Book Review: Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

First of all, thank you to @penguinukbooks for the gifted copy! I had a bit of a mixed experience with this one, but can really see it appealing to certain readers.

“Mr Jitters is coming.”
Lola is the daughter of horror film director, Nolan Nox, whose most popular movie Nightjar was filmed in Harrow Lake - a town that relies heavily on the tourism that the movie brings. But this town has its own secrets, as well as it’s disturbing town legends...

This had a real 80s horror movie vibe, which obviously I dug a lot. A creepy town, a cult horror movie, urban legends... it’s ticking a lot of boxes! And some scenes were genuinely unsettling. Another bonus is that Harrow Lake is a certifiable page-turner, it might just keep you up beyond your bedtime... The town’s urban legend, Mr Jitters, was also delightfully creepy.

Unfortunately, I found the protagonist Lola to be incredibly annoying. In fact, her annoyance levels were OPTIMAL. She quite literally commented on whether everything was “optimal” or not. The only thing that was optimal was my want to claw my eyeballs out every time I saw that word on the page.

I also struggled to keep up at times with what exactly was going on. And I’m still confused to be perfectly honest. Throw in the unreliable narrator and I’m questioning events even more! There were maybe too many different plot threads going on in here!

But it was still a fun read! I liked a lot of the ideas and imagery, it felt somewhat unique. I can see this appealing a lot to those who enjoy YA horror or thrillers. 3 stars.

Johann
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