Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this as an eGalley through NetGalley to review.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this. It started out terrifying in a slasher type of way but then moved to more of a creepy supernatural type of vibe. I found the first part of the book to be overly scary (I hate slasher type of horror). I enjoyed the story a lot more as it went on. This is pretty gory and violent, so if that sort of thing bothers you, I would skip it.

The story follows Laney. Laney has had a rough time of it lately; her marriage fell apart during the pandemic and her sister passed away from cancer shortly after. She is now the guardian for her niece and trying to eke out a living on a teacher's salary. Her ex-husband and her parted amiably and he left her a vacation house on the isolated Hemlock Island; a house she's been having to rent out to make ends meet. Strange things have been happening at the house and Laney and her niece end up going out to investigate. To Laney's surprise, her ex-husband Kit and his sister, Jayla, show up to help. Then a couple other old high school friends show up as well. Things start to fall apart as more and more creepy things start to happen.

As mentioned above, this starts out as a kind of creepy serial killer/slasher type of mystery and then turns into something else completely. Remnants of strange rites and dead things are being found on the island and Laney and her friends are trying to figure out what's going on but cannot trust each other because of their sorted pasts. As things progress you find that there are more secrets that this group of people have than you initial expect, and that things are happening on this island that none of them could predict.

I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. I liked the strange supernatural-like twists at the end. This elevated the story from a basic serial killer mystery to some with a lot of fantastical paranormal/supernatural vibes. I enjoyed the way things wrapped up as well.

Armstrong is an excellent writer. This story was super easy to read and hard to put down. It was very engaging. I liked the main characters (and disliked the ones I was supposed to dislike) and enjoyed the twists and turns as the story got stranger and stranger.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this stand alone paranormal/supernatural thriller/mystery. I would recommend if you enjoy creepy/scary stories that have a supernatural twist to them. I enjoyed this and look forward to Armstrong's future books.

This book is full of all the spine tingling action and sinister vibes that I've come to expect from this author. She has become a must read author for me and I loved this book from the gorgeous cover to the shocking ending. Highly recommend to anyone that loves a good horror novel!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong is a horror/mystery about Laney, who rents out her island vacation home. The renters keep complaining about really strange things happening at the house, so Laney goes to investigate. Then, it gets really weird once Laney and her friends and family get there. There are so many twists and surprising reveals in this story. I really enjoyed it, as it sucked me in from the very beginning. Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Good plot, good writing style, and sitting on edge of chair anticipation. What more could you ask --to make a good novel!! This is a book that is hard to just stop reading at any one spot after the first few chapters. I really enjoyed reading this book, and Hemlock Island has a whole new meaning for me now.

I’ve read this before so I was thinking I’d like this. I didn’t.

I didn’t like the characters, the storyline didn’t appeal to me and seemed a bit ridiculous at times. Once I hit the 70% mark, I just didn’t care. I also went into it thinking it was a mystery/thriller but it turned more into a campy horror.

This just wasn’t the book for me and I don’t think I’d recommend it to others.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Kelley Armstrong has become one of my favorite authors since I became hooked on her riveting Casey Duncan series. I used to be a big horror story affiicianado, but my tastes really changed and that interest fell by the wayside except for an occasional tale. However, when I saw Ms. Armstrong had a new stand-alone horror novel coming out, I had to give it a try. It took me a while to get into it, but when I did, holy ****! Talk about a thrill ride!

Hemlock Island is the only thing Laney Kilpatrick has to her name since her marriage fell apart during the pandemic, and she loves it dearly. She hates renting it out to strangers, but it's the only way she has funds to hang onto it. It's annoying enough when renters damage her personal belongings and don't follow her rules, but now hex circles and weird wind chimes are being reported. Not only that, but the latest renters fled from the island, terrified after finding blood and claw marks inside a guest bedroom closet. What on earth...?! Laney and her teenaged niece Madison head to the island to investigate. Her ex, Kit, was notified and he too shows up with Jayla, his sister and Laney's former best friend. To round out the party, another old friend, Sadie, and her cop brother Garrett arrive uninvited. Soon a hand is found sticking up out of the ground, then the body to which it formerly belonged. But now their only way off the island has been destroyed, and it seems someone - or is that something? - doesn't intend to let them leave alive.

