Hemlock Island

How it reads

Hemlock Island is mystery (island mystery thriller, specifically), and its dominant mood is eerie. It's atmospheric and uncanny, with a sense that something is wrong. It moves fast: plot-driven and hard to put down, the kind of book that carries you along even when you're tired.

It's set in the wilderness or at sea, in the present day, told in the third person across several viewpoints. Its central concerns are survival, secrets and friendship. In weight it sits in the middle: substantial without being heavy going.

It stands alone, so there's nothing else you need to read first or after. The ending resolves happily. At 295 pages it's a quick read. It's well known, the kind of book most keen readers have heard of.