Look, I love Kelley Armstrong. So I knew I was going to pick up this book, no matter the genre. That being said, I am not a horror read typically, I have a very active imagination and as such I’ve been having nightmares of rats since I finished this book.

That being said, I actually did love this book. It kept me tense the entire time I was reading it, and I couldn’t put it down because I needed to know what was going to happen next, who it was going to happen to and of course with any horror story, who would survive.

That being said but if your husband (who I loved btw) offers to buy you an island with a poisonous name, maybe don’t accept? Even if the views are killer (literally).

The cast of characters in this novel were very interesting to me, especially when you realize how they know each other, and why some of them dislike each other. And oooh boy did I hate some of them after learning why.

The island has a creepy factor from the very beginning and the crescendo had me clutching my blanket around me and wishing I could somehow consume the words quicker.

There is a paranormal aspect to what’s going on, but it was not what I was expecting, and I really did appreciate the plot twist.

The fact that Kelley Armstrong also managed to have character development and growth built into this novel during such high tension moments was something I also appreciated.

The ending also packed a wallop. So be prepared.

And maybe if you’re a big fraidy cat like me, read it during daylight like I did.

I just love it when a book reads so easily, I can see the movie in my head !! ( hello, Netflix !! come on down !)
This book is so smoothly written, and so well paced, that it was a delight to read.
The premise is of creepy things happening on the island that is being rented out as an AirBnB-type situation. At first it's just bad tenants, setting fires and breaking things, but then it escalates to hex circles, weird wind chimes, and other peculiar things. The situation comes to a head when the most recent renters find bloody scraping hand prints INSIDE a closet. They call Lainy and freak out on her, so she ( and her niece) go out to investigate. They are met by her ex-husband ( who gifted her the island for a wedding present), his sister ( and her best friend), and an old friend and her brother.
Things escalate while they are on the island, people disappear, other people appear, and the pace quickens to a full-on exciting finale !!

I loved the twists and turns, and the whole thing engaged me from the first page.
thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the ARC.

Hemlock Island was a very interesting book. I did like the group of people in the story. Laney owns a remote island her ex-husband Kit bought her in Lake Superior. She is raising her niece after her sister passed away so she lives in the city and not on the island. She needs extra income so Laney has been renting the house on the island as a vacation spot. Weird things start happening on Hemlock Island so Laney, her niece Madison and a few others (including her ex Kit) go to the island to see what is going on. Weird things is kind of an understatement! This book really kept me reading! Who is messing with the island, is all the drama faked or real? I really felt the story was going one way and then thought oh it's something else causing it only to realize it was something totally different that I have never encountered in a book before. I thought the book was going to be more like a thriller mystery but for me it was horror. I just kept thinking what the heck is going on. If you like scary, sometimes gory books this one is definitely one to pick up. No spoilers but I will say even though the ending wasn't what I thought it would be it was satisfying and made sense. Good book!

Kudos to Kelley Armstrong for crafting a tour de force in terrifying WTF-ness with HEMLOCK ISLAND. As the grisly and difficult to explain discoveries add up, readers will be reading with their hearts in their throats as they race through the pages to find out who, if anyone, among Laney Kilpatrick and her entourage will survive their outing to the beautiful but isolated island. Recommended for fans of T. Kingfisher.

3.5 stars rounded up

Hemlock Island was one of my most anticipated books for 2023. There are elements of this story that I absolutely loved, but those elements were balanced out by a few things that didn't work as well for me and which took away from my overall enjoyment of the book.

What I loved:
I adored the dark, moody setting of Hemlock Island in the autumn. I think the author did a wonderful job with setting this story on a secluded island in the middle of Lake Superior as a storm approached. It created a claustrophobic, gothic atmosphere that really added to the story's creepy factor.

I enjoyed the main plot centered on the mysterious events taking place on the island. I love both locked room style thrillers and horror in a remote, inescapable location, so the marriage of these two genres had me quickly flipping the pages as the situation on Hemlock Island got more and more dire and intense. I thought the ending made sense, provided a satisfying level of resolution, and was a perfect fit for the type of story being told.

What didn't work as well for me:
The characters are in their early 30's, but their conversations, relationships, and misunderstandings felt more like teenage interactions than those of adults. This gave the book more of a YA than adult horror feel.

