**⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | A Gripping and Chilling Read**

Dawn Kurtagich’s *The Madness* is a captivating psychological thriller that delves into the unsettling realms of mental illness and supernatural suspense. Kurtagich’s atmospheric writing and intricate plot create a tense and immersive experience, drawing readers into a world where reality and delusion blur. The novel’s exploration of psychological themes is both profound and chilling, with well-developed characters that add depth to the narrative. While some plot elements may feel predictable, the book’s intense atmosphere and engaging storytelling make it a standout read for fans of psychological thrillers and horror.

This is very much about trauma but it's also an intriguing retelling of Dracula (don't worry if you haven't read it). Mina, who has forced herself into a small restricted life, is a psychiatrist who finds herself trying to figure out why a diverse group of women are experiencing the same symptoms. This might be a bit baffling at first and know that it's told with a variety of methods, but that once you're in, you'll feel the rhythm Kurtagich was working for. I liked the setting (who can resist a castle in Wales), the characters are sympathetic (well, not all of them), and there's fine storytelling. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. A good read for horror fans.

It all starts with a bizarre rash, losing time, weakness, fatigue, nightmares and seizures.

When Dr. Mina Murray’s patient and her childhood friend are found to be suffering from a similar illness, she leaves her tidy and controlled London life after twelve years and returns home. She is determined to figure out what is causing the mysterious illness before it is too late.

I have read three of Kurtagich’s four novels and have enjoyed every single one. And the Trees Crept In and Teeth in the Mist are labeled YA, but don’t let that fool you. I am very particular about the YA books that I read and these are stellar horror plots. I almost think they are too scary for teenagers. I listened to both of these books on audio and can’t recommend them enough. They really add a spookiness to the creepy plots.

When I saw that Kurtagich was releasing an adult thriller, I couldn’t wait to read it. I really wanted the audiobook of The Madness, but it wasn’t available yet. I didn’t even read the synopsis, just blindly downloaded the E-book.

I really enjoyed The Madness, but the plot was not as scary or as original as Kurtagich’s other books. The topic is also not one I usually enjoy reading about, but it doesn’t appear until 3/4 of the way through. The book ends on a cliffhanger, so I assume this is a set up for a series. If you want to know the mystery topic, it is listed in the Goodreads category (this is the twist in the book so I don’t recommend the spoiler). I do plan on continuing this series, as I am fully invested in these characters.

Overall, Kurtagich has proven to be a fantastic horror author. I will be picking up The Dead House soon, as it’s the only one of her books I haven’t yet read.

4/5 stars

Expected publication date: 8/27/24

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the ARC of The Madness in exchange for an honest review.

Psychiatrist Mina Murray returns to her small hometown after her estranged friend reaches out for her help. She begins to see similarities in her strange symptoms and those of her troubled patient. As she digs deeper, she realizes the sinister truth and how it connects to her own traumatic past.

This gothic tale has elements of both mystery and horror. The windswept seaside Welsh town sets the perfect atmospheric backdrop for this eerie mystery to unfold, with its strange occurrences and mythological legends. The characters are all so unique and I love how they band together to find the truth, no matter how dangerous and threatening. It’s a perfect read for spooky season!

Rating 4⭐️

Mina returns home after leaving abruptly without notice. A childhood friend reached out for help and has strange symptoms that also have affected a patient that Mina is treating at the psychiatric facility she works at. Pairing up with her mother and others, Mina works to piece together what has been happening in her hometown for decades.

A creepy horror story starring a psychiatrist with a past that she'd like to keep hidden. When Mina hears from her estranged best childhood friend she knows she needs to return home. What she finds is nothing short of a disaster - Lucy is very ill and no one can seem to determine the cause nor the solution. With young women disappearing in the area, Mina is sure that there is more at play.

To save her friend she will have to face the secrets from many years ago as well as the horror hiding in her childhood town, is she brave enough? This was a fun tale, a bit chaotic in the beginning and I had a hard time following but quickly fell in love with Mina's story and enjoyed it greatly!

