As soon as I read the description of The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis, I knew it would be right up my alley. The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides? Five sisters in 18th century England? Townspeople think the girls are turning into dogs? Sign. Me. Up.

The book wasn’t exactly what I was expecting (I was prepared for 18th century Nightbitch), but I thoroughly enjoyed this exploration of gender, conformity, and patriarchy. Yes, these are similar themes to Nightbitch, setting it in the past—where panicked villagers hold all the power and the sisters have none—makes for a very different experience. The story is never told from the sisters' perspectives, which only reinforces their lack of agency. Instead, we witness their fate through the eyes of those around them.

Purvis’s writing is sharp and unsettling, with a detached tone that reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. This is Purvis’s debut novel, and I can’t wait to see what she writes next.
Also, that cover! 😍

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC to review.

In this whimsical, yet dark, novel were we follow the people of a small town in a deliriously hot summer. We get varied perspectives and personalities, some likable and some mistrusting, as strange occurrences keep popping up in the village. Everyone becomes obsessed with these sisters who are so tightly-knit and a bit out of the ordinary in how they hold themselves in society. Things turn dark and mysterious as sightings of a pack of hounds starts to be suspected to be connected to the girls. This twisted novel was a very fun and fantastical world to be immersed in. I couldn’t put it down!

You can feel the isolation of Little Nettlebed seeping from the pages of this book and in turn how it feeds the lore the village-folk have created around the Mansfield sisters. Much like Merricat in Shirley Jackson’s We Have Always Lived in the Castle, the five sisters cause an uneasiness when they pass by others—they “had always seemed separate from the goings-on of the village, distant somehow.” & “they haunted the borders of the village.”
Purvis writes in a way that has you wondering if the girls truly do become dogs by night/have dark intentions or if they’re just girls “wanting to live— loudly freely” against societal standards of a young lady at the time. Do the whisperings of the villagers have enough influence to make the readers question their own view of the sisters?
I definitely see the comparisons to The Crucible! I really enjoyed the writing in this one, and I suggest picking it up this summer!

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for the advanced copy of The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis!

This was such a delightfully bizarre read which follows the Mansfield sisters in their village of Little Nettlebed. As the heat of a particularly dry summer climaxes, the villagers began to suspect the sisters of something unsettling…they’re turning into dogs?

While I wouldn’t say the concept of “village falls into hysteria because obviously those young women have been touched by the devil” (uh huh yeah sure) is that revolutionary, I found this book incredibly entrancing without coming off forced or overdone. The prose was quite haunting and the plot was fueled by this idea that as the village falls into drought, strange things keep happening and people get more paranoid (and who do they blame? The women, duh!!). One particular section that stuck out to me was “their spiritedness and singularity, the way rumours about them bred. How people grew preoccupied with them, how they dreaded and pursued them and might eventually ruin them. No other girls in history had ever met with such a fate.” The Hounding encapsulated to me the experience of being a girl and despite being truly bizarre, at its core, is a deeply relatable tale as old as time.

This is definitely for folks who love bizarre, atmospheric literary fiction and was a definite 5 stars for me!

Weird girl fiction lives on! The atmosphere in this was so well done, there is this uneasiness that makes you want to find out what's coming next! Slow burn but well done.

This is a reminder of what it looks like when the biggest crime in a very small town is simply being a woman who wishes for autonomy.

Introduced by the atmospherically eerie setting, the unseasonably hot air thick with impending doom, we meet the five sisters who will inevitably spark your curiosity. You will want more — aside from straightforward answers, you will want their perspective, what makes them individuals, what articulates their dreams, what secures the deep bond that weaves each sibling together. Through varying observations from the village outside their farm we can piece together answers from our own assumptions, but they are just that: assumptions. Which is exactly where lies the moral of this story. It’s giving, “sure, don’t judge a book by its cover, but more over, seriously do NOT descend into hysteria via unconfirmed stories from villagers that don’t drink nearly enough water”.

It is a quick read that compels you to read faster and faster as more madness unfurls. The language is purposefully pointed, blurring the fine line between love and hate, obsession and indifference, to a state so unrecognizable you’d think it’s just shimmering air from oppressive weather.

I wouldn’t call this groundbreaking, but I would call it affective. The emotions the author aims to pull out of you come tumbling out whether you roll your eyes during their fall or not. You will be rooting for these sisters you hardly know a single truth about. You will be invested in the fate of those defending them. You will be frustrated, skeptical, and endeared — and sometimes that’s really all you need to make a worthy thought-provoking novel.

A layered, quick, and delightful read. Incredibly unique in its premise. Purvis’ writing is both simplistic in that it’s an easy read while also being multifaceted and thought-provoking. I really enjoyed myself & know this is going to get the litfic Hype™️ this year.

*DMX barking noise*

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This title has a publishing date of 08/05/2025.

This was a haunting and exquisite debut from Xenobe Purvis. I love any piece of writing that explores the primal nature of little girls, but this was especially memorable.

