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A review by andyn5
Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis
3.0
Attention this review contains spoilers!
It was actually going so so well… until the ending. It’s psychological terror in a creepy old town, with some very strange inhabitants. The perfect setting and a great protagonist.
Welcome to Harrow Lake. Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, enjoying life by breaking all of her father’s rules. But when her father is attacked in their apartment in New York, Lola is sent to her estranged grandmother in Harrow Lake, the eerie town her where her father’s most iconic horror movie was filmed. But there’s something strange about this little place, where locals are obsessed with the film and inexplicable disappearances seem to be a recurrent thing. Worse of all is how everyone seems determinate not to let Lola leave, particularly her grandmother. As she slowly explores the town and begins to uncover it’s secrets, she begins to realise that she might not leave it alive.
The plot is a mix of horror and thriller, in my opinion. There’s a lot of psychological moments, I could feel the momentum building, but there also some creepy elements. There’s a point when Lola believes someone or something is following and watch her, and there’s also Mr. Jitters, the protagonist of an old town tale said to still live in the woods of Harrow Lake. The pace of the plot is quite good and something about the all thing makes it impossible to put down.
While the ending approach was refreshing and nicely thought, there was an important loose end I would have liked to know more about: the accomplice. Why did he did he help, what happened to him and most importantly, why did he keep father and daughter from talking throughout the whole thing. Or was it a lie from the father? This part wasn’t very clear and it would have been to have that complete picture.
Ultimately, an engaging plot.
It was actually going so so well… until the ending. It’s psychological terror in a creepy old town, with some very strange inhabitants. The perfect setting and a great protagonist.
Welcome to Harrow Lake. Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker, enjoying life by breaking all of her father’s rules. But when her father is attacked in their apartment in New York, Lola is sent to her estranged grandmother in Harrow Lake, the eerie town her where her father’s most iconic horror movie was filmed. But there’s something strange about this little place, where locals are obsessed with the film and inexplicable disappearances seem to be a recurrent thing. Worse of all is how everyone seems determinate not to let Lola leave, particularly her grandmother. As she slowly explores the town and begins to uncover it’s secrets, she begins to realise that she might not leave it alive.
The plot is a mix of horror and thriller, in my opinion. There’s a lot of psychological moments, I could feel the momentum building, but there also some creepy elements. There’s a point when Lola believes someone or something is following and watch her, and there’s also Mr. Jitters, the protagonist of an old town tale said to still live in the woods of Harrow Lake. The pace of the plot is quite good and something about the all thing makes it impossible to put down.
While the ending approach was refreshing and nicely thought, there was an important loose end I would have liked to know more about: the accomplice. Why did he did he help, what happened to him and most importantly, why did he keep father and daughter from talking throughout the whole thing. Or was it a lie from the father? This part wasn’t very clear and it would have been to have that complete picture.
Ultimately, an engaging plot.