The Hollows

Maine is beautiful, so picturesque, inviting and relaxing! Renting a cabin in the woods sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? A place to unwind, unplug and reconnect -at least that is what Tom wanted to do with his fourteen-year-old daughter, Frankie. He sees her once a year as he lives in England and she lives with her mother in Albany, New York. Their yearly trips mean the world to him. What could go wrong? For starters, Tom did not research the camp or the dark history surrounding it. If he had looked up the camp, he might have thought twice about selecting it, but he did not do his research and now he and his daughter are knee deep in some creepy, spooky stuff.

I loved the premise of this book. A camp with a dark history. Things that go bump in the night. I love ’80’s horror films and this would make a good one! I read most of this book in one day as I did not want to put it down!

Tom and Frankie are camping and make friends with fellow campers David, Connie and their son Ryan. Connie has a true crime podcast which has quite the following. They are at Hollow Falls because two teachers were murdered there and left displayed on rock. The suspected killer was never found. As it turns out, the other campers are murder obsessed tourists and fans of Connie’s podcast as well. Almost twenty years ago the murders occurred so this is the perfect time to go camping there, right???? WRONG!

To round out the fun, there are strange kids in town, strange whispers in the trees, the sound of wind chimes, creepy staff members amongst other things. Would you stay or would you go? Tell yourself it is all in your head or pay closer attention to the little hairs standing up on the back of your neck, alerting you that something just is not right.

I loved this book from the very first page. It is creepy with underlying tension and had me wondering how the story would unfold. I loved Frankie and Tom’s POV. I also enjoyed shaking my head at them and silently thinking “Has neither of these characters seen a horror film?” There are certain things you can do to survive: don’t split up, don’t leave anyone alone, if alone and told to stay somewhere – stay there, stay a virgin, don’t open the door to strangers, look behind you, if you fall while running – get up off the ground and keep running, don’t lie there crying and begging for your life, don’t say you will be right back because you won’t, remember you are not a private investigator and it is not your job to solve whodunit, etc. I am not saying these things happen in the book, but these are just a few examples of things I learned watching horror movies.

Another plus of this book is that it is spooky and atmospheric but not frightening. I loved the creepy vibe of this book. Readers know right away that something is not right. We are given glimpses into the past that alert us to the fact that something is wrong, but what? Plus, what is with the two little kids always playing in their front yard without a parent in sight??????? The town, the woods, the camp all set the stage. I am using the word ‘creepy’ a lot but that is the perfect word to describe this book!

Like his other books, The Hollows was well written and perfectly paced. I was transported to Hollow Falls and felt as if I were in the woods with them. Edwards is an expert at setting the stage, building plot and mounting tension. From the very first page, I knew he was going to dazzle me.

This book felt like a love letter to horror movies. I could think of several of them while reading this book. I also think this book would make a great movie! So, what is going on? Will you figure it out? Will Mark Edwards fool you? Fans of his will love this book. Edwards brings it on, and readers might not want to venture into the woods again! Plus, I enjoyed the ending! I thought the ending also played like a horror film. It ended the book perfectly for me.

So, if you want to go camping this summer grab this book, watch a couple of horror films, as both might save your life!

Dark, spooky, thrilling.

Thank you to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.