I really enjoyed this book. It reminded me of an updated version of "The Crucible." The use of multiple narrators and points of view added depth to the novel. It highlighted the misunderstandings of girls, as well as the resentment and jealousy that can turn into rumors and hatred—issues we still see in society today. This served as a reminder that while we have made progress, some things remain unchanged. The writing was terrific and kept me engaged the entire time. I loved the ending.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this arc!!

“The villagers were more afraid of the girls themselves than they were of the dogs. Girls—normal human girls—people could contend with; they were weak and small. And dogs too could be trained. But girls who became dogs, or who let the world believe they were dogs, were either powerful or mad: both monstrous possibilities.”

This debut completely blew me away. It’s marketed as crucible x virgin suicides and absolutely delivers. I loved the mix point of view characters, and the different way they viewed women and by extension, the “dogs”. I also really liked the air of mystery. I’m not sure how to describe this book because not a ton technically happens, but I couldn’t put it down. Really enjoyed all the lush descriptions. Definitely pick up when it’s released in August!!
5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry & Co. for the ARC of Xenobe Purvis’s The Hounding.

This is a book that haunts. Whispers and rumors get away from the town about the 'odd' Mansfield girls. What transpires is a series of events and dramatic build that leave the reader with dread, and the perspective shifts from the different villagers keeping the voices of the girls out of conversations about themselves. What is believed to be more dangerous: a girl or a dog? Themes of humanity, misogyny, disinformation, and the distrust of girls whom men want to humble and control are prevalent throughout the book. I couldn't put it down or look away.

The premise of this book was great, but there just wasn’t enough happening in the story. However, the last five chapters were fantastic.

5 ⭐️

The Hounding is a haunting, unsettling experience. Told from multiple POV’s of townsfolk, this story weaves together a sinister tale of the danger that exists for young women and girls who dare to act unconventionally.

The five sisters: Anne, Elizabeth, Hester, Grace, and Mary are known to be wild—to shirk the conventions typical of young women in the town and run free in the care of their aging grandfather. Rumors spark that the girls are turning into dogs and wreaking havoc on the town, fueled by hatred, misplaced faith, and fear.

An unflinching look at womanhood and the dangers that persist for any woman who dares to be different, Purvis crafts a story with themes of how violence begets violence, the escalation of group hysteria, and the demonization of women who refuse to conform. This book feels like an instant classic and I would recommend it to anyone who has interest in reading a heady book with plenty to chew on afterwards.

Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt & Company, and Xenobe Purvis for the ARC. This is set for release on August 5, 2025.

I had asked for the ARC of this book as I thought it might be interesting and I was intrigued. Girls that seem to turn into dogs?

This book kept me guessing until almost the very last page. I found myself questioning if this was possible or if it was merely the imagination of local villagers who had decided that because these girls were "different" in some way; different from themselves, they must be under the spell of witchcraft.

The author was good at letting the reader learn about different individuals within the book, their "take" on the girls and how it affected their own lives. so as to help the reader understand their actions and their motives. I did find myself lost a couple of times as to which character related to who but as I kept reading, I was able to figure that out as well.

Definitely an interesting read!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the privilege of reviewing this ARC book.

Absolutely lives up to it's comps - this book has everything you wanted from both The Crucible and The Virgin Suicides. I absolutely gulped this one down in a sitting and cannot wait to read more by Purvis. I think it's quick and a neat but also very layered and kind to its characters. I almost wish it would have been longer if I were to drudge up a critique, but otherwise totally loved.

"It has nothing to do with the idea of us becoming dogs, and everything to do with the fact of us being girls."

Xenobe Purvis’ The Hounding is less a novel about transformation and more about the way collective paranoia can turn into conviction. Set in the eerie, insular village of Little Nettlebed, the story unfolds through the perspectives of five villagers, each spinning their own version of events surrounding the Mansfield sisters. When strange phenomena—unprecedented heat, dead animals, crows gathering en masse—begin to unsettle the town, people start looking for something, or someone, to blame. The sisters, already seen as “odd” by the community, become the perfect target.

There are comparisons floating around to books like Nightbitch, but that feels off. The Hounding isn’t a feral-body-horror-motherhood story—it’s an exploration of how a group of people can convince themselves of something wildly untrue when fear, resentment, and boredom take hold. It’s about the dangerous intersection of misogyny and folklore, about how women—especially those who don’t conform—so often become scapegoats for male insecurity and societal decay.

Purvis writes with sharp, unsettling precision, making the slow creep of paranoia feel almost inevitable. While some of the shifting perspectives worked better than others, the book’s central themes—obsession, desire, and the power of a good rumor—keep it gripping. A strong debut and a fascinating, timely read.

Thanks to @netgalley for the advance copy! Out August 5th!

In a small English village live the Mansfield sisters, five girls who are being raised by their grandfather after the death of their grandmother. Their town, Little Nettlebed, is filled with gossips and busybodies who can’t stand anything strange or out of the ordinary, and though they can’t quite put their fingers on it, the Mansfield girls are just that: out of the ordinary. But then the villagers hear barking, and one of them claims to have seen the girls transform into dogs before his eyes. The girls and their few friends quickly realize that being an odd girl is dangerous.

