Horror is not usually my genre of choice, but I had to read this one because of the author. This is Kelley Armstrong’s first foray into the horror genre. This is not my favorite of her books, but I still enjoyed reading it. I appreciated the way information was delivered throughout and the tension between the characters.

I somehow forgot to share my review!

Another great Kelley Armstrong book. I'll admit, I was worried because than anxiety stars right away. We step into the heroine's emotional space and I'm already wanting to wrap her in cotton. There is, and I mean this literally, no fair way to review this book without giving soft spoilers away. If you love the rental domestic thrillers that have been going around in movie land... you're going to ADORE this!

Kelly Armstrong excels in creating intelligent characters. I was pleased to see that even with the shift towards the horror genre, her characters remained just as smart. Not only were the characters interesting, but I found myself rooting for most of them to have a happy ending, although the horror genre isn't known for providing one. The pacing of the story was great. Although I didn't find the story scary, there were plenty of creepy and unsettling images that added to the overall atmosphere.


This review is based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for my honest thoughts.

Overall, this was pretty entertaining but got a little silly and over-the-top as it progressed. I certainly felt compelled to keep reading, but I wouldn't say that I liked it very much. By the end, I felt like the mystery, not that it didn't make sense, it was just a bit silly.

Kelley Armstrong is an auto-buy/read author for me but Hemlock Island was just not for me. I just could not get into the story. It seemed entirely unbelievable and the "twist" was a snore.

That was nothing like I expected. I was thinking more along the lines of thriller and it was more along the lines of horror. That's not to say it wasn't good. It was very good. Easy to get into, easy to follow, lots of intrigue and trying to figure out what is going on. I can't say that I love what the mystery ended up being and how it all played out, but it was definitely a good read.

This is a tough book for me to rate because I spent a good chunk of it really confused. I honestly, did not realize this was a paranormal/horror book and was expecting something more along the lines of Armstrong's Rockton series (suspense/thriller). I'm entirely to blame for that mix up but it meant that once I realized what was going on I had to readjust my expectations for the story and I'm not sure where I stand between a 3 and a 4.

Hemlock Island focusses on teacher/author Laney Kilpatrick who is recently divorced and raising her teenage niece after Laney's sister passed away. Laney's now ex-husband gifted her a beautiful home/private island in Lake Superior as a wedding present and after the divorce Laney has turned it into an Airbnb type rental property to help afford the maintenance and property costs while she lives with her niece a few hours away on the mainland. After a string of incidents culminating in one of her renters calls to complain about some disturbing things found in the home, Laney and her niece Madison head out to the island to investigate and see if they can put a stop to the vandalism. Laney's ex Kit, his sister Jayla (also Laney's old bff), Sadie (another estranged friend), and Garrett (Sadie's brother/a cop/a jerk) also show up to "help" after they hear about what is going on. Once everyone is on the island things escalate quickly as more is discovered about what is happening on the island and someone on the island seems to be trying to scare them off.

What worked: this book is incredibly atmospheric. Even before I realized it was paranormal it was still very creepy and the fear and anxiety of being trapped on an island, especially somewhere as dangerous as Lake Superior really came across on the page. I was so sucked into the story and the setting that when my 8lb dog came into the room for a cuddle I almost had a heart attack.

I also really liked the characters. The book is not very long so you don't get too much development but the main cast is generally likable and for a short book, getting me to care about characters at all is impressive.

The pacing on this book also worked really well for me. If it had been longer I may have had a hard time suspending my disbelief for some aspects of the book but because things were moving along at a fast pace, it made it a little bit easier to shut my brain off and just go with the flow. Something was always happening and while I can see why that may not work for everyone, I personally really liked it and found myself wanting to keep reading. Even though I was incredibly spooked out I still kept reading well past a reasonable hour and ended up finishing the book in one night.

Also, and this is really such a small thing but I love reading Armstrong's books because as a fellow Canadian, I feel like she does such a good job representing different parts of the Canadian landscape.

