Trigger warnings : rape , graphic descriptions of body mutilation

This book grabbed and sucked me in from he beginning . The narrator of the audiobook did a great job building the tension and doing the characters.— some of the voices really freaked me out . The was hard to stop listening too — I would definitely classify it as paranormal/ horror/ thriller/ suspense — it has a high creepy factor . There are definitely some intense moments , and descriptions that made my stomach turn. Lots of twists and turns in this book — and very creepy island atmosphere —but the ending was a little bit too neat and tidy — it wasn`t what I expected but still great read and recommended !


Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for this ARC . This is my honest review.

In order to keep her beloved vacation home on Hemlock Island, Laney has been renting it out to strangers. The house is the only thing she owns after her divorce from her husband, Kit. When she receives a call in the middle of the night from terrified renters who find blood and nail marks in a guest room closet, Laney heads to the remote island with her teenage niece, Madison. But when she gets to Hemlock Island, Laney discovers that Kit is already there with his sister, Jayla, who is also Laney's former best friend. Then, another old high school friend, Sadie, arrives on the island with her brother, Garrett. As they investigate the mysterious incidents, they discover a hand poking up from the earth...and then the body that goes with it. But then someone takes off with their boat—their one and only means off the island. Now, they're trapped with someone—or something—that doesn't want them to leave the island alive.

The premise sounded really exciting, but, unfortunately, this book just wasn't for me. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. I enjoyed the mystery/horror elements, but there was a lot of paranormal/supernatural activity that was unexpected and a little over-the-top. This is a very gory book, so if you can’t do blood and guts and broken bones, I wouldn’t recommend it. I also didn’t find the characters very likable, and even though there weren’t very many of them, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who. This is definitely a great book for spooky season, and I think horror/paranormal fans will really enjoy this book. Overall, it was a fast-paced page-turner that I couldn’t put down, so I will give this author another try in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I don't love horror, but I do enjoy Kelley Armstrong's writing. This was a twisty atmospheric story. It would have preferred it to be more of a psychological thriller ending, but that's just me. Great narration!

I received a free copy of this book from Dreamscape Media through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a stand alone story. Laney owns a beautiful home on the isolated hemlock island. To pay for the upkeep she has had to rent it out during the summer after her divorce. Summoned to the island to investigate strange happenings, her and her sisters daughter are met by her ex husband, his sister an old friend and her brother who is a cop. Soon the boats are missing and people start to disappear then bodies start piling up as they try to figure out who would be trying to frighten them off the island.

I don't want to give too much away but this is a creepy and great read for the beginning of the spooky season. People with catastrophic injuries running on adrenaline are running around the island but are they friend or foe, dead or alive? The narration was fantastic and I felt like I was on the island with them watching things play out. Secrets are revealed and promises made. Will they get off the island or not?

I will read anything Kelley Armstrong writes, and she's done it again with this book. The mystery really drew me in and I just couldn't put it down!

First of all thank you for this Advance Audio book. I am a huge fan of Kelley Armstrong.
I was so excited to get this audio book and couldn't wait to start it. But ...for me....it was very slow and to be honest I had a hard time following what was going on. It did turn and it started to unfold and make sense to me. There were some twists that I didn't see coming. Overall it was good.

A fantastically creepy standalone horror novel from best-selling Canadian author, Kelley Armstrong that sees a rental owner called to check out her property after complaints about mysterious blood. Taking her niece along for the trip, Lainey ends up getting trapped on the island with her ex as secrets from the past come back to haunt her and bloody body parts start turning up. Full of spine-tingling chills without any of the gore and perfect for spooky season. This was also good on audio narrated by Angela Dawe. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

Laney is a home-owner and loves her house on the out-of-the-way Hemlock Island where there's no internet, no cell service, and most of all, peace to spend her days writing if she chooses to do so. Unfortunately, after the tragic death of her sister leaves her with heaps of medical debt and her niece Madison who has eyes on college, she can't afford to keep the house after the pandemic ruins her marriage to the wealthy Kit. Her only choice? To rent out the beautiful hideaway to people wanting to spend their lockdowns in luxury.

When Laney gets a call from an extremely upset guest who declares that blood's in the closet, she's exhausted with what appears to be another thing in a long series of pranks that have befallen her beloved home. She packs up Madison and heads out to Hemlock to investigate where she's met by Kit, she's met by old friends and enemies and then things start to go pear-shaped.

Disappearances. Weird hex symbology. Blood. Bits of hair. Visions. Murder?

I really thought I knew what this book was when I checked into it, but was pleasantly surprised by how it evolved from what felt like a Riley Sager-esqe thrillery revenge story into something dark and folkloric and frankly, just plain weird.

Definitely some quibbles, though. I think the pacing, the way the plot was fleshed out - it was all a little bit wonky. There were a ton of flashbacks to Laney's past and her relationships with each individual that showed up on the island. I also felt like a queer relationship was a bit shoehorned in and wasn't exactly relevant to anything other than existing for the sake of it. The real story was between both Laney and Kit, then Laney and brother and sister Garrett and Sadie.

There was SO much backstory and it felt like the actual plot/what was happening wasn't foreshadowed in a way that you'd really expect to draw the reader in. We definitely got a story, but the real stuff felt like it started to happen closer to the 50% mark. Because of that, I will say that a lot of this felt a bit weird/convoluted, but it was a pretty interesting time despite that, perfect for spooky season.

It does ALSO need to be said that there's a pretty traumatic discussion of rape that came out of left field that I felt was kind of unnecessary and I REALLY didn't like.

I read this amazing book by Kelley Armstrong awhile back and I loved it deeply and completely so when I had the chance to listen to it I was like "sign me up!' Our protagonist owns a private island because her ex husband bought it for her.
She is a broke school teacher raising her niece and can't afford everything so she rents the island out to tourists. Weird stuff keeps happening so she gets out on a boat and goes to see what the deal is. She is joined by her ex-husband because he is concerned, his sister, and two former friends turned enemies. They get out there and the weird stuff intensifies until corpses are walking.
It is amazing! Angela Dawe has to be the perfect narrator for this book because she did all the voices and sounds and I was in love!
Thank you for the ARC.

Hemlock Island was the vacation home of Laney’s dreams. That is, until a pandemic-era divorce led her to rent out her vacation home to vacationing strangers. Then, suddenly, her dream became a nightmare.

After strange and eerie happenings cause the current renters to leave abruptly, Laney goes to the island to investigate, followed by a group of friends and family, each with their own concerns and agendas.

Once there, they find themselves abruptly trapped, and things quickly devolve, in ways that seem to defy explanation. The story gets more and more claustrophobic and the pace frenetic from here on out.

If I were a nail-biter, my nails would be long gone after this read. The story goes a bit off the rails at the end, but what a ride!

Angela Dawe did a great job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Kelley Armstrong, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ALC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

Hemlock Island:⁣
⁣
Thank you @stmartinspress @macmillan.audio for my gifted copies!⁣
⁣
Did Kelley Armstrong (one of my favorite authors ever) give me the best treat of a locked room mystery?! She did. And I’m thrilled.⁣
⁣
More horror than mystery, there’s something going on with Hemlock Island. Our girl Laney has been renting out the secluded island like an Airbnb to make ends meet. But the renters always have something to say. So when one calls to say there’s blood inside the closet, and she goes and finds a hand in the ground, she knows this is not normal. ⁣
⁣
I loved the suspense of this book. Was it paranormal? Who is sinister in this book? Do we like Kit? There was so much happening, but not to where you lost the plot. I could honestly not put this one down. I flew through it in 24 hours. ⁣
⁣
The best thing about the audio is that I love Angela Dawe. Jayla became Vero from Finlay Donovan in my head the entire time. I guess that’s what happens when you listen to a reader too much 😂 If you listen to Finley on audio, your brain may make the connection, but I loved the audio regardless.⁣
⁣
Another hit by Kelley Armstrong that I’ll make my husband read as well so we can talk about all the amazing parts of the book. Out 9/12!

Laney doesn’t have much left after her divorce, but she does have Hemlock Island. She makes a living, renting her home on the island to tourists. Now her latest guests have called to complain about the bizarre and creepy things they have found on the property. When she rushes out to the island with her niece, she finds out that her ex-husband is there along with his sister and her former best friend. The gathering is complete when another old friend shows up with her brother, who is also a cop. And Laney will need help from the police after she discovers a human hand, sticking up out of the ground. When their only means of getting off the island disappears, the characters are left in a real life Agatha Christie mystery. I enjoyed this book, but found it somewhat slow; a little more editing would have benefited the story.

This was a bunch of different horror all mixed and it worked so well.

After a heartbreaking divorce and the passing of her sister, mystery writer Laney is taking care of her teenage niece. The two head to her island house, a gift left to her in the divorce, which she now rents out to summer tenants. The current renters have expressed severe concern over something they found inside and Laney must go and check it out.

Her ex, Kit and his sister Jayla have also been contacted about the disturbance and arrive on the island as well, along with two uninvited guests, Layla’s childhood friend Sadie and her cop brother…

Immediately upon arrival, things seem strange. We get this strong undercurrent of secrets long since buried between the group, and paired with the eerie feel of what they discover in the house, a whole mix of complications form. When people start to disappear, and body parts start to be uncovered, Layla knows she needs to get her niece to safety.

I wasn’t at all expecting the big reveals on the island so this book was full of surprises. There were elements of betrayal, weird dark magic, animated corpses, and more. I highly recommend the audio because the narration was fantastic!

FRICKKKKK. THIS ONE WAS AMAZING, and I'm sad I put it off for so long. I am so thankful to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, Kelley Armstrong, and Netgalley for granting me audio, physical, and digital copies of this twisty, paranormal thriller that will shock you with every turning page. Hemlock Island is projected to hit shelves on September 12, 2023, and there's still time to add this baby to your never-ending TBR.

Laney owns Hemlock Island and rents it out to vacationers and campers alike, and when she's awoken by an irate tenant who found blood smeared in their closet, she's up and ready to solve the case. Laney is also a mystery writer and is joined by her niece/now daughter (almost) after her sister's death to get to the bottom of this phantom blood incident.

Upon showing up to the island, she's met by her ex-husband and sister in-law who mean to solve the case as well, but with a twist to resolve to some relationship issues. All looks peachy until Sadie and her bigot-brother Garrett (two childhood friends of the group) show up to join the party. It's not long before dead bodies are found, some not quite all the way dead, and mysteriously bizarre island happenings take place, leaving the group trapped with no way out.

It's almost as if the island is avenging its losses and placing blame on Laney and her commercialized approach to showcasing the island... You'll just have to read more to find out.