4.5/5 stars

This is a standalone horror novel. I normally don't read this genre very often. However Kelley Armstrong is my favorite author. So I had to read this book. And I was impressed.

The narrator is Laney. She has an enormous house on a remote unreachable island located in the middle of Lake Superior. It is her sanctuary. However since she's gotten divorced she's been forced to rent out her house.

Laney is divorced from Kit. She is the guardian of her 16 year old niece Madison. And her best friend used to be Kit's sister Jayla. Also in the story are her former friend Sadie and Sadie's cop brother Garrett.

Laney gets notified of some strange occurrences at Hemlock Island. And so she heads out to check things out. This island was spooky and it was very interesting to see the author try a completely new genre.

Horror is definitely not my preferred genre. The story wasn't overly graphic. But it was gory and a bit gruesome. And some of what happened on the island was not really for me. It was a bit too dark and out there. However, there were some amazing reveals that I really enjoyed. And the characters were so good. And somehow the author did manage to bring everything together at the end so that I was satisfied. Overall, this was a creepy read that is perfect for the Fall months!

I just finished Hemlock Island By Kelley Armstrong and here are my musings.

Laney has no choice but to rent out her vacation home, a place she loves, to strangers. The island is the only thing she received in the divorce. The latest tenants left the island screaming after discovering blood all over a closet and nail marks on the door…. Like someone tried to claw their way out.

Going to inspect what is going on, Laney with her teenage niece and find hex circles and bloody bones…. When Laney’s ex Kit and his sister arrive to help, along with an old friend of theirs and her brother who is a cop, they find more than they bargained for.

After finding a hand and the caretaker of the island missing, their nerves are on edge. When Sadie goes missing, tensions rise and everybody is holding on to their secrets. Learning that someone or something has destroyed their only way off the island, they soon come to realize that none of them will make it off the island alive.

I got chills reading this book. Hardcore chills. The whole atmosphere of the island was super intense and I loved all the descriptive prose that delivered the imagery to my brain! I felt like I was walking around there in my mind.

I really liked the character development although the childhood issues seemed really idiotic until we got the big twist! Then it all made sense. I didn’t much care for Sadie and the brother but I understood what their part was eventually.

I loved the supernatural elements in this book and adored being kept guessing. I didn’t figure it out until it was all revealed and was blown away by the ending. I sat up late to finish it and part of me hopes this doesn’t stay a standalone. I would love more on the history of the island and how it came to be…. What happens to Laney…. Or a prequel!!

Loved the family drama and the dark secrets… This book really ticked every single box for me.

If you love horror with a mystery thriller mashed in, this has to be your go to…

4.5 stars!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy

Hemlock Island is fast pace, tense, and at times gruesome. And yet another fantastic book by Kelley Armstrong. As it was for most people, the pandemic was rough for Lanely Kilpatrick. It played a part in ending her marriage. Now divorced and raising her sister’s teenage daughter, Lanely still clings to memories of better times and the wedding present from her now ex-husband: Hemlock Island, a secluded island on Lake Superior. The island the house there were once her safe haven, now to make ends meet she’s been forced to turn it into a rental property. And lately things haven’t been going great. When her latest renters call, complaining about finding bloody scratches in one of the closets, Lanely decides to head out and check it out. Her niece insists on going as well, and once there she finds some of her friends have arrived to help investigate as well, including her ex-husband. Lanely thinks it’s someone interested in the property, attempting to scare her off so she’ll sell it cheap. But when a severed hand, among other things, is discovered it’s clear this is way more than simple pranks. I liked Laney from the start so was completely invested. The secluded setting helped ratchet up the tension, especially as more and more gruesome discoveries are made. This is a excellent horror/thriller and definitely a great read to kickoff the Halloween reading season. I’d like to thank St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Hemlock Island.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R36643ILGWPWW5/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

This story is told in first person by Laney. This is my fourth book by this author and even though I knew it was labeled horror, I wasn’t expecting it to be this creeptastic. The isolated island setting in Lake Superior made for a very atmospheric spooky read with both sandy shores and rocky cliffs with crevices for pitfalls plus wooded areas with creeks and a rickety footbridge. Add in some hex circles, dead animals and body parts and this all added up to be a little spooky in the night for me and I’m hard to scare.

