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The Haunting of Paynes Hollow: A Novel

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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Published Oct 14, 2025

288 pages

Average rating: 8

4 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

PawsAndPagesLaurin
Oct 23, 2025
8/10 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I’ve been a fan of Kelley Armstrong for what feels like forever, so I was very excited to get an ARC through NetGalley. It also came in my Book of the Month box! I might be biased, but I really enjoyed this one. It’s a quick read at just under 300 pages but packed with atmosphere and intrigue. The story follows Samantha Payne, who inherits her estranged grandfather’s lakefront property on the condition that she stay there for a month. The beginning felt odd, but once the mystery started to unfold, I was hooked. The suspense, family secrets, and maybe supernatural (or maybe not) elements were built in such a way that they kept me turning pages. The setting is excellent, too—the secluded lakeside property adds to the story's eerie, tense vibe. I loved how Armstrong mixes folklore, family drama, and suspense. There were moments where I wasn’t sure what was real and what might be imagined, and I loved that. It’s clever, creepy, and keeps you reading. That said, there were a few spots where I wished for more explanation or answers. I can’t really say more without spoilers, but some parts left me craving more detail. Overall, this wasn’t scary in the traditional horror sense, which worked for me since I don’t usually read that genre. It’s suspenseful and mysterious without being overwhelming. I’d give it 3 ½ to 4 stars, and I’m rounding up because I had a great time reading it.

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