Member Reviews

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was my first book by Mark Edwards. And boy, was I enthralled with it from the first chapter! This story totally gives off the creepy vibes that the cover has. We follow Tom and his daughter, Frankie, who are estranged most of the year due to her parents divorce. Tom decides to take Frankie on a vacation to Hollow Falls, which is a camp in the middle of the woods in Maine. I immediately liked Tom off the bat. Little do they know that Hollow Falls has a very dark history. The history of what happened at Hollow Falls is revealed to the reader early in the book. I found it hard to put this down, and found it to be a quick read. I will say, however, that things got a tad drawn out at about the 70% mark, but that's my only issue. I just liked the writing style, and the way the author made you feel like you were in Hollow Falls yourself. Vivid descriptions of the woods, the eerie characters throughout the book and it was just a fun read. 4 stars!

Was this review helpful?

I enjoy following Mark Edwards on social media as he’s very engaging and I love the lives and events he does. After attending a live about Hollows I was absolutely ecstatic to have been accepted to read it! (Thank you NetGalley and Amazon publishing).

Mark’s writing style is very easy to follow, it was a really nice read. Fast paced yet descriptive enough that you could set the scene and not confusing.

I liked the clever storyline. Love the idea of a holiday camp that isn’t as it seems. I liked the back story and the different creepy characters. Fox, Crow and Goat were very spooky add ons, that set the story really well.

The characters were good and relatable (well some of them haha) which made the story even more exciting as it ‘could have been you’ kind of thing.

Despite the eerie goings on, the Hollows sounded such a nice place, very peaceful and pretty. Mark really made you want to go even though it was a disaster for Tom and Frankie.

Highly recommended read and I can wait to check more of Mark’s work out.

Was this review helpful?

I really enjoyed Mark Edwards "The Hollows"

I didn't connect with it as much as some of his other novels, but it was still chilling in some places, and overall not a bad storyline.

I did like the cliffhanger at the end, oooooooh part 2 coming!?!
and also the mentioning of Lucy the Dark Angel from a previous book by the author!

Would recommend

Was this review helpful?

As always an eerie and chilling offering from this author.

After the breakdown of their marriage Tom’s wife returns to her native home of America taking their daughter, Frankie with her leaving Tom behind in England.

Once a year Tom makes the trip to America to spend two precious weeks with Frankie. This year he has booked a cabin in the area of Hollows Falls for them. On arrival Frankie is dismayed by how remote they are and the lack of WiFi.

Upon meeting the inhabitants of their next door cabin, David and Connie butler, Frankie seems more interested in spending time with the Butlers teenage son, Ryan leaving Tom to his own devices. During this time Tom discovers that Hollows Falls was the place of a horrific murder some 20 years ago of 2 teachers who were supervising a school trip. Their bodies were laid out and occult type symbols drawn around them. Since this time hollow falls has been a tourist attraction for the macabre and ghoul hunters much go the locals chagrin with many stories of the place being haunted.

Tom decides to delve more into hollows falls history but soon wishes he hadn’t!

I highly recommend this book particularly if you are looking to read a thriller that is abit different from the norm. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Did you love all those Friday the 13th movies? What about the Geico commercial with the kids and the guy with the chainsaw? If so, you will love this book! It takes place at a picturesque Maine resort (fancy campground) with a scary event in its past that people still talk about. It has even become a tourist attraction! Then, while Tom and his daughter Frankie are staying at Hollow Falls, spooky things start happening again. This is truly classic horror that stays just this side of feeling campy! Character development takes a back seat to the evolving story and setting, but that is what you expect in a story like this! A great summer read as long as you aren't out in the forest.

Was this review helpful?

I can always count on Mark Edwards giving me an entertaining fast read! The premise here is a twenty year old murder of two teachers, a local suspect who vanished possibly living in the woods, and a cult with members wearing animal masks. What?! Tom and his daughter Frankie arrive at Hollow Falls, a cabin resort in Maine without WiFi. They meet dark tourists, those who are obsessed with the unsolved case. There’s something creepy going on at the resort and with the locals. Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing UK for a gifted copy. This is my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Best to make sure you have nothing planned for the day, when you start this book as you won't be able to put it down!!

Totally hooked in from the start and read this chilling and creepy story in one sitting.

Tom takes his daughter Frankie away on their annual visit with each other, to a cabin in the woods and quickly learns that it's the site of a gruesome murder some years ago and attracts tourists obsessed with the crime that was never solved.

Such a tense book as strange things start to happen again and they have to decide to either leave or try to uncover the truth!

Was this review helpful?

I love Mark Edward’s books and this new one does not disappoint. It’s dark and very very twisted more so than some of his other books and has put me off cabins in the woods in America for the foreseeable. In this book we meet Tom and his daughter Frankie who are spending some quality time together over the summer in The Hollows camp ground. As they start to explore this remote site they find out that the site was the home of a terrible event some years ago and has a cult following of people who like to visit. As some scary and concerning events start to unfold this book takes a really dark twist which will leave your heart racing.

Was this review helpful?