There are six characters that end up trapped on the island. They were interesting and easily distinguished with previous relationships and secrets that made for both comradery and excessive tension. The teenager gave some pretty good snark which led to more than a few laughs on my part. Some might find their petty squabbles distracting from the overall ambiance of the story and there was an often-referenced ambiguous event that happened in the past that I found a bit annoying and could have been revealed sooner.

Overall, I enjoyed this atmospheric thriller. It would make a great addition to your spooky reading list.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy provided for an honest review.

This was great! I have read quite a few of Kelley Armstrong’s books over the years (not even close to the number that she has written though) so I was eager to dive into her newest offering. I was thrilled, and a bit surprised, to find that this book made me feel like I was watching a scary movie. It was such a delight to find that one of my favorite authors had written a horror novel and had done it amazingly well.

Laney owns a house on a private island that she rents out to strangers on vacation. She needs the money that the rentals bring in to be able to afford to keep it. Strange things have been happening on the island so she goes to check it out along with her niece. Her ex-husband Kit, his sister Jayla, and a few other friends also show up to help. Everything came together to form a recipe for the perfect creepy novel. I couldn’t wait to find out what was really happening on the island. I loved all of the creepy vibes and I wanted to scream at the characters when they ventured off into the woods alone. There is some relationship drama, and even a bit of romance, along with plenty of surprises worked into the story.

I listened to the audiobook and thought that Angela Dawe did a fantastic job with this story. I loved the voices that she used for each of the characters that play a role in this story. I thought that she was able to bring just the right amount of emotion to her reading to leave me hanging on every word. I am certain that her performance added to my enjoyment of this story. Overall, this was a wonderful read and I hope that Ms. Armstrong plans to tackle more horror in the future!

I received a digital review copy of this book from Macmillan Audio and St. Martin’s Press.

I don't know about you, but I love being scared - horror movies, terrifying stories, I just can't get enough. They're perfect to enjoy during this upcoming Spooky Season, or if you're like me, any time.

Kelley Armstrong's new standalone novel Hemlock Island fits the bill perfectly. Taking place on an isolated island, there's hex circles and bloody bones, a MC that might be seeing things, everything that can go wrong, does go wrong (à la every classic horror movie ever made), where everyone is a suspect, and the tension is so thick you can't see through it. It's a locked room mystery-cum-horror.

Needless to say, I easily raced through this one. Hemlock Island is not for the faint of heart. The detailed descriptions are particularly gruesome and gory - which I loved, but may be too much for other readers. There's a delicious undercurrent of dread slithering throughout the novel which will have you reading late into the night.

The novel deals as much with the relationships between the characters as it does the reason they're on island.

Kelley Armstrong seems to be the master of switching genres seamlessly. She writes horror as well as she writes thrillers, paranormal, and young adult. I've already started another one of her books and ordered Hemlock Island for my library. It does not disappoint.

Thank you to Kelley Armstrong, St. Martin's Press, and Netgalley for an advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

4½ stars rounded up to 5 stars Recommend for fans of: Horror, Thrillers, Suspense, Mysteries, Supernatural, Fiction, Gothic, The Third Day, AHS Roanoke/1984, Fantasy Island (2020), Midsommar (2020)

After her divorce, the only way Laney Kilpatrick can afford to keep her vacation home on Hemlock Island is to rent it out to strangers. She loves this home. It's the only connection she feels she has left to her ex-husband Kit. Late one night, Laney receives a frantic phone call from the current renters saying they discovered blood inside a closet. Laney and her niece, Madison, head off to the island to check things out.

When they arrive, her ex, Kit, and his sister, Jayla, are there due to Madison calling Kit and filling him in on what has happened. Then, Sadie, an old high school friend, and her brother, who is now a cop, show up. Realizing the renters have fled, the group starts to look around. They do indeed find blood in the closet along with a hex circle. Is someone trying to push Laney into selling the island or is something more sinister happening?

First thing, horror is a not a genre I typically pick up. Why then would I choose to read this? Kelley Armstrong. Armstrong has become an auto-read author for me. This story SCARED me. Not only scared but DISTURBED me. If body horror is too much for you, SKIP this one. If you can handle it, give this one a try. I highly recommend listening to this via audiobook. The narrator, Angela Dawe, does a wonderful job! Listening to horror on audio makes it feel as if you can't get away from it...it adds to the scare factor.

