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 home is where the heart is, but as Maggie knows, home is also where the skeletons lie.

Seamlessly blurring the edges between psychological thriller and romantic suspense, million-copy bestselling author Kiersten Modglin brings us a dark and twisted romantic thriller, perfect for fans of Verity , Tell Me Lies , The Ghost Writer , and YOU .

Genres: Thriller, Romance, Audiobook, Mystery, Suspense, Mystery Thriller, Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published August 28, 2023

About the author

KIERSTEN MODGLIN is a #1 bestselling author of psychological thrillers. Her books have sold over two million copies and been translated into multiple languages. Kiersten is a member of International Thriller Writers, Novelists, Inc., and the Alliance of Independent Authors. She is a KDP Select All-Star and a recipient of ThrillerFix's Best Psychological Thriller Award, Suspense Magazine's Best Book of 2021 Award, a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Suspense, and a 2022 Silver Falchion for Best Overall Book of 2021. Kiersten grew up in rural western Kentucky and later relocated to Nashville, Tennessee, where she now lives with her family. Kiersten's readers across the world lovingly refer to her as "KMod." A binge-watching expert, psychology fanatic, and indoor enthusiast, Kiersten enjoys rainy days spent with her favorite people and evenings with her nose in a book.

CONNECT WITH KIERSTEN:

➜ WEBSITE: kierstenmodglinauthor.com
➜ NEWSLETTER: kierstenmodglinauthor.com/nlsignup
➜ FACEBOOK: facebook.com/kierstenmodglinauthor
➜ KMOD SQUAD: facebook.com/groups/kmodsquad
➜ INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/kierstenmodglinauthor
➜ THREADS: threads.net/@kierstenmodglinauthor
➜ TIKTOK: tiktok.com/@kierstenmodglinauthor
➜ TEXT ALERTS: kierstenmodglinauthor.com/textalerts


Kiersten Modglin may be coming to a city near you! Check out her “events” tab to see all the signings she’s attending in the near future:

➜ kierstenmodglinauthor.com/events

Reviews

[Sydney Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this right before midnight and I ATE IT UP!

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hemlock feels so different from KMod's other novels and I thought it was excellent. This is more romantic suspense, love quadrangle really with some creepy vibes about the house!

Vowed not to come back, Maggie Ellis returns to Myers after her mother's death. Not only did she return, but she also bought the house at 40 Hemlock Drive with overgrown weeds and one that needs a lot of work.

After moving in, Maggie noticed a smell of death, dark stains on the wood, and even the thermostat changing on its own. What has she gotten herself into?

My feelings? It's haunted, girl! This is NOT the time to be strong and independent. Get TF out! 😱

But Maggie is stubborn and stronger than I am, of course, she's not going anywhere.

I won't say much because I went in blind and enjoy guessing every aspect of this novel. Several storylines will come together; the romance, the characters, the house, and the untold past. This is an open door and gets pretty steamy!🔥🔥🔥

Told in dual timeline THEN and NOW by Maggie and with a terrific narrator, Brittany Pressley. Hemlock will surely keep you entertained from start to finish.

Thank you Dreamscape Media and Netgalley for the ALC.
10H 9M
Published Dec. 5, 2023

[Nina (ninjasbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty wild plot, but I had a great time reading it!

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Romance? Gag me and put me out of my misery. That’s how I feel about romance books. Yep. All the dramatics.

So how am I even reading a mostly romance story and rating it a 5 star read? Because KMod wrote a breathtaking story that I was hooked to from the start.

I love the fake dating and forced proximity- I also loved that the sex scenes were mild and few (I think 2-3). Not my thing. Also the twists. I didn’t see either of those coming. I was wondering who the dead person was and who, if anyone, had killed her.

I liked that weird things were happening at the new house. It made us question what was happening. It also added a layer of suspense and tension that laid just below the surface and lasted the entire book.

Another 5 star for KMod.

Oh ALSO, you TROLLS who say her books need to be longer. HERE YOU GO! (385 pages). Y’all can quit that now. We like our 250 page stories just fine tho.

Next book please 😂😂😁

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Curiously compelling romantic suspense with clever twists that may catch you off guard!

