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Offcumden
Not yet published
Expected 1 Apr 27Off-cum-den (old Yorkshire dialect): off-comer; outsider; one who doesn’t belong.
South Yorkshire, 1984.
From his garden shed, thirteen-year-old Chrissy-boy Foster is watching his world fall apart. His dad’s in prison for a picket-line fight. His mum is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Sadie — Chrissy-boy’s sister — is kept locked in her room. ‘She’s poorly’ is all he’s ever told. But despite his sheltered upbringing, Chrissy-boy knows there’s much more to her frightening condition.
When his dog runs away, Chrissy-boy teams up with two other school Aasha, a Kashmiri girl newly moved onto the council estate; and Mickey, from the old traveller family that runs the local scrapyard. Their search pulls them into Black Carr, the sprawling primal forest that edges the council estates of Rother valley. Beneath those woods, something is waking — something ancient and evil, something that connects their families and their secrets, their guilt.
As the three friends journey deeper into the heart of the valley, they begin to uncover the horror that their parents and grandparents had tried to bury . . . but that the land itself refuses to forget.
Johnny Gaunt 2027 (P) Penguin Audio 2027
South Yorkshire, 1984.
From his garden shed, thirteen-year-old Chrissy-boy Foster is watching his world fall apart. His dad’s in prison for a picket-line fight. His mum is on the edge of a nervous breakdown. Sadie — Chrissy-boy’s sister — is kept locked in her room. ‘She’s poorly’ is all he’s ever told. But despite his sheltered upbringing, Chrissy-boy knows there’s much more to her frightening condition.
When his dog runs away, Chrissy-boy teams up with two other school Aasha, a Kashmiri girl newly moved onto the council estate; and Mickey, from the old traveller family that runs the local scrapyard. Their search pulls them into Black Carr, the sprawling primal forest that edges the council estates of Rother valley. Beneath those woods, something is waking — something ancient and evil, something that connects their families and their secrets, their guilt.
As the three friends journey deeper into the heart of the valley, they begin to uncover the horror that their parents and grandparents had tried to bury . . . but that the land itself refuses to forget.
Johnny Gaunt 2027 (P) Penguin Audio 2027
Kindle Edition
Expected publication April 1, 2027
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 24, 2026
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an early eARC of OFFCUMDEN by Johnny Gaunt in exchange for an honest review.
This was such a good read I was hooked from the first chapter. I did struggle with the writing in places where I had to reread it several times to understand what was being said and that did take me away from the story a little bit.
There were characters I felt genuinely connected to and others that left me wanting to understand them more.
some descriptions in this were honestly so vivid especially one particular scene that I can still picture in my head. The way it was described made it feel incredibly real and added so much to the unsettling atmosphere.
There were a few little twists and reveals throughout that genuinely caught me off guard. Which i loved.
Overall I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I stuck with it. If it wasn’t for the rereading easily this would be 5 stars.
This was such a good read I was hooked from the first chapter. I did struggle with the writing in places where I had to reread it several times to understand what was being said and that did take me away from the story a little bit.
There were characters I felt genuinely connected to and others that left me wanting to understand them more.
some descriptions in this were honestly so vivid especially one particular scene that I can still picture in my head. The way it was described made it feel incredibly real and added so much to the unsettling atmosphere.
There were a few little twists and reveals throughout that genuinely caught me off guard. Which i loved.
Overall I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I stuck with it. If it wasn’t for the rereading easily this would be 5 stars.
August 21, 2026
I always enjoy reading debut novels and discovering new authors.
This is a hefty read. Hard to describe what genre it is, maybe a mix of mystery, fantasy, horror with some tender coming of age and friendship scenes. I found the whole premise very Stephen King, which is quite some feat.
However, I got to about 50% and was just getting lost with the plot and how drawn out it was. For me, the hinted secrets and menace needed to come earlier to keep me interested in such a big read. Maybe I will come back and try again with a printed copy rather than an on a kindle, but sadly I did not finish this time.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.
This is a hefty read. Hard to describe what genre it is, maybe a mix of mystery, fantasy, horror with some tender coming of age and friendship scenes. I found the whole premise very Stephen King, which is quite some feat.
However, I got to about 50% and was just getting lost with the plot and how drawn out it was. For me, the hinted secrets and menace needed to come earlier to keep me interested in such a big read. Maybe I will come back and try again with a printed copy rather than an on a kindle, but sadly I did not finish this time.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
a beautifully written dark folk horror fairy tale
I'm amazed that this is a debut novel, it is written so poetically, and the Yorkshire accent help's with flow of the writing. this is part folk horror, part dark fairy tale and part adventure, don't let that description tone down the horror of this book though as at it's core it is horror, it is dripping with atmosphere and unease and dark imagery, and enough mystery to keep the reader flying threw the pages as quick as they can desperate to see what is next for Chrissy-Boy, his family and his ragtag group of outcast friends.
this book would be perfect for fan's of Adam Nevil and Thomas Olde Heuvelt's "Hex"
I'm amazed that this is a debut novel, it is written so poetically, and the Yorkshire accent help's with flow of the writing. this is part folk horror, part dark fairy tale and part adventure, don't let that description tone down the horror of this book though as at it's core it is horror, it is dripping with atmosphere and unease and dark imagery, and enough mystery to keep the reader flying threw the pages as quick as they can desperate to see what is next for Chrissy-Boy, his family and his ragtag group of outcast friends.
this book would be perfect for fan's of Adam Nevil and Thomas Olde Heuvelt's "Hex"
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
What a beast of a book this felt like.... at times it felt a bit too long.
However, that's my only negative, and I'm getting it out of the way first.
Full of atmosphere, and perfectly sets the location, and time of the book.
Characters that will stay with you a while, and why wouldn't they, you've spent hours backing them against an unseen menace. Reading with them as the back story shows itself and you put all the puzzle pieces together.
Creepy and full of things that are not quite right.
Excellent read
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy.
However, that's my only negative, and I'm getting it out of the way first.
Full of atmosphere, and perfectly sets the location, and time of the book.
Characters that will stay with you a while, and why wouldn't they, you've spent hours backing them against an unseen menace. Reading with them as the back story shows itself and you put all the puzzle pieces together.
Creepy and full of things that are not quite right.
Excellent read
Thanks to netgalley for the free digital copy.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews