Wow! I read this in less than 24 hours because I was so sucked into the story. Within the first chapter I was so intrigued to see what would happen. I love that the author starts off so strong and drops us into the story. I also loved the use of mixed media like messages, handwritten notes, and emails. This book is perfect for a chilling, fall read!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Looking for a dark investigative style horror book with vampires and a cult? This one takes place in the UK and is arriving right in time for spooky season on Aug 27

I go into nearly all my reads blind and The Madness was another blind read for me. At first, I thought this was more of a slow burn psychological thriller but the ending proved me wrong. I was completely invested in this, and loved all of our main characters. I don’t want to say much to give away the plot twist, in case you’re like me and want to read it blindly, but I really enjoyed this and thought it was a great debut novel. Thanks to my friends at Graydon House and HTP/The Hive for my eARC. The Madness published yesterday and is definitely perfect for upcoming spooky season!

This book was absolutely fantastic and I have never read anything like it before. The plot of this story was well thought out and excellently written!

Thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Books, and Graydon House Books for this copy of "The Madness."

I'm still in spooky book mode, and this is a modern reimagining of Dracula set in Wales which of course evokes those ancient and cursed vibes.

Mina Murray is a psychiatrist working in London who has just begun working with a new patient Renee who has some very unusual symptoms.

Mina left Wales, her childhood friend Lucy, and boyfriend Jonathan 12 years ago and we later find out why. But when Lucy sends Mina an email asking for help, she returns to Wales and finds that Lucy has symptoms similar to Renee's.

Mina's mother Molly still believes in the old Welsh ways and Mina has a chilly relationship with her mother until she's forced to understand that what they're facing may be as old as the legends.

Mina Murray is introduced to us as a psychologist who specializes in treating women who have suffered trauma in their lives, yet we don’t know what happened to her in her own past to cause her quirky behaviors, and to have made her cut ties with her mother and the Welsh village where she grew up. When she’s presented with a case that has no easy paths of treatment she’s driven to figure out the identity of the patient and figure out what is causing the strange symptoms. An email out of the blue from her childhood best friend begging for her immediate help forces her to chose between the two case, much to her surprise she finds them similar. This starts Mina headlong dive into a shadowy world of men with power, and dark superstitions that may be true after all. She’s willing to go to any length to save her friend, and in doing so reconnects with her past. A gothic Welsh setting make this a perfect setting for a horror story with a feminist twist.
Thank you to NetGalley and Grayson House for an advance copy, I’ll definitely be looking for more from this author.

I went into this book blind; I did not read the synopsis; I had briefly skimmed over it. Right from the beginning of the book, you get a sense of dread and that something is not quite right. Mina has some compulsive behaviors that seem to stem from a traumatic event. She works helping people who have been through traumatic events, especially women. Though we don't know what happened in her past, we know that something must have happened to Mina that led her to choose this career. She receives an email from an old friend from her hometown asking for help. Though hesitant initially, she decides to return home and see what she can do to help. Bit by bit, we learn more about her past and why it seems she grew apart from those closest to her. There's a strange illness that is going around, and many young women are disappearing. Are these two things related, and if so, how? Read this thrilling story to find out what evil lurks out there.

Thanks to the publisher for the advance arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

As instructed by Brianna and Ciara, I went into this book blind. I only wanted to read the first two chapters to see what it was about, but then I read the whole book in one sitting. 😉

I enjoyed the gothic Welsh setting which gave me Frankenstein and Dracula vibes. Dawn Kurtagich’s writing was both beautiful and frightening, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.
You won’t be able to nibble at this book, grab a blanket, your favorite drink, a snack, and go in with a large bite. 🧛🏻‍♀️

The Madness is a modern retelling of Dracula with a feminist spin. The novel didn’t resonate with me but I appreciated the author’s craft. However, for fans of psychological feminist horror then I think they would greatly enjoy it.

Read this if you like:
-dark, atmospheric Welsh setting with creepy castle and small town/village
-exploration of mental illness and trauma
-unreliable narrator
-use of various media to add interest to story-emails, texts, Doctor transcripts
-strong female characters
-Welsh folklore with witchy vibe
-modern retelling of Dracula
-slow burn gothic

My rating 2.75 out of 5

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC that will be released Aug 27 2024.

The Madness is an intriguing horror novel, that blends Dracula and Welsh folklore. Kurtagich took the classic Dracula story and gave it a modern feminist twist, that I loved.

I loved the author’s writing. Kurtagich created a chilling and sinister atmosphere that made this story very creepy. The female characters were strong and courageous. I just loved the kickass females in this book!

