BOOK REVIEW
Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield

Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Pages: 287

Thank you to @mindbuckmediabookpub and @regal_house_publishing for the #gifted copy of the book.

Happy Pub Day to this book and debut author!

I love to support authors in my home state of North Carolina. I was so excited when I was asked if I would read and review this book. I enjoy spending time in the NC Mountains. Many of the places mentioned were known to me.

I was immersed in Hemlock Hollow within the first few pages of reading. Caroline is gifted the family cabin after her father passes away. She had not visited it in years, but had fond memories of the place and decided she was going to renovate it. Hemlock Hollow was an atmospheric read, taking readers back in time through the journal of Carson Quinn. The dual timeline flowed well throughout the story. I was vested in learning who murdered Thomas and the secrets Caroline was keeping from her childhood.

If you enjoy Historical fiction and mysteries, you will not want to miss this book!

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Carson Quinn. The name echoed across the chasm of time. All the way back from my childhood. Carson Quinn. I remembered. He was the murderer.
I have a yen for Appalachian fiction, maybe it’s all the trips to the mountains to visit my daughter and sister. I admit, it is also the beauty and promise of tranquility, but such places can harbor deep secrets, and just as much dark history as populated places. What Caroline McAlister knows about Carson Quinn is that he and his brother Thomas were in love with the same woman, Marinda, a love that ended in a murder in the 1800’s. Surprised to learn her father kept and left her the family cabin in North Carolina (a place of both fond and painful memories), Caroline is soon restoring it with a man named Micah and his crew. One day the attic coughs up a box from the past. Upon opening it, Caroline discovers photos of people who once lived on the mountainside and more, a journal made of high-quality leather that has stood up to the ravages of time. Stunned to learn it is the journal of Carson Quinn, a door is opened into a mystery. When she sees a wedding photo and recognizes the brooding, bearded man in the back row, it takes her back to a terrifying thirty-year-old memory. The summer she turned 12, a ghost sat at the foot of her bed at the cabin, that ghost was none other than the man in the photo, Carson Quinn.

The hollow that was once Carson’s sanctuary became Caroline’s enchanted realm a century later, a seemingly unchanged place where she escaped into her imagination, wandered and played. Now that she is older, and life has had its way with them all, memories of her brother, father and mother churn inside of her mind. It is also the place she received terrible news from her mother, and in the aftermath, they never returned, until now. The years between have been successful, striding through life, gaining tenure at a top university as an archaeoastronomy (look up the definition) professor , but the pursuit of her career cost her friends and with the failure of her marriage, her career took a hard hit. Now, in a sense, orphaned with both parents gone to the grave, she and her brother are leading separate lives. All that remains is the cabin and the ghosts.

The deeper she dives into Carson’s past, the more the boy and later, the man she gets to know leaves her questioning the person many came to revile. How could a man who was passionately curious about the world and all the people in it, nourished on the study of Latin, Arithmetics, Geography, History and Literature, who had his eye on the horizon, and adored Marinda so much that he taught her to read, end up committing fratricide? She is also overwhelmed by sorting through her own past, the remnants of her childhood like forgotten artifacts. Worse, the locals have a beef with Micah and his crew and don’t like Caroline’s presence. In order to learn more about the murder, she needs to speak to the locals, but rooting through memories of the past is an action the descendants don’t all welcome. Her prior academic research and book was for anthropologists before, now she wants something new and fresh. Nothing challenges her more than figuring out mysteries, and here in the hollow one is begging to be uncovered. Carson was an intellectual, just like her, and both have carried wounds made in this magical place.

How a love story turned to murder plagues her mind, but her own past will rise just like any haint. There are threats and tragedies everywhere, including the Duncans. Jesse Duncan is suffering PTSD from his time in the army, and his father Charles owns the land that is Caroline’s front yard, land that has been in his family for over two hundred years, land that he will not sell to her. To his family she is nothing more than a “passerby” despite the time she spent there in her childhood. Even what seems like the remotest place in the world can be home to trouble. Haunted by the past and present, will Caroline’s life remain in suspension?

This historical fiction is engaging, it has everything from ghosts to ancient early science and yet it is really about the things we refuse to address, about ourselves and those we love. It is about how being misunderstood can serve as salvation or your ruin. I find Carson, Marinda and Thomas’s tale deeply sad, more so in the choices made in the aftermath of a horrible incident. Caroline was at times a distant star, I would have liked to delve more into her marriage and career but Carson’s tale was a unique tale that kept me reading. A solid mountain fiction.

