Hemlock Island (Kelly Armstrong)

Hemlock Island
Kelly Armstrong
St. Martin's Press
Fiction, Thriller
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: After her whirlwind marriage to a tech mogul ended during the pandemic, Laney Kilpatrick managed to remain friends with her ex, Kip. He even gave her the little private island in Lake Superior where they'd built their dream vacation home... an island inauspiciously named after a stand of poisonous hemlock. Unfortunately, Laney's modest salary as a teacher and the minimal income from her debut novel aren't nearly enough to afford the place, especially after her sister passed away and left her the guardian of teenager Madison, so she's been forced to offer Hemlock Island as a summer rental. Lately, though, strange goings-on have been spooking the clients: strange occult symbols, wind chimes of bones and feathers, escalating now to bloodstains and claw marks in a closet, as though something - or someone - had been trying to scratch their way out. After the latest renters abandon the place, Laney decides she needs to investigate things herself... and Madison isn't about to be left behind, not even for a night. Her ex-husband has also been alerted, as well as their mutual high school friends Jayla and Sadie - the latter of whom brings along her police detective brother Garrett. These are not the people she'd choose to bring with her, for various reasons, but there's no turning them away.
As soon as they set foot on Hemlock Island, it's clear that this is not just the work of some pranksters or yet more unruly renters. Something far more sinister is afoot, every discovery more chilling than the last. When the boat is destroyed, Laney and the rest find themselves stranded - and they are not alone. The very isolation that once drew Laney to Hemlock Island, too far from the mainland for telephones or cell signals, now turns it into the perfect trap, made all the worse as long-buried feelings and secrets between the friends are unearthed. Will any of them survive long enough to escape?

REVIEW: A group of fractured friends and lovers, an isolated location, a deadly threat, and no way out... Hemlock Island has all the standard thriller ingredients and uses them competently, delivering a serviceable, if not especially standout, tale.
Starting with a phone call from upset renters about the latest unusual incident on the island, the story kicks off with minimal dithering, assembling its cast and suggesting a storied history binding them as they head to Hemlock Island. They all have their reasons for joining Laney, some a little flimsier than others, that come out as they find themselves in over their heads on what seemed at first to be simple acts of vandalism. It goes without saying that, no, this isn't just some bored teens playing pranks or spoiled renters finding yet another way to wreck the property, but something much more dangerous... something that soon racks up a body count. Laney wavers between being an independent, proactive woman and a hesitant, even overcautious person too prone to giving others the benefit of the doubt even in exceptionally dire and dangerous situations. Much of her life has been bent to accommodate the wills and apparent wishes of those around her. Hemlock Island was a dream come true for her when she and Kip first went there, and it's the one thing that she's clung to just for her own sake; it and her niece Madison are the two things she will fight for with every fiber of her being, even against the evils she finds waiting for her. The other characters generally slot into familiar roles: the sassy, brassy best friend Jayla who believes in Laney more than Laney believes in herself, the "friend" Sadie who is more of a manipulator than an actual confidant (and who may or may not have her own agenda for including herself in the trip), the brash and hopelessly biased (not to mention poor at his apparent job) "detective" Garrett whose history is all too predictable within five minutes of meeting him, the supportive ex Kip who still will do anything for Laney, and the teen girl Madison who refuses to be coddled or protected by grown-ups who still see her as a child. The external tension of being stalked by a sadistic killer - human or supernatural - leads to old wounds being reopened, driving wedges between them when their only hope of survival is banding together.
Even with the familiar parts, Armstrong creates a solid sense of isolation and eeriness on Hemlock Island, each revelation and discovery upping the creepiness (and the gore; this is not a bloodless jump-scare story). There are times when Laney's tendency to lock up under stress gets a bit frustrating, and other times where she skirts the border of being another woman whose sole strength and motivation boils down to mothering. The nature of the threat occasionally feels a bit more nebulous than threatening, and the gore could be over the top and even numbing, losing some effectiveness after the umpteenth graphic description of a mutilated corpse. It came very close to losing a half-star, but managed to hang on by delivering pretty much exactly what it promised.

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