The Haunting of Paynes Hollow
Paranormal Suspense
St. Martin's Press
October 15, 2025
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.
With a vague knowledge of the tale of “The Headless Horseman”, I was curious whether this story would prove to be a paranormal phenomena, or some kind of psychological trick. I won’t spoil it for you. Kelley Armstrong keeps the reader guessing what is real, and what is imagined, for an impressive amount of time in The Haunting of Paynes Hollow.
Samantha was not prepared for torture from beyond her grandfather’s grave.
Samantha Payne returns to her childhood home, a place she hoped to never return again, for a required 1-month stay to inherit the very valuable property. She’d love to defy her grandfather’s demand in his will; however, she really needs the millions of dollars it’s worth in order to take care of her sick mother. She knows that she saw her father burying the neighbor after he killed him, but evil grandpa is certain she got it wrong all those years ago. During her house arrest, she uncovers much more than just a few family secrets tucked away in closets and cupboards. Suddenly those childhood memories of horse hooves in the night feel like more than just her wild imagination.
Per usual, Armstrong has written a page-turner that will keep readers up at night.
The Payne family legacy is dark, and full of tragedy that was a well kept secret for far too long. Kelley Armstrong keeps us guessing throughout the story with little mysteries that aren’t easily explained. Readers will doubt their own ideas of the truth while Samantha Payne second guesses her sanity.
The Haunting of Payne’s Hollow can be pre-ordered before it’s October 14, 2025 release.
Kristin lives in the PNW with her husband, and three kids. She loves to read YA fiction, fantasy, and romance. She enjoys a few side-hustles, including creating bookreels/booktoks for authors. The only shows she watches are re-runs, and if she’s not reading a book, she’s listening to one.
