The Furies

(Mean Girls + The Craft) x Murder = The Furies
A YA page turner that readers will keep contemplating long after the last page. Perfect for fans of Ruth Ware.

The Furies is a dark, beautifully written thriller about toxic friendship, loss and female power. Violet, the main character, hopes for something of a fresh start when she transfers to the exclusive Elm Hollow school in the wake of a family tragedy. Instead, she quickly bonds with a group of female 'outsiders', and their propensity for revenge, violence and an interest in the supernatural ultimately changes the course of Violet's life forever. Lowe has written a wonderfully dark and incisive thriller, which had me gripped until the very end. Reminiscent of Megan Abbott's work, as well as 90s classic The Craft, this is a gem.

A mad bad teen angst book with severe consequences for the hormonal girls who partake in a ghoulish cult.
Is it paranormal? Is it really the manifestation of the Greek furies enacting vengeance? Or is it the feverish violence of homicidal teenagers whipping themselves into a frenzy? That's for you to find out!
This is an excellent novel that I finished in one sitting, and I highly recommend for the YA readers who like it a little darker!

The Furies is a wonderful, dark and incredibly rich thriller/supernatural novel. The book is so well built and fast paced that I wasn't able to put it down till I reached the end. I was absolutely captivated by the atmosphere and characters.

Overall tells an interesting narrative with a complex main character and interesting surrounding characters. Most of the characters featured in the narrative are well fleshed out and have their own personality. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

The Furies is yet another book that I am always craving- the kind of book with teens, secrets, and horrifying revelations! This book kept me on my toes and put a big smile on my face. I know it's going to be a hit among the YA generation as well as adult readers.

In 1998, in a Little town near the sea, a series of unfortunate events end up with the death of a 16-year old girl. She was found on a swing in the school grounds. Not known cause of death, no witnesses, nobody knew what happened.

That is what most people think, but now, several years later, we are going to unveil the mysteries behind this fatal event. Violet, our protagonist and one of the closest friends of the girl on the swing, is going to tell us how it all started and of course, how everything ended the way it did.

How far are you able to go for someone you love? Will this person do the same for you? Are you sure? These are the questions that we are going to face throughout the book. We are going to experience the pain of being the invisible one, and later, the fear of being rejected. A fear so intense, that you do not need to be drunk or drugged to do things you may regret.

Reading this book was not easy, it is so well and clearly written that you can feel almost everything that is happening. It is so beautifully described that you are going to feel scared, disturbed and unsettled, but this is not going to stop you from finishing the book. Lowe works out perfectly the balance between the thrilling mystery and the dark mythical artifices that when put together, create the perfect scenery.

Obsession, friendship, witchcraft and murder, a magnificent dark fairy-tale that will leave you wanting for more. Even if you know that you are going to make a terrifying discovery, “The Furies” will captivate you until the very end.

I would like to thank NetGalley, and Jordan Hanley from St. Martin’s Press for sending me the book and for giving me the opportunity to read this brilliant work.

Thanks to St Martin's Press, Netgalley and Katie Lowe for the review copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

'It is the actions of men that make them vengeful, not through mismanagement or absence, as the text says, but out of cruelty and selfish desire.'
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This book was great, a coming of age story with some dark magic thrown in the mix. The story centres around Violet, who is starting at a private school, after the unfortunate death of her Dad and little Sister. She meets a girl called Robin who she becomes instantly obsessed with, but Robin's friend recently went missing and weirdly bares a striking resemblance to Violet.
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What I loved about this one was at any one moment I couldn't tell what was going to happen on the next few pages, there was so many unexpected twists and turns, that I found it really hard to put down. Lowe really knew how to make the reader uncomfortable and portrayed the toxic relations between the 4 girls so well. I also loved all of Annabel's classes and the references to the fates and furies.
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This one is going to be released in October 2019 and I highly recommend you pick it up 😁

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley!!

This is a YA book based in an a girls boarding school. The characters are well-written... the book had plenty of drama. There were for sure some slow moments, but the thrilling aspects outweighed that fo rme.

A hot take on scary school lit. Started it at night thinking I would just read a page or two and then got sucked in big time. Excellent YA title, must read for teens that love mystery and drama!

A true page turner a new girl a girl trying to fit in to the school trying to be one of the crowd.This is a tense well written thriller a book that should be made into a movie unputdownable Grab this book,

The Duties is a entertaining and well written book. The characters are well developed and the storyline is great. I would read more from this author.

