Harrow Lake

Our Review

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.

Our Final Rating...