Harrow Lake

By: Kat Ellis

Narrated by: Kristen DiMercurio, Alex McKenna, Jason Culp

It's an old-fashioned puppet. The details are hard to make out in the dim light, but it looks like the puppet's neck is broken. It's a sad-looking thing, trapped there in its cage. Maybe I should let it out...

THE MUST-HAVE THRILLER THAT WILL KEEP YOU GRIPPED, KEEP YOU GUESSING, AND KEEP YOU UP ALL NIGHT.

'A captivating and creeping mystery full of brilliantly twisting turns and dark secrets' - Holly Jackson, bestselling author of A Good Girls' Guide to Murder

'If you like Stephen King, snap this up!' - Cass Green, Sunday Times bestselling author of In a Cottage in a Wood

'This book crawled under my skin and made itself a home there, and I can't wait for people to start reading it so that I can scream about the ending with everyone I know' - Inkandplasma book review

'Scream meets The Babadook in small-town USA' - Kirsty Logan, award-winning author of The Gracekeepers

Lola Nox is the daughter of a celebrated horror filmmaker - she thinks nothing can scare her. But when her father is brutally attacked in their New York apartment, she's swiftly packed off to live with a grandmother she's never met in Harrow Lake, the eerie town where her father's most iconic horror movie was shot.

The locals are weirdly obsessed with the film that put their town on the map - and there are strange disappearances, which the police seem determined to explain away.

And there's someone - or something - stalking Lola's every move.

The more she discovers about the town, the more terrifying it becomes. Because Lola's got secrets of her own. And if she can't find a way out of Harrow Lake, they might just be the death of her...

Critic reviews

Harrow Lake is a captivating and creeping mystery full of brilliantly twisting turns and dark secrets. You'll hear Mister Jitters in the deadly whisper of the pages as you race through this chilling, thrilling book—Holly Jackson, bestselling author of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

Lashings of 80s style —Guardian Books

Harrow Lake is a book that's hard to put down. Scary, suspenseful and deliciously twisty, it hits that 'Netflix binge' sweetspot. It's also a hugely entertaining riff on '80s and '90s horror, echoing everything from Stephen King to Scream, with some neat twists on familiar tropes—Fiona Noble

This dark and twisty book will keep you gripped to the very last page and give you sleepless nights. Atmospheric and beautifully written, Harrow Lake is a five-star must-read—Sarah J. Harris, author of The Colour of Bee Larkham's Murder

Scream meets The Babadook in small-town USA. This book made my retro-horror-loving heart sing—Kirsty Logan, award-winning author of The Gracekeepers

What a thrill-ride Harrow Lake is. If you like Stephen King, you'd be mad not to snap this up—Cass Green, Sunday Times top 10 bestselling author of In a Cottage In a Wood

A taut, twisting and terrifying read that takes no prisoners as it carves and claws its way into your nightmares. Expect more than just jitters...—Melinda Salisbury, author of Hold Back the Tide

A twisted thriller with a fantastically eerie setting in which nothing is what it seems. I loved the landmarks and gruesome history of Harrow Lake. The buried secrets, landslides, jitterbugs and the Bone Tree will stay with me for a long time. Kat Ellis's monstrous Mr Jitters and the frozen-in-time movie setting makes for a chilling read that had me looking over my shoulder and holding my breath—Michelle Harrison, author of A Pinch of Magic

Harrow Lake is scary, but also hugely fun . . . the claustrophobic Harrow Lake itself seems a fully realized world, a character in itself—The Bookseller

Deliciously creepy—Amy McCulloch, author of Jinxed

Ellis brings the claustrophobia of pulp fandom front and centre in this masterpiece of a novel—Dawn Kurtagich, author of The Dead House

With its creeping dread and unspooling secrets, Harrow Lake feels like an Alfred Hitchcock film in YA novel form. Thrilling, terrifying and utterly compelling. Deserves to be a summer blockbuster!—Katherine Webber, author of Wing Jones

Fist ever real book I’ve read

My first time ever listening and reading a book completely that’s actually considered a book.I started this book because of a school project but I actually enjoyed the story and just the book overall 9/10 😙👌December Wednesday 15,2022.🌵

100% recommend! Did not disappoint!

I didn't have any expectations going in to this book, I'd just been looking for a book about ghosts to start off the Halloween season and this did not disappoint! I was hooked from chapter one. It kept my on the edge of my seat as events unfolded and had some fantastic moments that sent chills down my spine! I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a something to keep them up at night! the performance was fantastic and the interview aspect in the beginning was such a great attention grabber and a fantastic ending that left me wanting so much more!!!

Really enjoyed this one!!

Just a little bit YA, but without the teenage stupidity. Super creepy to me. The narration was done really well. The story kept me listening. No gore really. The “optimal” wasn’t that bad and was just to make a point, I think.


Potential trigger - abuse
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If you can’t do discussion of family abuse (physical or sexual) you may want to reconsider. It does delve into these... not graphically, but it is pertinent to the story. I am not a fan of these topics, but I was able to enjoy the story despite the discussion.

Poor reviews miss a lot

Although this book has a lot of common horror tropes, they are curated in a refreshing way.

The negative reviews here criticize the literary devices like repetition that are critical to the characters and plot (Stephen King does this ALL the time btw). Or these reviews want the novel to be something it's not.

Though I'm not the biggest fan of unreliable narrators or dream sequences, this book uses both tastefully. The result is a well organized narrative with a satisfying ending.

Well worth the time and credit

I liked most everything about this book just feel it ended a little flat. While most books I feel go on too long this one could have had a few more chapters just so we could have had SOME closure...