I really enjoyed the use of mixed media throughout the story, which included doctor's transcripts, text messages, and emails.

The action-packed, emotional ending was perfect, in my opinion.

This is my favorite book by Kurtagich so far, and I’m eager to read more from her in the future. I definitely recommend this book to horror lovers. I think The Madness is the ideal read for spooky season!

4.5⭐️

Thank you Graydon House and HTP The Hive for the gifted copy of this book!

4.25 ⭐️

❌ Avoid Synopsis ❌

I’m going to keep this one brief because the more blind you go into this one, the better. Don’t read the synopsis. Don’t read blurbs. Don’t read too many reviews. Just read the book!

I read a lotttttt, but it is rare when I find a book that I really can’t put down because I NEED to know what happens next. This book had me in a chokehold. The suspense building was so on point, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.

An atmospheric, mysterious, and thrilling read. Add this one to your spooky season TBR for sure.

Mina, the main character of this book, is a psychologist with emotional trauma of her own, leaving the reader to wonder if she’s a reliable narrator. When she returns home to help a childhood friend who appears to be having psychological problems of her own, spookiness and missing women, past and present abound. Fun read for the spooky season

I enjoyed the uniqueness of this creepy tale. The main character, Mina, is wonderfully flawed with a great backstory, but she’s also a loyal friend willing to repair relationships. The plotting is a bit of a slow burn but enough happens to keep you turning the pages.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

4.25 out of 5 stars

Something happened to Mina right before she left home, leaving her mom, her boyfriend, and her best friend behind. Now, she works with women who are victims of abuse, while dealing with her own issues, including counting obsessively, and cleaning between the tiles with bleach and a toothbrush.

When her best friend, Lucy, emails her and tells her there is something wrong with her and the doctor's can't figure it out, Mina makes the decision to leave the patient who was just admitted to her care and go home to try to help her once-bestie.

Her mother is less than welcoming, bitter and hurt after the years that have passed since Mina left with barely a note, left in the microwave telling her not to look for her. Mina had had a volatile relationship with her mother near the end anyway, who was known as "the batty witch on the hill," and talked often about the local legends and lore more than most, with a staunch belief in things that go bump in the night. Her ex-boyfriend now has a mauled face, and he is none-too-thrilled to see Mina back in town, years after breaking his heart. Lucy is hot and cold but suffering from what appears to be the same thing that Mina's patient back in London was suffering from.

She tries to get to the bottom of it. Meanwhile, Lucy is getting worse. Missing girls are coming out of the woodwork and history books. As Mina digs deeper, she finds forums dedicated to this mysterious illness and is then contacted by a stranger warning her to be careful, as she has no idea what she is looking into.

Very interesting story. I was intrigued by the premise, lured in by the beginning, but by the end I was lying in bed, my heart pounding, fearing for my life. I mean Mina's life.

Thank you to Dawn Kurtagich and Graydon House for this ARC.

“The Madness” promised to be a fast-paced horror meets thriller novel combining elements from Dracula and Welsh mythology, and it certainly delivered creepiness, tension, and gothic vibes.

Mina Murray is a psychologist suffering from her own trauma, making for an incredible FMC. I kept wondering if she was descending into madness herself or if what was happening was reality. This vibe and unsureness are ones that I love to read, especially in spooky fall books.

The other thing I enjoyed was all the Welsh lore. It was woven into the plot beautifully, and instead of distracting the reader, it added tension, creepiness, and darkness to the story.

The beginning is very slow, especially as Kurtagich introduces us to Mina and all her quirks. However, once Mina returns to her small town and we meet her witchy mother, things get very interesting, and the pace picks up considerably.

Also, I’m going to throw this out there: there is an element of body horror that thoroughly creeped me out, so if that is not your thing, I would skip this one. However, the gothic setting and the folklore elements make this the perfect spooky fall read. If you want a new creepy book to add to your fall TBR, try “The Madness.”

Welsh Gothic Horror? I was sold immediately!

I think the best way to read this one is going in completely blind! Like don’t look up anything, honestly, it will keep you guessing and make the psychological part so much better. I was so intrigued by the MC Mina and the mystery surrounding her actions and her story, every character played an important part and even though I figured out many of the twists, the “why” was something I wasn’t expecting (again, go in blind!) but absolutely loved.

