The author combines the darkness of the human psyche, folk horror, and survival with unforgiving conditions, making this read not only scary but thrilling. This book has a gradual build-up with extensive character development. I appreciated the strength, resolve and intentions behind the strong female protagonists. There were numerous occasions when I had to take a break for I wasn't ready for the outcome. I was on the edge of my seat throughout, and Daniel did a fantastic job creating an unsettling environment. The historic background added such a refreshing take on the narrative, and I loved it. I could never predict the haunting yet lingering ending—a 5-star read. I would recommend this book if you love horror and folk-based stories.

The Hollows opens in a snowy small town, where one of the members of the local criminal family finds himself dead in the midst of a terrible storm. When the local police find him, what at first glance seems like a drunken mishap makes little sense when the clues start adding up.

Of course, right when the local authorities realize that this wasn't just an unfortunate accident, the town is completely isolated by a severe snowstorm. And nothing is what it seems, with some of the townsfolk panicking that this killing signifies the start of an ancient evil entity that has promised to attack. Not only that, but the family of the dead miscreant seems to want to be the only survivors left at the end of the storm. Right here, I will deliver some content warnings: (view spoiler)there is discussion of rape and incest, and there is gore and harm (as you'd expect with a horror novel, really), but also bodily harm and death of children and animals. Also, there is use of the "R" word.

The atmosphere is certainly on point in this novel, as you can feel the bitterness and desperation of the characters. They have no way to contact the outside world for help, and no idea how they are going to make it through the storm. I will say, at times, it felt a bit repetitive, and that would really be my only complaint with the story. Overall, I was very invested in the fate of the town, and definitely curious to find out how the story would wrap up.

Bottom Line: Very atmospheric and full of high stakes, this snowy horror tale definitely kept me turning the pages.

The Hollows
Author: Daniel Church
Publisher: Angry Robot
Release date: 8th November 2022

Barsall Village, Peak District.
It's full on winter, the peaks covered in snow, not much light around during the day and the weather biting cold.
Ellie - a cop in her forties - is on duty when two teenagers call in a dead body half buried under the snow, wrapped around a tree.
The deceased is Tony Harper, a well known local troublemaker but the best of a bad lot when it comes to the Harper family.
The whole clan live at Barrowman Farm and with its decay, stains and vile smells, it's a great metaphor for the corruption within most of that family. For Brits reading this, it like meeting a clan far worse than the Dingles and without their sense of humour.

As for Liz Harper, the matriarch who rules with an iron fist and a shotgun, she'd grown up on her Nan’s stories. Stories of them ...
There's a lot of great characters in the book, and it's good - storywise - to see genuinely vile people like Paul Harper as well as the quiet ones like Jess, the cheerful like Milly - the doc - and her partner Noel, the Caddicks, Ernie and Ellie, who has her own demons buried deep.
Perhaps two of the most interesting characters here are Jess and Liz Harper. Jess, trying to raise a baby in a crap world and Liz, who holds many of the secrets of what they are all facing. She's a nasty piece of work but bloody well written and whilst we don't like her, we can see her motivation for the things she does.
I like that event the so-called 'good' amongst the town are flawed, making them real. Certainly Ellie, who I possibly felt closer to, is far from perfect but very relatable.
There's some great gallows humour over the body at the start, that I have no doubt is a reality of life working in or around the police force, and the procedures also feel realistic.
But most importantly - we have creatures. This aspect of the novel shoots the scare factor through the roof. They are incredibly creepy and deftly written by Church. This is a mixture of horror genres and from we start to where we finish, the reader has undertaken a vast emotional journey along with the characters.
This is essentially a mix of gritty Derbyshire life, human drama and straight out mythical horror.
We also have lots of existential religious crisis dialogue going on and at its heart, a mystery. What are the creatures? Why Barsall? Why now?
With the cold wintry setting, the dark rolling in and the dread, this is perfect Snowbound horror that reminds in parts of The Thing whilst retaining the folk horror roots of stories like The Wicker Man or Midsommar.
The Hollows is prime material to be adapted into a film or limited series and I want more of this; the blood, the trauma, the emotional rollercoaster and the danger.
Terrific stuff.