My life has been hectic and stressful lately, so for a while I was only reading a few pages a day. I was finding it difficult to really be drawn into the story. But then an OMG! moment occurred and I was hooked. I didn't want to leave the house until I was through! First off, let's talk about the characters. Laney, our leading lady, started off somewhat likeable. Divorced, she was a teacher, but also a writer and horror fan. After being divorced and given Hemlock Island by Kit, she was doing her best as guardian to niece Madison after Laney's sister Anna died. Kit was the love of her life, and she was never told exactly why Kit wanted to split. She moved from "somewhat likeable" to being an awesome heroine when she went all "Mama Bear" to protect Madison. I just adored Madison! She was smarter than most of the adults in the room, as Kit liked to point out. Ex Kit was extremely likeable and caring from the start and seemed to really care for Laney...so why did he and Laney split? Jayla was Laney's former best friend. What went wrong there? And then there's manipulator Sadie and her brother Garrett, both of whom were easy to detest. With the exception of Madison, all of these people had some deep, dark secrets. When these secrets starting being revealed, my mouth hung open in shock! And then there's the suspense. That's what got really wild! At first it seemed someone was causing great problems and trying to terrify everyone else. Then things got weird...REALLY WEIRD. And absolutely terrifying! No way was the cause a vengeful person. I will not ruin the story by giving many details; that would be cruel. Trigger warning, though: If graphic violence and blood and gore disturb you, then this isn't your cup of tea! But if you can stomach it, you are in for a terrifying treat!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Laney owns Hemlock Island, a private island reachable only by boat. When she gets a call from her renters saying that there is blood in the house, she heads off to investigate with her sixteen year old niece. Once here, her ex-husband, her best friend, her old friend, and the guy she hates. The second they get there, weird things start happening and they get trapped.

This was a really cool ride!

The genre of this is thriller/horror. So be away that there is a supernatural aspect to it. BUT, it's really well done and truly scary. The setting of this was perfect. Armstrong does a good job describing the setting and using it to really tell a scary story. Beyond the setting, I loved the story. It is laid out in a really approachable way. I liked Laney and the whole cast of characters. This is more than just a horror book though. There is a little romance and has tons of drama amongst the friends that are there. Everyone has secrets and they all come out in the stressful situation.

All in all, this was a heart-pounding wild ride that I would recommend to anyone. A perfect Halloween read!!!

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the gifted copy. My reviews are always honest.

I don't love horror, but I do enjoy Kelley Armstrong's writing. This was a twisty atmospheric story. It would have preferred it to be more of a psychological thriller ending, but that's just me!

Thriller/horror books I not something I normally read. This is an easy read with a fairly compelling story. The supernatural turn at the ending of the book was a bit of a let down for me. I was hoping for a more complex ending.

Fans of the author's Cainsville series will love this standalone. A perfect blend of supernatural, suspense, and thriller with a dash of romance. I was sucked in from the beginning and this one kept me gripped to the reveal. It was a unique twist on the genre.

Oooh, this went in some weird unexpected places!

Hemlock Island has been Laney's happy place but she hasn't been able to afford it after her divorce. She resorts to renting the secluded island to travellers looking to disconnect from the world. After strange ritualistic occurrences on the island, Laney goes to discover what is going on and it's more than she could have ever expected.

This was a great horror/thriller with a lot of twists and secrets. Kelley Armstrong wrote a really fun and creepy locked room mystery and I found the characters to be super engaging and interesting. You never really know the characters intentions and, that paired with the unsettling and grisly scenes really puts you on edge!

Just strap in and enjoy the ride because it's a wild one!

This book is a good reminder not to f**k with nature.

I can’t say I was totally expecting the paranormal/supernatural aspect (though with a KA book I don’t know why I was surprised). It was way freakier and gorier than I thought it was going to be. I didn’t hate that it was, but be warned if you aren’t a big fan of horror and/or gore.

There were so many twists and secrets that it was sometimes hard to keep up. At the same time, I couldn’t stop reading. I was hooked into the mystery of what was happening and had to know what was actually going on.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc of this book.

Laney is a home-owner and loves her house on the out-of-the-way Hemlock Island where there's no internet, no cell service, and most of all, peace to spend her days writing if she chooses to do so. Unfortunately, after the tragic death of her sister leaves her with heaps of medical debt and her niece Madison who has eyes on college, she can't afford to keep the house after the pandemic ruins her marriage to the wealthy Kit. Her only choice? To rent out the beautiful hideaway to people wanting to spend their lockdowns in luxury.

When Laney gets a call from an extremely upset guest who declares that blood's in the closet, she's exhausted with what appears to be another thing in a long series of pranks that have befallen her beloved home. She packs up Madison and heads out to Hemlock to investigate where she's met by Kit, she's met by old friends and enemies and then things start to go pear-shaped.

Disappearances. Weird hex symbology. Blood. Bits of hair. Visions. Murder?

I really thought I knew what this book was when I checked into it, but was pleasantly surprised by how it evolved from what felt like a Riley Sager-esqe thrillery revenge story into something dark and folkloric and frankly, just plain weird.

