Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book. I chose to review it and this in no way impacts my opinion of it.

I was lucky enough to win an ARC of Hemlock Island from a contest held on Kelley Armstrong’s Facebook page and no one will understand just how excited I was to win a copy. For those that don’t know me, I am a huge lover of horror and frequently watch horror movies and am always on the look out for good horror novels. When I learned that Kelley Armstrong, my favourite author, was releasing her first horror novel, I was ecstatic.

The story begins with Laney being awoken by her niece, Madison, in the middle of the night. Four missed calls greet her on her cellphone, all from the campground near her vacation home on Hemlock Island. Upon answering the next call she learns that the couple who have rented out Hemlock House have vacated the isolated island due to finding a closet covered in blood and nail scratches. Deciding that an animal must have gotten trapped in the house, Laney gets ready to head to the island to investigate.

When she arrives at the boat launch to head to the island with Madison in tow, she finds her ex-husband Kit, and his sister, Jayla. The last thing Laney wants is to spend time with her former best friend and her ex husband but she can hardly tell them to leave. It only gets worse when upon arriving at the island, another of her former best friends and her brother arrive.

I found this novel to be deliciously spooky, and creepy and I loved every minute of it. I could not put it down. I felt so terrible for the situation Laney was going through, not only with the pranks that seemed to be happening at her favourite place on Earth, but also because of the awkward situation she was finding herself in and having to deal with her ex-husband and ex-best friend.

This novel kept me guessing from the start until the very end and I loved the ending. It was totally not what I was expecting and totally different from how I thought Armstrong’s first horror novel to go.

If you love spooky reads and being scared to turn out the lights, this novel is for you!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC! I flew through this book! A horror novel with a cast of characters stuck on a remote island. What fun! Lots of secrets between the friends, some drama, and then a… satanic force? A group of evil real estate developers? Is it people or a supernatural force creating chaos? My favorite part of Armstrong’s writing is how logical everyone is. The main characters always talk out their problems and are very self aware. I love it. This is a horror novel with a supernatural twist, so suspend your disbelief and just roll with it!

I received this from netgalley in exchange for a review.

I am a huge scaredy-cat. I usually avoid horror, but I love Kelley Armstrong’s writing so I had to read this and I’m glad I did because I really liked it!

I loved Laney, and her Madison, and Kit and Jayla, and really didn’t like the characters I wasn’t supposed to like. There was a lot of spookiness in it which meant I had to put it down before bed to read something lighter so I didn’t have nightmares, but I got really into the story. I’m not quite a huge of of the twist in Laney’s personal life, but you did get the feeling it was coming, well…. At least part of it I guessed from early on lol.

The cause of the horror definitely kept me anxious, and I don’t think I’ll be going to any private islands anytime soon - probably a good thing that wasn’t really an option.

I liked the handling of the pandemic and how it changed relationships and people during it too.

Hemlock Island is a horror novel that kept the pages turning late into the night for a book I had to finish in one sitting. Laney Kilpatrick got to keep her dream home after her divorce but the only way she could afford it was to rent it out to tourists. Lately increasingly odd things have been happening on the island from hex circles to bloody wind chimes and finally bloody gouges in the back of a closet door. Laney and her niece go to investigate the island where they meet up with Laney’s ex (who she is still in love with) and his sister. Throw in frenemy Sadie and Sadie’s brother the cop and the group begin a twisted, shocking horror filled night on an island full of supernatural scares and gruesome discoveries. Unexpected and shocking, the story is an adrenaline filled fright fest that kept me up passed bedtime for just the right amount of suspense and scares. My voluntary, unbiased review is based upon a review copy from NetGalley.

Hemlock Island was just...weird.

I've been a fan of Kelley Armstrong since her Otherworld series, and I've recently been enjoying her new A Rip Through Time series. I knew Hemlock Island was a different genre, but I like horror well enough and thought I'd enjoy it because Armstrong wrote it.

I was wrong.

From the start, I felt like I was missing something important in the story. Yes, Armstrong was going for "there's a secret being hinted at, and it's important, but now isn't the right time to share it," but the way in which it was hinted and talked around was confusing. It wasn't that the character refused to speak about it--they did--but all readers got was a general "I told her what so-and-so had said." I think I would've preferred no one to speak about the big dark secret until it was finally revealed just to avoid the confusion.

