Ebook/Horror: This book took a wild turn about 65% in. It reminded me a lot of my favorite horror book, The Ruins, by Scott Smith. I've only known Armstrong as a serial writer, but this is a standalone.
I want to thank Netgalley for an advanced copy of the book because there's nothing better than a murder or two in an isolated island. If an island sells on the cheap, there's a reason why. Without giving anything away, did I like it? Yes, and I'm glad I read it. I'm giving it five stars because I'm going to be thinking about the plot and how I would handle the situation for a while.

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this creepy title**

This was my first book by Kelley Armstrong, and I went in mostly blind. I was expecting a locked door thriller/mystery, and Hemlock Island turned out to be so much more.

I found Hemlock Island to be downright scary at certain times, partly stemming from the surprise and the "wtf is happening" when I realized this was actually a horror book more than it was a thriller. Reading this book into the wee hours of the night probably contributed to the spooky factor as well.

While I found the characters to be downright annoying at times and wanted more of the occult/hex circles/creepy wind chime action, I thought this book was a great read overall. Definitely check this one out if you like thrillers, isolated islands, the occult, and lots of drama amongst your characters!

3.5⭐️
Pub date- 9/12/23

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this book.

Hemlock Island is a blend of thriller, horror and supernatural. This chilling story takes place on isolated Hemlock Island, where a group are stranded due to creepy circumstances and a storm. It starts out as them thinking it’s a prank to quickly realizing something sinister is on this island.
Kelly Armstrong does a great job at creating this eerie atmosphere and there’s plenty of gore for horror fanatics.
I enjoyed this story but I just had some trouble with the characters. Their interactions at times seemed way to Young adult when they are probably all in their 30s. Also, a bit odd that they would be discussing their drama/relationships during fighting for their lives.
Besides that the story in itself is good. The author has talent for creating vivid imagery. Especially the gore! 🔪
Horror fans, pick up Hemlock Island September 12, 2023!

Wow This was a mindblowing story, I dont have words to describe it , this was a great read , intriging and jawdropping , one of the best this author has written!

So here i am in bed and in the dark and i just finished Hemlock Island and i am creeped out by this book.in a good way.

Kelley Armstrong as always, delivers. A horrific thriller but one that makes you engrossed and you cant stop reading til your at the last page


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for review.

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Pace: 4/5
Suspense: 5/5
Overall Enjoyment: 4/5

This is certainly a book that will play on your fears and claustrophobia. The isolation that the reader senses is very strong in this book……..TRIGGER WARNING:

Laney Kilpatrick must begrudgingly rent out her vacation home on Hemlock Island after her divorce from her now ex husband.and some financial instability.. Not only is she dealing with that, her sister died and now she is raising her niece as well. She has been fielding calls from guests saying they have heard strange noises and saw things like hex circles and wind chimes made of bones and other very strange instances on the island that continued to frighten them. Although Laney herself never saw or heard any of the intimidating and scary noises on the island However, one night she receives a phone call from the current Air BNB. guests letting her know they were leaving due to being scared to death by scratching noises in the guest bedroom and upon checking it out they make a gruesome discovery.
Laney decides it is time she goes to her beloved island and, her niece insisted she was going to tag along. What they find is something straight out of a horror movie. In the closet of the spare bedroom there are claw marks and blood that appear to be from someone trying to) get out from being locked in.

From here the secrets fly, neighbors whisper and the stories twists and turns are thrown at the reader to keep you enthralled and engrossed while feeling trapped yourself. The writer does an impeccable job of telling this story and while dropping a few hints here and there while making sure not to make the story predictable at all. I found the characters to be somewhat secretive and mysterious but overall well developed, flawed, and their personal relationships were very plausible. Overall the book is 4/5 stars for me.

Release Date September 12, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

I had. No idea where this story was going - and I loved it! I wanted to know more about the characters lives before the island and what would happen after the island!

3.5 ⭐️!

Thank you to Netgalley and Kelley Armstrong for a free arc in return for an honest [spoiler-free] review.

I have read Kelley Armstrong before, so I was excited to get my hands on this arc! This was the perfect mixture of suspense, horror, and supernatural elements. Definitely read the trigger warnings, but I think the author dealt with the topics well. I would have given 4⭐️ but the supernatural aspects came a bit late in the book and everyone seemed to believe them a bit too easily without any build up, and there were some plot points that I guessed ahead of time, and I wish I had been more surprised. With that said, I still greatly enjoyed the book!