Welcome to The Hollows, a new holiday park in deepest darkest Maine, well rainy at least. In my imagination, I picture an upmarket, less commercial significantly smaller set up Centre Parcs type woodland location that’s all nice and new…. but as Tom and Frankie discover, this ain’t Cumbria (other locations are available) and the locals aren’t quite the same as our friends from the North.

The Hollows is told by father and daughter Tom and Frankie on their annual holiday, spending quality time together when they spend most the year opposite sides of the Atlantic. Frankie is your typical teenager trying to be cool and Tom is trying his best to reconnect with his ever-maturing daughter. Intertwined with Tom and Frankie’s narrative is that of a teenager, one infatuated with an adult. Having read a number of Edwards’s books, I knew this voice was significant, the why and how was the question! How this voice fits with the deaths at Hollow Falls or in the modern day jigsaw intrigued me.

For me this is a classic Edwards read. It’s got his signature unnerving tension, the mind games and the crucial high impact ending. The nods Edwards inserted to his other novels made me smile as I went along – they lightly fractured the tension before I was plunged back in to the sinister goings on in what I imagined to be a picturesquely atmospheric woodland. The Hollows is definitely a creepy place and not one I’ll be visiting anytime soon. I need my holidays to be relaxing, not a holiday from hell!

Was this review helpful?

Tom's writing career is in tatters, he is divorced and his wife has taken his teenage daughter and moved to America. He is getting to spend a vacation with daughter Frankie and chooses a cabin in Maine. Knowing nothing about the history of 'The Hollows', he is hoping for a relaxing, peaceful break for the two of them...

This was one dark and atmospheric read! The setting is perfectly creepy and all the characters well drawn to add into the unsettled nature of the story.

Recommended if you are looking for a gripping thriller, just not if you are going to a cabin in the woods any time soon!

Was this review helpful?

Seriously creepy story of a camping trip from hell. Tom is a divorced father who is excited to take his daughter on a camping trip to a beautiful resort in the woods in Maine. They have a beautiful cabin with no WiFi or distractions, so they can spend quality time together. What Tom didn’t realize is the resort is home to a bizarre double murder that happened twenty years ago that week. As Tom meets the locals he finds out that many people come to the resort are crime buffs and want to learn more since the suspected killer disappeared into the woods and was never found. Excellent thriller that is seriously scary. Do not plan a camping trip anytime soon if you are planning on reading this book. Highly recommended!

Was this review helpful?

Totally gripping, I love the style of Mark Edwards books they keep you guessing all the way through, you think you know but then you turn a page a WHAM you’re shocked! Amazing read, highly recommend

Was this review helpful?

Mark Edwards is one of my favourite authors. I discovered him on Kindle Unlimited about a year ago and have been devouring his fast-paced, scary, page-turning books ever since. Sometimes I find writers in this genre can simply roll out the same tired stories every time, but each of Edward's novels is completely different from his others.

I was immediately drawn into this story, as is typical of Edward's books. I particularly loved the setting of the woods. It is set in Maine and I love that he threw in some Stephen King references throughout...especially Cujo the cat! It definitely gave some Friday the 13th/Sleepaway Camp vibes with the campgrounds setting.

The main characters are very likeable. They are modern, everyday people and make decisions that aren't completely stupid, unlike a lot of horror novels and movies. I actually felt like I would have done and said some of the things that Tom and Frankie did. I like that it wasn't just told from Tom's POV but we got Frankie's teenage viewpoint as well. It was clever to use the current world's obsession with true crime podcasts as part of the storyline and I really enjoyed the character's of Connie and David.

The murder mystery plot is an unusual one for sure but not so far-fetched that it could never happen. The local townspeople are a creepy bunch and it's hard to not suspect each and every one of them. I like having several characters to be suspicious of so you don't immediately assume whodunnit. Edward's novels are always full of twists and this was no exception.

If you are already a fan of his work then I will say you won't be disappointed, and if you are yet to read his work then The Hollows is a great place to start!

(Thank you to Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for the ARC; all thoughts are my own).

Was this review helpful?

WARNING…do not read this book if you are camping, or, considering camping soon. You have been warned.

“Don’t forget to leave a review on TripAdvisor!”

Tom, a failing music journalist travels to the US from England to spend some well-needed vacation time with his daughter, Frankie. His relationship with her mother deteriorated, they went through a divorce and she moved to Albany with their daughter. He only has one week a year with her and he books a vacation in Hollow Falls, a place with a history, a dark tourist hotspot, and an eventual new chapter in its horror story.

Frankie and Tom have a strained relationship mainly due to the distance and her raging teenage hormones. As the chapters fly by, their relationship gets closer right in front of the reader’s eye. It’s normal, an everyday relationship that is held back by decisions made by adults that don’t know everything. It’s not their usual holiday, but Tom thinks it’s worth a shot if only he did a quick google search before booking! They don’t know Hollow Falls grisly history and they are about to have it smack bang in their faces!

Hopefully, this won’t be the last vacation they have together.

This book creeped me out. The atmosphere was perfect. Take a walk through the woods, expect to hear the ominous tone of windchimes, the ability to get lost at the drop of a hat, and mysterious creatures with the faces of a fox, Goat, and a Crow. Oh, and why do things mysteriously disappear? The chill was a permanent feature descending my spine. A set of creepy twins, a ghost town by the name of Penance, and the suspense of what happening twenty years ago.

Hollow Falls was the scene of a brutal double murder twenty years ago. Two lovers were killed in the act, shall we say. The resort has attracted “dark tourists” and teamed with even creepier staff members, things are off from the get-go. Mark Edwards has taken me back with a distinct nod to 80’s horror – it feels very Camp Crystal Lake. He knows how to anchor the creepiness into a genuine horror story.

Edwards also injects the potential disaster that social media presents in this story. We have a scene where Frankie loses her phone and all data is wiped, her address noted, the school attended noted, everything…that aspect of the story is horrifying. Just how easy it would be for someone to find you if they wanted to. I flew through this story, it’s compulsive and it only takes Edwards a chapter or less to reel you in. The unease is there from the start, the characters become darker, and in the end, are the shadows ever safe?

The Hollows is dark and intricately twisted…so hard to put down that I’m sure it almost needed prising out of my hands. If you go down to the woods today, you’re in for a big surprise…

Was this review helpful?

Amazing!
Another home run by Mark Edwards.
This book has everything I enjoy.
Suspense, mystery, fear.
I couldn't stop reading once I started, I felt I needed to find out the mystery of hollow falls as much as the main character did and in the end I was not disappointed.

Was this review helpful?

Thanks to Netgalley and axon Publishing UK for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tom is a divorced dad from the UK who has come to the US to take his daughter on their annual vacation. They unknowingly find themselves at a wooded retreat that is the subject of much interest from true crime enthusiasts die to a murder that took place there several years back.

I had trouble with this book. I have liked the several other books I have read from this author and this one has great reviews from other readers but I never got into it and skimmed the end just to be done. Maybe I just have too much going on and haven't been able to get immersed in a book lately but I also think this one had too many characters to keep straight which is a pet peeves of mine and usually causes me not to enjoy a book. I will certainly r ad the next from this author due to past enjoyment.

Was this review helpful?

Oh the visuals with this one! Super creepy!! Very atmospheric and dark just like you would expect from Mark Edwards.
Tom is divorced and his wife and teen daughter have moved back to the States while he stays in England and tries to revive his flagging writing career. Every year, he gets to spend his vacation with his daughter and this year he’s rented them a cabin in Hollow Falls, Maine for some much needed rest off the grid. When they get there, they meet the family in the next cabin who happen to be “dark tourists” and have a true crime podcast. Despite his reservations they tell Tom the story of what happened in The Hollows back in 1999 and what brings people back there year after year. The nearest town is called Penance and it seems fitting for the history of what has happened here. The woods are super creepy and the fear of the things that go bump in the night grows as the story unfolds. There are strange kids in town, creepy wind chimes and staff members that don’t seem to want to reveal what they know. The underlying stress makes you want to scream at some points! This is going to make an epic summer camp movie someday!
Thanks to Netgalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

Was this review helpful?

Another great book from Mark Edwards.
Tom only sees his daughter Frankie once a year as her Mum moved to America with her.
He books a holiday in Maine in a cabin in the middle of the woods so he can spend some quality time with his daughter.
When Tom speaks to others that are staying there he realises a lot of people come here due to the murders that took place twenty years ago.
Tom knew nothing of this and is intrigued by the stories that are being told.
Frankie makes friends with Ryan and soon they’ve got themselves in trouble with the local teenagers.
Things start going missing from the cabins and a dead animal is found near their cabin with its throat slit, so Frankie and Ryan try to put things right.
Things start to escalate and the final few chapters definitely had me on the edge of my seat.
This is a gripping thriller that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Amazon Publishing UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Was this review helpful?

This was such an interesting read for me. I have read another of Mark Edwards books before so I had a rough idea of the writing style. I was not disappointed and really enjoyed this.

It was an interesting concept of people's choice of holiday due to the history or myth about the place. It was an intriguing book and I was gripped throughout and wanted to find out whether the myths about the hollow were true and if they were who was it.

Towards the end of the book there is a change in scenario and I was on the edge of my seat, it was such a good twist. I wasnt expecting that happened to happen.

Brilliant!

Was this review helpful?

With his marriage over and his career in freefall, journalist Tom decides to reconnect with his daughter, Frankie. Desperate to spend time together now that they live an ocean apart, he brings her to Hollow Falls, a cabin resort deep in the woods of Maine. From the outset there's something a little eerie about the place - strange whispers in trees, windchimes echoing through the forest - but when Tom meets true-crime podcasters, David and Connie, he receives a chilling warning. Hollow Falls has a gruesome history: twenty years ago this week, a double slaying shut down the resort. The crime was never solved.

This is a steady paced, tense and atmospheric read. A double murder had taken place around Hollow Falls twenty years ago. The plotline will have you guessing until the end. It's also quite creepy. There is certainly a mixed bag of characters and you'll quickly be suspecting every single one of them. The storyline held my attention throughout, never knowing what was coming next.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AmazonPublishingUK and the author #MarfkEdwards for my ARC of #TheHollows in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?