Working around that, I was mostly enjoying the story for a good while. I could've done without so much repetition about the hex circles and wind chimes and other pranks on the island, but I was intrigued by the mystery. I was less intrigued with the awkward relationships between the characters, but I figured some of that would work itself out as they had to depend on one another to survive...except it really didn't. Some of the characters worked things out, but it felt forced, and the secret, once it was finally revealed, made me think that the relationships actually should've been more awkward or at least contentious. Also, for a horror story, the romance and in-depth discussions of past relationships seemed to slow the story down.

I also was expecting more of a typical slasher story out of this one, and while I liked the idea of the supernatural/dark magic element, I thought it was executed clunkily. The ending was a bit shocking, and at least the shock of it made me not hate it, but things seemed to wrap up quickly and without tying up all the threads in a way that I wanted.

All in all, Hemlock Island had some good things, but it wasn't the horror story I was expecting, and not in a good way.

Dang! This book had me guessing a majority of the read. While the supernatural is not my cup of tea, Kelley Armstrong really keeps you on your toes with character and plot development, only revealing bits to keep you off balance. The wrap up felt a little rushed but all in all, an expected outcome considering who (or what) is behind all the chaos. Still not sure about these characters… I would not have been so willing to accept the events as everything began to come to light. BUT would this make a great movie? Heck yes! …even tho I’d be too chicken to watch.
Great read if you like suspense-filled thrillers mixed with the supernatural.

I’ve been a Kelley Armstrong fan since her first novel, Bitten, and I was excited to see her release her first horror novel.  I really enjoyed Hemlock Island.  It combined Armstrong’s strengths with character and witty dialogue with some seriously creepy imagery.  (Those windchimes…yikes.)

This is a great book to go into blind. I was surprised that it involved one of my favourite subgenres of horror, but that’s a revelation that comes about halfway through.

I can at least talk about the setting, which is a house on an isolated island in the middle of Lake Superior. I’m a sucker for wilderness and isolation horror.

I did find that the second act focus on relationship and family/friendship secrets took away from the horror a bit.  I appreciated those elements but would have liked a slightly different ratio — maybe one less secret exposed, and more creepy buildup on the island?  

I also didn’t find Kit to be an interesting enough character for the amount of focus on him, but I loved the protagonist, Laney, and her niece, Madison — Madison is a wonderfully smart and snarky teen girl who captured my heart immediately.

Overall I really enjoyed the novel and I would love to see Armstrong continue to write horror.  There’s some wonderful gruesomeness and terror here, and thematically it was right in my sweet spot. It gave me series Darcy Coates vibes with the combination of cozy horror, creepy buildup, character work, and the “what the heck is going on??” factor.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for my review copy of this book.

This book was a 4-star for me.

When I saw this book on Netgalley I was so excited and had to try my luck to get an ARC copy. Kelley Armstrong has been one of my auto-buy authors since Bitten in 2001. She wrote one of my top 3 series Cainsville. She handles paranormal romance, thriller, suspense, and now with a foray into horror, amazingly. If she writes it I will read it.

After a series of creepy pranks take place on her island rental home, Laney goes home to investigate. When she is joined by her ex-husband, his sister, and then her ex-best friend and her brother she expects it to be a quick but awkward visit to find out what is going on and who is to blame. They quickly realize everything is not as it seems and it becomes a fight for their lives.

I did struggle a little bit with the beginning of this book as I felt the author was trying to be “modern” and it just didn’t flow right for me. After we got past that part and into the meat of the story it got so much better. I couldn’t put it down. I found some of the twists fairly predictable but the ending shocked me and was not what I was expecting at all.

For me, you know it is a good thriller/horror if you have moments when your heart is pumping and you feel chills - this did not disappoint. I was sufficiently stressed at the end thinking OMG what is happening! I fully admit I was actively muttering at my kindle!

