The Hounding

Little Nettlebed is a village where the uncanny is part of everyday life. Odd creatures wash up on the riverbed, and ravens perch on the roofs of people who are about to die. Even so, nothing has stirred the villagers like the rumors about the Mansfield sisters. First barking is heard, and then one man claims to have watched the sisters transform in front of him, and the talk turns to fascination and fear. The truth is that Little Nettlebed has never warmed to the Mansfield girls. Some find them a little strange, others a little full of themselves, and everyone has always had plenty to say about them. The novel is told through the rotating perspectives of five villagers, and their accounts make clear that this time is no different. Belief in witchcraft may be fading, but suspicion of anyone who is different is as strong as ever. Every one of these conflicting voices points the same way: something is wrong in Little Nettlebed, and the sisters will be the ones made to pay for it.