The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Sam is returning to her family’s lakefront property on Lake Ontario for a month in the summer. That sounds pretty nice, right?

Well, not so much. Her grandfather, whom she considered to be a jerk for most of her life, just died, and as a stipulation in his will, Sam needs to return to this family property to confront her past. A past that had her accusing her father of murdering a child on that same property 14 years earlier. And she hasn’t been back to the property since then.

What Sam finds there when she returns is totally unexpected. You’re in for a wild ride when you read this book!

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thoughts

Once I got invested in The Haunting of Paynes Hollow, I raced through the rest of the book in a matter of a day or two, and finished it very late one night. I won’t spoil which one, but this story plays off of another classic story set in New York State, and it was cool how Kelley Armstrong worked it in and made it her own.

There’s a great twist at the end to finish up the book, and let’s just say that I’m glad the character got their comeuppance in the way that they did.

I love that she’s started writing standalone thrillers that come out every fall! I’ve been a big fan of Kelley Armstrong for pretty much my whole reading life, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting the fall 2026 book! (Just as I eagerly await her new Haven’s Rock and her new Rip Through Time books every year.)

And also… She’s a Canadian Author, so I’m always going to celebrate that.

Question of the day

When there’s a popular author who lives near your hometown or where you currently live, do you feel more attached to their books just because of them kind of being like a “hometown hero”? Let me know!