The reason I gave this a 4 star rating was the ending. It wrapped up a little too nicely for me. I want to be shocked, angry, or confused when I finish a horror story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher (Macmillian Audio/St. Martin's Press) for allowing me to read/listen to this story early. All opinions are my own!

Really great horror thriller but also a book that makes a deeper statement. I love all the supernatural lore around lake Superior and this book was no exception. I loved the setting I loved the characters I loved the sub plots. The theme of short term rentals was especially relevant for me living in a big tourist place and this being a hot issue.

I had no idea what I was in for going into this book, but I was SO pleasantly surprised. I ended up loving it so much.

If you are looking for the perfect spooky season read, this might be the one for you!

Dark, eerie & atmospheric I really enjoyed (as much as I could lol) my time on Hemlock Island,

4.5/5 stars, would for sure recommend.

I always feel so bad writing negative reviews, but I did not like this book at all. After reading quite a few high reviews, I thought I would love Hemlock Island. Sadly, I did not. Not even a little bit. The plot had so much promise! The creepy house on an island, weird things happening, past drama with friends bubbling to the surface during a major emergency - it had all the elements of a great slasher movie-esque story. The first half of the book was even decent, but the second half along with the conclusion was so outlandish and ridiculous.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the Publisher for gifting me an ARC in exchange for my honest review!

What begins as a simple plan to visit her rental island/house - Laney soon finds herself and her niece Madison in the middle of a nightmare. People she has been renting the island to have hurriedly left the island amid reports of strange things occurring on the island and the house --- but they are not the first ones to do this! When Laney arrives to travel across the lake to the island, she is unhappily surprised to find her ex-husband Kit and his sister Jayla, along with a long-ago friend Sadie and her brother Garrett, there to go with her. While the storyline is sometimes clunky, there are mysteries that need to be unraveled - and not just what is happening on the island. The history of the characters is drawn out and sometimes unexpected. Where the story goes is a twist that is somewhat expected, but not necessarily my type of story closure. Will admit that it kept me reading to find out what the heck was happening, and lovers of this genre will enjoy the book for sure. I find my rating more 3.5 than 3, but have a hard time giving it a 4 from my own personal taste. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this advance reader copy. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #NetGalley#HemlockIsland

This book turns from a murder mystery to horror pretty quick. It almost felt like two different books. I definitely wouldn't want to be trapped on an island with all the gruesome things that were going on.

If you look past all of the horror aspects, the writing on the connections between the character is done well. We get some backstory on Laney and her ex Kit and a whole bunch on her friend and friend's brother. Let's just say, a lot of ties between all of them that others didn't know.

I have liked Kelley's time traveling books that lend more to the mystery aspect. I thought that this was creative, but wasn't so sure about being pulled into the horror flick type detail. The ending did wrap up everything nicely though.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ARC for my honest review.

This one started out really strong and then just kind of went downhill from there, but it was still a captivating read!

Following her divorce, Laney has been renting out the summer property, Hemlock Island, that she and her husband bought while they were married and she got in the divorce. She always thought they would grow old together there, so she doesn’t love the idea of renting it, but after the death of her sister and taking custody of her niece, she needs income so she decides to do it. Unfortunately, with that comes a complaint from renters who have run from the island after making a gruesome discovery in one of the bedrooms, so she decides to head over there and see for herself, expecting it to be some prank that the guests before them left for her to find. When she and her niece arrive on the island, she finds her ex husband there, and her best friend has met them there as well so that they don’t have to face whatever this is alone. But then some unexpected visitors decide they are going to join the investigation and things quickly take a dark turn.
This was an eerie blend of atmospheric horror and mystery together with an isolated island and. Occult imagery. There was lots of tension between all the characters and it’s not revealed until way into the story why that is (although it is super predictable once it is finally revealed) but the bottom line is nature gets her revenge with this one!
Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review

I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong and once again she does not disappoint.
Her Rockton series and A Rip Through Time are just phenomenal.
I was truly thrilled to see a new standalone horror written by her.
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong is a true horror novel.
As always, the characters are well developed and very real.
The way she builds tension and a mystery that is captivating and interesting is just amazing to me. She crafts an immersive and masterful narrative creating a riveting twisted string of multiple unexpected reveals that propel this page-turner.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Kelley Armstrong for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Hemlock Island coming out September 12, 2023. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Laney Kilpatrick rents her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy isn’t ideal, but it’s the only way she can keep her treasured Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic divorce. But damaged property and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones and hex circles. Now terrified renters have fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone had tried to claw their way out. 

