Book Review: "Harrow Lake" by Kat Ellis

I've never heard of Kat Ellis and I've never heard of this book. Honestly, I cannot remember for the life of me where I had seen it or why I had taken it out of the library. All I know is that I had reserved it online which means I probably did see it somewhere. Anyways, what I can tell you is that I'm still reading contemporary horror novels, you should be as glad as I am. Harrow Lake is an odd book but I think that even though it lacks atmosphere, you can still get lost in the story because you become invested in the characters. Let's take a look within...

Lola is the daughter of Nolan and Lorelei and has a hard time because her parents aren't together. Her father is the director of a film called Nightjar - a cult horror movie set in Harrow Lake - a place that Lola is about to get involved with and soon. The book however starts off in an odd fashion. First of all, Nolan is being interviewed about his movie and is confronted with a question about his daughter. He asks for the interview to be stopped and refuses to answer. The narrative gets underway from there. I like the narrative being mixed with this prologue written in a transcript. It's always refreshing to see writers play with form.

As Lola's story gets underway, we learn that her father does not allow her to wear makeup, have a laptop or even live her own life without him. When she arrives home to find her father in a horrid condition after being stabbed one night, an ambulance comes to collect Nolan. Not knowing whether her father will make it, Lola agrees to carry out a wish of his: that she visit Harrow Lake. There, Lola will have to stay with her mother's mother - a woman she doesn't know, just like how she didn't know her mother.

In the house, she encounters some strange things, including rows upon rows of tiny model bugs. That is atmospherically, where things begin. I would like to put aside the fact she calls her parents by their first names, but I would like to focus on the room containing not her mother's things (which was expected), but the costumes and things associated with the character her mother played in Nightjar. The fact the room looks like a movie set creeps me out. It just seems like there's something inhuman there - or something pretending to be human.

She meets Cora, a girl who tells her the folktale of the town. After a landslide in the 1920s, many of the residents died and one man named Mr Jitters, was buried alive in there. Screaming, he began to feast on the dead bodies of others and some people say that over one hundred years' later - he still snatches up prey from the forest. Alongside this, Lola is getting suspicious about what happened to her mother as she had disappeared a long time ago after having returned to Harrow Lake. This is some great layering the writer does, connecting the two together in a Wicker Man situation. I will give you a hint though - I don't think you'll guess what actually happened.

As Lola moves through Harrow Lake, we encounter a whole host of characters such as the grandmother who took Lola's suitcase. We also encounter the Ranger who has a photograph from many years' ago of her with Lola's mother. We meet Cora, the Ranger's daughter who introduces Lola to the folktale of Mr Jitters. And we meet Mary Ann - but the less said about her the better. Everyone in this town has some sort of secret that is linked to disappearance or death. As we see odd things such as teeth hanging from trees and sinkholes form in the ground, it is clear to Lola that Mr Jitters is not the only monster she has to deal with.

This book was fantastic. A fast-paced and immersive book that, even though it didn't have lots of atmosphere and description, really made up for it with the story and its many turns. If you're a horror fan and you want something that feels both contemporary and old, then you will love how this book mixes the modern with the world of the 1920s. It really was such a treat to read.