Review: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow by Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Genre: Adult, horror

Publication date: October 2025

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Source: Purchased hardcover

Add it on Goodreads

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Thrift Books

Synopsis: 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.

My rating: ★★★★⯪

"What's in there?" I asked.
"The headless horseman.”

Kelley Armstrong writing horror?

This is not something I knew I needed in my life, but I definitely need it now! Especially considering how much I enjoyed this book! It was just SO well done! I mean, we start off by finding out that when Sam was a kid, she caught her dad burying his supposed murder victim. And then he killed himself 😧 INSANE! Add to that the fact that the grandfather who disowned Sam because of this then leaves her a very expensive family property with some very intense and crazy conditions. Oh, and you can’t forget and the Headless Horseman who may or may not roam the property 👀

I loved all of this! I also really enjoyed learning about the family history and the lore behind the mythical being. It was SO good!

And I really liked the characters too! I particularly loved Josie, the deputy, and how quickly she and Sam became friends. I also really liked the surly caretaker of the property, Ben. Sam and Ben’s initial interaction was ROUGH, and he actually had a reason behind why he’s such an asshole. It was crazy! Sam’s grandfather was crazy! Some of the things he did... yikes. But back to Ben, I really grew to like him and his protectiveness, even if it really wasn’t for the specific benefit of Sam. Lol. But I really enjoyed seeing their relationship change and develop from near-animosity to almost-friendship.

I really enjoyed this, though! I loved the mythology and the setting and the crazy family history! I know Kelley Armstrong has other horror books, and I cannot wait to read those, too!

I will forever be haunted by what happened this summer at Paynes Hollow.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