Definitely some quibbles, though. I think the pacing, the way the plot was fleshed out - it was all a little bit wonky. There were a ton of flashbacks to Laney's past and her relationships with each individual that showed up on the island. I also felt like a queer relationship was a bit shoehorned in and wasn't exactly relevant to anything other than existing for the sake of it. The real story was between both Laney and Kit, then Laney and brother and sister Garrett and Sadie.

There was SO much backstory and it felt like the actual plot/what was happening wasn't foreshadowed in a way that you'd really expect to draw the reader in. We definitely got a story, but the real stuff felt like it started to happen closer to the 50% mark. Because of that, I will say that a lot of this felt a bit weird/convoluted, but it was a pretty interesting time despite that, perfect for spooky season.

It does ALSO need to be said that there's a pretty traumatic discussion of rape that came out of left field that I felt was kind of unnecessary and I REALLY didn't like.

This book definitely started with a bang and entered supernatural territory quickly! Laney receives a call in the middle of the night that there is blood and nail marks in one of the closets at her Hemlock Island home and that’s her cue to pack up and go to her beloved space. When she gets there, she and her niece are not the only people present. Kit, Laney’s ex-husband, and his sister are there along with Laney’s ex-friend, Sadie, and her brother. Along with the terror that lurks on the island, there are some serious secrets that need to come to light.

I enjoyed this story so much. The end was definitely unexpected! There were some parts the were unbelievable but made sense for the story. There were also parts that I wanted to speed along; lots of dialogue in the middle. All in all I do think this is a great horror story.

Laney Kilpatrick rents her vacation home to strangers which for her gives her panic attacks because she thinks it's an invasion of privacy but for her to keep this beloved island this was the only one. After receiving a call saying that there is blood and claw marks all over the guest room closet Laney goes to investigate this with her niece in tow. What she didn't expect once she got there was her ex Kit and his sister Jayla and then Sadie her old high school friend shows up with her brother. What really is going on? Why did all these people show up? This book will have you turning the pages till the very end. On Hemlock Island their is tension, secrets, whisper in the woods and eventually a hand poking up from the earth. Come and Investigate in the book and find out what's really happening... The only downside for me with this book was how the dialogues tone was more YA then an adult conversation. Positive's for this book were the spooky vibes during the whole book, easy read, great mystery and how it kept you guessing till the very end. Overall I would recommend this book to other readers. Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for this ebook.

Rental house on Lake Superior - with creepiness and an Ex and strange things (blood in places where there shouldn’t be blood) happening! What more do you want in a page-turner?! Although high on the creepy factor, the book was a fun read that will keep you reading. Was it filled with complex characters? No. Was it in any way believable? No. But who cares - it was fun.

3.5 ⭐️

Kelly Armstrong is one of my favourite authors I’ve discovered in the last two years and I’ve definitely enjoyed her Haven’s Rock and A Rip Through Time series .

I loved the first half of this book and really thought I was headed for a 4-5 ⭐️ read ; but then the story took a turn I wasn’t really expecting and isn’t necessarily my favourite genre - paranormal/ horror . It was still good but not what I was expecting - a locked room type of whodonit on an island .

Yeah this story was unbelievable - literally someone is killing and leaving blood in your house and you don't call the authorities. Oh its nothing but harmless pranks! Then there is a murder, and you are on your paddle board worried about trash in the sea. The character rambled on about trash in the sea and how awful it is - SOMEONE IS DEAD and SOMEONE IS MISSING!

Which was it an overactive imagination? Interlopers? Supernatural? And, how did the guests call you from the island but when you arrive there is no phone to report a murder? What?!?!?

This book was a hot mess for me.

Thank you St. Martin's Press for the complimentary.

Hemlock Island was the vacation home of Laney’s dreams. That is, until a pandemic-era divorce led her to rent out her vacation home to vacationing strangers. Then, suddenly, her dream became a nightmare.

After strange and eerie happenings cause the current renters to leave abruptly, Laney goes to the island to investigate, followed by a group of friends and family, each with their own concerns and agendas.

Once there, they find themselves abruptly trapped, and things quickly devolve, in ways that seem to defy explanation. The story gets more and more claustrophobic and the pace frenetic from here on out.

If I were a nail-biter, my nails would be long gone after this read. The story goes a bit off the rails at the end, but what a ride!

Thank you Kelley Armstrong, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

This is a great horror for October if you are into gothic tales with some gore and bloody surprises. There was a lot of action but also some slower parts where the characters and the drama between them all was revealed. The slower parts were too much for me but I was there for the action. I loved the whole locked island atmosphere to the story.