I would have enjoyed the story more if the focus had stayed on the main plot with less relationship drama. I thought the main mystery was fantastic so was really frustrated when the story kept detouring back to subplots about the character's personal problems. It disrupted the building tension and broke up the flow of the more intense aspects.

There are a lot of hot topic social issues at least briefly mentioned in this book. There are so many that it gave me the feel of there being a social commentary checklist that needed to be followed, even if the inclusion of some of the commentary felt forced and awkward.

Overall, I really loved the main storyline, setting, and atmosphere of this book. I just wish there'd been fewer things distracting and slowing down the momentum of the story.

Than you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for providing me a copy to read and review.

Okay so that was...really really weird. I've been reading Armstrong's novels for a long time, in YA and general adult, and I like her writing style. She drew me into this one very quickly - and because I know her as a supernatural tale writer, when things started to get weird I stayed with it because I expected the type of fare I am accustomed to from her.

Wow, was I wrong in where things were going though! This one took dark turns fast and it became quite gruesome and graphic in a way that I don't really enjoy. I did feel that some of the suspense and drama were overly drawn out, and there were sections in the middle that plodded along a bit as a result, but once the big reveal was made - a revelation that I admit I did see coming from fairly early on despite the oblique references - things kicked into overdrive in a way that felt horrifying and rushed and grizzly and I almost started skimming just to see how it would wrap up. I persevered, and am mostly glad I did but yikes - this was NOT for the faint of heart!

This was bizarre AF! And I loved it. I haven't read Armstrong since 2017 so I'll need to root through her catalog to find some more gems. This locked room horror mystery is frightening and a tad absurd--but in a good way. Laney has found her own private paradise but she can't afford it so she rents it out (to only douchebag clients it seems). She's not the only one that treasures the island (see what I did there?). Other people want it and they try some creative and nefarious schemes. But then shit gets REAL crazy. The secrets between Laney's small group of friends and family are pretty juicy too. This would be a fun read anytime of the year. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC

Wasn't expecting a horror novel from this author, but I was pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed this one.
Thanks for the chance to read and review!

This story was the best! I have read horror stories before and they were usually full of fakeness, weird and totally unbelievable . But this one was so different. I was totally engrossed in the story and the characters. Even though it was a horror story, it all made sense. I loved it and would love to see this as a movie.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I don't usually read horror novels but this was written by Kelley Armstrong and I would read the back of cereal boxes if she wrote the copy. I finished it in two sittings.

As a horror novel it works on every level. Take six people with a history and isolate them on an island in the middle of Lake Superior. Laney Kilpatrick owns Hemlock Island as a result of a divorce settlement but she cannot maintain it unless she rents out the luxury home she and her ex-husband had built. When her current renters frantically inform her that there is blood all over the inside of a closet she and her teen niece go there to investigate. Also, through tenuous excuses, her ex, her best friend (her ex's sister), a former very close friend and her policeman brother also show up,

The blood is real and odd things start to happen. Laney sees something on a cliff. A trespasser? Voices seems to echo in the wind. Everything can be rationally explained, but still. When Laney falls into a shallow gorge and discovers the body of her young handyman-caretaker, she is shattered. Then he appears to move, although he is long dead. There is evil on the island but who or what it is, is the puzzle. Kelley Armstrong presents two distinct alternatives: humans who are staging an elaborate hoax to lower the value of the island or some primal force from the island itself. Or both?

The conclusion is scarey, powerful, and fair. This is a wonderful, very satisfactory read. I strongly recommend it.

PS. As well as a great story, the author uses current social topics as part of the plot. Gender identity, date rape/victim blaming, and destruction of the environment are woven into the core of the story.

I really enjoyed this book by Kelley Armstrong. Isolated on an island, mystery, great characters, and great pacing/story. Will definitely read more from Kelley Armstrong.

A horror story where the occult meet a scary home on a small, remote island.

When she and her husband split, Laney has to rent out the house for financial reasons. Her renters begin to speak of supernatural goings on so she and her ex-husband (and niece) venture forth to determine just what is really going on.

As the book proceeds the sense of fore-boding begins to make things more and more claustrophobic. The search for the reasons, and culprit, drive this book forward.

I enjoyed this book. Read it with the lights on!

