In volume 2 of Harrow County, Bunn and Crook continue Emmy’s investigation on what her heritage means for both herself and Harrow County. After finding out about her origins in the woods around her house, Emmy struggles to define what’s normal and the line between what the witch Hester Beck meant to Harrow County and what Emmy wants out of her own life. Finding out that she comes from such a dark legacy leaves Emmy with choice between following in Hester’s footsteps or creating a lighter path for herself. Amidst all of this confusion, a young woman who appears identical to Emmy shows up and reveals herself to be Emmy’s sister, Kammi, who was separated from Emmy at birth and grew up in the city. Will Kammi help Emmy choose the right path or lead her down an even darker one?





Volume 2 definitely ups the creep factor of Harrow County as Kammi is willing to do some seriously disturbing things in pursuit of power. The dichotomy between the two sisters is not quite black and white but pretty close. I liked the slow build to the inevitable confrontation between Emmy and Kammi and how the ties were made from Hester to these two sisters. That slow drawing out of tension and dread made this volume significantly more disturbing to read and even more to my taste than the previous one. So far I’ve been impressed with the characterization of Emmy and kudos to Crook for making two characters identical in looks stand out from each other so much.

This is quickly becoming a new favorite series for me. It has flavors of many different horror staples but the atmosphere is uniquely its own and very well done. I’m very curious to see where Emmy’s path will lead her next.

Full series review here