I was very excited to read this book - I love a good horror! I sadly had to force myself to finish it. There were some parts where I enjoyed the writing but overall, I did not like it. I have also not read a book in a long time where I have been less invested in the well-being of the characters. I found some of them confusing and the storyline with the main character and her experiences to be overdone and in the end, it annoyed me. I did enjoy some of the parts when the main character was in the water and some of the descriptions of the island were well-written. The whole ending of the book also came across as a bit ridiculous to me. ( )

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. ( )

An enjoyable story until I got to the zombie parts, which was an error on my part for not looking into the sub-genres. I liked the premise of the story, especially the reflective ending, and the island on Lake Superior had a personality all its own!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this unique story.
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I really enjoyed this book it had all the perfect things for a spooky and involved story. We have Laney and her niece who live together and are going to check out the island and then we get the ex-husband who still wants to help Laney anyway he can, and the former best friends with loads of tension. It really ramps up the tension with the inclusion of Sadie's brother, who everyone but Sadie seems to dislike. The book starts off with the spooky occult stuff that this bunch goes to discover, on an isolated island that you can only reach by boat and has no signal. I mean it literally has all the makings of the perfect horror story. Especially when you throw in all the secrets that are just laying in wait. I found it hard to put this book down because the twists and turns and surprises were just phenomenally written.
The book does really good with the creepy element something is contantly happening that is wiggy. Pretty much once night sets on the island the trouble begins for our group. They start discovering severed hands and bloody scalps... not to mention one of them goes missing. Just when you think things can't get worse for the group... it does. As they explore the island more and more weird stuff begins to happen to them and eventually working together, they find that things aren't exactly what they seem. Once you think you've got this book figured out, it takes another unexpected twist. The ending was actually incredibly surprising for me and I liked the take the author had on this one. I highly recommend this book if you want something spooky and engaging that will have you on the edge of your seat with surprise reveals and spooky moments. ( )

Crazy great!! ( )