After a car accident takes the lives of her father and sister, 16 year old Violet and her grief stricken mother receive a huge insurance settlement. A settlement that gives Violet a chance to attend Elm Hollow Academy, a pricey girl’s boarding school in a dying town on the coast of England. Violet quickly becomes part of the in crowd in her new school, where she learns of the academy’s unsavory past, with rumors of witchcraft, both past and present and the disappearance of another student the previous year. The story of told from Violet’s perspective, years later, as an adult, so the book is somewhere between a YA and an adult novel. Lowe does a good job at portraying the Academy and its environs as festering, decaying places where “people go to die”

A semi-dark, thrilling trip into the consequences a group of young women must face when they decide they have the right to wreak havoc at their school and one of them dies. The genre is listed as YA but I found the writing and story engrossing enough to finish in one sitting. Katie Lowe gave us characters so real that I hope I never run into them. The story opens doors into group actions that we all hope never to run into. Take a chance...read this book...you won't be sorry.

I really enjoy the way that Lowe writes. Her sentences are beautifully descriptive without being pretentious. I always adore these coming of age stories with private schools and a little bit of magic. I will absolutely be buying this book when it releases. I've been recommending it a lot already!

Violet has been through a tragic experience of losing her father and sister in a brutal car accident. Her mother has withdrawn from the world, unable to cope with the loss. When the opportunity arises for Violet to attend a rather exclusive girls’ school, she jumps at it. At this point, what has she got to lose?

The Furies opens with a scene of a dead teenage girl, dressed in white and posed on a swing. The authorities never find a cause of death. At this point we are not told who the girl is, or who is recounting the story. But it is a eerie beginning to a story about female friendship, peer pressure, and the volatility of being on the verge of adulthood. Told over the course of one academic year, and barely into the next, The Furies will captivate you with it’s lyrical prose and haunting images.

I was bewitched by this first novel by Katie Lowe. Bewitched being the appropriate term with its themes of witchcraft. The Elm Hollow Academy, set in a coastal town of England, has a long history of witches. The friendship between Vi, Robin, Alex and Grace is a typical one for teenage girls. Four teenage girls who believe they have the power to do anything and the inexperience to try. Add in a secret society and you have the makings of the perfect teenage tale in the tradition of The Heathers or The Craft. I did not want to put this book down. Every character is so well crafted, so well written, that you can almost see them. The story does not disappoint, it is beautiful in its descriptions. I cannot wait for the next novel by Katie Lowe.

4.5 stars on Goodreads


This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

The protagonist of this book has had what must be the most difficult year for a young girl imaginable -- a year ago she was in a car accident with her father and younger sister. Dad dies instantly; her sister hangs on for several days and then dies. She was uninjured. She basically takes the next year off, goes in for finals, and still does quite well. Since she needs her A levels (this is set in England) and the trucking company responsible for the accident has dumped a load of money on the remaining members of the family (mother and daughter), she is sent as a day student to what I, as an American, assume to be a rather posh school for girls. This is a fascinating examination of group mentality and, since it is seen through the lens of someone just coming on the scene, particularly interesting. Heartily recommend this one!

I absolutely loved this book. It gave me that Secret History by Donna Tartt vibe when I started reading it. The secret society in a private school and then starts with someone dead reminded me of the Secret History which is one of my all time favorite books. So of course I was drawn to this book from the start. But this book was of course unique and different from Secret History. It’s a definite page turner for me as well. The writing style I also loved. I was quite invested in all four of the main characters and loved all the twist and turns of this book. There’s dangerous magic or witchcraft, the need for desperate friendship and spooky paranormal YA thriller. They can almost make this into a series which I hope she would since I wasn’t ready for this story to be over. Thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. I will definitely be picking up a finished copy when it comes out.

Definitely a nice mashup of Mean Girls and The Craft with some murder mixed in. I think it will appeal to a lot of readers at my library, so I'll be purchasing several copies. Thank you so much!

The Furies is haunting, evocative and sits in your head, that underlying sense of menace and anticipation resonates throughout.

Violet desperately wants friendship, even as she tells herself she doesn’t need it, so when she is befriended by the enigmatic and edgy Robin and drawn into a circle of secrets and lies, she will do anything to protect it. Darkness and obsession, fatal ties and dangerous magic make for an utter page turner of a literary novel, with some beautiful writing and intelligent layered nuance.

The Furies is both observational and insightful, as Violet tells the tale of this fascinating group, of both love and hate, random happiness and sudden horror. Katie Lowe uses cutting edge prose to draw the reader into Violet’s world then doesn’t allow you to look away, it is utterly gripping from the vivid opening to the melancholy finish.
Absolutely excellent.

The overview of this book caught my attention immediately because I am a fan of the film The Craft. Violet’s friendship with Robin, Alex, and Grace was obviously doomed from the start. Violet being a poor substitute for the missing fourth member of their clique. They attend a secret after hours art class together moderates by their art class teacher, Annabel. Here is where they form their relationships to one another.

