*This was a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Withered Hill follows Sophie - a flawed, aimless character who lives in London and jumps between temporary jobs while complaining about how poor she is in between her impulse purchases and never ending bottles of wine.

The book is split into two timelines; while Sophie is inside Withered Hill and her time outside of it. We are meant to be seeing the contrast between how terrible she was and the better person she is becoming within Withered Hill but for me, the character development just wasn’t there.

I really enjoyed the concept and there was a degree of suspense as Barnett introduces themes of paganism and the feeling of Sophie being watched. I wouldn’t however classify this as scary, it definitely fits the theme of folklore horror but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who was looking for a book to terrify them.

One of my main pet peeves with this book was the relationships that Sophie seemed to form, they just felt a bit off and the romance between her and Catherine was just weird. It came out of nowhere and without any build up, almost like it was there for the sake of a gay relationship.

Overall this was a solid 3 stars for me. There were definitely flaws and it was by no means perfect but I enjoyed the premise and the twist ending really took this up an entire star for me.

Possibly the best book I’ve read all year - I’m heartbroken the author doesn’t have any other horrors for me to pick up next!
I absolutely LOVED this story, so deliciously creepy and the plot & whole back story was just fantastic. Couldn’t put this book down, I’ve recommended it to everyone I’ve spoken to in the past week!

*edit* I was really excited for the audio too but when I crossed the line nothing happened*

I was really interested in the plot of this book and was drawn to the folk horror element which is always an exciting read. I found the pacing a little off, it was okay to begin with and then it seemed to jump all over the place. This is often the case with horror novels but it didn’t feel right and didn’t suit the book at all.

The characters were interesting and drawn you into the story, however the main character often made stupid mistakes which often had you questioning what was going on and why. There wasn’t a lot of outright horror aspects, however the book was very atmospheric which I loved.

A fantastic and intelligent, folk horror story. Barnett's novel is fast paced, atmospheric and perfectly plotted to keep the tension going until the unsettling and rewarding finale.

This book is a little bit all over the place. First of all, though: great cover. Very intriguing concept, and I was drawn to the folk horror aspect of the plot. The chapters jump back and forth between "Outside" and "Inside" the strange little village of Withered Hill, and a mystery unfolds about what exactly is going on and how and why Sophie came to be there. The chapters are also written in a different tense, making things extra disorienting.

The biggest issue I had with this novel was the pacing. It started off fine, but as more and more elements were introduced to Sophie's life "Outside" of Withered Hill, things felt off and muddled on that side of things and the storytelling "Inside" the village grew redundant to an irritating degree. By the halfway point I was actually pretty tired of all the riddles and the talking in circles and how repetitive the dialogue was in those chapters. I was sick of hearing people say, “That’s the way of things in Withered Hill!” And stating for the hundredth time that Sophie was not a prisoner but that she couldn’t leave until she was “ready to leave.” It took what was at first an intriguing and strange mystery and turned it into an annoying chore, and by the time I got to the 70% point I was honestly just ready to be done with it.

Sophie makes truly awful decisions and she was sympathetic to a degree due to a very dark and upsetting past but honestly, I was judging her for various reasons. She doesn’t learn from any of her mistakes or bad choices in the "Outside" world and she’s nearly impossible to root for. I believe this is by design, but since the entire book is built around her it's a tough journey to take as a reader. A slight nitpick on my part, but this author also does one of my personal pet peeves: “He bit her lip” and “She bit her lip” (It happens a LOT throughout these pages.)

The horror in this book sneaks up on you. I will say that there isn't a whole lot of it, and the more severe moments are very spread out. But there are some good scenes, and a couple in particular that I felt were very effective. I do want to emphasize that for the first 1/4 of the story or so I was all in and very invested. I can see this really working well for other readers. It just happened to push the wrong buttons for me in some ways.

Example: A lot of stuff in Withered Hill didn’t sit right with me, and it wasn’t the violence. Catherine used sexual contact to pacify Sophie any time she was *justifiably upset and it felt icky to me, like it was blurring the lines of consent. The fact that the author had the audacity to make this a romantic subplot was a bit baffling. One of the major selling points of this book is that it has a sort of "Midsommar" flavor, with its unsettling and dreamlike setting. The influences are definitely there, but this is highly weighed down by the Male Gaze. And the whole idea of the villagers in Withered Hill waffling between being a creepy non-threat and a puzzling support system for Sophie did not work for me, personally.

The ending was both nauseating and had a bit too much self-righteous finger wagging for me. I don't often bring up Feminism in my reviews, but this is absolutely a morality tale written by a man and it shows.

A prime example of cool concept, lackluster execution. But I can see this doing very well in the right reader's hands.

Thank you to Netgalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.