When Laney shows up with her teenaged niece, she discovers that her ex-husband Kit, has also been informed and is there with Jayla, his sister and her former best friend. Then Sadie, another old high school friend, charters over with her brother, who’s now a cop.

Tensions run high. Secrets in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it... But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone―or something―that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite writers and I’ve read several of her books. This book was a little messy for me. I thought there was a lot of past drama that didn’t really work for the story. I feel like if they were really in danger for their lives, they wouldn’t have time to hash out old problems. They’d be in more of a survival mode. Then with everything that happened after, it was a little too much. I thought the story was definitely action packed. It was a great thriller and I think it didn’t need all the drama. I really liked the supernatural aspect and would’ve liked to see more of that.

I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys island thrillers.

I am a huge Kelley Armstrong fan and was ecstatic when she announced she was writing a horror novel. Hemlock Island was suspenseful, scary, and addictive. Check out my review and see why this novel is perfect for the spooky season!

I love a horror story where the characters are cut off from the outside world. Armstrong mixed supernatural elements with suspense to provide a hair-raising thriller. This one might require a night light.

After her divorce from Kit, Laney Kilpatrick began renting out the island home the two of them built on Hemlock Island. The home is the only inhabitant of the island. When her latest guest complains of blood in the closet, she and her teenaged niece head to the island. At the campground where they keep their boat, they are met by Kit and Jayla, his sister and her former best friend meet them there. They are later joined on the island by Sadie, another old high school friend, and her brother, who’s now a cop.

Armstrong blends shared history between the characters with the supernatural to create a story that kept me on edge. When Sadie goes missing and a severed hand is discovered, the group soon learns someone trapped them.

I am convinced Armstrong could write any genre she set her mind to. From historical to fantasy. The story is well done and reads like this is her hundredth horror novel. Fans of Ruth Ware will want to grab this one.

Hemlock Island shares its secrets and we soon learn about Kit & Laney’s failed marriage. It’s evident from the start that these two still have feelings for one another. We learn about the rifts between childhood friends and the darkest secrets from Laney’s past.

I highly recommend adding this to your fall reading list.

Thank you NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Kelley Armstrong for the advanced copy of Hemlock Island in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a lot different than what I was expecting and unfortunately in a way that didn't really work for me. The way this is being marketed I expected it to be pretty heavy on the horror elements, but it was more of a domestic suspense/thriller with horror and supernatural elements thrown in in the latter half of the book.

There was one big secret that definitely threw me for a loop and I didn't see coming, and I did enjoy that particular twist.

Hemlock Island will be on US bookshelves September 12!

I was excited to receive a ARC of this book, I am a huge Kelley Armstrong fan! I have been enjoying her books since I first read “The Summoning” in 2008. So, it is with a heavy heart that I write this review. I really didn’t care for this book at all.

My issues were: 1) lack of depth to the characters 2) Totally implausible plot twists

It just didn’t hit the mark for me, Im just going to stick the the authors other (excellent books). I especially love the Rockton series and the stitch in time series.

Thank you to St. Martins Press and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book to read and review.

The description of this one really hooked me, and overall, it was an interesting read. My main issue was that the pacing was very inconsistent and parts of this book really dragged. But then I would read a chapter where a lot happened and be right back in. This led me to feel kind of meh about this one at the end.

The character development in this novel was very strong. I really enjoyed the dynamic between Laney, Kit, Jayla, and Madison. Their relationships felt real and realistically complicated (although at times the personal drama and the sharing of backstories felt like too much). I was definitely rooting for all four of them to survive the horrors of Hemlock Island. Even though I enjoyed the characters in this story, I wish a little more time had been spent on the horror as I sometimes felt bogged down and just wanted the story to move a little quicker.

I don’t totally know how I feel about the “big bad” in this one. It was certainly unique which I like but could have maybe been a little more explained. Armstrong’s horror scenes are exceptionally well-written and graphic, and I did find these scenes to be really intriguing. I was just left with a lot of questions. The ending also felt kind of rushed and random, and I didn’t totally love how things were wrapped up in this one.