The premise of Harrow Lake was very intriguing. Lola Nox is the daughter of a famous horror film director and she thinks nothing can scare her but then she find her father lying on the floor of their apartment bleeding from a stab wound. Lola is unsure if he is going to survive and before she can find out she is sent to stay with her maternal grandma in Harrow Lake.

The villagers are obsessed with her father’s most famous film which was shot in their town. They also have some disturbing local legends, unexplained disappearances and are determined to stay stuck in the 1920’s.

Lola is bogged down with worries about her father, residual anger over her mother leaving years before, and confusion over her grandmother’s strange behaviour towards her. Some of the locals have been less than friendly and someone or something strange is watching her every move.

In general I try to be sensitive to the author’s feelings when I write a review but one thing I do have to say is that the word ‘Optimal’ was so overused by Lola that I felt like I was going to scream if I saw it one more time. It was so annoying that a chapter or so in I had almost decided to give up on the book. It was only sheer boredom that convinced me to continue.

It felt like the book was trying to be too many things at once. I loved the story of Mr Jitters and the legends, and I also loved the connections to the film. The book fell flat for me in terms of the other avenues it pursued which I won’t mention as I don’t want to spoil the plot for future readers.

I did think that the Bone Tree was an amazing addition to the book and was definitely a highlight.

I read the whole book in the end and I can even say I enjoyed some but its not one I will be buying.

Kat Ellis' newest novel has had a real buzz this spooky season. Harrow Lake is the story of Lola, daughter of a famous film director who ends up returning to the site where his most famous horror film was set and filmed, and which is haunted by a classic horror figure, Mr Jitters.

Harrow Lake self consciously draws on classic horror tropes and builds its own internal world of horror reference. Ellis builds a brilliant fictional repertoire of horror films and weaves in recognisable references to ground this. It is a pacy, and times deeply creepy novel which will compel you to find out just what has happened to Lola. The structure of the novel, opening with an interview and flashing back is a clever approach which keeps you wondering and guessing.

Lola is an irritating and pretty unlikeable character but this makes her perfect for the novel. What kid of a famous director kept isolated from the world wouldn't be a bit odd? You might not like Lola but you definitely come to see things from her point of view, and understand why she has become the person she is, so you can't help but root for her.

At times the story was a little predictable - and while this was quite satisfying that you solved the 'mystery' it did make it feel slightly inevitable and like you were just waiting for Lola to catch up. In addition to this the references to 'optimal' behavior were a little on the nose. Perhaps the trajectory of the story would have been less obvious if Ellis had made this a bit more subtle.

However, it is still a gripping read, and ideal for this time of year. If you like horror, and horror tropes, Harrow Lake is your next read.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
I am sorry to say that I didn't like this story line. I did finish it but ...........

Oh this book was terryfying. I loved d it and want to read it all over again. Brilliant and highly recommended for teens xx

I could not get into this book at all. I know I am not in the preferred age demographic but I have read and enjoyed other YA books. This one was very repetitive and also cut between settings too much which affected the flow. Very disappointing.

I found the book a little hard to get into for the first couple of chapters, until I got used to the Authors writing style, but once I had... Wow! I loved it. It was scary, and trippy, and as an adult reading this I get like a teenager reading a scary book in the dark. The story is compelling, and while I did not have sympathy with the main character to start with, you soon develop an empathy with her. A great read, a wild ride, and a satisfying conclusion!

Harrow Lake is definitely a tribute to classic horror movies, and it ratches up the tension well. From the opening there is a certain level of suspense, and it draws you in to keep reading, in order to find out the answers to the many questions you will develop along the way.

I loved the setting and the way the movie Lola's dad had created played its role in the story, it was pretty clever. The town itself was perhaps the best character, it felt as though it held many secrets and was truly a spooky place.

For me, the book somewhat started to let itself down towards the end. The 'big reveal' started to become a little more obvious than I typically prefer, and I felt too many of the questions weren't answered by the end of the story. There also seemed to be a lot of random characters that don't ultimately end up adding anything to the narrative.

For me this one was fairly average, but I did appreciate a little bit of spook in a YA novel, as it's not often seen. I can imagine this one will really appeal to those who have been looking to dip their toe into the genre.

This is such a great example of a YA horror/thriller!

Lola Nox is the daughter of the famous horror director Nolan Nox. When Nolan is attacked, Lola is forced to return to her mother's home town, Harrow Lake. This also happens to be the title of Nolan's most famous work. However, strange events have always taken place in Harrow Lake, from the town tales of the evil Mister Jitters stealing girls, to her own mother's disappearance. Will Lola be able to discover the truth about her mother? Or will Mister Jitters get to her before she gets the chance?