The book mostly centers on Violet’s and Robin’s friendship with the other two girls being minor players. Alex and Grace only really come to the forefront when the witchcraft aspect is featured. I think the story would have been much better if their characters were fleshed out a bit more. Annabel could have been so much more, but she was lost somewhere in the middle.

In the last third of the book, the writing became sharper and was well done. The character Nicky, who was the foil to the other girls, Robin especially, really stepped up and made for a great ending. I found her annoying earlier I the book, but in the end, I think I liked her best of all.

Violet's life is about to change, again. She has already gone through tragedy. Her father and seven year old sister were killed in a tragic car wreck. Her mother is now just a shell of herself, living off wine.
Violet decides to enter a prestigious girls academy called Elm Hollows.
She is about to embark on a journey she is not prepared for. With violence, death, drugs, alcohol, secret societies, and murder. How will she cope?
A twisty, turny novel that has it all. Definitely keeps your attention!!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to.

In the grand style of the film The Craft, this book follows a young woman who is enrolled in a private high school after the tragic death of her father and sister in a car accident. She is taken in by a new group of friends, but also by a professor that endeavors to teach these young women the truth of their school - witchcraft. There is murder, mystery, intrigue and very well-written characters. The story didn't drag even a bit and I found myself sneaking away to read it when I should have been up to other things. It was definitely a fast but fun read and I would recommend it to anyone looking for something spooky as we start to head towards the fall season.

This was an advanced copy from netgalley - thank you

This is not my usual genre at all - and I'm not ashamed to say the cover drew me. This is an absolute belter !!!

I've not read anything by the author before but I certainly shall in future

Who hasn't experienced teenage angst, toxic friendship and all that goes with it? Certainly took me back to me teenage years !

This is DARK !!! It is beautifully written, gripping. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. I couldn't put it down

Can't recommend this highly enough !!

The Furies kept me up half the night reading.

Teenage Violet transfers to a private girl's school after a family tragedy. Desperate to make friends, she falls in with the first girls that show her attention. When those girls turn out to have some dark secrets, Violet has to decide if she can live with the consequences of staying in the group.

The writing in this book is beautiful. It is well edited and the story flows naturally. The author writes flawed characters very well. I could almost feel my own long-past teenage angst.

There is violence, adult language and adult situations in this book. If that bothers you, this won't be your cup of tea. If you're looking for a happy ending, you're not going to find it here.

If you like emotionally complex female characters, twisty plots, and dark fiction, you'll love The Furies.

Me, reading the blub: "In 1998, a sixteen-year-old girl is found dead. . . . led by alluring and mysterious art teacher . . . the school founder's "academic" interest with the occult . . ."

Wait, murder, boarding school, and occult? Shut up and give me this book. Now.

Like others, I came in with the expectations that I was going to get "The Craft" feels. And it did. I was brought right back to my teenage angst and I soaked it all up. From the way it was written, I believe the target audience is nostalgic adults rather than the YA-crowd. If you're looking for 'floof' (as I call it), this isn't quite that, but it is still fun and engaging.

Thank you to Katie Lowe, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for allowing me access to this book. As always, all opinions are my own.

The Furies is one of those books that makes you fall in love with reading all over again. Beautifully written, enticingly told, it is a story that makes you lose yourself in it in a childish sort of surrender. At times overwrought in its descriptions (there are many ‘sickly sweet and cloying’ smells throughout), it is this precisely these details that heavy atmosphere that lingered over me far after I had finished the book.

The book is narrated by Violet Taylor, now an adult, looking back at her sixteen-year-old self. After an accident kills her father and sister, and leaves her mother lost in the past, Violet is admitted to the elite Elm Hollow Academy. There she meets the people who will change her life — Robin, the alluring girl who seemingly has it all, and her two friends, Alex and Grace, as well as Annabel, the school’s art teacher. To both her surprise and delight, Violet becomes part of Annabel’s advanced class. Meeting late at night and comprising only of the four girls, the class explores myth and literature, the friendships, loves, furies, and vengeances of women widely discussed in the context of the Greeks. Heady with a newfound sense of belonging, Violet becomes tangled in Robin’s web of life — her friendships, relationships, and memories of Emily Frost, Robin’s last best friend. The mystery and fallout of Emily’s disappearance hang over Violet’s exploration of her new life.

The Furies has been compared to The Secret History, and while I still haven’t found a book that stands against Donna Tartt’s, the reference is well deserved. Some suspension of disbelief is required, but Katie Lowe has given me what I’d hoped to find in Carol Goodman’s The Lake of Dead Languages, and the friendships are somewhat reminiscent of those in A Great and Terrible Beauty. Blending academia, suspense, and the phantasmic fury of female friendships, The Furies will haunt you to the end and beyond. Be sure to check it out in October — and a huge thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance copy!