Book Review: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong
A headless horseman, creepy dead people, and an heiress risking it all to receive her inheritance. Check out my full review of The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong below!
Book Information
Sam Payne has never been close with her grandfather. After Sam caught her father burying a boy he just murdered, her relationship with her grandfather was never the same. Not only that, but her father committed suicide shortly after from shame and guilt. So, when her grandfather leaves her the sprawling estate where her father committed murder, Sam is more than hesitant to go back. But with ten million on the line, a mother in a care facility she can’t afford, and debt up to her eyeballs, Sam simply can’t refuse. When she arrives, though, strange things start happening and Sam is brought back to that fateful year when she discovered her father wasn’t who he pretended to be. Between those memories and everything happening in the present, Sam has two options: leave forever without her inheritance, or risk it all (including her life) for the money that could change everything.
Review | Heidi Dischler
I feel like the book really started off strong (maybe a little slow, but strong nonetheless). The creepy things that happened, the groundskeeper who had romantic subplot potential, and a dead grandfather who swore Sam had it wrong when she saw her father burying a dead boy. These things were all super engaging and held so much potential. However, I feel like the more the book went on, the less and less I was interested in its outcome.
So, I’ll start off with the characters. I didn’t feel like Sam was really that well developed. Her whole personality was her father’s suicide and the murder of the boy she saw him bury. Every time she would “work” (she had a convenient work-from-home job), she would do it off-page and not really describe anything. It felt like it was there just to tick off a box. I don’t remember much if they talked about Sam’s hobbies or anything she did besides taking care of her mother and working, but regardless, Sam felt very superficial. Her aunt, Gail, felt the same way. It made me super distrustful of them almost the entire novel just because there was nothing that made them feel relatable. They were just… going through the motions as characters. Ben was the only one who had SO much potential, but I feel like it was all squandered by the end of the novel.
With the storyline, like I mentioned previously, it started off really strong. Everything had so much potential, but I feel like it was all just wasted unfortunately. I think it was about towards the middle of the novel that everything really started to fall off.
What did I like, you ask? Unfortunately, a lot of what I liked was the setup and the potential. After that, not much else really stuck out as something that made me really enjoy the ending.
Spoilers ahead.
So, her aunt dies and becomes an undead lake creature. Ben never becomes a romantic partner. No kiss. Nothing. The sheriff’s daughter dies and he and Sam’s mother were behind everything. It just felt like we had all this build up only for Sam to lose everyone, not get the guy, and only walk away with money all the while still distrusting her dead grandfather. Not my cup of tea.
Overall, this book was not as exciting as I hoped it would be. The cover is gorgeous and the story idea was phenomenal, but I feel like it fell flat without any of the high stakes climax or character relationships that I wanted. Very disappointing that there was so much build up without the actual follow through.
Source: Monthly Pick from Book of the Month
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