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

Mindbuck Media

Regal House Publishing

Very well written book. Ghosts, love, betrayal, murder and mystery all in one. Very enjoyable story reflecting on our need to belong - both to place and family.

Two stories and voices come through in this beautifully written book. It defies categorisation, being so much more than a mystery. This book will make you think about relationships, what is important and how loss can change you. A really unexpected book.

This debut novel has a little bit of something for everyone - mystery, history, ghosts, and even some romance.

Caroline inherited a cabin from her father. It is a cabin they visited many times when she was a child but had forgotten about it until many years later. It had become run down and invaded by vagrants, wildlife, and nature. Determined to bring the cabin back to its former glory (and maybe a little better), she hires Micah to restore the cabin and discovers the history of her family and those in this holler in the mountains. With the discovery of a journal, we are drawn into the past when ties were simpler. 

I really enjoy stories that are told with a dual timeline. This one covers the late 1800s with the story told by Carson Quinn and the present from Caroline's perspective. The story seamlessly switches between the two, and I was drawn into a different life by the Quinn family. US history is woven into the story with battles, illegal stills, and bartering for needed items. There are also detailed descriptions of various plants, trees, and animals, including Latin names for these things.

Not only was it a journey to discover her roots, but it was also one to find her true self and unmask what has been holding her back from having a successful relationship.

I had difficulty putting the book down and found myself reading it whenever I had a spare minute or two.

I look forward to seeing what this author writes next and give this book 5 paws up.

A ghost story, a mystery, and the tale of a woman coming to terms with her past. I enjoyed Hemlock Hollow immensely, and hope to see further novels by Culley Holderfield.

Sometimes the ghosts you’re looking for aren’t the ghosts you find. This is the case in Culley Holderfield’s novel, Hemlock Hollow. In Appalachian North Carolina, the story follows two timelines and two different, but similar, characters. During the present, Caroline is a university professor dealing with the recent death of her father and her divorce. In the cabin gifted to her in her father’s will, Caroline finds the journal of Carson Quinn, who was accused of murdering his older brother in the late 1800’s. With the ghost of her childhood haunting her and the mystery of the truth pushing her to follow a new project to preoccupy her mind, Caroline works to solve the murder of Thomas Quinn.

Throughout the book, Holderfield illustrates the importance of the physical setting in a story. The great detail of the wilderness and how it plays a role in each scene transports readers into the novel. The author paints a scene in the 1800’s and shows the similarities and differences of the same place in the 21st century. One can visualize the page as they read, and it brings the historical aspect of the story alive.

There’s a lot of the story that focuses on Carson’s journal; at times, I wanted the story to pull back to the present to give us more moments with Caroline. The journal guides readers as Quinn grows up, whereas very few scenes illustrate Caroline’s past. The story would have more parallels between the two main characters had the author included more flashbacks for Caroline as opposed to her detailing her life through exposition.

Holderfield does an excellent job at mixing the mystery and historical fiction genres, and I’m excited to see what he produces next.

A creepy mystery set in a natural background, perfect for Tana French fans.
Thanks for the digital review copy.

Professor Caroline McAlister, a skeptic her entire life, is still in shock after the deaths of her father and her spouse. Her formerly promising career has reached a dead end. Her childhood ghost comes with the family cabin when her father leaves it to her. She awakens Carson Quinn’s voice when she finds a century-old journal in the attic. The notebook illustrates Caroline’s childhood fascination with the hollow as well as Carson’s passion for it. A little investigation turns up stories that the good-natured, inquisitive young man in the notebook went on to kill his sibling. Caroline dives headfirst into the task of clearing Carson, only to find herself caught up in a personal past that she has spent her entire life trying to escape.

Hemlock Hollow explores how the places we love haunt us forever, as well as how they do the same for us. With his simple literary prose, Culley Holderfield eloquently captures the western woodlands and landscapes of North Carolina. His excellent writing skill spins a tale that will linger with you and have you coming back to this book’s pages time and time again. The author expertly mixes the past and present through two narrators, engrossing the reader with Caroline’s first step in her journey. Culley Holderfield has written a book that weaves together natural and human history to arrive at a more accurate impression of the south than any we read in newspapers. He does this with kindness to his characters and unwavering adherence to the complexity of southern life.