Spice: NA
Plot 4/5
Pace 4/5
Character Personality 4/5
Character Growth 4/5
Writing Style 5/5
World Building 5/5

After a devastating divorce from her wealthy husband Kit, Laney Kilpatrick has had to rent out the remote island vacation home she got in the divorce to strangers. As much as she hates the way the visitors mistreat her home, she needs the money especially now that she is the sole guardian of her teenage niece. When she receives a late night call from the current renters about bloody fingerprints in the closet she rushes to the island to get to the bottom of it...especially since this isn't the first "strange occurrence" at the home. When she arrives she discovers her ex Kit and his sister Jayla have already been contacted and have come to help...and then two others from her past arrive. While searching the island for the people responsible, they discover a hand and then the body it belonged to. Now they are trapped with someone or something that doesn't want them to leave the island alive.

Hemlock Island is a fast paced bloody thrill ride that I couldn't put down. Similar to her other works, this novel has a supernatural twist that you probably won't see coming. A great cast of characters with lots of past history and untold secrets leave you scrambling to figure out what each one is capable of. Warning...this read is pretty violent and gory in some chapters and also discusses a topic, nonconsensual sex that might be difficult for some readers. If mysterious hex circles, mutilated bodies, and what appear to be zombies spark your interest then this is definitely the read for you. My only complaint is that I didn't read it in the Fall which would have added to the spooky vibe...two thumbs up!

My Thoughts

Laney Kilpatrick fell in love with Hemlock Island, an earthly paradise that she found to be a dream come true.

However, what happened on the island proved once and for all that this particular paradise comes with a steep price.

Shortly after her marriage to her ex ended she faced the fact that her meager salary would never meet the finances needed to afford keeping such a large investment.

Despite her misgivings and personal discomfort the only viable solution for Laney was to rent out the luxurious home to strangers on a rotating basis.

This came with its own set of problems for Laney, problems that proved to be the tip of a proverbial iceberg once she is physically investigating the latest report for herself.

Accompanied by her ex husband Kit, his sister Jayla, her niece Madison along with Sadie and her brother Garrett the six find something on Hemlock Island they never expected, something dangerous and deadly as well.

As this rather macabre story unfolds it morphs into an unexpected journey of survival and terrorizing truths for the entire group.

A story that for me proved to be more of a horrifying read than a straight horror, guess at my age I am jaded and able to accept this type of tale easier than some readers might.

Essentially this is a Twilight Zone episode on steroids sort of read.

A type of horror story that grabs you by the throat and never lets go.

At least that’s how it felt for me.
[EArc from Netgalley]

Laney Kilpatrick has herself a fancy island home after her divorce. She has custody of her niece after her sister passes away. Strange things start happening on Laney's island after she has renters stay on her island to be able to afford the house. Now, Laney, with her niece, must go to Hemlock Island to investigate what is going on. Laney finds herself on the island with ex lovers and friends who are all trapped on the island by something, or someone.

This book takes readers on a wild journey. The only thing wrong with this book was I could not put it down. Hemlock Island was everything I was looking for and so much more! This book has suspense, love, and murder. This book was the horror story that I was looking for. It does get a little gory at times, but it is the perfect blend of horror and thriller.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the digital ARC!

I am conflicted as I write this review, because Hemlock Island is many things: horror novel, mystery novel, coming of age / overcoming trauma story. It's hard for me to rate this literary Man-bear-pig because there are some parts I would give 4 or 5 stars to (the ending, the descriptions), others I would give 2 stars to (the way the social commentary is brought up/written, especially the SA content, a few plot holes - <spoiler>the characters are on this remote island and somehow refer multiple times in the novel to "doing research" either in email or even on the Internet? unless they had books about black magic in their summer house?</spoiler>).

I expected something completely different (i.e. a regular slasher) out of this one and was surprised on many occasions and enjoyed my time, especially when the horror actually started. It was worth the wait!

I went in expecting a typical mystery/thriller and this book was anything but typical. It was spooky, gory, and twisty! Very enjoyable! Definitely gorier than I was anticipating - I haven't read many horror books and I will be adding some to my list now.