I can see this one becoming a favorite to many!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

This was a clever, feminist retelling of the Dracula story, which touches on the very real issue of women's trauma and illness being minimized. Having read Dracula many years ago, I forgot some of the character names, but had yessssss moments when the characters of RENeé FIELDs, the psychiatric patient calling for her master, and HELen SINGer, the underground hacker hunting the monsters responsible for the women's disappearances, were introduced. Whereas Jonathan Harker gave most of the commentary in the original epistolary novel, this rendition focuses on Mina Murray, who is now a doctor or psychiatry. After fleeing her Welsh village as a teen after what she thought was a sexual assault, she leads a lonely life in London, laser focused on her work, and a slave to her tics and obsessive compulsions she developed in response to her trauma. When she receives an email from her childhood best friend, Lucy Westenra, asking her to come home to treat her mysterious illness, Mina is drawn back to help her, and sees the correlation between Lucy's symptoms and her London patient. Once home, her witchy mother starts filling Mina's head once more with tales of Welsh folklore, and eventually, Mina begins to realize that maybe there is some truth to those tales after all.

This was a very quick read, and although there was a lot going on, I didn't feel at any point it dragged on. Mina was initially cold, detached and hard to relate to, but once home began to regain her spark. I didn't feel that Jonathan's side story was explored enough, which may have been intentional in this female centric retelling, and for all the lead up to Mina's showdown with the Dracula type character, it was all resolved very quickly in the last few pages of the story. I loved how a group of very different women and personality types came together to bring the bad men down through ritual and determination, and the ambiguous ending left open the possibility of more adventures with them in the future.

The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich is a dark and twisty psychological thriller that delves into themes of trauma, mental illness and the blurred lines of reality and imagination. The atmosphere and tension are skillfully crafted, but for some reason the story didn't fully resonate with me, leaving me wanting more character development. I'm not a huge fan of thrillers that involve a lot of mental illness, nor do I love an unreliable narrator, so perhaps this would fare better with someone who enjoys that theme more. Ultimately this book was not for me, but I definitely think someone else would enjoy it.

Are the following fictional names familiar to you: Mina Murray (schoolmistress), Lucy Westenra (victim), Jonathan Harker (lawyer), Dr. John Seward (nice), Arthur Holmwood (aristocrat), Quincy Morris (rich Texan), and Mr. Swales (old guy)? They are the cast of characters of a classic horror novel written over 120 years ago; names that show up in The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich. Having now entered the 21st century, they are quite dissimilar to their namesakes: Mina is a psychiatrist with OCD, Lucy is still a victim, Harker is a farmer, Dr. Seward is a dick, Arthur is rich, Quincy is a female police officer, and Mr. Swales is a dead, old guy.

The themes of violence, sexuality, and the supernatural remain the same. In the modern version, young women are disappearing like clockwork; however, nobody notices. That is, until one of Dr. Mina Murray’s patients at the psychiatric facility she works at—which treats women with trauma—exhibits the same psychological and physical symptoms as her friend, Lucy. When she finds out about other missing women who exhibited the same symptoms before they disappeared, she goes to the police, but they dismiss her the same way her colleague Dr. Seward does: with a hefty dose of misogyny and denigration.

Mina returns to her family home to help Lucy. It has been twelve years since she skipped town without explanation, causing hurt and anger to those who loved her. Now that she has chosen to help her friend and delve into the mystery of the missing women, Mina must confronted the legacy of her abrupt disappearance, and continued absence. Will Mina’s own trauma and OCD hinder (or help) her search for answers? Can she mend her broken relationships, and herself?

With the help of her mother, her long, lost boyfriend (Johnathan Harker), and childhood friend and one-time girlfriend of Lucy (Quincy), Mina eventually works out the ghastly who, what, and why as it
concerns the missing young women. Filled with references to Irish folklore, myths, and legends, this novel dives into issues of trauma, the violence and commoditization of women, and the power of institutions (men) and money (men).

This was an easy, middling read for me. I don’t know the purpose of borrowing the names of the horror classic. It doesn’t affect the story. Maybe it’s an inside joke with the readers who know who they are. It seemed gimmicky to me. From the way the novel ended, there may be a book two in the offing.

I would like to thank Graydon House Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Dr. Mina Murray find herself facing past demons after she meets her latest patient, a young girl with a strange rash, a broken mind, and no history. At the same time her childhood best friend reaches out for help and when Mina goes to her, she finds Lucy is exhibiting the same symptoms as her patient. Leading Mina into the depths of folklore and her past, she is determined to save her friend and avenge a string of missing girls. This modern retelling of Dracula had me eager to find out what was going to happen next.

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC!