The year is 1926 and Lily Ross has been sheriff since she took over the job after her husband, Daniel’s death in 1924. Now it is time for her to be officially elected. She should be starting her election campaign when an elderly woman is killed by a train in her jurisdiction and she must instead focus all her attention on this new investigation.

Lily begins the task not only to identity the woman but to find out if her death was accidental or if she was pushed to her death. With the help of her friend, Marvena Whitcomb, Lily follows the woman’s trail to The Hollows, an asylum in the hills. This is where she learns the name of the deceased woman. Following the discovery of the woman’s identity, Lily begins to uncover many other long hidden secrets that may have played a part in the woman’s demise.

The book is not only about solving the mystery behind the elderly woman’s death, it is also about life during the 1920s in the hills of southern Ohio. Politics of the time and social injustices also come to the forefront not only due to Lily’s approaching reelection but also because of the impending vote on integration into the mine workers union, the activity of the KKK and the WKKK, and the work of the Quakers on the underground railroad.

Friendships, relationships, and family are important to all of the characters. While the longtime friendship between Hildy and Lily is tested, the new friendship between Lily and Marvena is strengthened. There is a romantic thread in the story with relationships that both flourish and dissolve. And uncovering information about the ancestors and family history of several of the characters plays a critical role in the plot.

The Hollows is the second book in the Kinship series. It would be advisable to have read The Widows prior to reading The Hollows. However, Montgomery successfully fills in details where necessary so that the book could possibly stand alone.

I certainly enjoyed this second installment in the Kinship series and I believe that this historical fiction with its additional hint of mystery and romance, as well as its strong female cast of characters, will be sure to satisfy a wide range of readers.

This review is written from the ARC of the book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This series is based on the true events of the first female sheriff in this small town in Ohio. I haven't read the first book in the series, The Widows, so I was a little lost on references to events in the first book, but I don't think it's necessary to read it first.
When an old woman jumps in front of the train, sheriff Lily Ross is called to investigate. The woman wears only a thin nightgown and rags on her feet. Witnesses say she may have been pushed. But where did she come from? As the truth is revealed about a nearby creepy asylum and a women's secret KKK gathering, things take a sinister turn, where the culprit is the last person you'd suspect.

A prologue set on Tuesday, September 21, 1926 at 9:12 p.m. sets the stage for The Hollows, a mystery by Jess Montgomery, located in Ohio near a railroad track through the Appalachian hills. A barefoot old woman follows the trail through the moonlight toward the Moonvale Tunnel on the railroad track that she remembers from a time long ago with her father. Her mind returning to that earlier time brings a Friends meeting house, dancing slippers and sturdy walking shoes, and her father’s body hanging by a noose from a tree.
Chapter one begins two hours later with Sheriff Lily Ross responding to a telegram from the deputy stationmaster for the B&R Railroad line saying that someone had fallen from the top of the tunnel onto the train. Is this an accident or foul play?
Area ghost stories of long ago mingle into the present as Lily enlists help her solve the mystery from Hildy Cooper, her best friend and the jail mistress, and Marvena Whitcomb, who needs to get some gumption to stand up to an abusive husband. In the background, the sheriff’s election is coming up with Lily losing campaign time as she works the case without knowing if she can win the spot on her own since she was appointed to fill her deceased husband’s place.
The answer to the mystery will take all three women, a trip into an insane asylum where suspicions things are happening, and a look into the past. Part ghost story, part Appalachian tale, and part mystery, this is a good book for a rainy day and an easy chair.

I am so glad I read this book. It is the second book in the series and if you havent read the first book, but it now because this is one series I highly recommend that you read in order so you dont miss a thing. This book is well written and the characters are well develooed. The mystery fits so well. I really enjoyed this book.

Last year I read and reviewed this author's first book, The Widows.  I thought it was a fantastic book, one that seemed very much the work of a seasoned author.  I was very, very excited to receive this second novel in the series from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press; thank you!! I adored this book although I do acknowledge that it covers some very difficult topics. 


The plot has much to do with events that happened in this small, mountain, Ohio community during the Civil War.  Those occurrences have haunted lives and are re-awakened in the present.  The past and present intertwine as, during both time periods, there were many strains, struggles and injustices centered on race and discrimination.  Kudos to the author for making the time period vivid and memorable, if not easy.  Readers will learn something about the WKKK, an organization that I wish had never existed and about women who could be placed in asylums by the men in their lives.  Mysteries will be solved but not in a merry, we can all be happy sort of way.


The characters are so well portrayed.  They are complex, struggling, some honorable, some not.  The main protagonist, Lily, a female sheriff,  is beautifully brought to life as are her close friends Marvena and a struggling Hildy.  I was so happy to meet up with them again. 


This new novel can be read as a standalone.  However, you may be so caught up in the lives of these people and their time, that you will read both novels in some order.


I give this book five stars, something that I do not do lightly or often.  If you enjoy this one, I would also highly recommend that you read the books by Julia Keller.

The Hollows is the second installment in Jess Montgomery's Kinship Series. This story is based on true events regarding a 1920's female sheriff in Ohio. While I'm not a big historical fiction reader, I really enjoyed this story. I loved the witty, strong heroine and the detail the author used to describe her. A solid mystery is woven through this book, leading many twists and turns in the plot. Overall, I definitely recommend this one.

I read Ms. Montgomery’s previous book, The Widows, which I loved and have been anxiously waiting for this one to be published. Sometimes the sequels don’t live up to the first one, but I will gladly say this one kept the story of Lily and Marvena going and absolutely nailed a great storyline. I’m not sure that you would need to read the first one of the series, because I think this can stand on its own, but you would certainly be missing out on another great book with foresight into the characters. Knowing their history made this one all the better.
The research done on the underground railroad and the WKKK was excellent, the entire storyline was believable and well told. I can’t imagine how stressful it would be in a rural community to be a woman sheriff, Lily has quite the personality and tenacity that is needed. I liked her in the Widows and I think I like her even more in the Hollows. I highly recommend.
I was given an advance copy from St. Martin’s Press through Net Galley for my honest review, this one gets 5 stars… Well worth the read.

The second in the series and this is one of those series that I completely recommend starting at the beginning as you will lose out on some of the character development if you skip ahead.

This book takes on a different social justice issue of the first one, it deals with racial injustices and the struggle of integration. In the same small mining town as the first book, there is a murder and there could be racial biases towards the murder and other things going on in the town. At the same time Lily Ross their female sheriff is dealing with an impending election and wondering if she still has the support of her town to be the sheriff.

I liked this book, but didn't love it as much as book one. For me this one didn't read as smoothly and the plot wasn't as interesting as the first book. I think I just enjoyed learning about the politics behind starting a union and how that affects a town. With less of a focus on the mining in this book, I missed reading about what made this town function.

I would still read another book set in this town as I did fall in love with Lily Ross and the ladies that surrounded her in this book and I love that she shares the narration with another character in each book, but I hope that I enjoy the focus of the next book more than this one.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I did not realize that there was an active women's group involved with the KKK. So much has been written about the men involved. Nor did I realized that this is the second book in a series. I want t go back and read the first.. Author's writing is good, kept me reading into the night.

A nice Southern Gothic mystery, complete with plenty of family secrets, traumatic histories, and abuse. I enjoyed this quite a bit, and found that the details--the cost of groceries, the descriptions of buildings--really added to the flavor of the story. Although this is the second in a series, readers are fully filled-in on previous events, relationships, and important information.

This was such a good mystery following our 1920's female sheriff trying to solve a ghostly crime in the Appalachian hills! This book is well written and kept me entertained throughout.

My thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in January 2020.

Thank you for giving me this advanced readers copy of this book in exchange for my honest and real opinion, this was a great book buy a new author for me. It was very well written, had a great storyline and great characters. The book was very easy to follow along with and once I started reading it I didn’t want to put it down. I highly recommend this book in this author to anybody if you’d like to enjoy a great read and I hope I am given the opportunity to read more by this author thank you very much

This was a good fast paced historical drama with believable twists and turns and characters . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

I received a complimentary copy of The Hollows from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a fantastic follow-up novel! I love Sheriff Lily and all of the other flawed, yet well-developed, characters surrounding her. Beginning with a mystery to solve and some deception, the multi-dimensional plot did not disappoint. With each chapter--especially towards the end when a twist or two were revealed--made it increasingly more difficult to put this novel down, so much so that I found I HAD TO finish the last chapters in one sitting this evening...from 28 through 34 and the epilogue. (Amazing even as a stand alone, I realized just a chapter or so in that I had also read The Widows, which is actually not a prerequisite, but also a good read with some helpful background.) I do look forward to any more installments in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Hollows is the second book of the Kinship Historical Mystery Series, following The Widows. Jess Montgomery bases her storyline on actual 1920’s events of Ohio’s first female sheriff.
The widow Lily Ross is very good at her job as sheriff, but it seems she must devote more energy defending the fact that she’s female than she does just trying to keep her responsibilities in order. The election is coming up, too, which is already causing some backstabbing and mumbling among the town’s inhabitants.
Late one September evening Lily is called to a remote area of her district known as Moonvale Tunnel where the train has hit a person. The frail lifeless body of an elderly woman, no shoes, just wearing a nightgown, is found in the brambles along the tracks. Lily must determine if this was an accident, suicide or murder, who this stranger is and how did she get here.
Working almost around the clock, Lily uses the help of her deputy sheriffs Hildy and Marvena to chase the various leads.
According to Sadie, the local moonshiners’ bloodhound, the elderly woman took quite a meandering path to her death. She originated at the Hollows, an asylum that doesn’t seem to want to answer questions, then stopped by a vacant family farm where it appears a meeting of the women’s KKK had just transpired. The more these three investigators uncover, the more threatened is the safety of some of the town’s residents. It’s a very tangled web that Lily must unravel.
Montgomery writes with beautiful lyrics that bring the country, the wildlife, the people and their meager sustenance to vivid life. This is a truly enjoyable and captivating read.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for making it available.)

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I really enjoyed it. My only suggestion would be perhaps to include a cast of characters list in the beginning of the book. There are many to keep straight, and there were a few times I wished I had a list to reference. Below is the review I have already posted to Goodreads and will post to Amazon after publication.

Jess Montgomery has created another winner. The Hollows is the second book in a series that follows a female sheriff in small-town, post WWI Ohio. And just like in the series' first book, The Widows, Montgomery has treated us with a fantastic cast of characters; a complex, multi-layered mystery; a wonderful sense of place and time; and a fascinating history lesson.

Lily Ross became sheriff of the fictional Bronwyn County during The Widows, and as The Hollows opens, we learn she is running for re-election. As the election draws close, a woman is found dead - possibly thrown from a train tunnel, possibly an accidental fall. Lily must solve this mystery - all while continuing her campaign for re-election, being a mother to her two small children and being a friend to some people who are very important to her.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, the characters. These are women I can get behind. They are strong but do not destroy the sense of time. It is not obvious they are written by a 21st Century woman. They are as strong as women have always been, but they have early 20th Century struggles with 20th Century society. Marvena was a main character in The Widows and has a more supporting role in The Hollows. I absolutely adored her and wished for more of her. But her role makes sense, and having more Marvena wouldn't have really added to the plot. As far as other characters, we met many in The Widows. I definitely would recommend reading these books in order, or you'll be lost.

Speaking of characters, I feel like the setting of this book doubles as a character. The town of Rossville, Bronwyn County, the hills of Ohio are more than just realistic places. They add to explaining the characters and their mindsets - the differences between an old mining town, the industrial town, the big city of Cincinnati. Where each character comes from is made so real, it helps explain many thought processes.

The second reason I really enjoyed this book is the multi-layered aspect to the mystery surrounding the dead woman. This is far more complex than a "whodunnit." During our journey to discover who killed Thea - or whether it was an accident - we learn about race relations, the Underground Railroad, the Women's KKK, treatment of women in the 19th and 20th Centuries, asylums and more. I read historical fiction to learn what it might have been like to live through different times. And The Hollows expertly drops the reader into the middle of the 1920s. All the while, the struggles and clashes between different view points are still quite topical.

I will admit the first quarter of this book dragged for me. I am not a fan of the romance genre, and I really didn't care much about who Hildy (Lily's best friend) ended up with. I felt this aspect of the book was a bit drawn out, but fans of the romance genre surely will enjoy it. The first quarter of the book was spent mainly explaining Hildy's love problems. And that she felt left out a lot.

But, after the first quarter, the book really picked up in pace, and I had trouble putting it down. I wanted to know so much more about Thea. She was absolutely fascinating and someone I really would have enjoyed knowing. I also was kept guessing about the details surrounding her death. And when we learn what happened, it is realistic and shocking.

There is plenty of "telling instead of showing" throughout this book. We are told how the characters are feeling all the time. I didn't mind. The characters suddenly realize how exhausted they are quite frequently. I got a little impatient with a character carrying on and realizing all of a sudden they haven't slept in days. But, that didn't bother me much in the end. The rest of the book is so good, it softens some less-than-stellar editing. This book is definitely worth the time to read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, a good mystery, interesting characters and simply being very entertained.

I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this book started out a bit slow and I had some trouble following it. However not quite halfway through it suddenly got better. It had some interesting history weaved in the story. I liked the spunkiness of Lilly and the determination of the other characters. I ended up really liking the story much more than I expected. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

It’s 1926 and Sheriff Lily Ross won’t put up with the foolish stories about a ghostly woman in white walking the train tracks in the hills of Appalachia. The story about an old woman being struck and killed by a train and then coming back as a haint is pure balderdash. No one has been reported missing in the small town of Moonvale Hollow, so the story is obviously fiction. But when the ghost stories and sightings continue to occur, Lily digs deeper to try to i.d. the mystery woman. Her search takes her to The Hollows and asylum where Lily uncovers unsavory truths about a place that was supposed to care for the most vulnerable in society, but instead has become something twisted and malevolent.