorite, but fans of literary horror and historical fiction will likely enjoy this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

A stomach churning and delicious exploration of a woman's rage, it was beautiful and heartbreaking. I swear I could feel the woods closing in around me.

Told entirely through diary entries, Grey Dog is the story of a nature-loving teacher (or spinster, depending on the year) who gets an assignment in a small town on the heels of a scandal. There's a very quick feeling of unease, as our FMC, Ada, is a strong, independent woman in a time when it was heavily frowned upon. While Ada's closest friend is the preacher's wife, the story doesn't rely too heavily on religious control to build the chilling vibes, but rather uses it as a subtle baseline to strange, unexplainable things that Ada begins seeing in the forest.

While I love a good decline from sanity and display of feminine rage, there was something that I found lacking in my connection with Ada to really make it hit home for me. However, I would still recommend this to someone who's looking for a story that delves into femininity, creatures in the woods, and how uncomfortable it can be during the journey to get to know your truest self!
(3.25 stars)

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A slow-building, atmospheric historical horror; this one requires patience. If only we could stop Ada's unraveling!