TW: Sexual Assault, Animal Harm/Death, Alcohol abuse, Domestic abuse, Mention of child death, Mention of death of Family members

This was an excellent book, and a really great edition to the folk-horror trope. Here we meet a young woman called Sophie Wickham and reading from two different timelines we get the full story of how Sophie arrived in Withered Hill and her lifestyle leading up to he time in the village.

I found it fascinating and the book never wavered in its intensity. From being a bit of lush in the outside world to being a completely different person on the inside, you feel that it was almost a retreat for Sophie being in Withered Hill. Far from it. With the villagers having their own bizarre take on each pagan festival that takes place it gave me Wicker Man and League of Gentleman vibes. Truly a weird and wonderful tale. The conclusion was astounding (I won't spoil it for you)

I've said this about many books I have read, but this one needs film /tv series treatment. It's very cinematic in it's scene settings and characters. OH MY GOD just remembered The Twins!!!! They were weird.

I have now pre-ordered this and his upcoming book released February 2025, Scuttler's Cove.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley UK for an honest review.

Withered Hill is one of the most beautiful horror stories I have ever read.

Sophie feels like her life is stuck in a cycle of bad jobs, bad relationships, and not moving forward. One day, she finds herself in a village with few memories. From there, we join Sophie in learning about Withered Hill and it's residents, who hold more secrets than you can imagine.

There are so many moments where I was uneasy about Sophie's surroundings, whether it be the way someone is dressed or the horrific actions that are taking place. The story moves between timelines, which gives us a really good view of what has happened and what is yet to come all at once. It's an incredible dynamic in the way the story is told.

This story is immersive- you're drawn into Sophie's story from the very beginning. This is definitely a slow burn and understanding the environment is more than half of the story. Barnett does an incredible job of allowing the reader to be soaked in the setting in ways that is rare today.

Excellent, twisty little horror novel. Kept me turning pages well into the night! Looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and David Barnett for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Withered Hill coming out September 26, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I really love horror and gothic stories, so I was excited to check this out. I also love British stories. I thought it started out really good, but I was soon losing interest. I wasn’t feeling the spooky or autumn vibes. I couldn’t really relate to Sophie’s character. I was thinking she’d have more of a reaction to the weird things happening to her. It just wasn’t what I was expecting. I would check out other books by this author.

In London, Sophie Wickham leads a wasteful, meaningless life. Her friends are all either married, have children, or have moved out of the country to lead their own lives. Meanwhile, Sophie jumps from temp job to temp job, downs two bottles of wine a night, and can’t seem to hold on to any meaningful relationships in her life. She also has a bit of a mean/selfish streak. One day, Sophie wakes up naked in the woods outside of the village of Withered Hill in Lancashire being greeted by villagers masked in animal faces. She doesn’t remember anything about her life or how she got to Withered Hill. The village is surrounded by a ring of trees and its habitants all practice pagan traditions; respect/love of earth, seasonal festivals, and some strange practices drenched in folklore. No matter how hard Sophie tries to escape, she just never quite manages it. The people are nice enough, but why can she never seem to successfully leave the boundaries? It’s almost as if there’s something in the trees…keeping her there. As Sophie searches for answers on how to leave Withered Hill, she might not fully understand the sacrifices she will need to make to escape...until much too late. Withered Hill by David Barnett is an English folk horror worthy of an A24 film. In fact, if you liked movies like Midsommar or The Village, this might be a good book for you. It’ll be released for everyone to read on September 26, 2024. It is told in alternate timelines; Sophie inside Withered Hill and Sophie outside Withered Hill in London. However, it is not necessarily told linearly, especially inside Withered Hill. I did not always love the jumping around, but it wasn’t enough to bother me too much. Just a bit odd to go from Beltane (May) to Faunalia (February) to Samhain (November 1) out of order. This book had a creepy atmosphere throughout, but it reached true horror at the end. I did not see the twist coming and that made me extremely happy! The villagers were all fascinating as a whole. The laws and morals of the village were very different from the outside world. They handfasted instead of married, gave thanks for their resources, and cared for their community. It was the opposite of the growing individualism of today. That said, there was not a clear good guy or bad guy to this story. Every character was a product of their world and was just performing the actions of the rules where they were raised. This book brought up a lot of questions for me about free will. Was Sophie set up from childhood to eventually end up at Withered Hill? Did she ever truly have a choice or were there too many influences pushing her in one direction? I won’t say anything else about this book because I don’t want to spoil it. If you have any interest in folk horror, paganism, or interest in the question of our personal impacts on the world around us, this is a solid read for you. Thank you to NetGalley for letting me read this early! 4/5 stars

Every now and then I read a folk horror book that blows me away and Withered Hill is such an example. I’m incredibly excited for this dark and twisted tale to reach readers.

First and foremost, the author has done his research and I applaud him for this.
As a modern day practising Pagan it was refreshing to see how much he knew about Pagan sabbats/festivals, deities and beliefs.

