Five siblings that may or may not have a special connection to ancestral land in the Appalachian mountains have to reckon with their ambivalent feelings towards each other and their familial legacy after a rite of exchange with the land does not yield the promised results. The messy and complicated dynamics between all of the siblings feels real and lived in. This is the perfect autumnal pick and is best read beneath your favorite tree.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this novel!

The Bog Wife follows the Haddesley siblings (Charlie, Wenna, Eda, Nora, and Percy) who have been raised in a dilapidated home overlooking a bog they have been sustained by for generations. In order to renew their compact with the bog, they must perform a ritual sacrifice, the consequence of which is a new bog wife for the eldest son. Wenna, having fled from the home ten years prior, returns on the eve the ritual, finding herself drawn back into the house, her family, and the bog.

The Bog Wife is an Appalachian gothic through and through, the descriptions of the house and landscape so run down and in a state of decay and ruin. Chronister does a fantastic job at crafting an environment that is eerie and hostile and unknown. The writing here really shines, and if you're a fan of the gothic, you are going to really enjoy how Chronister explores the genre.

While Wenna is set up as the sort of main character in the blurb, we spend time with each of the siblings, reading for their perspective as the events of the novel unfolds. They each have distinctive voices, which is great. Some of them are more interesting to read from than others, but that's to be expected with multiple points of view.

The pacing of this one is pretty slow, the novel more interested in looking at the familial dynamics within the house as the characters begin to piece together parts of their family past.

The ending that the novel builds to is great, though.

As I said, I would definitely recommend for folks who like the gothic, as well as fans of eco-speculative fiction.

The Haddesley family have always been the bog's custodians. They take care of the bog and the bog takes care of them. This includes giving the bog the family patriarch at the end of his life in exchange for a bog wife for the new patriarch, mother to the next generation. Except this time. When Charles Haddesley the Tenth dies, the eleventh does not find her, and the siblings are thrown into chaos. Eldest daughter Eda decides that a family can continue in more than one way. Middle daughter Wenna returns after a decade away, only meaning to stay for the rituals, but eventually realizing that this is the perfect moment to break the pact and get her family to a better place. Nora, the youngest daughter just wants to hold her family together. Percy, the younger son, who would have made a better patriarch, sets out to make a bog wife of his own. And eldest Charlie, who was never built to be patriarch, starts to dig into secrets that none of them want to know, all while the house and their lives crumble around them.
Atmospheric. Spooky. Gothic to the max. Beautifully written. Full of dark shadows and also a possum with three feet. The Bog Wife was everything it promised to be. I loved it. My one and only complaint is that Nora was so annoying. But other than that it was so good. And it goes such wild places. I was so wrong about how it would end. Fantastic book.

I had a few issues with the world of the book and the consistency of the story.

That said whatever my issues The Bog Wife is hypnotic, interesting, wild and incredible. Chronister weaves a tale of 5 adult siblings struggling in an abusive cycle that has proceeded them for many generations. This works as a climate story and an abuse story. Fascinating. Will be recommending it everywhere.

A gothic folkore story of dreams! It's definitely leans more towards the weird side of horror, it's beautifully written and utterly compelling, character driven but the plot is solid too

While I enjoyed this novel with regards to the dysfunctional family and setting, I had higher hopes for more horror and gothic vibes. It was more literary than scary and haunting that I was looking for.

It took me a few chapters to really get into this but as soon as I caught my groove, I couldn’t pull away from it.

Folk horror set in the Appalachians of West Virginia, this one was so original yet so tragic to me. The Haddesley family is held to a morbid tradition in which the newest family patriarch obtains his bride, to continue on another generation and repeat the cycle.

If you enjoy dysfunctional families, secrets and lies, incredibly atmospheric settings and heartbreaking yet captivating writing, be sure to grab this one. The Bog Wife is available today. Thanks to Counterpoint Press for my eARC.

Touted as gothic horror, this novel did have some of those elements, but lacked the dread and pace tgst would make this one to recommend for the spooky season.

Happy Pub Day to The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister

I just finished this incredible southern gothic horror thriller and to say I was totally wowed is an understatement! WOW!

Happy Pub Day to The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister! 🥳

I just finished this incredible southern gothic horror thriller, and to say I was wowed is an understatement—WOW!

The story is about a peculiar and reclusive family that has tended a cranberry bog in West Virginia for decades. The five siblings were largely raised by their eccentric father after their mother mysteriously disappeared years ago. They have been taught to honor and protect the bog, which sustains them, and they believe that when their father passes, a woman formed from the vegetation of the bog will appear to the eldest son to carry on the family line.

What really stood out to me is the well-developed and complex relationships between the siblings. It’s a bizarre and tragic story about family bonds and loyalty. It’s definitely an unusual one, and I absolutely loved it!

I received this arc via @netgalley and @counterpointllc

Oh look another gothic novel releasing that I of course HAD to read for this spooky season. The Bog Wife takes place in the isolated backwoods of West Virginia at a decrepit old manor house surrounded by a bog. The patriarch is dying and all of his children are required home to perform an occult burial ritual. Obviously family dysfunction in the mix, bizarre family traditions, folk horror. This has to be scratched a very specific itch of mine and I loved it.

The Bog Wife is a complicated family portrait within literary prose. The Haddesley Family is reclusive, isolated asking themselves for over 100 years, contained by an unassailable compact with the cranberry bog that makes up their ancestral land. There is subtle horror here, including body horror and cultish ideologies. I really enjoyed reading this short novel. The ending was haunting, embracing the horror of their predicament more fully. It is reminiscent of Faulkner's As I Lay Dying with similar themes of broken familial bonds, isolation, and sibling dysfunction. Thanks to NetGalley and Counterpoint for this ARC!