OMG Kelley Armstrong does it again! Genre breaking fiction seems to be her speciality and this is NO different. Didn't feel like I was reading a horror novel til 3/4 of the way through. Didn't see THAT coming - and no I'm not telling you! NO SPOILERS HERE!

Laney Kilpatrick is a writer struggling to come up with her next book while looking after her niece, dealing with a divorce that came out of nowhere, and renting her vacation home on a gorgeous island to strangers. Laney hates that she has to rent out her home on Hemlock Island, but its the only way she can keep it. She’s stressed, tired, and sad. Her husband suddenly just left her after the pandemic and when she gets a phone call in the middle of the night saying her renters want a return because the guest room is covered in blood and nail marks... like something was trying to get out. Then her ex, her best friend, and two uninvited guests also arrive.... but then they find that they are being taken out one by one and that there is something out there hunting them. Can Laney figure it all out before everyone she cares about is taken? This one definitely leaned into the murder mystery and having a narrator who is second guessing everything they are seeing. Laney is dealing with her ex best friend and her brother who had both done something unspeakable severing the friendship between them and also having to come face to face with her ex who broke her heart and his sister, a best friend whom she hadn’t talked to since the divorce. Theres a monster out there watching them, tensions are high, and the island is proving to be very very difficult to leave. The overall ending was okay and the story really deals with all the trauma and past hurts that Laney has gone through. I thought it was interesting having an unreliable narrator and questioning whether or not it was a monster or a person who was causing the chaos. Everything works out in the end and there is a bit of paranormal element in this horror story. If you like horror stories where the characters are trapped in a location and can’t trust each other but don’t know if theres a killer outside, then give this one a go.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This was fun but went in a direction I did not entirely expect. Good writing but the storyline got a bit too crazy for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/65214434

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

304 Pages
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: September 12, 2023

Fiction (Adult), General Fiction (Adult), Horror, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Mystical, Elemental

Laney Kilpatrick owns an isolated house on Hemlock Island, a private island in Lake Superior. She gets a telephone call at 4 a.m. from her current renters. They found blood and claw marks on the inside of a guest closet. It is more than disturbing considering the other weird occurrences. There have been hex marks and bones found. Now people start going missing. Who or what is behind the disappearances and bizarre acts.

The book is fast paced, the characters are developed, and it is written in the first-person point of view. This is a departure from Ms. Armstrong’s other books. It is more like a book by Stephen King. If you like horror book set on deserted islands, you will enjoy this book.

This book was so interesting. On one hand I couldn’t put it down but it did take a bit to get into. On the other hand, the book became so unbelievable that it took away from the storyline which is ultimately why I gave it a 3 star rating.

It’s always a good time when Ms. Armstrong releases a story!

Laney is determined to keep Hemlock Island. Her parting gift from her divorce. She has always loved the island but after the divorce and the death of her sister which has her niece living with her, she is strapped and looking for ways to make ends meet. One way is renting out her island home. While she has dealt with fires, drunks, and broken equipment she is now dealing with hex circles and bones. When she finds scratch marks and blood on a closet door, she isn’t sure at all what is going on.

When Laney and her niece show up to check things out they are met with some not-so-welcome guests who invited themselves. Her ex is here with his sister and another friend who seems to want the ex, and she brought her cop brother.

There is so much tension between these people. Secrets, body parts, and when the only means of getting off of the island is destroyed, they realize they are trapped here. With a killer or killers. And it looks like no one is getting out alive.

Well, that ending was so satisfying. I was definitely looking at all the wrong people which I only found out when they died! Always a thrill ride with Kelley.

NetGalley/ St. Martin’s Press, September 12, 2023

Hemlock Island
Kelley Armstrong
Pub Date Sept, 12 2023
St. Martins press
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
* mystery * thriller
Lots to say on this one.,. First of all the dialogue seemed more like YA than adult.
2. I quickly got engrossed in the book ..,. But
3. I didn’t expect how the book wrapped up.
4. I thought it was far fetched
Overall not a satisfactory read for me.
3 stars

For some reason I was expecting a closed room mystery (maybe because I've read so many lately) so the whole paranormal piece of this kind of threw me for a loop initially. I did like that there were some additional twists/drama with the group not related to the island. I'm not sure I particularly liked/was satisfied with the ending but I can see how it was fitting.

3.5 stars, rounded up.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.