It has plenty of the folk horror aspects that you come to expect - rural setting, isolation, paganism, rituals, outsiders entering small town, creepy nature elements, local folklore and an overall sense of unsettled dread that permeates through. This may not rely on jump scares but certain scenes will burn themselves into your brain.

Withered Hill is a slow burn that will draw you in gradually but once hooked it’s impossible to stop reading. Dual timelines add to the feeling of confusion and creepiness as you’re left wondering what exactly is going on? I didn’t know but I knew I couldn’t put it down until I found out.

I won’t say much more as I fear spoiling anything but please know this is worth your time if you enjoyed the Wicker Man and Midsommar.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for my ARC.

This is my first time reading David Barnett, who has published in a variety of different genres and written comic books previously. This is, I believe, his first foray into writing horror. Focusing on Sophie, a woman in her 30s with a drinking problem and a chip on her shoulder, who wakes up in the eponymous village with no memory of who she is or how she got there. The book is written in alternating parts—Outside, counting down the days until she ends up in Withered Hill, and Inside, detailing her experiences there in a non-linear fashion.

The book very much falls into the folk horror subgenre, with the usual accompanying tropes. The main character is isolated and confused in a rural location, of which the inhabitants are cagey about revealing information; there are rituals, animal sacrifices, and mysterious beliefs; there's a central mystery that Sophie needs to solve to save herself. This mystery, along with the way the chapters are formatted, elevates it in this crowded area, and it held my interest more than a lot of similar stories.

It's not without its issues—it seems that people either love the alternating timelines or hate them, and sometimes the women in the story feel very obviously written by a man—but overall it feels more than the sum of those parts, and I was hooked reading it. I also enjoyed the ending so much that it almost singlehandedly added a star to my rating.

I felt like a central mythology was being created, or at least an existing one redefined, as I was reading. It often feels more like a thriller rather than a horror, but some of the ideas and imagery here are truly disturbing, and the author successfully manages to end the story without leaving too many questions or too much ambiguity. I had a great time devouring this over a couple of days and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to fans of folk horror in general.

There is something about folk horror that really does it for me and this is by far one of the best examples of it that I have ever read. The story itself was eerie but the way it was structured leaned even more into the eeriness. I have been thinking about this book from the second I finished it and will not be stopping anytime soon. This may just be an annual fall read for me now!

I was excited to dive into this one. The premise sounded creepy and I love folk horror. However, after reading this, I would not necessarily put this into the horror genre and I wasn't left fully satisfied. The layout was a bit too discombobulated. The timeline jumped all over the place and for my personal preference, I think it might have worked better with a plain "before" and "after". The protagonist was highly unlikable which would be fine if the story and pacing is strong enough. The conclusion was good and the best part overall. Three Stars.

Thank you, Netgalley and Canelo for this ARC.

My curse continues alas I am destined to suffer and read books I don't enjoy, can't figure out why until I discover only at the end that it was WRITTEN BY A MAN 😵😩🤯😵‍💫😣😭


Nothing really captured my attention. The flashbacks were bland and didn't create any suspense or tension making me wonder and look forward to the next, but then the other chapters were confusing (a festivity there another here) and repetitive as fuckkk "it is the way of Withered Hill" must have been written 150 times and miss MC just goes through one celebration to another, I didn't feel a sense of escalation or things getting worse, creepier etc it was just a procession of events.


I literally skipped entire paragraphs again and again and still I followed what happened, barely missed any information. Just when you thought the flashbacks from a year ago were annoying, you get a flashback from the previous century 💀


I can see that it was going for the eerie wood quirky community vibe but it didn't give that energy at all. It felt like a farmer town inviting the new cottage girl to join in their community. I wish it had some dark witchy vibes, not kid's tale evil corporation vibes (bc the 1y ago flashbacks just gave Phineas and Ferb evil doctor's enterprise)


Let me just say: Gay rights 🪄🌈


And lets finish with a quote that disturbed profoundly, even more than I know A MAN wrote it:

"Sophie thought about those condoms in her bag, and tried to ignore the insistent chattering between her legs."

CHATTERING


[review posted on Goodreads and a short one on Instagram]

A creepy and eerie folk-horror that will keep you questioning what's really going on. Sophie wakes up naked in the woods with no memory of who she is. She stumbles into a quaint village, and finds the town is expecting her. She's not a prisoner, but the town won't let her leave, until the time is right, that is.

Bouncing between Sophie's life inside and outside, the narritive expertly keeps you questioning what's really going on. I loved how atmospheric this book was, and was left more shocked with every twist. Definitely gave me Midsommar vibes, and I loved how compelling the tale was.