This was fast paced, creepy and keeps you guessing. I loved the old horror movie connection and the weird town and residents vibe. The Mister Jitters folklore element was also really unnerving. We had paranormal elements as well as real life horror and it all tied together perfectly.

I would definitely read more from this author in the future.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for providing me a copy to review.

Harrow Lake is such an engaging read that I devoured it in a few hours. Because it’s super twisty, I found myself second guessing everything which I loved. I’d even go as far as saying that Harrow Lake offered some of the best plot twists I’ve read this year.

My one grievance isn’t really a grievance at all but I didn’t think it was particularly scary? However, I think that I actually enjoyed the book more because it wasn’t half as scary as I’d expected. It’s creepy and there’s a lot of potentially scary stuff here like missing girls, urban legends and more than a handful of supernatural elements. But I wasn’t scared at any point and I scare really easily. And I think that might be disappointing to some readers whose scare threshold is significantly higher than my own. So if you’re looking for a book that’s big on scares, this might not be the one. But it might be - scare ratings are super subjective!

I've been curious about Harrow Lake ever since I first read the blurb. The horror movie element, the small town where strange things happen... It sounded like the perfect premise for a creepy read, and also a perfect story to read close to Halloween. And while I did end up having mixed thoughts, I can't deny that Harrow Lake nailed that creepy and eerie vibe.

There is no doubt that the star of the show is the town, Harrow Lake, itself. Between the many descriptions, background as well as what is happening in the present, this town gives us the perfect backdrop for the story. Creepy, eerie and with a hint of the supernatural... It gives us that perfect ominous feel and a hint of foreboding; you just feel in your bones things are going to get out of hand fast. The history behind Harrow Lake was intriguing, and I loved how seamlessly the story switched between the supernatural and the 'real' world. I could also really appreciate the important role the horror movie Nightjar played throughout the story. As Lola revisits the many places that were part of the movie her father filmed there, you will learn more about the town itself as well as her missing mother... The upcoming movie festival also adds that little something extra to the plot.

That said, I can't say that I was charmed by the main characters at all. Especially Lola started to get really annoying, and I swear that if she says 'Optimal' one more time I'm going to smack her in the head. I found her personality itself to be rather bland too... And I didn't really get a proper feel off the rest of the characters either. Like I said before, the town itself is the true star of the show and I almost felt like it had more personality than the characters itself... I can't say that I was a fan of the ending either, and I saw some of the twists coming quite early on. The writing did make it quite easy to keep reading though.

All in all it wasn't a bad read and I most definitely loved the horror movie element as well as that eerie Harrow Lake setting, but there were also elements that didn't work that well for me. If you like creepy reads with a hint of the supernatural and a thoroughly developed eerie small town setting, Harrow Lake might just be for you.

Harrow Lake is an exercise in slowly creeping horror, fraught with tension and foreboding which makes use of many classic horror tropes whilst remaining unique and compelling. I thought the concept of this novel was so interesting – the daughter of a horror filmmaker visits the town where he shot his most iconic film and creepy things ensue right from the start. Although I don’t celebrate Halloween, this is definitely a contender if you’re looking for a spooky read for the Autumn / Winter season.

I feel like this book has the perfect recipe for a horror / thriller novel, from the small town setting to the film aspect which seems to blur the lines between fiction and reality and the secrets in Lola’s own family. All of these separate threads come together to form an ambitious story, which is fraught with tension in all the right places and doesn’t let up for even a second. Kat Ellis has done such a brilliant job with the atmosphere and setting in this novel, with every location, character and description being so well done. I don’t get scared or freaked out easily, horror is one of my favourite genres and I watch tons of horror movies all the time, and this book definitely had me feeling some type of way so take that as a sign that this book has some teeth. Literally and metaphorically…you’ll see what I mean when you read it.

The characters themselves are not very likeable to begin with, and this includes Lola, our teenage protagonist. I feel like many readers will find her and some of her mannerisms annoying, especially her tendency to class things as ‘optimal’ or ‘not optimal’ and trust me, it definitely ground my gears a bit too. However, I found myself warming to her as the story progressed and rooting for her, she’s an interesting choice for the main character and I appreciated that she was unique at least. I liked the little things she took from her mother, like writing secrets down and hiding them and wearing her mothers costumes from the film, these small choices just fit into the wider story in a satisfying way and speak to her yearning for her mother, which she doesn’t verbalise but is so apparent. I felt for this young girl who has lost her mother, has an overbearing father and doesn’t really have anyone to confide in and finds it hard to trust anyone.

