Kelley Armstrong’s stand-alone dives into the horror genre with Hemlock Island as she creates a thrilling and unique paranormal experience. It’s a page-turning, spine-chilling, bizarre adventure on an isolated island where odd and sinister things happen. The island becomes something more than a character; this is not your typical horror novel. Armstrong plays with familiar tropes—the isolated setting, the stranded characters, the looming storm—but she spins them into something new, avoiding the standard locked-room scenario.

The characters of Hemlock Island don't fit the typical horror mold, and these characters are not necessarily the ones you find yourself rooting for. However, the story’s surprising and gripping villain motivations anchor the book's suspense.

Armstrong weaves in various themes and elements like a wilderness adventure, supernatural occurrences, environmental activism, teenage turmoil, feminism, and LGBTQ representation with a nod to #MeToo feminism. It feels overly ambitious, and she misses the mark with some things.

Despite its shortcomings, I thought Hemlock Island was thrilling and kept me turning the pages. It offered an intense experience that didn’t demand much introspection while providing twists and a meaningful villainous drive.

Horror follows horror on an isolated private island on Lake Superior.

High school English teacher's pandemic divorce left her with an island home that she rents out to afford its upkeep.

After renters report blood in a bedroom closet and scratches inside its door, Laney and her niece Madison head to the island to solve the mystery.

They're joined there by Laney's ex, Kit, and his sister Jayla. Two other estranged friends show up - and the horrors escalate as they're trapped on the island with a killer.

What an... odd read. The tone of the prologue does not match the overall tone of the book and the pacing was off (not to mention there were a few scenes obviously attempting foreshadowing but not done well enough - the end of the scenes left me feeling empty and like I missed something). The first half feels very different than the second half and had they been two separate stories I think I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to the publisher #partner & @netgalley for gifting me an e-ARC & audiobook!

Laney procured Hemlock House located on Hemlock Island from her ex-husband following their amicable divorce. But with a teacher’s salary and having to take care of her niece, Madison, as the legal guardian, Laney decides to rent out the vacation island.

Soon however, Laney gets multiple complaints from tenants that strange ritualistic-type of things are happening, driving tenants away. Laney then decides to investigate the matter tagging Madison, a decision she eventually deeply regrets bringing her in the island. She also gets help from her ex-husband and a few friends. Together they discover that they are stranded on the island with no easy way out and that they’re not the sole inhabitants of the island. The island has a lot of history and a mission of its own.

I enjoyed the book. It was a slow burn but with a constant, underlying sinister plot so it had me turning the pages to find out what the heck was going on in this island. There were plenty of creepy events and downright gore as well. If you love locked island mysteries with some supernatural events and mangled body parts to boot, this is the book for you.

Kelley Armstrong has skyrocketed to the top of my favorite authors list! Her writing style is so eloquent the chapters just fly by. I read "Hemlock Island" in 2-days and I could not believe how much I felt I was right there with them in this thriller/mystery (Trying to not give too much away here!).

The main character (Laney) is very solid character, easily relatable too. Her inner turmoil with trying to be reasonable in unknown circumstances is relatable to anyone, just maybe under different circumstances than a stranded section of Lake Superior. 😊

Continual mayhem in this modern day thriller…………

Ugh, I was really looking forward to Kelley Armstrong's Hemlock Island, but it was a major disappointment. The story dragged on and on, and I never really connected with any of the characters. I was hoping for some spooky thrills, but the supernatural elements were just kind of lame. Overall, I would definitely skip this one.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Hemlock island took me completely by surprise! I was not expecting to enjoy this one as much as I did. It’s a quick paced, action packed ride of twists that I genuinely didn’t see coming!

This book was so good! I had no idea what was happening when I went in. I just knew I liked the cover. It was mysterious and atmospheric and kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time! Really you think you know it’s happening, but you really don’t I recommend this to all thriller mystery lovers

started out strong with an interesting locked-cabin setting, but i felt like there just wasn’t enough going on in the story to keep the reader engaged

Solid horror novel! Kelley Armstrong hit this one out of the park!
Laney has a house on a remote unreachable island in Lake Superior. It's her holy place. But since she was divorced, she had to rent it out. She is notified of some strange occurrences on Hemlock Island, so she goes to investigate. Spooky, gory and a bit horrific. This novel had all the darkness that I needed for my spooky read season.
Everything came together at the end and it was a perfect Fall read. I can't wait to read Armstrong's next horror book! 4.5 stars.

I liked this story. I found it full of regrets and reflections on past behavior. It also analyzes how people often rely on information from others that is flawed or intentionally inaccurate or manipulative. It’s a lesson in making sure others know how you feel. It is also a well laid out horror-supernatural story with twists and turns. I liked it but was a bit disappointed with the ending. I felt like too much was given up and not enough was negotiated. I’m not sure if that was a spoiler so I will mark it as such. Anyway, as usual, I love Kelley Armstrong’s writing and will continue to read whatever she writes. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Kelley Armstrong is a superb write no matter what genre she writes. Hemlock Island was a fun, horrifying suspense that kept me interested throughout the entire read.

Me and my mother love Kelly Armstrong so when I got this copy early I was so excited to read it as fast as I could and I can’t wait for the next one

This is the horror story I've been craving this year. Kelley Armstrong, whom I admire, always manages to win a little more of my affection whenever she explores a new genre. I can easily picture this book as a fantastic movie, and I sincerely hope that becomes a reality someday. Laney Kilpatrick, who maintains her vacation home on a secluded island post-divorce, faces the reality of needing to rent it out to cover the expenses and taxes on her teacher's salary. When multiple tenants report occult-like pranks, Laney decides to visit the island to unravel the mystery. She brings her niece, for whom she's the guardian, and refuses to leave her behind. Upon arrival, her ex-husband and an old friend join the investigation. Their group is further complemented by another friend who had drifted away from Laney and her recently minted detective brother. As they delve deeper into the mysteries of the island, an overwhelming sense of dread and impending doom steadily intensifies. This is a spine-tingling read, perfectly suited for a fall season escape.

This was an odd read, I'm still not quite sure what to make of it.

To start, it's an interesting mystery. Laney owns an island almost entirely cut off from civilization. No internet, cell service and only accessible by boat and/or plane, it feels as isolated as it sounds. People Airbnb it in order to get away from the world and it's the only way that Laney can afford it.

There is a whole cast of characters in play but we do meet them relatively slowly. Their tangled web of ways they are connected is also slowly revealed and it had some shocking twists. But the most surprising revelation was what was actually going on with the island. Laney's guests are finding cult-like paraphernalia on the island and finally, one guest abandons their stay in the middle of the night because of blood found in the actual house. Laney and all of her friends gather to investigate and they are trapped on the island by a huge storm coming in.

The mystery was interesting and the twists kept me on my toes but something held me back from really loving it. I think maybe Laney was just a little too squeaky-clean nice and I think I would have loved a little less forgiveness and a little more anger from her. It was a good read, I just never found myself loving it.

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Woah! As a very long time reader of horror and other creepy things, it takes a lot to give me gooseflesh, but Hemlock Island did it, several times! It may not seem like much, but there are very few things that have that effect on me, so this is a high honor! I will definitely be watching (in the least creepy sense) this author for more! Well done!

I should probably start this off by saying that I am a huge fan of Ms. Armstrong. I have always enjoyed her books and am currently reading a couple of different series that she is still in the middle of writing. So, I was thrilled to see the ARC. I actually started it before reading the summary and was a little surprised to see that it was in the Horror genre, but I was looking forward to jumping in.

With all that being said, I'm not sure why, but it didn't work for me. I know that part of the expected experience with horror movies is watching the people walk into the barn with the chainsaws instead of running towards the running car. And yes, I guess maybe that's expected. Is it really though?

Well, it bothered the heck out of me seeing the main characters continually making stupid decisions and STILL deciding to run off into the woods instead of the safer house, even after realizing that something was wrong. It would have been one thing if it happened once, maybe a couple of times, but this happened for most of the book....ugh.

Then there was the HEAVY use of both foreshadowing and then in the same breath, of the dropping of the hints of the "event" that happened in the past. This was without bothering to reveal what the "event" was until the later part of the book. This didn't end up working because after that reveal, I had a hard time believing the relationships and the dynamics between this group of people. It felt off. I think that was the main problem. We are thrown right into the group setting of this group of 6 people on an island without understanding who was who - in terms of the characters. Ms. Armstrong then tried to build suspense by giving clues that all was not well within the group. But it wasn't done in a way that made sense. So when things start going wrong, I had a hard time because I wasn't really invested.

I don't know. As usual, everything would have been so much easier if the characters had just talked to each other. We spend the entire book trying to figure out why the female MC Laney and her ex-husband Kit's marriage fell apart and when the answer is finally revealed I thought, "are you kidding me?" Seriously, it made absolutely NO sense.

The actual scary plot, well it was a bit out there. That would have been okay because it is a horror book but it felt like the book wasn't sure what it wanted to be. Yes, there is the suspense because the characters are seemingly trapped on a deserted island without a way off, so there is that. But then.....well, without going into spoilers, let me just say that there were too many things going on for it to be cohesive. When the 15 or 16 year old girl is the most mature, something is not right.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

I always love a good creepy book, but Hemlock Island definitely surpassed creepy into "I can't read this book in the dark or while home alone" kind of scary. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed being scared reading this one and I thought the plot was well done, but this is not one for the faint of heart. It's also quite gory.

The story kept me guessing until the end about what was causing the murders and all the creepy happenings, and I have to say, I wish it was explained a teeny bit more. Perhaps a bit more background, but I just needed a little more clarification. Either way, it was a good twist and I liked the ending of the book. It wrapped up the book well.

A good read for spooky season, or when you're looking for a book that will send chills down your spine.
Thank you, St. Martins Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Omg what did I just read?! Hemlock Island was not at all what I was expecting but in a totally good way. I will say that this book is Horror, straight up horror and it is creepy and scary and even gory. Just a warning in case you struggle with those things. I definitely do but I was so invested in this book I couldn’t put it down and had to keep going to see what happened. This island, was like a living, breathing character. It came to life in this book. The things going on throughout the story, the lives and decisions of the characters involved were nothing short of terrifying. This was a perfect spooky season read and I am honestly still a little spooked when I think about this one. But it was really good, really terrifying and unputdownable

This was spooky, atmospheric and everything I was looking for. I also listened to the audiobook which I also enjoyed.