Mystery, spirits, drama, history, love, and connections abound in this book. It felt as though Carson and Caroline and I were standing there in the mountains, enjoying the cabin and Hemlock Hollow together. I enjoyed how everything was resolved in the end, but I wish I had given some of the other characters more attention! Nearly as much as I enjoyed going on the hunt with Caroline, I enjoyed learning about the flora and wildlife of the alpine wilderness. Hemlock Hollow’s magic is transmitted through the ages with such skill in writing that the setting takes on a life of its own. I heartily endorse this book!

Hemlock Hollow -

Caroline McAlister didn’t realize her father held onto the family cabin until he bequeathed it to her, and with it, the ghost who haunted her childhood. When she discovers a century-old journal in the attic, she awakens the voice of Carson Quinn.

So I really thought this was going to be more ghost story and less a voice from the past story, it was beautifully written and eloquent and a lovely story of how the past influences the future and a story of love and sacrifice but it was not the book I was expecting.

Therefore it dragged for me, I found it slow and I definitely skimmed over some pages in the second half trying to find the ghosts that never really did show up! However my experience with this book is definitely coloured by my expectations being different than what the book actually was..... There is lots of praise for Hemlock Hollow in other reviews so be sure to check those out!

I'm not usually a ghost/paranormal type, but this was a great read, It kept me engaged. It was creepy at the same time. I read this quickly as I wanted to just keep reading! Would recommend!

“Any place that’s been loved is forever haunted by those that loved it.”

After her father’s death, Caroline inherits the abandoned family cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. During the renovations, a journal belonging to Carson Quinn, a previous inhabitant of the place, is found. Back in 1900, Carson was suspected of killing his brother Thomas. Surprisingly the young man that Caroline gets to meet during her readings doesn’t seem the same person that would kill his brother. Moved by curiosity, Caroline decides to get to the bottom of the truth.

What a wonderful and immersive read. Culley Holderfield’s writing is beautifully done. It was like I was standing right there in the mountains with Carson and Caroline, sharing their love for Hemlock Hollow and the cabin. As a history buff, I especially loved all the Carson moments.

I give this book 4.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. This is an honest review, and all opinions are entirely mine.

I really want to love this book. The plot hooked me in but it moved so slowly for me. Honestly I started it and put it away and then restarted it. I enjoyed the characters and the story itself. The writing was good and the characters developed well in my mind. Unfortunately for me it just dragged so much I couldn’t finish it. Hopefully at some point I’ll give it another chance. Then I will revise my review.

A story of places that hold memories will always haunt us.

Caroline McAlister is a college professor who is off-kilter after the loss of her father and her marriage. Everything is at a standstill.

When she discovers that her father has left her the family cabin in the hollow, little does she know it comes with a ghost. The same one that haunted her childhood. When she discovers a very old journal in the attic, she finds it belonged to Carson Quinn. Accused of killing his brother, Caroline hears something different in the journal. He loved the hollow as Caroline did. And she sets out to clear his name. That doesn't go so well.

A tale of how the places we love still haunt us.

This one was a bit slow for me.

NetGalley/ Regal House Publishing December 06, 2022

At first I thought this was horror because of the cover, but quickly figured out it was more historical fiction. And mystery! The setting and characters come alive with Holderfield's prose. This is how historical fiction should be written. The story is complex and has depth. The characters are rich. Add all that together and this book is an instant classic.

The historical aspects were very intriguing, with interesting insights into life after the civil war and the emerging politics and changes to every day life. The characters felt three dimensional and engaging. The only thing that felt off was the presence of the ghost so early in the book - the rest of the book was interesting and I enjoyed reading it, but after the first chapter I thought I was in for more of a scary ride than what was delivered. The cover art also made me feel like I was in for more of a thriller or even horror than it ended up being. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it, but it wasn't what I thought it would be.

Great prose, but not really my kind of story.

Caroline finds the diary of a suspected murderer from the past, and as she reads it, she brings his voice and story to life.

I liked the idea behind the novel and the execution of that idea was impressive. The writing style was simple and effective and the overall flow of the story felt very smooth. I read this book in one sitting as I really wanted to get to the end to see how it was going to pan out.

I have removed this feedback from netgalley as well as any comments I may have made about your book.

Thank you NetGalley and Mindbuck Media for the copy of Hemlock Hollow. I’m afraid this book wasn’t for me. I think that the story was really about love and loss with the murder just another example of both and I was expecting more about the murder. It felt so long with so much information about Carson and his life that I got bogged down, especially when it didn’t feel relevant to the ultimate story. I really liked how things were wrapped up in the end and I wished I had paid more attention to some of the other characters! If you are looking for a leisurely read that is mostly past diary entries I think you would love this book