From the very beginning you get the sense that there’s something not quite right with Lola and her father Nolan’s relationship and this just becomes even more apparent the further the story progresses. He’s extremely controlling and diminishes her at every turn and is clearly hiding a lot from her, especially when it comes to info about Lola’s mother Lorelai who abandoned her family years before. I think these moments and this storyline is where the book goes from a classic horror set up to a more psychological thriller or mystery, as you’re constantly contemplating whether Nolan’s version of events is the truth, whether Lola is losing her sanity or whether there is in fact a far more supernatural explanation to it all.

Speaking of the supernatural element, from the outset you hear whispers of superstition and fear from the residents of Harrow Lake about a local legend, Mr Jitters, a sinister figure who is said to spirit away townspeople unless satiated by offerings. I think the whole concept of ‘Mr Jitters’ or a local legend works incredibly well in the novel to build further tension and adds another layer to the already strange story. I think this is heightened by the fact that even as a reader you can’t tell whether he’s ‘real’ or not, because the townspeople seem to believe it so much and you get drawn into it yourself almost, where a simple tap-tap-tap isn’t just the branch of a tree against the window, but Mr Jitters come to prey.

Overall, Harrow Lake was every bit the captivating, dark thriller I was expecting it to be, as well as an exploration of trauma, both past and present and how it can manifest. I’m excited to follow Kat Ellis’ career from here on out and I’m excited for whatever she writes next, especially if this book is anything to go by because I really liked it. I would definitely recommend this to fans of horror stories and/or psychological thrillers in the Y/A genre, because it’s a refreshing addition to the genre for sure.

A Physiological thriller about Lola, daughter of a horror film maker whose mother , it appears, walked out on them when she was five years old.. She finds her father stabbed and he is rushed to hospital. She is dispatched to her grandmother’s house in the town of Harrow Lake, the location of her father’s most famous film. She encounters strange happenings and she and her imaginary friend try to find out whatever happened to her mother. A page turner with an explosive ending

Gripping, breath holding and twisting horror! The last 100 pages had me hooked until the end. When’s the movie coming out Kat Ellis? I can see this on the big screen 🍿
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If you like horror stories you’ll no doubt enjoy this! Combining elements comparable with the likes of #Scream and #IT; #KatEllis captures the readers imagination around the story of Lola, the daughter of a big time horror movie director who’s mum disappears when she’s young, leaving her alone with her over protective dad and his right-hand-man Larry.
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A bit of a loner and isolated, Lola gets back to their apartment one evening to find her dad stabbed and bleeding out on the floor. Whilst he recovers in hospital, she gets shipped off to her grandmother’s in Harrow Lake, where her dad’s cult horror movie, Nightjar was filmed.
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Once in Harrow Lake things start to get weird. Uncovering family secrets, things disappearing, hearing terrifying noises, seeing people that aren’t there, feeling like her every move is being stalked...learning about Mister Jitters and the hold he has over the people of the town and how it all links back to Nightjar!
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The last 100 pages had me gripped, as Lola uncovers the truth about her mum’s disappearance and subsequent death, how her grandmother and dad are so deeply involved...then she disappears...does the truth come out in the wash? You’ll have to read it to find out...

I really enjoyed this book and it kept me up reading way after bedtime. it was atmospheric and chilling. I loved the creepy vibe this book gave off as well as the twisted way I was never entirely sure what was real and what was not. the pacing in the book was good and I never got 'board' of any chapters. The end was not what I was expecting and I am dying to know what happened to Lola, where is she now? is she still alive? i would love to see a sequel to this book in the future. I enjoyed it so much I have actually purchased the paperback to go on my favorite book shelf.

I love a book that can give me genuine thrills and chills without crossing over into grotesque. I love a book with a narrator who is a little unreliable. I love anything ever a little bit meta. And I ABSOLUTELY love anything that will genuinely shock me.

Not only is the narrator stuck in a town that is in the middle of the tourist celebration for the movie that her father made based on the town and starring her mother whose characters clothes she is stuck wearing (there’s my meta) but the ending had me gasping, flicking back to the beginning, gasping again, and staring in shock.

So, yeah, 5/5

Harrow Lake is a book that will give you the creeps. It's no bloody shocker that works with jump scares but instead the eerieness slowly builds up and surprises you when you least expect it. Particularly the Mr. Jitters passages (leaning on an old local legend that is closely connected to the town's mining history) are wonderfully chilling. And don't even get me started on the tree in the woods from which people hang actual teeth to pacify the monster. Yikes!

