Mackenzie’s life was turned upside down when her best friend, Amy, was murdered by a werewolf.
Since then, Mac isn’t sure what to think. Amy haunts her dreams. Her best friend, Kyle has been unaccountably distant. While Amy’s boyfriend, Jason, seems determined to crash and burn all on his own.
Worse, Trackers have come to town looking for the white werewolf that killed Amy last spring and might be back to continue its murder spree.
Desperate to protect Jason from himself, and ease her own nightmares and guilt, Mac decides to try and find the white werewolf herself. As Mac’s investigation brings her closer to the truth she also learns unsettling secrets about her friends and her town leaving Mac uncertain of who she can trust as she tries to find the white werewolf before it find her in Hemlock (2012) by Kathleen Peacock.
Hemlock is Peacocks first novel as well as the first book in her Hemlock trilogy.
Peacock creates an interesting world with characters who are well-rounded with both strengths and flaws aplenty. Separately, in fact, all of the characters are quite likable and entertaining. The problem comes when they begin to interact with each other.
Mac comes across as a strong heroine in the beginning of the story, but the more the story continues, the more irritating she becomes. Despite being necessarily self-sufficient Mac is embarrassingly clingy in her efforts to save Jason from himself. She is also painfully dense when it comes to Kyle. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, any declaration that a character is strong needs some kind of depth to back it up. Mac doesn’t deliver in the arena. Aside from making her a frustrating heroine, Mac’s irritating personality made the inevitable love triangle unconvincing.
There is always a push and pull with mysteries featuring teen protagonists. The book is about the teens, they obviously need to be at the center of the investigation and the action–that’s the whole point of the book. Unfortunately, Mac’s logic for pursuing the werewolf herself felt very contrived. I also was frustrated at her insistence on keeping her cousin in the dark later in the story. I get it, absent parental figures make stories easier. At the same time it just seemed heavy-handed and clumsy to push Mac’s cousin to the side like that.
Filled with suspense, Hemlock is part mystery, part fantasy, all action. Though there is gore and violence thanks to the vicious werewolf attacks in the story, it is kept in check making this a good choice for someone looking for a read similar to the Hunger Games books but with less violence and (slightly) fewer tears.
Possible Pairings: Clarity by Kim Harrington, The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver, Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
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