What didn't work: honestly the premise itself is a bit of a stretch. Before I realized it was paranormal I found myself thinking "are they really trying to make it seem like something supernatural is happening?" and then it turned out something supernatural was happening! I was able to get back on board but it was a little farfetched. The ending also jumped the shark a bit for me and some decisions were made that to me lessened the impact of the overall story.

Also, it felt like there were some plot holes. Without spoiling anything there were a few things that came up earlier in the story or seemed to be implied about certain characters that just never went anywhere. They did not necessarily feel like red herrings so much as things that just got dropped due to how fast the story was moving.

Overall: I would give this book a 3.5/5. I really do enjoy Armstrong's writing style and while I always enjoy her series, I've come to really appreciate her standalones as well. I'm not the biggest fan of supernatural/horror stuff to begin with so I think that's bringing my rating down a little bit but I had a lot of fun reading this and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, fast, spooky atmospheric story.

I enjoyed Hemlock Island, and I think it would be a great book for someone who wants to step into horror but is used to reading thrillers. There are some amazingly gruesome scenes throughout the book, and I enjoyed the pacing of the book. The ending was a bit if a twist that I didn't fully buy into, but I did reading my experience.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I would give this a solid three stars. The plot was good, if not a little murky in some places. I might have liked it more if the characters were more developed. They all seemed to have big secrets but no depth.

This was a creepy book! It had more horror in it than suspense. I thought it was creepy and fun and the perfect spooky read! It was definitely a book I would read again and suggest to friends.

This one pulled me in at first, but ultimately I felt that the pacing was off and certain elements were just not believable. The setting and descriptions of the island and the cottage were great, setting up a fun creepy factor - might recommend this one for Halloween season reading. I generally do not prefer anything to do with the supernatural or paranormal, so the book lost me there. This may be a right book/wrong reader situation!

I am a big fan of Kelley Armstrong and I was so excited to get a copy of this book for review. Kelley is one of those authors that just gets how a simple reader likes to read a book to get to the story. Some books are just overly descriptive and it bogs you down, but not Kelley. She is a master story teller that has you turning the pages at a fevered pace because the story is just that good. This was a gun horror read that grips you at the start and doesn't release until the end. There are curses and rituals and gore. Put it on your list to read!

Due to St. Martins Press refusal to address the remarks made by their employee regarding Palestine, I will not be reviewing this book on social media. This in no way has anything to do with the author. But I refuse to support anything from SMP because of their refusal to address a major issue at hand.

This was a quick read and it definitely had me guessing. Which of course is an excellent thing for a thriller. Hemlock Island, is the ideal place to retreat to, that is if you have the money to not rent it out. Unfortunately for Laney Kilpatrick, she received the island and the home in her divorce agreement. She is unable to keep it without renting it out and it has become a very popular rental destination. It is always booked and now that she has things figured out, insurances, amenities and a full time caretaker it is becoming profitable. She has the best of both worlds, a place to go to and her home and she doesn’t have to part with the island. That is until one night the island seems to be very angry. Laney, her niece, her best friend and her ex husband are all fighting for their lives. Nothing is going right. They can’t find their other set of friends. Around the island there are signs someone is messing with magic. People have left all kinds of things behind and Laney can’t believe what she finds.
This is a fast paced thriller, the setting and the story were ok. I would give this book 3.5 stars. It started to become unbelievable towards the end. This is a new author to me and I did enjoy it. Hemlock Island is an interesting book. I want to thank Netgalley and Kelley Armstrong for my copy for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this book. What are your thoughts?

This is a story about why you really shouldn’t list your house on air bnb.

I was so surprised by this book! I thought I was signing up for a cookie cutter thriller, which I was totally fine with… BUT NOPE! This was a full on horror novel, and I had a great time feeling frightened for the cast of characters, all of whom I found compelling. The atmospheric, “locked room” setting definitely added to the whole experience & I know I’ll be recommending this come Halloween.

Thank you so much @netgalley & @kelleyarmstrongauthor for the eArc- Hemlock Island is out now!

I'll preface this by saying that this is the first book I've read by this author. I say this because I'm not sure what her other work is like, and this novel threw me for a loop!

I'll start with the bad. I started this book thinking it was going to be one thing. But about halfway through, it turned into an entirely different thing. I struggle with this in media in general - I want to have a decent idea of what I'm walking into, and when something turns out to be anything but, I get annoyed. I was annoyed when this book turning into something that I wasn't planning on, and I wasn't sure if I liked it.

However.

Once I got used to the twist, I was kind of into it. Because it made everything at stake so much crazier. It was like the entire novel was dangling on a cliff, and one false move would send the entire thing tumbling into oblivion. As I let the twist settle in, suddenly I could not put this book down. I had no idea how it would end, and I loved that.

I also really appreciated that the ending wasn't neatly wrapped in a bow. It was messy. And for this kind of book? Messy is the exact ending that you want.

This book won't be for everyone. It almost wasn't for me. I sludged through the first part and wondered if maybe I should give up. But I didn't. And I was pleasantly surprised.

Well, I'll start by saying that Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors for this genre of books. That being said, this one was definitely what I'd describe as weird. People keep going missing and some found dead/murdered and I kept wondering what was gong on. Laney Kilpatrick goes to her home that she's been renting to investigate some things going on (a fire for one) and with all of the strange things happening. There she finds, of all things, her ex. Others join to investigate, one being a cop. Because of a bad divorce she's going through, the desperately wants to save/keep her island but I began to wonder if someone was trying to scare her into selling it. The weirdness just kept going, but I liked the book. Just didn't love it, but I still love Armstrong!

What a ride! Hemlock Island is a fantastic thriller/horror/suspense novel. This book was totally engrossing and had all the best elements of a good horror novel. I loved the characters, loved the atmospheric setting, and loved the fast paced thrill that started almost instantly and didn’t end until the last page. The blend of horror and thriller along with the drama of the characters had me hooked from the beginning to end. Absolutely amazing! This is a must read. Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free, it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

I really liked this one! I normally avoid pandemic books, but it was woven in so perfectly into this one that it felt absolutely necessary. I also really enjoyed the romantic arc!

Kelley Armstrong takes readers to a remote island with no cell service, no help and soon nothing but death:

When Laney’s renters report a disturbing event at her rental Island, Laney is forced to go there with her niece to investigate. But when Laney shows up she is not the only one there to investigate, her ex-husband (Kit), his sister (Jayla), her ex-friend (Sadie) and her brother are all there. Each has their own reason for being there, but all of them are shrouded in secrets. When the group finds a hand sticking out from the ground, they know all is not well on the island and they discover their ways off the island have been destroyed. They are stuck on the island and there is someone on the island that is hell bent on murder

I am a big fan of Armstrong and try to read the majority of the books that she releases. I was extremely happy to see her release one in the horror genre. To begin with this book very much gave me And Then There Were None vibes with the location and the beginning of missing people. However, while the vibe to begin with was there Armstrong very much morphed it into her own thing.

It is hard to describe what occurs in this book without giving it away, so I’ll just say that the farther you read into the book, the darker, creepier and crazy is gets. You won’t be able to figure out what is happening and who is behind the murder and bodies but that is okay just enjoyed that ride. Trust me, this book totally did not go the way that I thought it would. And I cannot fault Armstrong imagination in this books for the darkness and scares that she creates.

I personally wish there was more of a second POV in the book, even that of the bad “guy” just to round it out a bit more and not just have everything from Laney.

There are a lot of secrets that come out in this book and part of me questions why they are needed in the book, maybe for some character development but really they do not add anything to the overall story. Maybe it just so happens that your root for some characters to survive over others.

I really enjoy that Armstrong is expanding her library of works into genres that she has not published before. To me this says that she is growing as a writer. Will all the books be great as we compare them to the series we know and Love, No but it still speaks to someone wanting to grow and you have to respect that.

I really enjoy when a book does not go the way I think it will in this genre. This was quite the ride and I think will have you engrossed from start to finish. I hope that Armstrong decides to write more in the Horror genre.

Enjoy!!!!!