The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
Publication Date: October 14th 2025 by St. Martin's Press & Macmillan Audio
Pages: 288
Audio Book Length: 9hrs 24min
Narrator: EJ Lavery
Source: Publishers
Rating: ★★★★½
My
Thoughts:
Samantha Payne returns to her family's ancestral estate
following the death of her grandfather, who leaves her the sprawling,
three-hundred-acre lakeside property, on one condition: she must remain there
for a full month without stepping off the grounds. With its serene lake views
and three modest cottages, Payne’s Hollow could be a dream retreat, if not for its
disturbing past.
At thirteen, Samantha witnessed her father burying a
childhood friend on the property. Her grandfather insisted she was mistaken,
but Samantha is sure of what she saw. Now, years later, Samantha is barely
scraping by, struggling to cover the costs of her mother’s care facility as she
battles early-onset dementia. Returning to Payne’s Hollow isn’t her choice, but
if enduring thirty days there means securing her mother’s future, she’ll do it.
Once she sets foot on the property, unsettling events begin
to unfold. Dead animals are left on the porch, and the eerie sound of hooves
pounding the earth echoes through the night. As the days pass, long-buried
memories surface that don’t align with what Samantha thought she knew. Perhaps
the past isn’t as she remembered… and the truth is far more disturbing.
The Haunting of Paynes Hollow was absolutely
gripping! Deliciously eerie, with a slow-burning backstory that unraveled piece
by chilling piece. I loved how the narrative wove together past and present in
a way that felt both haunting and satisfying. Well… as satisfying as a horror story
can be, haha! Hands down, this is my favorite Kelley Armstrong horror novel to
date!
I alternately read and listened to a copy and I can
recommend either version. EJ Lavery performed all voices, male and female,
wonderfully! She breathed life into each character making the story even more
enjoyable!
4.5 Stars
Book Description:
From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets.
When Samantha Payne’s grandfather dies, she figures she won’t even get a mention in the will. After all, she hasn’t seen him in fourteen years, not since her father took his own life after being accused of murdering a child at their lakefront cottage. Her grandfather always insisted her father was innocent, despite Sam having caught him burying the child’s body, his clothing streaked with blood.
But when she does attend the reading of the will at the behest of her aunt, she discovers that her grandfather left her the very valuable lakefront property where the family cottage sits. There’s one catch: Sam needs to stay in the cottage for a month. To finally face the fact she was wrong and her father was innocent, in her grandfather's words.
Traveling to Paynes Hollow, Sam is faced with the realities of her childhood and the secrets kept hidden in the shadows of her memories. When her aunt goes missing a couple days into their stay, Sam begins to question everything again. Plagued by nightmares and paranoia, she begins hearing sounds in the forest and seeing shapes crawling from the water as the rippling waves of the lake promise something unspeakably dark lurking just below their surface.
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