The Hollow Places (ARC Review)

With a close cast of catchy, quirky characters, and a strong narrative voice from page one, The Hollow Places is equal parts sarcastic humor and unnerving horror. 

Kara’s Uncle’s museum, full of taxidermy, oddities, and religious paraphernalia, may seem weird to others, but to her, it’s like home, and literally will be for the foreseeable future after her divorce. After all, the elk head mounted on the wall, the stuffed mermaid with the razor-sharp teeth, and the fake didgeridoo are all more than familiar to her…although the hole in the wall to another world is new…and most certainly evil.

The Hollow Places will send readers diving headfirst into the strange worlds of Kara’s life, in both this dimension and the next. The first half of the novel is filled with addictive doses of mystery, tension, and vivid yet haunting world-building. 

Unfortunately, an odd plot structure makes the second half of the story a lot less exciting as the world-building dissipates and readers are left feeling frustrated as they watch the characters ignore blatantly obvious answers to all of the characters’ questions and the slow build to an ending that’s evident from the halfway point.

The attachment to the characters is the only thing that drives the conclusion forward, although we see noticeably less of one of our two leads in the latter pages. Still, readers’ connection to Kara only goes so far when the plotline seems as backward as the world she falls into, and it ends up being somewhat maddening to see a story that could have been so great if it had been swapped around, and which started with such a strong beginning, end up so lackluster.

A five-star start with a two-star ending I rated The Hollow Places 3 out of 5, but would still recommend to fans of the world of Reverie and those who are looking for another novel like it with a touch of Stranger Things vibes. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Gallery Press for an early copy in exchange for an honest review!