The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow follows Samantha Payne, who is shocked to learn upon the death of her Grandfather that she’s received a very valuable lakefront property that’s been in the family for generations.
It’s an extremely prized piece of real estate, a summer retreat on Lake Ontario, that the whole family has enjoyed for years. Samantha is left scratching her head as to why he would have bequeathed it to her of all people.
The property also has a bit of a lurid past though, one Samantha would rather not think about. It was at that lakefront cottage that her father was thought to have killed a local child. Sadly, he ended up taking his own life as a result of this horrific incident.
Since that time, 14-years ago, Samantha has been practically estranged from that side of the family, except for her Aunt Gail, who she’s remained quite close with.
As it turns out, the inheritance does have one small caveat. Sam needs to reside at the cottage for a month before the property will be officially conveyed into her name. There are very strict rules applied to this as well.
Needing the money the property could some day grant her, Sam decides to take on the challenge, and along with her Aunt, heads back to the property she hasn’t revisited in over a decade.
From the start things seem slightly off, like someone is trying to scare them away. Not only that, being back at the site, stirs up all sorts of long-buried memories and emotions for Sam. It’s a lot.
When Aunt Gail goes missing a few days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything she thought she knew, both about her past and their family.
Exhausted from nightmares and plagued by paranoia, Sam swears she sees lights and shapes moving under the rippling waves of the lake. Can the truth of what lies below also be the truth at the heart of her family legacy?
I had fun reading The Haunting of Paynes Hollow. This was my first Kelley Armstrong, and I was excited to check out her work. The initial set-up was fantastic, hooking me quickly. I always love an inheritance story.
I loved also that we follow a Niece-Aunt duo. I’m so close with my own nieces, seeing that relationship dynamic explored was extra special. It’s not one you see often.
I also tend to enjoy when people return somewhere from their past and try to solve old mysteries, which in a way, this is as well. Sam was just a child when everything went down with her father, so she has some repressed memories that start to bubble to the surface once she’s living there.
I liked all of those things. However, there’s also just A LOT going on. At times it bordered on being too much. I feel like it did come together for the most part though.
The lore of the family was interesting, as well as all of the long-buried secrets that were revealed. I think for me the setting was the best part, and the unsettling atmosphere created by the odd goings-on was a close second.
Though I did feel it started to get a bit repetitive towards the middle, the ending was worth getting through all that. I would definitely recommend this to Readers who are looking for something a little different in the Creepy Reads space.
Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely looking forward to picking up more from this author!