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Mad Season
After losing her parents in a devastating accident, Elles Garity fled her hometown, leaving everything and everyone else behind. Now, all grown up and settled into her reinvented life, that same childish, impulsive decision has come back to haunt her. Returning home after all this time, under the guise of tying up loose ends, won’t be so simple. She will have to battle her inner self and learn how to unleash her buried emotions. As she strives to salvage the heart and soul of her mother’s heritage, she will discover the awful truth about a new friend’s dark connection to her past and unravel the unthinkable secrets behind the family she never knew she had.
337 pages, Paperback
Published April 6, 2024
About the author
Gregory Armstrong
1 book32 followersBorn in Westerly, Rhode Island, and a Connecticut native all of my life, my family eventually moved to Norwich in 1977, where I grew up. I attended and graduated from Norwich Free Academy in 1991. It was there, in my final two years, where I acquired a passion for writing. At the time, the school provided a writing center, a classroom filled with computers, designated as a creative writing outlet for the students, and overseen by the now accomplished author Wally Lamb. Here, we were free to use our time working on our own projects, developing, learning, and sharpening our writing skills. Each class, we would gather in a circle to show and share our work with Mr. Lamb and the rest of the class by either reading or having our material read aloud, and hearing feedback from our peers.
Mr. Lamb’s writing center instilled a desire in me to one day write a book and become an author, just as he was doing, putting the final touches on his debut novel, She’s Come Undone. Unfortunately, for me, that is when that dream of mine became a struggle that would last decades. At the age of three, I contracted meningitis, which caused me to go completely blind and left me hospitalized for several weeks. Despite doctors believing my vision would never return, it did, slowly and to a certain degree, although my optic nerve had sustained too much damage and I was declared legally blind.
Growing up was a struggle in itself. Socially, I was quiet, shy, uncomfortable in knowing I was different from all of the other kids, because of my physical limitations and lacking in self-confidence. Reading was also a challenge. Even though I soon got my first pair of glasses, which made my vision clearer, being able to see the print on a page was still a major issue. For those reasons, I have never been much of a reader, and how does someone who doesn’t read, who doesn’t study the art of literature through books, because it was a strenuous activity on my eyes, learn how to write?
The fact that I found myself stuck, without the necessary tools and unsure of my own talents and abilities to be a quality writer, all the other insecurities of my childhood at play, I gave it up for a time. My active imagination for storytelling did not. As I got older, and into my teenage years I started listening to more music to fill a void. The more I listened, the more I began to broaden my tastes in artists, groups and genres, and the more I heard stories in the songs. Music, along with television and movies, were combining to strengthen my inspiration to be an aspiring author.
One such movie, which mirrored many of my own self-imposed hurdles, was Eddie and the Cruisers. The character of Eddie Wilson, lead singer of a fictional rock and roll band, was consumed by the notion that his music was never good enough, that if they were going to be a band, they had to be great, if they were going to release an album, it had to be great as well. I had obviously grown-up learning and hearing about the great authors and novelists of all time, the great classic books. I had always put that pressure on myself, the same way Eddie Wilson did. I was convinced that I didn’t know how to write, and even if I did, would it be good enough? I had been told, taught by teachers and others, that there were rules to the writing game, including creating a story outline, character development, a whole assortment of proper steps to follow and processes before the writing even began.
Over the years, I started a novel a time or two, hating it, and giving up again. I met my future wife, got married, started a family, and quit my average job to become a stay-at-home dad. Through all of it, thirty-plus years, that ever-present need to write gnawing at me, the urge still there, my vivid imagination still running wild—I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I had to let that creativity out and give it a real and focused purpose. With the rough idea of a plot in mind, I sat down at the computer and finally let a
Mr. Lamb’s writing center instilled a desire in me to one day write a book and become an author, just as he was doing, putting the final touches on his debut novel, She’s Come Undone. Unfortunately, for me, that is when that dream of mine became a struggle that would last decades. At the age of three, I contracted meningitis, which caused me to go completely blind and left me hospitalized for several weeks. Despite doctors believing my vision would never return, it did, slowly and to a certain degree, although my optic nerve had sustained too much damage and I was declared legally blind.
Growing up was a struggle in itself. Socially, I was quiet, shy, uncomfortable in knowing I was different from all of the other kids, because of my physical limitations and lacking in self-confidence. Reading was also a challenge. Even though I soon got my first pair of glasses, which made my vision clearer, being able to see the print on a page was still a major issue. For those reasons, I have never been much of a reader, and how does someone who doesn’t read, who doesn’t study the art of literature through books, because it was a strenuous activity on my eyes, learn how to write?
