The Hounding

Haunting and beguiling, this fever dream of a novel draws you in and colours your mind all shades of doubt and suspicion. -- Stacey Halls, author of THE FAMILIARS
Xenobe Purvis has done something masterful here. The Hounding is a novel of rare grace and skill, exquisitely wrought and simmering with feral violence. This book is both lyrical and muscular; to read it is to submit to a current that every now and again pulls you under and leaves you gasping. I can't wait to devour everything she writes -- Rowe Irvin, author of LIFE CYCLE OF A MOTH
Seamlessly crafted, The Hounding is an unflinchingly strange and savage novel – a rare and twisted pleasure to read. Xenobe Purvis writes about the female experience with an unsettling and startling honesty. This is an unmissable must-read for every girl who has ever been made to feel strange. In a single word, The Hounding is breathtaking. -- Lucy Rose, author of THE LAMB
A taut, tense tale, impeccably told -- Suzi Feay * Financial Times *
A haunting, dark and visceral story . . . chilling. -- Flora Carr, author of THE TOWER
Purvis writes in spring-water clear and often disarmingly lovely prose . . . prompts thoughts of both The Crucible and The Virgin Suicides . . . a reading experience more akin to a lucid dream . . . Purvis is an exquisitely accomplished wordsmith. I'm greedy to learn what she writes next. -- Claire Allfree * Daily Telegraph *
Fear, paranoia and lust drive thisfeminist fable that channels Bronte-ana and leaves eerie uncertainty in its wake -- Hephzibah Anderson * Daily Mail *
Haunting and melancholy and bittersweet and just the most beautiful, evocative prose. For fans of Jeffrey Eugenides, Julia Armfield and Sophie Mackintosh. -- Otegha Uwagba, author of LITTLE BLACK BOOK
Purvis’s story is brimful of dark foreboding; unsettling hints of violence ripple through her prose and there’s a fearful sense that the sisters’ safety is at stake. Reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides, this debut is feverish, finely wrought and unforgettable. * Daily Mail *
The Hounding is a sweaty fever-dream of a novel. The writing is gorgeous: it bristles with rage and crackles with energy. Unsettling, vivid and irresistibly readable. I can't wait to see what Xenobe Purvis writes next. -- Marni Appleton, author of I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY