An interesting concept that hooked me from the start, however there was something missing to this story and it didn't hold my interest all the way through.

I'm very grateful to the publisher for getting in touch with me, but unfortunately I feel that I have failed this book. At some point, I lost interest in Greater Sins. I would sometimes get excited thinking about the implications of certain revelations, only to be disappointed by the lack of development.
That said, it's notable how Griffiths explores issues of gender, class, and privilege. Another notable aspect is the way the characters are constructed. Both primary and secondary characters have a unique voice.

I started this book and I liked the writing style, but the style/subject matter weren't what I expected and it just wasn't for me. I am still giving it 4 stars because I can tell it is well-written and will be interesting to somebody, just not me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I liked this book, though I was disappointed that the bog woman didn't turn out to be more important to the overall plot - I wanted to know who she was! Griffiths explores issues of gender, class and privilege through the lens of a small Scottish community, with perhaps a surprising and empathetic conclusion. Johnny and Lizzie are both unreliable narrators who you definitely change your opinion of as the novel progresses, and I also enjoyed the way Griffiths portrayed the supporting character of Jane.

This was a very atmospheric read with slow building tension and thought provoking language. This was an impressive debut.

Thank you to Gabrielle Griffiths, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers | Doubleday, and NetGalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Set in Aberdeenshire, this third-person dual POV novel covers the events of 1905 and 1915 in a small village following a bog body discovery.

The prose was beautiful and created a hauntingly vivid, eerie atmosphere. The use of Scots was also well placed. The plot, albeit slow for the first 35%, was interesting enough to hook you until the very end. Characterisation was clear and each felt unique to the person.

In the Cabrach in northeast Scotland in 1915, men are joining up. Not Johnny Nicol, however, a wanderer, entertainer and itinerant rogue who amuses inn clients with his poems and stories. But he sets down temporary roots to hire on at Brawlands, where his friend Rab needs help with the harvest. When a box is discovered at the edge of the peat bog, Johnny is tasked with hauling it down to Rab’s farmhouse, accompanied by Mistress Lizzie Calder, the wife from local manor, Blackwater House, who discovered it while gathering moss for bandages for the war effort. The box reveals a well-preserved young woman with flaming red hair, all somehow untouched by years in the bog. Despite fierce protestation, Lizzie refuses to have the body reburied until she establishes who she is and what happened to her. Johnny is the only one who agrees, and a slow-burn relationship develops around their common cause.

With vignettes from 1905, Johnny and Lizzie’s separate lives criss-cross their way towards 1915 and this new acquaintance. The discovery of the bog woman coincides with torrential rainfall, spoiling unharvested crops. Rumours swirl at the local inn; villagers and farmers report strange sightings and frightening dreams, as an unsettled feeling grows exponentially with each unexplained occurrence. As is always the case, the villagers fill the void with superstitious tales, each more outlandish than the last. Has the bog woman indeed brought evil to this small town? I was compelled by the medieval feel which speaks to earlier times when superstition ruled people’s thinking. These 20th-century villagers are no different. Griffiths’ multi-faceted characters draw us to the smoky pub where time seems to stand still and the insidious creep of rumour warps into fear and malice. This is a cleverly constructed character-driven novel and one of the most intriguing gothic-type novels I’ve read.

Sometimes you come across a book that is note perfect; very readable and entirely relatable but still beautifully, poetically written. This is such a complete novel, it is hard to believe it is the author’s debut.

“Greater Sins” touches on elements of folklore, the belief in the supernatural and the importance of religion in the 1900s, and a way of life that has almost entirely disappeared, all of which is so far removed from our modern experience. It feels historically and geographically accurate and must have been painstakingly researched but none of this isn’t at the forefront of your mind whilst reading – the story, characters and dialogue feel natural and entirely believable and engage you completely in the story.
I was left thinking about this book for days after turning the last page. As good a novel as I am likely to read this year.

An atmospheric tale of two Scottish protagonists at the start of the First World War.

Johnny is a farm labourer with a past, who sings for his beer in the local pub, but his past is soon to catch up with him

Lizzie, stuck in a loveless marriage to the local landowner discovers the body of a bog woman preserved on the moors.

Johnny and Lizzie's worlds collide and begins a chain of events leading to tales of otherworldly elements and curses trailing their small community of Cabhrach.

Secrecy, nuanced story telling and hardship are faced in this unforgettable tale.

This was a stunningly beautiful novel. Dark and creepy and wonderfully realised, and the character voices were next-level good. The only letdown for me was the way the ending was handled, which felt a little forced. A real shame after the rest of it had been so beautifully easy to read. Will definitely still be recommending it though and will keep an eye out for more from this author.

It is 1915 and the war is raging in France. In remote Cabrach, Aberdeenshire, the normally insular community has been stripped back further by the call to fight, and the farmers are struggling to make ends meet. Our first main character, Johnny, is a travelling farmhand with a shady past that he tries to cover with quick wit and charm, and our other lead, Lizzie, is the unhappy wife of a wealthy local landowner. While helping the village women pick moss and dig for peat, Lizzie uncovers a body buried long ago, well-preserved by the peat. The people of Cabrach are superstitious and only Johnny volunteers to help her retrieve her find.

As the two characters attempt to learn more about the bog woman, a streak of misfortune runs through the valley - from spoiled crops to local lads coming back from the war with horrific injuries. The people of Cabrach start to believe that it all stems from the body, that she was sent by the devil. However, the bog woman is only a catalyst for long-buried secrets and repressed feelings to come to light, and soon, Johnny and Lizzie find themselves with more than just the bog body in common.

I wasn’t expecting the bog woman to play as small a role as she did, and the book went in a different direction than I was expecting, but this isn’t a bad thing! At its heart, Greater Sins is a character-driven story which plays with themes of guilt, repression, and at times, classism and sexism. The bleak landscape of early 20th century Scotland is the perfect backdrop for a romance between two characters who have both faced rejection and alienation, both having been scapegoated and punished for others’ sins. The tender and wistful undertone of the novel, especially in the interactions between Johnny and Lizzy, contrasted wonderfully with the rough terrain and brash attitudes of the farmers and bondsmen, and with the cold, loveless interior of Lizzie’s house.

Greater Sins is haunting dark historical fiction with folk horror superstition and classic gothic atmosphere woven in. It is a beautifully written novel, and the local dialect and Scots slang are really well done. I devoured this book and I’ll be on the lookout for other work by this author.

Its 1915 rural Scotland, a harsh environment and one that hasn't been significantly hit by the call-up for WWI yet. Married men still weren't being drafted and single men who worked in agriculture had an excuse. Our lead Johnny was, up until the war, an itinerant musician and farmhand, and here he has returned home to help with the harvest. He clearly has a shady past though the book presents him as having a heart of gold. Not dissimilar to Lizzie, who is the wife to the big landowner in the area: he has gone off to war and left his sister, Jane, in charge. Lizzie, despite her station, has decided to help the local women digging out peat for fuel, and in the process comes across a dead body in the bog. When Johnny is sent up to help her dig it out, there is an instant attraction between the two.

I must admit that the book only really clicked for me when they found the body, and so I was hoping for more of a mystery. Instead there is quite a reflexive arms-length romance between the married woman and a man who seems afraid to get involved. The book spends about a third of its running time ten years before in 1905, where we see the story of how Lizzie and Johnny ended up where they did, the tiles have a minor connection and Johnny's is less convincing than Lizzie's, but it does all end up relatively satisfying. More of a romance than a mystery, and it plays its historicism with a light touch (my sense of early twentieth-century rural Scotland is to be considerably more religious and judgemental than this turns out). Its a solid read for the more sensible end of romance at least.

Filled with Gothic atmosphere, slow-burning mystery, and haunting character drama as a peat-bog body stirs superstition and unearths long-buried secrets. With poetic prose and a brooding sense of place, it’s a beautifully crafted debut about guilt, survival, and the darkness that lingers beneath the surface.

First off thank you to Penguin books, author Gabrielle Griffiths and NetGalley for providing me a copy this in exchange for my review.

1915 Cabrach Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The Great War rages on and Lizzie's husband William Calder, has signed up to fight, to keep watch of his wife and his business interests William's sister Jane has come to stay with Lizzie on their barren estate. But Lizzie is uneasy with her ever watchful sister-in-law who always seem to be too observant of Lizzie's doings and whom she speaks to. With William away Lizzie begins finding out that Jane is left as beneficiary to their home and business holdings if he does not return a fact that further reaffirms the coldness that lies in her loveless marriage Lizzie has tried in vain to improve. When Lizzie discovers a well preserved body of woman in a peat bog she asks Johnny a local singer and farm hand working nearby to assist in retrieving the body. But who is this woman and what are the circumstances behind her death? Together Lizzie and Johnny seek answers of her identity, but in this bleak landscape the superstitions of the Cabrach run wild and soon there claims of strange occurrences happening, that the dead woman's body is associated with the devil causing fear with some of the surrounding neighbors. There are also whispers that Johnny is interested in helping Lizzie in more ways than one and soon the attraction becomes mutual. The storyline jumps to 1905 when Lizzie meets her brutish husband William, the events leading up to their subsequent marriage and Johnny's checkered past.
This was a dark, gothic, atmospheric read, loved the feel of it and the Scottish brogue of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House UK for this eCopy to review

Reading Greater Sins felt like stepping into a hauntingly vivid historical drama set against the backdrop of 1915 in the remote Cabrach, Aberdeenshire. The story begins with the discovery of a perfectly preserved body in a peat bog, unearthed by Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy landowner, and Johnny, a nomadic singer and farmhand. This eerie finding sets off a chain of events that reverberates through their isolated community, revealing hidden truths and unravelling personal histories.

Lizzie’s character drew me in right away. Her tenacity and quiet strength stood in stark contrast to the stifling constraints of her life, and the bog body forces her to confront unanswered questions about her past. On the other hand, Johnny’s mysterious history kept me intrigued as he grappled with secrets he’s desperate to leave behind. Their lives intertwine in unexpected ways, and as ruinous weather, a damaged soldier, and inexplicable occurrences unsettle the Cabrach, the question of blame looms heavily over the community.

I appreciated Griffiths’ atmospheric prose, which brought the bleak beauty of the Cabrach to life—the misty landscapes, the harsh weather, and the pervasive sense of isolation were almost tangible. The exploration of morality and human vulnerability was thought-provoking, and the slow-burning tension built beautifully throughout the narrative.

As the War rages in France, the people of Aberdeenshire are still trying to make a living from the land. One day a strange body is unearthed by peat cutters, buried for many years it stirs suspicion amongst the locals. The discovery throws together a local landowners wife and an itinerant worker several classes apart.
I really loved the cover of this book! The story itself I didn't really love. There's a lot to like, class divides, local superstition etc, but I found the narrative rather dragging. However I wouldn't write it off and it will appeal to many.

This story is set in 1915 in an isolated community in Aberdeenshire, where Johnny, a casual farmhand, singer and entertainer, develops an unexpected relationship with Lizzie, the wife of the local landowner after he has gone off to the war. This happens after a body is discovered in the local peat bogs and the community starts to wonder just where it came from and what its unearthing might mean.

Both Johnny and Lizzie have complicated back stories which eventually emerge against a background of local pub talk and gossip, the body and what to do with it, and the distant echoes of the war. Johnny’s story is told in flashbacks going back to 1905 and the events which have led to him leading an almost nomadic life.

Throughout the book, the author tries to replicate the thick Scottish accent which some readers might find difficult but the developing relationship between Johnny and Lizzie is well explored although, towards the end, the events surrounding Johnny, previously known as Jack, threaten to overwhelm the plot.

It’s a good read but it takes some time to get into it, to understand the dialect and to know which characters are which.

I loved every single page. An atmospheric, poignant, and beautifully written debut, set just a few miles down the road from me in The Cabrach.

I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought it would at the beginning. It's set in Scotland during The Great War. Scotland is caught between modernity and a pagan past, where people need someone or something to blame when things go wrong.
It's about people who want to be free, and escape the stifling morality of the time, especially relating to women.

A novel set in Aberdeenshire that flits between 1905 and 1915 which is full of superstition. The story starts in 1915, Lizzie, the wife of a wealthy landowner, is collecting moss for bandages when they find the well preserved corpse of a young woman buried in the bog. With the help of Johnny, a wanderer and singer, they pull the body out and this is the beginning of what could be coincidences or the result of the found body as the weather suddenly worsens which prevents crops being lifted and a young soldier returns from the war maimed physically and mentally. The body is also a catalyst for the uncovering of long buried secrets from the past. And as secrets are revealed, we see that everyone has flaws. No one is totally innocent. Returning to 1905, we meet Lizzie before her marriage to William Calder and we discover her long buried past. As for Johnny, he seems to be travelling from farm to farm looking for work as he has a past he is running from - until past and present collide. As a singer, he has a song for everyone except himself. The people of Cabrach are people who don’t forgive easily. The atmosphere is dark and smokey and the body is always in the background, a silent presence.