Sunday, December 24, 2023

Kelley Armstrong: Hemlock Island

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!!!!
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