[Cindy (leavemetomybooks) · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 50% because it was so boring. I thought this was supposed to be a thriller? Halfway through the book and all that’s happened is a lady moves into a ramshackle house with some weird smells and possibly faulty wiring that is accidentally next door to a dude she used to love and her other wanna be love interest is also in town and she just broke up with some other dude who she lived with and ????? Snooze.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is quite a departure from Kiersten Modglin’s usual fast paced thrillers, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t an equally good book to her previous works. This is a romantic suspense and while that isn’t typically my first choice it did have my favorite trope, fake dating, and definitely kept my interest. Maggie left her home town a long time ago but when she breaks up with her boyfriend and her mother passes away she decides it’s time to go home. After purchasing a house she’d always loved she finds herself finding homeownership is more than she expected. To make thing more complicated the one that got away is next door and her best friend and first crush is also in town and both want to be there for her. The book alternates between present and past tense. I liked that there was still a twist at the end, made it clear it was a Modglin book.

[The Book Booth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would like start this review with saying that this book made me stay up too late, made me forget to put on mascara and made me late for work all in a 15hr time span. I could NOT stop reading. Literally did my makeup this morning…..swiping the pages.

On to the review!

This is Kiersten’s best work yet. I loved The Messes Series, so Hemlock was right up my alley. You’ve got a thriller of course but add in some smoochin and absolute chaos.

I FREAKING LOVED IT!

Hemlock is a story within a story. So much happens in this book yet it all flows so brilliantly together. It’s the best of all genres packed into one book. Well done!!

This is absolutely my favorite book of the year!

[Aly Lauck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look I really loved this romance/thriller hybrid. I just want to know for once and for all…how does a man growl? Like does he go rawr? Like a dinosaur? I digress…I’m satisfied with the ending! A fast paced fun read!

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had very high expectations going into HEMLOCK given I usually love Kiersten Modglin’s books, and the synopsis of this psychological thriller (or so I thought) made it sound pretty fantastic. However, after having read the book, I feel the synopsis was a bit misleading. I was expecting more edge-of-your-seat suspenseful nail-biter, but in my opinion, it was more romance than thriller. A love triangle, no less, played center stage, and to me, everything else fell into the background. I only wish that the mystery and long buried secrets had been more on the forefront of what could have been a five-star novel.

Don’t get me wrong—it was a fast read and kept me quickly turning the pages. But I would have given a higher rating if the book had stayed truer to the synopsis. Is it worth reading? Absolutely! But ready up for less thriller and more romance. Maybe knowing this going in, you’ll enjoy it more!

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This needed way less love triangle and way more ghosts.

[Bookstasies · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was a waste of time but a realization that I shouldn't feel shame in DNFing books in 2024.

[hollyreadit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t sleep on this book! I meannnnnnn 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

It’s got EVERYTHING:
Mystery ✅
Romance/Spice ✅
Thrills ✅
Jaw dropping twists ✅

I honestly don’t know what more you could ask for in a book. I read this in a day, because I HAD TO KNOW. this was definitely a different kind of book and I loved it, I can’t wait to read more from this author!

[Christina O’Keefe · Rating 2 out of 5]

I absolutely loooooove Kiersten Modglin, but every once in a while she writes a book that I absolutely do not connect with, and unfortunately this was one of them. I am DNF at 60% because I really do not care about what happens in this book, and I cannot get into it at all. I literally have no clue what’s happened so far in this book even though I’ve read over half of it with my own eyes 🤪

[Hellerzilla · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love Kiersten Modglin, BUT BABYY 🗣 this was boring 😴 this was sold to me as a "psychological thriller" WHERE 👀 domestic drama, AT BEST 😬 quite possibly the worst one.

((Team Tucker, tho 🤪 come fix my thermostat anytime!))

[Maren’s Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

50% in - To call this a thriller is not accurate. Thriller tinged romance (ft a love triangle to boot) is probably more like it. It’s not bad, but not what I was expecting and the pacing is a little wonky.

♥︎ Book club pick

[Amanda Kristina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh.

My goodness. This was easily over 100 pages too long. The back and forth between the three was exhausting. It felt like the same argument over and over again and if I recorded every time she used the word “confused” it’d probably make up for a quarter of the book.

Outside the obnoxious back and fourth the supernatural aspect was just weird too. It didn’t fit for me at all. It just felt like she wanted the book to fall under more than one category so she added that for a twist.

I’ve read a number of her books and usually I’ll enjoy them until the end when she’ll make up this over the top unbelievable ending but this book was just terrible from the beginning for me.

[Brittany Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

K-Mod has outdone herself with this addictive romantic suspense! The perfect combination of romance and thriller, I was hooked from page one. Between the spice, haunted house vibes, twists and turns, and the beautifully flowing writing style, this book was a breeze to get through. The MC, Maggie, was likeable while caught in a “love triangle” between dreamy musician, Clayton, and sexy bartender, Tucker. But it’s not all sunshine and rainbows for this romantic story. Someone has some big secrets and will do whatever it takes, no matter what lives are at stake, to be with the one they love. This is for sure my favorite book yet by one of my favorite authors and I HIGHLY recommend this book for readers like me who love both the romance and thriller genre, it’s the best of both worlds! Without hesitation, I easily give this book five shining stars.

The biggest thank you to Kiersten Modglin for allowing me to be a part of her review team and providing me this gifted copy in exchange for my honest review. I can’t wait to see what you think of next!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of a departure from the authors usual style of super fast paced thrillers, it’s more of a subtle slow burn and it’s also a romantic suspense which I have been obsessed with lately. There are two timelines, a now and then that switches back and forth in alternate chapters and almost every chapter ended with a new question making it impossible for me to stop turning the pages. There was an emotional component here too, definitely great for fans of angsty romance and the combination of that and a creepy house, the authors signature twists and an unsettling vibe just worked really well for me. Fans of the author will be pleased I think and if you’re new to her work this is a fantastic place to start.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had me hooked from the first page. I loved everything about it. There was so much suspense and so many twists. I'm not sure I've read many romantic thrillers, but I'm here for it.

Romantic thriller ❤️✨👻

- fake dating
- love triangle
- creepy house with a sinister history
- forced proximity
- past & present timelines

[Alisonbookreviewer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite KM book. The beginning and the middle are very slow. Someone was always at the door it seemed.
Maggie moved back to her hometown where she left behind two ex loves.
Only one of them had her best interests in mind.
The ending was good but took a long time to get there.
If you want to read a really good series, read KMs Atonement series. Her best writing imo

[Andrea M · Rating 1 out of 5]

I spent 70% of this book yelling at the protagonists.

[Ruxandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was not my favorite K.M thriller. The plot was extremely slow and the most thrilling parts are glossed over as afterthoughts. How 3 men are this obsessed with this FMC is beyond me 🙃

[The Anxious Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had no business being as good as it was... but it delivered.

This is my second read from this author and I am yet to be disappointed.

Now which one do I read next??

[Melaney Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This. One. Is. Gold!
Modglin sucks you right in from the prologue and holds your mind captive as you race to turn the pages in this spicy, twisted, crazy ride of a domestic thriller. It was by far the best book I’ve read in a while, possibly ever, and it superseded everything I imagined it could be. I’m speechless and was left to immediately wish there was a similar level of spice meets thriller book of Modglin’s that I haven’t already read.

Maggie has finally bought her dream home from her childhood, on a street named Hemlock. Immediately, she begins to realize something is off and second guess her new purchase. Throw in a love triangle, more exes, and the drama of life, and you’ve got some very interesting things to read about. I was hit by shocking twists time and time again, which is the only thing predictable about a KMOD thriller!

Modglin has a way of captivating her readers from the very beginning and leaving them to beg for more with each passing chapter. I’ve been a huge fan for years, and HEMLOCK is the best to date, which says a lot of you’ve read The Arrangement series!

[MONA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for more suspense and less romance, and the main characters didn’t fully click for me. Still, I felt it was a decent read overall

[Jessica ❥Chatterbooks Book Blog❥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thriller and romance are two of my favorite genres, and I love that Hemlock brings them both together. Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop until I reached the end. My primary criticism is that the main twist of the story is pretty obvious from the beginning. That being said, I enjoyed my time with this one overall anyway.

[April Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another awsome read! This was definitely a phycological thriller but stands out as a lot more! The supense and mystery were front and center but it went into much more than that. Last time I sobbed while reading a phycological thriller was Lucinda Berry's, "Saving Noah". Not that they compare in any way. Tottaly different vibe but the raw emotion I felt was overwhelming and the ending had me so emotional! 5 stars read for me!

[Heathers_readss · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never knew I needed a fake dating & love triangle trope in my mystery thriller books.. but this was done EXCELLENTLY!!!!!

I was so invested into the characters due to the potential love interest relationship, but what I loved most is this aspect did NOT take away from the spooky, creepy going’s on of the seemingly haunted / possessed home our FMC bought.

Also those end twists?! What!! Obsessed

Highly recommend this was an absolutely delightful read and hit all the right spots for me

[Anna Colvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Maggie suuuuuuuuucks. How three men were all vying for her attention beats me. Tucker has redeeming qualities but overall he sucks too for being hopelessly in love with a whiny idiot. Honestly this book feels like a conglomeration of AI generated tropes all mashed together. What a waste of 10 hours and 48 minutes of my life. I want my Audible credit back.