I feel like a very lucky and grateful girl to have received this arc. Because this was a grade A banger.
Even aspects of the plot I predicted had a little twist, a little sprinkle of unsettlement, that elevated the book. Despite the slow start and my apprehension about the alternating timelines I couldn’t put this down past the 40% mark.
I have a lot of thoughts about this book and how it got under my skin but the less you know the better, I think. I recommend adding this to your halloween tbr if you enjoy cult-y manipulative folk horror. 4.5 stars rounded up.
(I don’t like to say this usually but I have to : This has the potential to be such a good screen adaptation.)

"Withered Hill” by David Barnett is a folk horror novel, set in North England, in a fictional – I hope 1, at least – village in Lancashire called Withered Hill, where one day Sophie Wickham wakes up naked and covered in mud. Two main storylines slowly unfold exploring Sophie’s life inside and outside of the village. The narratives get further tangled as even within the two storylines, the incidents are not presented chronologically, which increased my personal discomfort while also kept me very intrigued to find out the answer to the question that dominated both timelines. How did Sophie get to Withered Hill?

While I have consumed so much folk horror – and horror in general – through movies, tv shows, and even games, I actually haven’t read that many folk horror books. So I cannot judge on the literary tropes of the genre, but, to me, this book was highly visual and extremely sensual. The feeling of dread and exhilaration it offered me was really fun. It took me a few pages to orient myself into the world as the story begins with Sophie’s existence outside of Withered Hill as she says goodbye to a friend who is moving away. As the last of her friend group to still be single and without a career, Sophie is lonely and desperately needs some kind of direction. The first glimpse of Sophie in Withered Hill is towards the end of her time there on day 357, where we meet a far more settled and I would argue happier.

You know which timeline you are reading based on whether you are in an ‘inside’ or ‘outside.’ To me, very quickly the ‘inside’ Withered Hill chapters became far more comforting. Despite the oddity of the village and certain violent incidents, the villagers are kind to Sophie, and the structure and predictability of the characters is a welcome change from the chaos of Sophie’s life ‘outside.’

I ruminated the ‘inside/outside’ dichotomy, and I had various theories while reading the book. The most evocative one was about addiction and rehabilitation. I have never gone through rehabilitation, so I don’t have a personal experience of the subject matter, but from what I read and seen in my extended family, the period of having to adjust within the new rules of the rehabilitation process are scary and painful and those who go through it often crave to escape it. Sophie’s constant desire to escape Withered Hill, even when she is happy, reminded me of that. Another thought I had regarding the inside/outside was that of birth. Being inside the womb and the birth and life outside of it. A baby is always meant to escape the womb, even though it provides safety and nourishment and the world outside for a newborn is a shock to all their senses and far harder to navigate (although all this is far less consciousness and just my own interpretation).

The mystery of what happened to Sophie before Withered Hill, the speculation as to whether Sophie would escape it and what kind of person she would be after her transition back to the outside world dominated my thoughts while reading the book. I found it immensely enjoyable and very twisty, urging me to keep reading late into the night. I am not sure if the book scared me, but it definitely made me tense with each revelation.

"Withered Hill" offers a very unique concept and really powerful scenes that are not only enjoyable to read but also ponder very interesting questions. Fun, tense, and morally ambiguous at times, I think this novel is a great fit for those who want to give a go to folk horror novels, like me, but also for readers who enjoy horror more widely.

Withered Hill by David Barnett is an Ari Aster movie waiting to happen with Nicolas Cage in a subtle role. (Sorry, Longlegs still hasn't left my mind.)

Sophie Wickham is 32, living in London, working temp jobs, and drinking too much too often.
Sophie Wickham is 32 and wakes up naked in a forest and stumbles into an idyllic village, Withered Hill.

Duel timeline Sophie - one inside and one outside - adjusts to life. Outside Sophie starts a new job entering data into a database. Sometimes it's a series of numbers, sometimes it's Latin words. Regardless, it's mind numbing and pays well. She's also dating Tom, the handsome man she ran into, literally, on her first day of work.

Inside Sophie, after multiple attempts to escape, has resigned herself to life in Withered Hill. There's no need for money, everyone seems happy, but she still struggles with some of their traditions...there's a lot of blood and sex.

We follow as we see Sophie leading up to Withered Hill and Sophie with her early days to the later months until the timelines start to line up in an explosive finale.

With parts of The Village, The Wicker Man and The Lottery, this is a terrifying look at folk traditions and what makes someone a good person.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The concept of this folk horror book was very interesting about a woman who gets stuck in a town. We follow her story both in a before and present timeline and I thought that was quite cool in a dramatic curve. It keeps the reader on their toes, in a way, that you know a bit more than the characters themselves.

I also liked that the main character was a bit unlikable (in my opinion). Like, I cared about her but there were also things I disliked about her and that is nice once in a while when an author dares to write a slightly unlikable main character.

The story for me, however, was so-so. I didn’t think it was that interesting in the end even if a like the literary concept the author used.