The cover gives hannibal lector vibes. The summary gives off greenmile vibes. This thriller kept it's hold on me until the very end. The way the characters are introduced and then how the author messes with logic keeps you guessing.

I really hate to give this book a low rating because I didn't read it. The formatting on the epub was so wonky, the chapters weren't separated properly and for me, personally, it made it impossible for me to read.

I enjoyed The Madness. Good pacing, interesting premise, and overall a solid thriller. More detailed review to follow, but I would recommend. Thank you!

I am new to this author, but she had me at the fact that this is a reimagining of Dracula. For fans of the original, this novel brings it up to today and brings the women to the forefront, but it still honors the heart of Stoker's story. Kurtagich somehow made incorporating an ancient castle and Welsh spellcasting feel seamless with modern day. Mina is a strong but deeply hurt woman battling her own trauma by becoming a psychiatrist who helps other traumatised women. I especially loved the reinterpretation of Renfield/"Renee Fields" as a woman suffering trauma, and Dr Seward as of somewhat more dubious character than he was portrayed in the original, but it still felt true to the characters. All the main players from the original are here in slightly different embodiments. Dawn Kurtagich clearly knows the story and loves it enough to really create something that feels fresh but also in line with Stoker's story. Highly recommend to any Dracula fans and anyone who like gothic stories in general.

Folklore. Myths. Monsters lurking in the night. This book caught me off guard in the best way, as up until near the very end I had no idea what was going on or where the story was heading. Filled with unreliable narrators, conspiracy and danger around every corner, and women going missing - this book is not to be missed.

I believe this book is best gone into completely blind, as I have when I read this. We follow Mina, a psychiatrist, dealing with her own unrelenting OCD as she works to care for her patients. When she suddenly gets an email from a friend she hasn’t seen for 12 years asking for help, she is thrust into a world of danger and folklore as she has to fight to save her friend from whatever sickness is afflicting her.

Told from Mina’s perspective, with occasional flashes of another timeline going on in the background, we slowly piece together everything going on in this book in a fight against time for saving her friend. I really enjoyed the multiple moving parts used to tell this story, using small moments of scenes that had already happened to help tell a more complete story. However, it’s not until near the very end that we can finally see how everything actually fits together into one single cohesive puzzle.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves horror and mystery, and enjoys it when a story gives you all the pieces you need to solve the puzzle - but waits until the very end until you (the reader) can put all these pieces together. I finished this novel in one sitting, and I’ll absolutely be looking into anything else written by this author.

A huge thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Harlequin Trade Publishing for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was confused the whole time I was reading this book. I had no clue what was going on.

It's a great story, loved parts of it. It definitely had it moments.

I went into this book knowing nothing. Sometimes this is the best way to proceed. I had no idea as I plunged in that this was a retelling of Dracula. I enjoyed finding easter eggs along the way that confirmed my suspicion. Wow! The Madness is a hauntingly beautiful read. I have to say that the author creates authentic characters and a story that kept me on the edge.

Thank you NetGalley for letting me read the ARC for this book.

TW: Mentions of SA (more clear toward the end of the book) and assault, and also PTSD

I had no idea that this was a modern day retelling of Dracula until I started reading the book and took a moment to realize why some of the names were so familiar. I really enjoyed the additional folklore that was added into the book as well. However, the book didn't captivate my attention as much as I hoped it would and found myself rushing to just finish the book. There were also some skin descriptions that made my skin crawl and I had to force myself to jump past those sections.

The ending of the book held more of my attention the most and made me more interested in what would happen next.

This book was 3.5 stars for me, but I would be interested in reading more by this author as I did enjoy her writing style.

TL:DR - A modern retelling of Dracula through the lens of sexual predation with zero shiny vampires.

Mina Murray (note: not Harker) is a London-based psychiatrist who long ago fled her native Wales village for Oxford, never looking back. It's clear she has trauma and that her focus helping sexually abused and terrorized women is deeply personal. For all her ability to assist others, including her newest patient, Renee, she has not overcome her past, leaning heavily on OCD to survive.