The fact that I found myself stuck, without the necessary tools and unsure of my own talents and abilities to be a quality writer, all the other insecurities of my childhood at play, I gave it up for a time. My active imagination for storytelling did not. As I got older, and into my teenage years I started listening to more music to fill a void. The more I listened, the more I began to broaden my tastes in artists, groups and genres, and the more I heard stories in the songs. Music, along with television and movies, were combining to strengthen my inspiration to be an aspiring author.
One such movie, which mirrored many of my own self-imposed hurdles, was Eddie and the Cruisers. The character of Eddie Wilson, lead singer of a fictional rock and roll band, was consumed by the notion that his music was never good enough, that if they were going to be a band, they had to be great, if they were going to release an album, it had to be great as well. I had obviously grown-up learning and hearing about the great authors and novelists of all time, the great classic books. I had always put that pressure on myself, the same way Eddie Wilson did. I was convinced that I didn’t know how to write, and even if I did, would it be good enough? I had been told, taught by teachers and others, that there were rules to the writing game, including creating a story outline, character development, a whole assortment of proper steps to follow and processes before the writing even began.
Over the years, I started a novel a time or two, hating it, and giving up again. I met my future wife, got married, started a family, and quit my average job to become a stay-at-home dad. Through all of it, thirty-plus years, that ever-present need to write gnawing at me, the urge still there, my vivid imagination still running wild—I couldn’t ignore it anymore. I had to let that creativity out and give it a real and focused purpose. With the rough idea of a plot in mind, I sat down at the computer and finally let a
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 14, 2024
Gregory Armstrong has written a well thought out story that takes place on Block Island.
Part coming of age, part emotional drama. All heart. Loss and gain combine to make Mad Season highly readable.
Part coming of age, part emotional drama. All heart. Loss and gain combine to make Mad Season highly readable.
June 10, 2024
Enjoyable read by a first-time author. A young girls' life is disrupted after her parents are accidentally killed as the result of a plane crash on Block Island. She moves off the island to live with an aunt and uncle and never looks back, until she is laid off from her teaching job. After her aunt and uncle have passed away, she finds out that she has the deed to the house she was raised in. What happens next is what brings the book to life. Definitely a must-read, especially if you are a fan of Block Island.
October 13, 2025
Gregory Armstrong’s Mad Season: Elles Garity’s Story is a raw, haunting, and beautifully introspective journey through loss, memory, and self-reclamation. It’s a story that asks how far we must go to make peace with the ghosts of our past and what happens when the truth we’ve buried comes back demanding to be heard.
After losing her parents in a tragic accident, Elles Garity did what many wish they could she ran. But years later, returning home means confronting more than grief. It means unearthing family secrets, generational pain, and the dark ties that bind her to a past she thought she’d escaped. Armstrong crafts each page with emotional precision, blending psychological suspense with literary sensitivity.
What makes Mad Season stand out is its balance of vulnerability and tension the quiet moments of reflection give way to revelations that cut deep. Armstrong writes with the emotional truth of Celeste Ng and the psychological sharpness of Gillian Flynn, creating a narrative that feels both intimate and cinematic.
It’s not just a story about returning home it’s about finally seeing yourself there.
Fans of Little Fires Everywhere, Sharp Objects, and The Silent Patient will find Mad Season a stunning debut that lingers long after the final page.
After losing her parents in a tragic accident, Elles Garity did what many wish they could she ran. But years later, returning home means confronting more than grief. It means unearthing family secrets, generational pain, and the dark ties that bind her to a past she thought she’d escaped. Armstrong crafts each page with emotional precision, blending psychological suspense with literary sensitivity.
What makes Mad Season stand out is its balance of vulnerability and tension the quiet moments of reflection give way to revelations that cut deep. Armstrong writes with the emotional truth of Celeste Ng and the psychological sharpness of Gillian Flynn, creating a narrative that feels both intimate and cinematic.
It’s not just a story about returning home it’s about finally seeing yourself there.
Fans of Little Fires Everywhere, Sharp Objects, and The Silent Patient will find Mad Season a stunning debut that lingers long after the final page.
October 28, 2025
Gregory Armstrong’s Mad Season: Elles Garity’s Story is a haunting and heartfelt tale of returning home to both a place and a self long abandoned. Elles’s search for truth unfolds with the quiet suspense of a psychological mystery and the emotional resonance of a family drama. Armstrong writes with empathy and precision, giving readers a heroine whose strength lies not in defiance, but in her willingness to confront the ghosts she’s tried so hard to forget.
The novel’s pacing mirrors the rhythm of healing slow, painful, yet deeply transformative. Its layered revelations about family, friendship, and identity create an atmosphere rich in tension and introspection. At its core, Mad Season is about the cost of silence and the redemption found in finally breaking it.
Emotive, reflective, and powerfully written, Elles Garity’s Story marks the beginning of a series that promises both emotional depth and narrative intrigue.
The novel’s pacing mirrors the rhythm of healing slow, painful, yet deeply transformative. Its layered revelations about family, friendship, and identity create an atmosphere rich in tension and introspection. At its core, Mad Season is about the cost of silence and the redemption found in finally breaking it.
Emotive, reflective, and powerfully written, Elles Garity’s Story marks the beginning of a series that promises both emotional depth and narrative intrigue.
December 6, 2025
Mad Season: Book 1 Elles Garity's Story is an emotionally charged, character driven novel that blends grief, mystery, and self rediscovery into a compelling narrative. Gregory Armstrong delivers a heartfelt portrayal of a young woman forced to confront the past she once tried to outrun. The story carries the atmospheric tension of small-town secrets, interwoven with the quiet beauty of healing and acceptance.
Elles is a vividly drawn protagonist resilient yet fractured, determined yet vulnerable. As she unearths long-buried truths, the novel gathers a powerful emotional momentum that keeps the pages turning. Armstrong’s ability to balance intimate internal struggle with suspenseful revelations makes this a deeply engaging and memorable read.
A strong debut for a series, this book will resonate with readers who enjoy emotional mysteries, family secrets, and journeys of personal reclamation.
Elles is a vividly drawn protagonist resilient yet fractured, determined yet vulnerable. As she unearths long-buried truths, the novel gathers a powerful emotional momentum that keeps the pages turning. Armstrong’s ability to balance intimate internal struggle with suspenseful revelations makes this a deeply engaging and memorable read.
A strong debut for a series, this book will resonate with readers who enjoy emotional mysteries, family secrets, and journeys of personal reclamation.
August 1, 2025
Mad Season became a different book than I thought it might be. At the beginning I really thought this was going to be one of those “oh I can’t find myself” books. This was true in some ways of the main character, Elles or Grace, as she is known. Upon returning to an island where she spent much of her growing up time, she really doesn’t seem to be able to handle the memories of her earlier life, neither the pain nor even the times that make her smile.
I have to admit I thought some parts of the early story seemed to be repeats of the same situation, kind of frustrating. This made it seem a little slow to me. Then the author seemed to add a bit of tension and suspense and this, I might add, is what kept me reading. As Elles finally decides her purpose, the story began to open up and flow. There can be no doubt that the beginning of this story had to be set up with some background, I just wish it had been a little condensed. Because, in the long run, this was a very enjoyable read.
I have to admit I thought some parts of the early story seemed to be repeats of the same situation, kind of frustrating. This made it seem a little slow to me. Then the author seemed to add a bit of tension and suspense and this, I might add, is what kept me reading. As Elles finally decides her purpose, the story began to open up and flow. There can be no doubt that the beginning of this story had to be set up with some background, I just wish it had been a little condensed. Because, in the long run, this was a very enjoyable read.
October 31, 2025
Mad Season is the kind of book that sneaks up on you emotionally. At first, it feels like a story about loss and coming home, but by the end, it becomes something much deeper about forgiveness, resilience, and identity. The twist involving Elles’ new friend and the shocking family secrets is handled so well; it never feels forced, just devastatingly real. Armstrong’s writing voice is confident yet tender, and the dialogue feels authentic. You can tell he poured his soul into this story, and it shows on every page.
August 26, 2024
A good first book by Gregory Armstrong that takes place on an island. While reading, I could picture being on an island that I love and visit often. The characters and plot are interesting and believable. I recommend this book.
October 27, 2024
The story was good. Although, I was a bit lost as to what led up to the event itself.
The book needs more proofreading. I saw Birdie spelled as Birdie, Bridie, and Birde. There was a "you're" instead of a "your". Other misspellings/transposed letters. It distracted me, I guess.
The book needs more proofreading. I saw Birdie spelled as Birdie, Bridie, and Birde. There was a "you're" instead of a "your". Other misspellings/transposed letters. It distracted me, I guess.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews