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A review by droar
Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis
4.0
OOooo, much spooks! Harrow Lake is a fast paced, spinning confusion of horror aesthetic and mystery in a truly excellent way. I don't read a ton of YA horror (too much shoe horned romance & too little creeps usually) but this one pulled me in with it's concept & captivating cover. & it delivered! I won't go into the story too much before a spoilers cut but I can see why the reviews run the gambit. What I will say is if you're into mystery thrillers with some strong horror vibes I think you'll enjoy Harrow Lake a great deal!
Now on to the nitty gritty full of spoilers:
The only thing that really turned me off a bit is the quantity of abuse. I know it is central to the plot, well thought out on Ellis's part, & fairly carefully talked about buuuut every time Lola did or said something in the first 3/4th of this book I cringed so hard. It was physically painful at points to see how manipulated & twisted Lola had been by Nolan, & then the reveal with Lorelai, And her mothers reaction. Ugh it's all too heartbreaking to stand. I shockingly didn't cry but I think that's just because the knowledge is presented quickly & without comment by and large. I am not saying the content was too much for a teen book or anything, just that I wasn't ready for it & am a wuss.
My only other questions really come from the beginning of Lola's story & Larry, was she wandering around New York covered in blood? Was Larry actually supposed to send her away if 'something happened' to Nolan or was he just making things up to protect Lola & thus Nolan? I don't neeeed to know these things but it would be interesting & the opening & closing leave those areas blank.
One last thing I want to shout about (& think I can without revealing too much), I Love the way Ellis opens & closes this book on Nolan's interview. It expertly builds mystery in the beginning & protects the horror of Lola's section so well. Absolutely perfect choices & I support them 1,000,000%.
Now on to the nitty gritty full of spoilers:
Spoiler
So this book leaves you with a fair bit of leeway in deciding if all the fantastical is Lola's head pushing through repressed memories or some actual fantastical shenanigans going on. That really works for me. I don't think it would have been as satisfying if Ellis further revealed exactly what happened in the museum or had Nolan confess to offing Carter & Cora's dad. I like that the town has an air of possibly actually cursed to it that can absolutely be logically explained, but maybe shouldn't. Long & short is that it really worked for me, this mix of fantastical & phycological, but as someone who is almost always wanting more explanation at the end of a mystery I can absolutely see why some people were disappointed.The only thing that really turned me off a bit is the quantity of abuse. I know it is central to the plot, well thought out on Ellis's part, & fairly carefully talked about buuuut every time Lola did or said something in the first 3/4th of this book I cringed so hard. It was physically painful at points to see how manipulated & twisted Lola had been by Nolan, & then the reveal with Lorelai, And her mothers reaction. Ugh it's all too heartbreaking to stand. I shockingly didn't cry but I think that's just because the knowledge is presented quickly & without comment by and large. I am not saying the content was too much for a teen book or anything, just that I wasn't ready for it & am a wuss.
My only other questions really come from the beginning of Lola's story & Larry, was she wandering around New York covered in blood? Was Larry actually supposed to send her away if 'something happened' to Nolan or was he just making things up to protect Lola & thus Nolan? I don't neeeed to know these things but it would be interesting & the opening & closing leave those areas blank.
One last thing I want to shout about (& think I can without revealing too much), I Love the way Ellis opens & closes this book on Nolan's interview. It expertly builds mystery in the beginning & protects the horror of Lola's section so well. Absolutely perfect choices & I support them 1,000,000%.