The novel started out a bit slow for me. I couldn't really connect with Lola as a protagonist at first but eventually I warmed up to her and began to understand why she is the way she is. The plot picked up as well and at some point I couldn't put the book down anymore. A lot of reviewers have commented on and criticised the fact that there are some loose ends. However, I believe those actually serve a purpose as they increase the reader's uncertainty and it's exactly this feeling of "not quite knowing" that makes the story work so well. The same goes for the frame narrative of Nolan being interviewed. Let me just say that I did not see that ending coming.

I can't really say more without giving too much away, but if you are into creepy novels that aren't only blood and gore but work more on a psychological level, Harrow Lake will be a great read for you. It is categorised as YA because the protagonist is a teenager, but adults will have fun with this story as well... and will be equally spooked. A perfect autumn read!

Where can I even start with this book? I loved it so much that it's hard to put my thoughts into words! I was pulled in to the creepy town of Harrow Lake from the beginning description, the town was beautifully crafted by Kat Ellis in a way that had me itching to know more about it. I really enjoyed Lola's narrative voice, her fixation on creating lists and finding the 'Optimal' way of doing things intrigued me in a different way to how most narratives hook me. I found myself feeling terrible for Lola as I got deeper into the book as well - my line of thought was constantly repeating 'Wow, her parents really messed her up'. I also found myself feeling sorry for Lorelei towards the end; her father had planted all of these horrible ideas into her mind that made it so hard for her to parent Lola properly.

As someone who doesn't usually read thrillers or horror books, Harrow Lake has just the right amount of scariness for me, the Jitter Man was haunting my mind, but the book was so unputdownable that I just had to carry on with it. Overall, I found this book very enjoyable, and hope to see more like this from Kat Ellis in the future.

I'm not normally a horror fan but this was delightfully creepy. Lola Nox is the daughter of celebrated horror director, Nolan Nox. When Nolan is attacked, Lola goes to stay with her grandmother, who she doesn't know in Harrow Lake, the location of Nolan's most famous film. I enjoyed how atmospheric this book was, although it employed a lot of standard horror tropes (eerie dolls, girls running into dark woods for no reason) it works really well on the page as I think the fact that you've seen those things so often on the screen makes it easier to envisage in your mind. The reason for the 3 stars is I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. But I think the point about how the secrets people keep are often scary than anything in a horror film is true.

I quite enjoy books about horror film-makers. Night Film by Marisha Peshl is one of my favourite reads, and Harrow Lake had strong Night Film-vibes, so I was eagerly drawn to this.

Harrow Lake is told from the POV of Lola, a teenager who is the daughter of a famous horror film-maker and the actress he married, who was in his first movie, Nightjar, which was set in Harrow Lake, Indiana, which is where Lorelai, Lola's mother is from. The story opens with a prologue and we see Nolan getting interviewed and learn that his daughter disappeared just like his wife did. Cut a year ago we meet Lola, who after an argument with her father is driven home by his assistant, only to return to her flat to find that her father has been stabbed. He's hospitalised and Lola is sent to her grandma's whom she has never met before to Harrow Lake, a small town that gains much of it's income from parades and tourists interested the setting of Harrow Lake due to the infamous movie, Nightjar. But strange things start to happen and Lola finds old secrets and her own secrets beginning to merge...

This was an atmospheric read. There was some creepy scenes and the town's obsession with Lorelai and the urban legend, Mister Jitters, was unsettling. I was engrosses by this chilling and creepy read. However the book didn't quite come together for me. I did find the characters, especially the men who were all perverts, one dimensional and I found Lola irritatingly 'Optimal' and lacking depth. Some of the twists were predictable and the ending just didn't come together for me. However I can see this appealing to readers who are looking for a particularly creepy vibe like Night Film.

I loved the premise and the cover for this title. There was a lot of hype and I was intrigued and excited to see if it delivered.

It does and it doesn’t. I did absolutely race through this, it is creepy and unsettling, and it does have a fantastic setting and atmosphere. But there were a lot of unresolved plot points which I found frustrating and I was disappointed that one of the reveals and plot twists (spoiler) was to do with a child being sexually abused, again. I just feel that it shouldn’t be used in this way in YA fiction and that it’s a lazy and unoriginal way to explain a dark family secret.

I do love this genre and would still read another title by this author - this book is compelling and I’m interested to see what the author does next.