This novel is told through the perspectives of several villagers, which really highlights the ways in which gossip overtakes the lives of the people who engage in it and those who are the topics of discussion. It is frustrating at first because of the many different characters, but in the end it is an effective technique. In this way, we can see the ways in which lies and fear can destroy lives.

One interesting feature of this novel is that the girls at its center are never fully explored or examined. While I do think that this adds an air of mystery and helps to put the reader in the minds of the townspeople, I also feel that it partially takes away from the experience. I wanted to know more about them, not necessarily to be in their heads, but to better understand their psyches. But I guess that was kind of the point; in the end, they’re just girls.

I loved the open-ended conclusion to this book, its narrative style, and its overall message. It is a callback to THE CRUCIBLE and THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, just as its summary promises. It is an interesting and unique look at the dangers of being a woman and of being different. Definitely worth a read. Three and a half stars.

4.75 ⭐️

The five Mansfield girls have lost their dear grandmother. The girls have been grieving the loss and keeping close to their sole caregiver, their vision impaired grandfather, Joseph. The girls don't socialize and keep to themselves, mostly on their farm away from town. The girls have been a bit of a mystery to the villagers.

The summer has been brutal. The river is drying up. There is a slight panic in the air. And barking heard in the distance...

The book is told from the POV of the town ferryman (taking villagers across the river) named Pete, an empathic barmaid named Temperance, a Mansfield farmhand named Thomas, Joseph Mansfield, and a young boy named Robin.

My opinions:

I finished this book about a month ago and I am writing the review now. It has been a month, but I am still thinking about this book and will honestly probably do a reread soon. I may raise the rating to five stars.

Xenobe, for a debut novel, you performed witchcraft!

I don't know how to accurately convey the way this book made me feel. How the atmosphere of the book felt. I think the marketing line, "The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides" pretty much sums it up. The town is so fascinated by these sisters. It's slow, it's peaceful, it's summer in the garden, the smell of dewy grass...it gave me that lazy and hazy feeling. Then the barking comes in and I was held captive wanting to know if the sisters really were turning into dogs or it was uneducated people suffering from mass hysteria. It wasn't horror or scary. It was more haunting. I kept thinking about it when I wasn't reading it. It is still haunting me! The ending wasn't enough though. I wanted more!!! However, maybe that is exactly what Xenobe anticipated for her readers.

Can I say I loved this book? I can't say I over the moon loved it like I can with a few other books (this may change with a reread), but I can definitely say fascinated. I am fascinated and deeply obsessed, just like the villagers. Like stalker fascinated. LOL. I don't know if I have felt such a way about another book ("Eileen" by Ottessa Moshfegh - maybe but "The Hounding" isn't repulsive).

I read this book in winter, but it would be great in summer given the time of season in the book. I might reread it then. The book is a very easy and quick read. You don't want to stop reading. You will be bewitched!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for access to the ARC of this book. I greatly appreciate the opportunity.

Thank you, Netgalley, Xenobe Purvis, and the publisher for an eARC!

There is...very little else I can add to reviews of "The Hounding" save for this: Purvis' writing is, at once, captivating and chilling and thr story she weaves with her words is both bizarre and an amazing examination of the human condition and the fickleness of people whom think they are owed the world - and all within it - on a silver platter.

The characters, particularly the Mansfield sisters, were well fleshed out, and you are instantly captivated by the tale from the prologue. The setting, too, feels like a character, both haunting and cruel, and one that ties directly to the sisters' fates.

Overall, a fantastic debut and well worth the rude, and one I certainly think I'll be reading again.

4.25 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt and Co. for sending me an eARC for the Hounding.

I knew I wanted to get my hands on this book as soon as I read the blurb and saw that gorgeous cover. However, this was far better than I could’ve expected.

The Hounding follows a small village in eighteenth century England as they are sent into mass hysteria over the Mansfield sisters, 5 young girls they believe to be turning into a pack of wild dogs. I don’t always agree when books and movies are compared to other popular works, but Virgin Suicides meets The Crucible is pretty spot on (in the best way).

Once I got a few chapters deep, I simply didn’t want to put the book down. It’s a quick read, but I honestly could’ve gone for at least 100 more pages with these characters- and as someone who struggles with a short attention span, it’s rare that I say a book should’ve been LONGER.
With each chapter, we alternate between which villager we follow through the story. However, we never get to follow any of the Mansfield sisters, which keeps everything mysterious and leaves the reader on their own to piece together what actually happened. You are put in the same position as the villagers- only knowing the limited things they see and the gossip they hear. At no point does the author doubt her audience’s intelligence or feel the need to hold the reader’s hand to come to a conclusion, and I truly appreciate that.

This is an incredible debut. Xenobe Purvis is now fully on my radar, and look forward to seeing what she does next. I can’t wait to get a physical copy of this book (even if I do have to wait until August).