This was very good! I love Kelley Armstrong women of the other word and Rocktown novels, so this was an automatic request to read.
This was spooky, and tense and kept me guessing right up to the last 90%.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I've read many of Kelley Armstrong's novels before, and felt great anticipation upon receiving a copy of Hemlock Island through NetGalley. I was initially intrigued based on her past writings and I like to support a Canadian author.

My first impressions from Hemlock Island, it seemed to have an interesting plot which made me curious where the story may lead going further. The book was a page turner which left me waiting in anticipation to find out the next plot twist and story development. The characters were well developed and contained diversity amongst them, including gender, color, and sexuality. The description of the island was beautiful and created intrigue to want to visit there myself. I loved how strong and sassy Madison, her niece/daughter was, her character made for an enjoyable read.

The main character Laney was a struggling author/teacher herself, and her genre of fiction was horror which helped to tie into the genre of Hemlock Island itself. It felt fitting within her character growth.

I do wish the island was located within Canada, to stay true to Armstrong's roots and knowledge of the land. The only character Aunt Laney, as she had the personality of a "goody-goody". No woman is going to play nice with another woman, who is attempting to take her man away. Alternatively, every-time something happened during the story she would claim to see it out of the corner of her eye, repeatedly, whereas no one else did. The same reference of "out of the corner of her eye" was used continuously and became repetitive.

In regards to the ending, and Aunt Laney making a promise to stay on the island from spring to the first frost (never leaving the island during those months), this made little sense as a conclusion. For instance, she was planning on having a child with her ex-husband in the near future, which would mean realistically she would have to leave the island at times for necessities (i.e. doctors appointments, delivery, medical attention).

Lastly, the Island having no connection to the mainland (smoke signal, radio, wi-fi, cellular service) was unrealistic to renters of the land in the event of an emergency. They would have no means of connecting with the main land if something occurred, which should be a concern if you're the landlord.

I take this with the consideration that this novel is fiction, it doesn't need to make entire sense, but as a reader who is detail oriented I found these elements to be areas which neglected reality and common sense.

Life since the pandemic has not been easy for Laney. Her sister died, she’s divorced from Kit, and now she is responsible for bringing up her niece, Madison. She took nothing from the divorce, except the house she and Kit had built on a private island in Lake Superior. Trouble is she can’t afford it, so she’s forced to rent it out to people who inevitably fail to appreciate it’s remote charm.
When her latest guest call, seriously upset about something that happened on the island,Laney and her niece head there to figure out what is going on. Kit and his sister, Jayla, along with another one of Laney‘s oldest friends, Sadie and her brother Garrett show up too. But things quickly spiral out of control. Sadie is missing, and their only means of leaving the island, the boat they arrived on, is gone too. With no way to call for help or to leave, they must figure out who else is on Hemlock Island, and try to survive until they can escape.
There was only one plot point that I really didn’t think made sense. I won’t mention which one, but after the reveal, I didn’t love this as much as I had.For the most part, I was drawn in trying to figure out what the heck was going on. I went back-and-forth between three and four stars, and finally settled on 3.5. The mystery of what was happening on the island was good enough to make me push my distaste for that certain plot point to the side.

This started out promising, and it is fast-paced. Laney was given an island by her now ex-husband, Kit. While it being remote and disconnected from the outside world except by boat is great for her writing, she’s a teacher, and she can’t maintain all the other fees that go with owning a home on an island, so she has no choice but to rent it out. When renters complain about weird occult stuff being found around the house and surrounding area, she doesn’t know what kind of prank people are playing. Presumably someone who wants to buy it from her is trying to scare her off so she’ll sell it for less. The latest prank is blood and scratches on the inside door of a closet. Laney takes teenage Madelyn, who she is now the caregiver for to check things out. Unexpectedly, her ex-husband and his sister also come, as well as a frenemy and her brother. When they get there, all of her boats have been destroyed—they are stuck there until they can be rescued by Kit’s wealthy parents.

The paranormal elements of this novel just didn’t work for me. I understand the message it was trying to tell us (it wasn’t subtle), but you have to get me to believe in the paranormal forces at work, and this just didn’t. Also, the end of Laney and Kit’s marriage didn’t seem plausible to me either—apparently they ended it without really having a conversation. There was no trial separation. Just: Things got difficult over the pandemic so let’s quickly divorce and be on our way.

