Hemlock by Kiersten Modglin

She thought she’d escaped her poisonous past…

Thirteen years ago, Maggie Ellis left her small town and vowed to never return. In her rearview mirror were two men she loved and an ominous secret that would forever haunt her.

Now, tragedy has brought her back, and she’s determined to forget that fateful night. But in a town like Myers, with familiar faces and chilling memories lurking around every corner, moving on is easier said than done.

Before the ink can dry on the closing documents for her new residence, Maggie begins to feel unsettled. In every room, there’s the unmistakable sensation she’s being watched. The strange sounds, odd smells, and bizarre occurrences only add to her paranoia.

There’s something sinister about her new home…

When she discovers the devastating truth about the house and its grim history, Maggie’s worst fears are realized. In order to survive, she must unearth the secrets she’d always planned to keep buried.

After all, they say that is where the heart is, but as Maggie knows, home is also where the skeletons lie.

Publisher: Dreamscape Media | Narrator: Brittany Pressley | Length: 10 h 8 min | Genre: Thriller/Romance | Source: borrowed | Rating: 3

As a thriller lover, I’m always asking for recommendations and 99% of the time Kiersten Modglin’s name is mentioned. I’ve read one of her books (A Quiet Retreat) and found it to be just an okay read. A few weeks ago, a friend of mine recommended Hemlock, which I borrowed from the Libby App.

Here’s what’s going on. After 13 years, Maggie has returned to her hometown and purchased a house that’s a bit of a fixer-upper. While she was unprepared to discover that her ex-boyfriend is her neighbor, she was even more unprepared for just how off-kilter she feels in her new house. It’s not just the odd smells and strange sounds that unnerve her but also the feeling that she’s being watched. As Maggie dives deeper into the house’s past, she starts to question everything.

I went into this book expecting more of a paranormal bend and a heavy psychological thriller feel; instead, this one was more of a romantic suspense with a slight edge of a thriller. Had I went into this one knowing it was more romance-based, I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did.

This story is told through two different timelines. We have college Maggie, a girl who has just had her heart broken by her best friend, Clayton, and starts up a ‘let’s make him jealous’ relationship with Tucker, a bartender. Then we have present day Maggie who has returned to her hometown and finds herself entwined with Clayton and Tucker again.  The only thing different in present day is the fact there’s something going on in Maggie’s house and now she has a twisted history with both men.

I struggled with the characters. Maggie and Clayton were hard to like from the start. The only solid character was Tucker and I struggled to see why he was  so loyal to Maggie.

I wasn’t a fan of this crazy love triangle, that at one point turned into a quadrangle, that was happening through the entirety of the book. I feel as though it was the dominating plot and, honestly, I was over it by the third chapter.

There were a few interesting plot points thrown in but I don’t feel as though they received the attention they deserved. Like with A Quiet Retreat, too much focus was paid to one part of the plot while the other parts were glossed over.

What kept me listening to this one was the house. While I had a feeling what was happening, I was hoping there would have been more, which there wasn’t. I also think that some of the things that happened, like Tucker being her neighbor, were a little too convenient.

I also wasn’t a fan of Brittany Pressley’s narration, which surprised me as I normally like her style. I think it was more so the character was annoying.

If you go into this one viewing it as a romantic suspense, I think you’ll enjoy the book. Had it been labeled that, some of the issues I had with it wouldn’t have bothered me as much, which is why I’m rating this a 3.

Overall, there was a lot going on in this one but nothing really happened. I think it could have been shorter. Now that I’ve read two books by this author, I feel as though my complaints have been similar with both books. I’ll probably give the author one more go since she’s constantly recommended.