A review by zooloo1983
Harrow Lake by Kat Ellis

3.0

This is another book I failed to make any blinking notes on and after reading the blurb I was so excited to listen to this one! So off we started and wow what a beginning, Lola’s Dad has just been attacked in their apartment and to keep Lola safe, he sends her away to a small tour called Harrow Lake to live with a Nan she has very little memory of. This Nan, is her Mother’s mum, her mother who is missing, the Nan who is losing her mind slowly.

Then we hit Harrow Lake, and I got bored. Yes, things started to happen but a lot of it was just a little…well weird. It didn’t make any sense and I am still not sure I ‘got’ the ending. I mean I got the obvious ending but the ambiguous one, not so sure!

This town was just blinking bizarre, Lola’s mother was a superstar and she filmed the film that made her here, it was also where she met Lola’s Dad. The whole town felt like a shrine to her, there was even a place you could go just to see everything about her mum. Then the Nan starts hiding her stuff and she makes Lola wear her mother’s clothes from the film, well it was just all a bit bonkers. There was a lot, I felt, that wasn’t explained and that for me was one of them. Although, I may have just missed it in the audiobook.

The legend of Mr Jitters would have been terrifying but because I was already confused with it everything and that includes a few eye rolls at times, it didn’t work for me. However, the thing that did scare me was the town it was truly suffocating and no one ever seemed to be able to leave. Lola was stuck. This did unnerve me.

I do wonder what experience I might have if I hadn’t listened to this book and whether it is a book I should read instead. Maybe in the future, I might give it a go and see what I missed and if I can pick anything new up but for now, I think Harrow Lake can stay right where it is!