NetGalley provided an advance copy of this novel, which RELEASES SEPTEMBER 12, 2023.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to read an advance copy of Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong. I was quickly hooked at the start of the book, loved the creepiness of the plot, and character interactions, especially Laney, Kit, and Laney's niece, Madison. I was constantly trying to figure out where the story was going, and While Hemlock Island seems to start out as a thriller, IT IS definitely horror. Don't read this at night!

I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong’s Rockton series and have read and enjoyed a few of her other books as well. So I was excited to give her first horror novel a try and I was not disappointed! She builds the tension and the creep factor very effectively through the novel and waits a while to hit you with the gore but really goes for it when she gets there! The end is satisfying and I felt the final explanation for what was causing the events worked. I would definitely read another horror novel from her!

This book exhausted me, and what I mean by exhausted me is I stayed up till 4:30 in the morning reading it as I could not put it down. Not only did it exhaust me but it terrified me as well. I read a lot of books, especially those within the mystery, thriller or suspense realm and they didn't have the effect that this book did on me. Going into this book a very much thought it was going to be your typical murder mystery stuck in a remote place, but it was so much more than that. I don't want to give too many details because I want other readers to go in blind like I did, and to enjoy the ride. I definitely recommend this book 🙂

Ok so that creeped me out more than I’d like to admit. I took a chance reading horror because I’m a fan of Kelley Armstrong’s time travel stories. But this was not a time travel romance. This scared the poop out of me, and god, I hope I can sleep tonight! However, the story itself was so intriguing that I couldn’t put it down. I had to know what happened next, even though it was creepy AF.

This may be the perfect spooky fall thriller we all need!
Laney rents out her secluded yet modern cottage on Lake Superior, and renters complain about strange occurrences. Laney, her family and friends go to investigate what's going on and discover all sorts of creepy things and well as discovering themselves.
Kelley Armstrong consistently delivers, and Hemlock Island is an engaging read. The characters are well developed, and the story moves along quickly. I loved the setting of the cottage - modern yet isolated!
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for review.

A great Binge Read!!!

Had me hooked right away....did not want to put down and wanted to know where the storyline was headed.
About 3/4 way thru is where I did not like the direction the novel. It started to head into a direction that was felt rushed and messy. It was all over the place, storylines were going into all different directions. Some of the novel started to become unbelievable. The ending seemed very unfinished.
The audience for the novel was a great for all ages but then the writing seems to take you into a YA type of way. Some of the book could of been left out for more an exciting storyline.

But overall I would still give this a read!!!


Thank you to St.Martins Press and NetGalley..... and to Kelley Armstrong, already on preorder for the shelf and to be reread.

Just not my favorite. Kelly Armstrong's Hemlock Island had a great premise. I loved the setting of the book - a remote island, people trapped, and something sinister happening. There was tension building when suddenly, we were in the middle of a subplot with characters talking for pages and pages through previous experiences. It was jarring and slowed the tension to a near crawl. It just never came together for me. I enjoy a good suspense/horror but unfortunately, this didn’t do it for me. Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and publisher for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Recently divorced Laney has been renting out her second home called Hemlock House to vacationers. The house is located on a remote island on Lake Superior and it’s the only house on the island.

Laney gets a call in the middle of the night from some renters telling her that they found blood and scratches on the inside of a bedroom closet. In a panic, Laney along with her teenage niece Madison heads to the island to check it out.

When Laney and Madison arrive, they are surprised to see Laney's ex-husband Kit and Laney's former sister-in-law/best friend Jayla. After their arrival, Laney starts hearing her name whispering in the wind and seeing things that couldn’t be possible. Soon after, their only means of leaving the island is gone and they must find a way to flee before things get worse.

Hemlock Island is a locked room mystery with elements of supernatural horror. I'm not sure what I expected going into this one but I was very surprised at how much I ended up enjoying it. The suspense and creepiness factor is very high in this one (which I loved) along with the domestic and frenemy drama, it made for a highly entertaining read. I also thought that this book would make a great film! I will warn you though, there is a bit of gore in this one but nothing too extreme. Thriller and horror fans of the supernatural will absolutely love this one!

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong will be available on September 12. Many thanks to St Martins Press and Netgalley for the gifted copies!