Once I started reading I couldn't put this book down. The island setting was creepy and I felt the isolation of the characters. The reader could tell the characters had secrets, but the reveals were perfectly timed.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Laney was gifted a vacation home on a private island from her now-divorced husband, and rents it out when she’s not there. The past few renters have complained about strange happenings at the house, bordering on occult, and she goes to the house with her 16 year old niece to investigate. When her ex and some friends arrive to help, things escalate, and all hell (literally) breaks loose. Hemlock Island is the secluded setting for this book, and you can feel the creepiness oozing from the pages as the book switches from thriller to horror, with plenty of thrills and chills to satisfy fans of both genres. Sufficiently unsettling, the plot explodes quickly, and you’ll breeze through this one. Leave a light on!
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As long as the reader realizes this is paranormal, you'll get what you expect. Great horror story with likable characters trying to find out what is happening. There are several mysteries here, what's going on at the island, what happened in the friendships, what caused the breakup of Laney and Kip's marriage. All gets answered, but it skips around feeding information slowly throughout the book. Of course if the characters had just talked to each other most would have been cleared up years before, plus the main character is pretty stubborn about being self-sufficient. I enjoyed the book, but didn't know it was paranormal by the description, which I do enjoy and Kelley Armstrong does well writing it. Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance at at first read.

I am a long-time Kelley Armstrong fan and have read several of her series but I've never been into horror books before. Because I jump at the chance to read her books every time I see a new one, I requested Hemlock Island and immediately became immersed in this creepy story that takes place on an island in Lake Superior (not far from where I grew up). I read the whole book in 2 days while we were traveling and honestly I couldn't get enough of it. If you are a fan of hers, I recommend you try Hemlock Island even if it's normally not your style.

Apparently if anyone can convince me to read horror, it's Kelley Armstrong!

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Publication date: 12 September 2023

Kelley Armstrong ventures into new territory with her latest book Hemlock Island. This is a suspenseful and thrilling horror novel, but at its core is still the character driven narrative that Armstrong has become known for, making it a good read even for those who don't normally read in this genre.
An underlying theme of the book lies in the keeping of secrets and how lack of communication can cause lasting repercussions, not only for the ones with the secrets, but for all of those around them. Of course, this being a horror novel, those repercussions are shocking, graphic, and emotional.
The main character of Laney is relatable, and her internal dialogue throughout the book is both entertaining and spot-on.
While the last third of the book lost some of the natural flow of the first two-thirds, Armstrong has produced a good first horror novel and is sure to hone her craft in the genre with future books.
I am happy to have received an ARC of #HemlockIsland from #NetGalley.

Between 2 1/2 and 3.

I picked up this book because of the author but it turned out to be a genre I don't usually read. I thought it was a thriller with some romance, based on the series A Rip through Time, but it's actually a paranormal horror story.

It's well written and it kept me reading to the end because I had to know how it would end up, given everything that happens and escalates. It shouldn't have been classified as General Fiction.

I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

Kelley Armstrong can suck me into a book faster than anything. I loved her new horror novel, "Hemlock Island".

I got very excited when I heard that Kelley Armstrong had written a horror novel. After reading several of her other series, I had a feeling that horror was a genre she could excel at. I was not wrong.

One thing that Kelley Armstrong does well is assemble a cast of characters. In this novel we have Laney; Kit, her ex-husband; Jayla, Kit’s sister and Laney’s former best friend; Sadie, a past friend of both Jayla and Laney; Garrett, Sadie’s brother; and Madison, Laney’s niece. The six adults in the group have a complicated and tangled history. They all end up on the isolated and private Hemlock Island for their own reasons, but ostensibly to investigate complaints from a prior renter of Laney’s island home that strange things are afoot. Over the next 24 hours evil intensifies, and the group needs to determine the source before it is too late.

This book is definitely horror, but there is also a mystery element. In typical Armstrong style, there are layers of history and secrets among the main characters and, as they are struggling for survival, the reader is also learning about their backstories and the secrets and feelings that have gone unspoken for years. There was a revelation about halfway in that I did not see coming and I loved that.

The horror elements are strong, creepy, and some images will stick with me for a while. I loved that Laney has internal dialogs that reflect what readers of horror novels are often wondering – why did she go into the woods alone, why did she investigate the scary noise in the night, etc. The ending was a departure from what I have come to expect in horror novels, and I appreciated both the surprise and the added dimension that it provided. This book will definitely appeal to fans of Kelley Armstrong’s books, and also to fans of a well-written horror story.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.