Abridged Review, full review at Eulalie Magazine:

The Bog Wife by Kay Chronister brings the lesser-known “Appalachian Gothic” subgenre to readers looking for their next chilling tale to devour. The novel follows the lives of the Haddesley siblings of West Virginia after their father dies and the truths they thought they knew about their family start to unravel.

Alternating between the five different perspectives of siblings Eda, Charlie, Wenna, Percy, and Nora, the truth about their family’s relationship with the bog is revealed. While using five different narrators sounds like it’s stretching the story too thin, Chronister manages to write each Haddesley sibling as their own fully-developed person.

What elevates The Bog Wife from an interesting concept to a fully-formed world is Chronister’s rich descriptions of the Haddesley family home and surrounding land. You’ll feel completely immersed in the land and its powerful hold on the family whether or not you’ve ever even seen what a bog looks like in real life.

Chronister also cleverly sews suspicion throughout the events, leaving the reader questioning as much as the siblings themselves whether the ill-omened happenings are supernatural or something much more mundane. Regardless of which way you lean while reading you’ll be equally disturbed by how the Haddesley siblings have been poisoned by their upbringing to reach such severe desperation and delusion

The Bog Wife is as much about toxic family systems and how hard it is to break free of them as it is about the potentially supernatural stirrings in the background. The mythology of the family is far more complex and dangerous than the vaguely Celtic mythology the family relies on for their traditions and rituals.

Fortunately, readers do get an explanation for the Haddesley family’s history by the end so you won’t feel frustrated by unanswered questions or loose ends.

Despite the dark turns of the story, the ending is a hopeful message about adapting without losing yourself completely. Regardless of how “normal” one may feel compared to the Haddesleys, the story of this family will resonate with readers.

Well, this was a weird one...but I think I liked it!

In this Applachian gothic horror, we follow the five Haddesley siblings as they navigate their relationship with the cranberry bog on their ancestral land.

In return for the Haddesleys' stewardship throughout the generations, the bog produces a "bog-wife" to the patriarchs of the family to continue the family line. But when the bargain is broken, the siblings must unearth secrets and carve out their own future.

To me, this was far more a gothic, literary family drama than a horror, but it goes to show how broad the genre of horror can be.

I think this will appeal to those who like slow-burn, character-focused stories. We rotate between the five perspectives of the siblings, and I felt like each was fleshed out and interesting in their own way.

We do get a hint of the supernatural in the lore and creation of the bog wives, which centres around an almost cult-like ritual of exchange with the land.

But really, this story is about our ties to home and family, and if those ties can ever really be broken. It's about understanding your place in the world. Each character makes strange decisions that they believe will either protect their family or help them escape from it.

Overall, some really interesting character studies with some fascinating descriptions of the crumbling manor house, and of course, the bog. I didn't love the ending–it left too many subplots unanswered–but it does cap off the unsettling weirdness of the book in a kind of beautiful way.

Read if you like:
✏️ Literary fiction
✉️ Family drama
🌱 Eco-horror

The Bog Wife is an Appalachian gothic tale that is wildly atmospheric. It centers on the Haddesley family living on their ancestral land set in West Virginia. A supernatural bargain ties them to the land, essentially a bog, which they must tend to in exchange for the bog sustaining them. A ritual sacrifice to the land is preformed which produces a “bog-wife” normally brought to life from vegetation, but when the bog fails to honor the bargain, the Haddesley children are thrust into a state of unrest.

What I liked:
-a very unique and original story
-excellent character development


What I didn’t like:
-I found the story quite slow and I found myself bored at times and wanting the book to end
-anticlimactic

Overall I give this one ⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was really excited for this one and that cover is absolutely stunning, unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. The beginning threw me off and I never really got connected with the story.

This story carries a just slightly "off" feeling throughout that kept me coming back to figure it out.
I wasn't sure that I even liked the story until I was almost finished and didn't want it to end! The bog setting, the multiple points of view, and the uneasiness throughout make this a perfect fall read.

The Bog Wife is an incredible, atmospheric story of a family tied to its land by a deal they must uphold.

When the bog betrays the Haddesley siblings, what will it mean to be a Heddesley? What can they do to fix what’s been broken? As their family home crumbles around them, so may their relationships.

This was one of my favorite read’s of 2024 and I can’t recommend it enough! The writing was beautiful and haunting.

Kay Chronister builds a gorgeous, atmospheric family drama in The Bog Wife. The Haddesley siblings are reunited to perform a generational ritual, but most are left confused when the result isn't what they expect. Told in alternating POVs, the siblings deal with the aftermath.

Chronister keeps us readers on our toes, muddling the truth of the Haddesley family lore and introducing just enough doubt. The ending is novel but not tidy, and it may alienate some readers. However, it is a lovely end to a tale about escaping expectations and finding one's own path.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

This book is INSANE. What an incredible way to explore generational trauma.

This is a quiet, atmospheric, and haunting read. And very very weird. The “horror” element is subtle but deeply effective imo- it slowly builds, creeping up on you before you can really process what’s happening. My heart broke for all 5 of these siblings in such different ways.

RIP Freud, you would have loved this book.

I’m not sure what this book is trying to be. It’s not horror. Fantasy or magical realism maybe. It’s mostly nonsensical ramblings. Like jazz music or poetry. The crumbling house and unhealthy bog were definitely characters which was interesting. The people characters, the siblings, were all awful and pathetic. The father was clearly crazy. I really disliked this. Love the cover. Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC