Review: Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

Hemlock Island

by Kelley Armstrong

Release Date: September 12, 2023

2023 St. Martin's Press

Ebook Edition; 295 Pages

ISBN: 978-1250284198

ASIN: B0BQGFT1M1

Audiobook: B0BVKT6YSJ

Genre: Fiction / Horror

Source: Review copy from publisher

2.75 / 5 Stars

Summary

Laney Kilpatrick has been renting her vacation home to strangers. The invasion of privacy gives her panic attacks, but it’s the only way she can keep her beloved Hemlock Island, the only thing she owns after a pandemic-fueled divorce. But broken belongings and campfires that nearly burn down the house have escalated to bloody bones, hex circles, and now, terrified renters who’ve fled after finding blood and nail marks all over the guest room closet, as though someone tried to claw their way out…and failed.

There are tensions and secrets, whispers in the woods, and before long, the discovery of a hand poking up from the earth. Then the body that goes with it… But by that time, someone has taken off with their one and only means off the island, and they’re trapped with someone—or something—that doesn’t want them leaving the island alive.

 

My Thoughts

Hemlock Island had such an interesting premise, and I love the locked-room type mystery that presents itself in this book, but although there were some intriguing twists and turns and I loved the setting and atmosphere of the story, it just didn't live up to the tension that was set up at the beginning and I was a bit let down by the ending.

 

Laney is the main character in this book, but none of the characters are that well-developed simply because the tension and the secrecy between them all is what drives the story. Because this story is much more character-driven than plot-driven, I would have liked the tension to be much higher than it was. Laney and her ex, Kit, drive the narrative as we discover what drove them apart (something rather silly, actually), Laney's niece, Kit's sister Jayla, and another friend, Sadie, and her brother. When you strip away whatever plot twists there were, there is actually very little behind the characters and their stories, nothing that gives them any depth. In fact, the characters were very stereotypical as you have the mystery writer who apparently knows everything because she writes mysteries, but then does everything she says not to do. Then you have the typical bad guy who does something terrible when he was younger, but his behaviour is justified because he was young at the time (no, it's NEVER justified). 

 

The plot itself wasn't bad, but I wish the author had focused more on a plot-driven narrative rather than a character-driven one. There is an atmospheric blend of horror and mystery, relying largely on the fact the setting takes place on an island and using whatever effects (fog, rain, etc...) to create difficulties for the characters. When you strip all of that away, the plot is rather simple, focusing more on the tension between the characters and their relationships. I did wish the author used the island and its effects a bit more to create even more tension as I didn't find what was happening with the characters to be that emotional.  I simply think there was nothing new that hadn't been done before, so in order to shock people, there needed to be something more, and honestly, better character development would have elevated the story and created more tension.

 

Verdict

Hemlock Island had a lot going for it and for the most part, is successful at what it aims to do. For me, I found it familiar and predictable, and needed a bit more to be completely invested. Considering this is the author's first attempt at horror, I hope she will write more as there was a lot of potential here and I usually enjoy her writing style.  The atmospheric setting was written very well, and I, for one, would not want to step foot on this island.