Book Review: The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

Some doors were never meant to be opened..

Welcome!

Kingfisher has done it again.
The Hollow Places is equal parts hilarious and horrifying—and completely addictive. Seriously. If my obsession with this author’s writing, storytelling, and originality wasn’t official before? It certainly is now.

Love horror? This book follows a believable protagonist who faces a mind-boggling situation with equal parts snark and resignation. Accompanied by an endearing but eccentric sidekick, the two friends will soon discover that some things are best left alone—here there be monsters.

Enjoy!
I know I did.

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The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher

Publication date: Oct 6, 2020
Pages: 348
Genre: Occult Suspense, Horror, Supernatural Fiction
Standalone

Five Stars! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

First line: Nobody ever believes me when I tell them my Uncle Earl owns a museum.

Characters: Deeply amusing. Real.
Storyline: Creative. Creepy. Entertaining. Riveting.
Pace: Steady.
Writing: Haunting. Quotable.
Cover: 4/5

POVs: Kara “Carrot”

After thirty-something Kara’s unfortunate divorce, she doesn’t know what to do with herself so it’s fortunate then, when her good old Uncle Earl steps in with an invitation to stay with him.

To earn her keep and ease her Uncle’s workload, Kara begins working at his shop, the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities, and Taxidermy, a place filled with strange and intriguing objects. And when Uncle Earl requires surgery, leaving her in charge of the shop. she’s happy to help.. until she discovers a mysterious hole in the wall.

Roping her quirky new barista friend into helping her repair the hole, what Kara thought was a simple fix quickly becomes a nightmare neither could have prepared for—an impossible hallway, a sealed door, and skeletal remains are just the beginning..

My Thoughts:

Wow.
This was one heck of a ride.

I’ve always thought an author’s brain is something special. All the chaos and creation happening in there. It makes you wonder where and how these incredibly fascinating creatures and worlds stem from. Are they night terrors? Are they dreams? Are they a brief glimpse into another reality? To me it felt like the Hollow Places was a good reminder that “There are some things that are better left unknown.”

With Kingfisher you don’t just get a deeply compelling story, amusing characters, and a talent for creating creatures that are as fascinating as they are frightening—No—Every. Single. Time. you’re pitched into these disturbing adventures that are loaded with dark humor, hair-raising atmosphere, and so much originality that it’s practically criminal to tear yourself away before that last, final page.

Each of the characters is unique and interesting on their own but together? They’ll have you snorting, chuckling, and straight up laughing-out-loud one moment and snapping on the lights in the next. An impressive feat.

This was the kind of read that keeps you so absorbed, so intensely focused, and so utterly intrigued, that any flaws or issues you might normally have simply fade into the background. They’re not important. The story is. The answers to all the wonderful and confusing WTF going on here are. The, ‘Oh dear. That’s fcked up. Maybe you should, I don’t know, not do that.’ moments.

I would love to spill all of my thoughts freely, no holds barred, and convince you to love this book as much as I did but it doesn’t work that way—you’ll just have to read it yourself. Trust me though.. it’s worth it.

And that’s that for today.
Thank you for checking out my review, I hope it’s persuaded you to pick this weird and wonderful adventure for yourself.
Stay safe and Happy reading!

This has been one of my favorite books this year,
What’s one of yours?