Format: Hardcover, 288 pages
Release Date: October 14, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Source: Publisher
Genre: Horror / Thrillers / Supernatural
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
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
Kelley Armstrong, who has mainly written stories in the urban fantasy and supernatural suspense genres, as well as young adult novels, steps firmly into straight-up horror territory with The Haunting of Paynes Hollow, just in time for Halloween. The Haunting of Paynes Hollow follows Samantha "Sam" Payne, a 26-year-old woman who's spent her life running from the shadows of her childhood.
Estranged from her family after a horrific incident at their lakeside cottage—where she claims to have witnessed her father burying the body of a murdered child, his hands stained with blood, leading to his suicide—Sam has poured her energy into caring for her mother, who's battling dementia. When her grandfather, whom she hasn't seen in nearly two decades, passes away, Sam attends the will reading out of obligation, only to inherit the family's sprawling, million-dollar lakeside property in the remote Paynes Hollow.
There's a devilish caveat: she must spend a whole month holed up in the very cottage where the tragedy unfolded, monitored by an ankle device to ensure compliance. Her grandfather's posthumous note insists it's for her own good—to confront her "false" memories and prove her father's innocence. What begins as a reluctant homecoming spirals into a maelstrom of the uncanny. Joined by her pragmatic Aunt Gail and the brooding caretaker Ben (whose own connection to the past runs deep), Sam grapples with resurfacing nightmares, mutilated animal carcasses left like grotesque calling cards, and whispers from the encroaching forest.
The lake itself becomes a malevolent entity, its glassy surface hiding shapes that slither and beckon, while local legends of the Headless Horseman—reimagined through Dutch folklore unique to this cursed hollow—infuse the proceedings with a folk-horror vibe that's equal parts The Witch and Washington Irving's classic. Armstrong masterfully peels back layers of deception, blending gaslighting family dynamics with supernatural incursions, until the line between human malice and otherworldly revenge blurs into oblivion. Without spoiling the gut-wrenching twists, suffice it to say: this is a plot that hooks you with intellectual intrigue and then drags you under with raw, primal fear.
Sam is an interesting character. She's defined by superhuman feats or abilities, but by quiet sacrifices—forgoing her dreams of medical school to anchor her fracturing family—making her vulnerability all the more heartbreaking. As paranoia erodes her grip on reality, Sam's internal monologues crackle with authenticity, forcing readers to question alongside her: Was she gaslit as a child? Or is something far worse unraveling her sanity? Secondary characters like Ben—the caretaker haunted by his brother's unsolved disappearance—embody the novel's theme of inherited grief, his quiet intensity simmering with unspoken accusations. Even peripheral figures like the local sheriff, Craig Smits, serve as red herrings that heighten the isolation, reminding us that in Paynes Hollow, trust is as scarce as daylight.
Nice review! I am forever behind on Kelley's books but forever adding them to my TBR pile! This one was added recently and sounds like my kind of read! I love a good creepy read that has you questioning everything. Glad to see that it seemed like an enjoyable read for you.
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