The Haunting of Paynes Hollow: A Novel
Oct 2025 · St. Martin's Press
4.3star
3 reviewsreport
Ebook
288
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About this ebook
From New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a nail-biting supernatural horror about a haunted lakeside property and twisted family secrets.
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.
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.
Ratings and reviews
4.3
3 reviews
Debbie ballard
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October 14, 2025
I throughly loved reading the riveting and mesmerizing story. When Samantha (Sam) goes to her Grandfather's funeral with her Aunt, Sam finds out that if she stays at the house in Paynes Hollow for a year, she will receive enough money for her mother's expensive care, but staying at the house where she saw her dad burying a thirteen year old boy who had tormented her and all the grief surrounding the murder makes it harder and harder to stay there. Highly recommended & wonderfully written!
Sandy S.
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October 14, 2025
THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOWS by Kelley Armstrong is a contemporary, adult, supernatural thriller focusing on Samantha Payne in the wake of her estranged grandfather’s death.THE HAUNTING OF PAYNES HOLLOWS is a dramatic, dark and intriguing tale of jealousy and rage, betrayal and revenge, murder and madness. The premise is gritty and thrilling; the characters are determined, desperate and a little bit broken.
Patricia White
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October 14, 2025
This is not at all what I expected. Just goes to show you a great author can make any story exciting. “Paynes Hollow: The Bermuda Triangle of Upstate New York?” Lots of strange and unusual things going on with creepy happening around every corner. If you are looking for something a little different that will grab you and hold on for dear life this is the one.
About the author
KELLEY ARMSTRONG is the author of over 50 novels in mystery, fantasy and horror. She believes experience is the best teacher, though she’s been told this shouldn’t apply to writing her murder scenes. To craft her books, she has studied aikido, archery and fencing. She sucks at all of them. She has also crawled through very shallow cave systems and climbed half a mountain before chickening out. She is however an expert coffee drinker and a true connoisseur of chocolate-chip cookies.
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