#BookReview: The Furies by Katie Lowe

Synopsis: This page-turning, harrowing debut is the story of a girl trying to fit in, whose obsessive new friends and desperation to belong leads her to places she'd never imagined...dark, dangerous, and possibly even violent. 

In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead.

She's posed on a swing on her boarding school's property, dressed all in white, with no known cause of death. Whispers and rumors swirl, with no answers. But there are a few who know what happened; there is one girl who will never forget.

One year earlier: a new student, Violet, steps on the campus of Elm Hollow Academy, an all-girl's boarding school on the outskirts of a sleepy coastal town. This is her fresh start, her chance to begin again in the wake of tragedy, leave her demons behind. Bright but a little strange, uncertain and desperate to fit in, she soon finds herself invited to an advanced study group, led by her alluring and mysterious art teacher, Annabel.

There, with three other girls--Alex, Grace, and Robin--the five of them delve into the school's long-buried grim history: of Greek and Celtic legends; of the school founder's "academic" interest in the occult; of gruesome 17th century witch trials. Annabel does her best to convince the girls that her classes aren't related to ancient rites and rituals, and that they are just history and mythology. But the more she tries to warn the girls off the topic, the more they drawn to it, and the possibility that they can harness magic for themselves.

Violet quickly finds herself wrapped up in this heady new world of lawless power--except she is needled by the disappearance of a former member of the group, one with whom Violet shares an uncanny resemblance. As her friends' actions take a turn for the darker and spiral out of control, she begins to wonder who she can trust, all the while becoming more deeply entangled. How far will these young girls go to protect one another...or to destroy one another?



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: ⭐
My Review: Unfortunately, this one just didn't work out for me.  I found it boring and just not all that good.  I think that this one could have been amazing but sadly it didn't have that spark to be a great read.  The murder and the story just didn't work well at all and I wasn't pulled into the story at all. 

Review

“[With] a subtle, persistent, and unmistakable creepiness.... Murder and witchcraft mix with a heady cocktail of drugs, booze, and revenge in this elegant, pitch-perfect coming-of-age story.” ―Kirkus

“The Furies is a haunting tale of angry, young women, the fates they hold and furies they possess. Katie Lowe steers her juggernaut through twists of madness, revenge and murder to a finish that resonates deeply. It still hasn’t left me.” ―Peter Filardi, screenwriter of The Craft

“Dark and alluring, Katie Lowe’s debut novel, The Furies, is a sensory buffet of beautifully gritty prose and a plot that combines witchcraft, murder and the power of angry young women searching for vengeance.” ―Shelf Awareness

“Donna Tartt’s The Secret History meets Emma Cline’s The Girls in this taut, intense, and unputdownable debut. Lowe’s depiction of adolescent female friendships is at once unthinkably dark and uncomfortably real. The Furies will leave you breathless.” ―Corrine Sullivan, author of Indecent

“Powerful and atmospheric…those who thrill to dark coming-of-age tales with a dash of the uncanny will find much to enjoy.” ―Publishers Weekly

"Drugs, sex, magic, and murder infuse this quick-paced read that will entertain teen and adult readers alike." ―Library Journal

“Lowe’s dark, suspenseful debut combines the teenage sisterhood of The Craft and Emma Cline’s The Girls with the violent schoolyard vengeance of Heathers [and] poetic, lurid prose.” ―Booklist

“Simultaneously a coming-of-age tale, a murder mystery, and a story of female friendship, power, and rage, The Furies is the perfect wild and spooky read for the season. Toil and trouble await.” ―BookBub

“Katie Lowe is a magical wonder! The Furies, a modern tale of witchcraft, betrayal, and murder, combines the linguistic pyrotechnics of Poe, the Gothic sensibilities of Daphne du Maurier, and the psychological suspense of Shirley Jackson in a disturbing, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will terrify as well as enchant!” ―V. S. Alexander, author of The Magdalen Girls

“The Furies is a deliciously disturbing tale of obsession, rapture and the excesses of youth. Both fast-paced and beautifully written―rarely has a story this driven and diverting been so ecstatically told. The Furies is destined to become a book passed from paw to grateful paw. Unapologetically dark, and all the better for it, this smart, sinister novel exults in its dazzling prose and dangerous themes.” ―Christopher J. Yates, author of Grist Mill Road and Black Chalk

“The Furies can be described as Prep meets The Craft, while managing to be a dark, weird creature all of its own. Witches, murder, and teenage girls - this is the book of my dreams. I am obsessed.” ―Louise O'Neill, author of Asking For It

“An atmospheric, disturbing, even scary tale that touches on otherworldliness.” ―The Times (UK)

“Unsettling and suspenseful.” ―Sunday Mirror (UK)

“Too-cool-for-school teenage girls, an outsider welcomed into their fold, and murder…a guaranteed good read.” ―Stylist (UK)

“Witchcraft, murder, and adolescent passion.” ―Heat (UK)

“A perfect tale of teenage emotion and darkness.” ―Emerald Street (UK)

About the Author

KATIE LOWE is a writer living in Worcester, UK. A graduate of the University of Birmingham, she has a BA (Hons) in English and an MPhil in Literature & Modernity, and is currently pursuing her PhD in female rage in literary modernism and contemporary women's writing. She is the author of The Furies and Possession.

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Posted in: 1 Star, Adult, Review, St. Martin's Press