Until Lucy (yes, THAT Lucy), long abandoned to Mina's past, sends a missive begging for help. An undiagnosed illness is ravaging Mina's former best friend, badly enough for Lucy to put aside more than a decade's worth of bitterness. When she arrives, Mina finds Lucy married to the rich Arthur Holmswood and very happy--until she has a life-threatening seizure and reveals a horrifying rash. soon, Mina starts to draw connections between Renee's condition and Lucy's--and maybe others.

Anyone can retell a classic, but few do it with a truly fresh perspective. Kurtagich's Mina is a hot mess of a survivor, absolutely excelling at counseling others while equally failing at addressing her own issues. You'll recognize names (Van (Helsing), Quincy, Mina, Jonathan Harker, Seward, Renfield, and Holmwood), and the story for sure. What's different is the absolute lack of romance in Kurtagich's work, and I am here for it. Dracula is never named, but his predation is never romanticized. All the main characters (who matter) are women. Jonathan is there, but he's not important except for as the love interest, which in a genre-turned story is super clever.

I read one review complaining about the complexity of the language and, really, stfu. This is gorgeously written with eloquent prose, vivid characters, and wonderful depth to relationships between women (especially female best friends and mother/daughters). The focus is on trauma and overcoming, told through a lens of classic literature.

All the stars. Read it now.

Unfortunately, this one just isn’t for me and I truly hate to say it because Dracula is a big favorite of mine. The writing style was rough for me, most of it felt like it was trying to overachieve on an essay assignment—lots of unnecessary words and phrases that didn’t add anything to the scene. The premise is really intriguing and I was looking forward to starting this book. I may come back to it later and try again.

The Madness
by Dawn Kurtagich
Pub Date: Aug 27 2024

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, she returns home 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 amnesiac patient 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…

The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich truly lived up to my expectations for a Dawn Kurtagich book. For anyone familiar with Dracula as soon as you see the names Mina and Lucy, you automatically assume the story is going to involve vampires in some form. Of course, this story is a type of Dracula retelling...maybe more of a reimagining in a unique way. In this version Mina is well versed in mental health (while addressing her own mental health concerns) and exploring its intersection with folklore. The characters were well developed and Kurtagich is skilled at world building with these very graphic and creepy elements. I think this book is great for spooky season.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending me a digital ARC for my honest review.

This Dracula retelling follows Mina Murray, a psychiatrist revisiting her hometown at the summons of her childhood friend Lucy. Lucy is suffering from a mysterious illness that Mina connects with a patient of hers back in London. She attempts to connect the dots between different missing women and also uncovers the truth about her own past.

This book was a fun blend of gothic horror and modern crime thriller. The story uses elements from Bram Stoker’s original novel while also introducing some creative twists that I found to be incredibly effective. Something I love is when books incorporate letters, emails, and news clippings to aid in the development of the story. The unusual vampiric lore that was established to explain the unusual symptoms was a delicious treat for me.

This was definitely a slow-burn, allowing Mina to take her time with her investigation to uncover the truth. The reveal wasn’t entirely as satisfying as I’d hoped- the ending felt rushed compared to the development of the rest of the book. There were a few elements I wish were further explained or more neatly tied up.

If you’re looking for a dark, crime thriller take Dracula with witchcraft, feminist themes, and kickass women, then The Madness comes out on August 27th!

My only real complaint is the editing of the ebook... Sometimes there was no break in between parts of the story/different scenes.

This is a Dracula, Gothic, and Welsh inspired book with missing girls, strange symptoms mainly a black rash, and a call back for Mina to her home in Wales. She gets a cryptic email from her estranged friend. She runs into an ex who was broken hearted when she fled.

As never having read Dracula, I did enjoy the creepiness of the story. It was hard to trust anyone besides Mina. The trauma that made her flee comes full circle in a great way and the ending is ambiguous enough to either end or have a second book to supplement it.