THE HOLLOWS is the kind of book that leaves a lasting impression - one that will make you extremely uncomfortable and looking over your shoulder when snow falls (I have never been so glad to live in Central Florida!) and heaven forbid the power go out....let's just say the author did too good a job with the setting in this one.

This debut novel by Daniel Church gave me chills - the suspense was practically intolerable, yet kept me up late into the night reading and reading - questions were raised, wanting to uncover answers and then the mounting dread of what the heck was going on in this small village in the Peak District.

The village of Barsall was battening down, preparing for a big snowstorm that was sure to cut them off from the outside world for an unspecified amount of time. No big deal, the folks had seen the like before and would again. When a couple of teenagers come across a body in the snow - no one was surprised, because it happened every year, tourists and locals alike inevitably failed to take proper precautions. In this case, it was Tony Harper, known to frequent bars, so it's assumed he got drunk and passed out in the snow. Except that's not what really happened....and while it was the first death, it was only the beginning.

Daniel Church excelled at writing an intense tale of suspense. The revelation of who or what is behind the ritualistic killings freaked me OUT. I promise you all - you're not going to find me going anywhere anytime soon that even has a chance at snow and thinking of losing power at night makes my heart skip a beat. I love it when an author can take something normal and mundane and just twist it into a nightmare.

Let's talk characters - Church introduced me to the villagers and gave me a feel for them. I knew them by name, their occupations, which of the three Churches they attended - even those to steer clear of because they were on the wrong side of the tracks. It made me invested in them, so when the pewp began to hit the fan, I was stressing OUT and ohhhhh, how I cried. (If you know me and you read this book, you'll know EXACTLY who/when caused the waterworks to start) I really appreciated that the characters' were tested during the extreme moments - those with no faith wondered if perhaps they were wrong to question the existence of God, while those who'd always been devout wondered at the absence of God, why they didn't feel His presence. This felt so realistic to me and I found it just really leaned in to the core of what was at stake here. I've always been fascinated with religion, what makes people believe they way they do - so I was just eating it up when Daniel Church wrote these sections. Religion and lore also play another role in the plot that I really enjoyed.

Some of my favorite horror stories are derived from religious events or beliefs and I'll be adding this one to that list.

If you're a horror fan, you're going to want to pick this one up. Especially if you like your book settings to match the season - there's not a more perfect winter horror than this one!

Just...maybe don't read it at night...

I did request and receive an ARC from the publisher for review consideration.

A great folk horror, packed with thrilling, bloody action and cosmic horror overtones!

A small town, cut off from the world by snow ❄. A body found - a man frozen to death, with a knife in his hand. Above him, a mysterious sign made with charcoal.

When Ellie, 1 of the town’s 2 police officers, starts investigating, she comes across more and more mind-boggling mysteries and clashes with the town’s small, but notorious crime family. The dead man was one of them… and they seem to know what led to his demise and who coldly sat by him and watched him freeze to death.

Yet, they’re not talking; it’s clear they don’t want the police digging - but they’re also afraid. Very afraid. 💀

The book starts with the discovery of the body & while Ellie investigates, we’re introduced to several members of the community. And whilst in the 1st part there’s a little bit too much of characters’ backstories info, the action is fast-paced, the suspense is great, and the 2nd part more than makes up for it! The second part of the book literally had me on my seat’s edge, impatiently turning the pages to see what happens next. 😱

Despite the fact that it’s action packed, there’s also a fantastically creepy mood kept up throughout the entire book, and the horror element is very strong. There are well-built, distinctive characters that u root for – Ellie herself, Milly – her GP friend, Madeline - the dog-loving vicar with an interest in comparative religion, & many others.

And, of course, there’s the horrendous Harper family, who u will hate with all your guts; the second part of the story roots their seemingly random evil in a very interesting context.

Whilst in the beginning of the book I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it, about 1/3 into it I was hooked and flew to the end. It’s such a cool read!!! ☠

If u like cosmic horror, folk horror, but also antiquarian horror in the style of M. R. James 📚👻, u will love this one!

I just finished The Hollows by Daniel Church and here are my thoughts….

In a semi isolated village in the Peak District in England.. Snow, the likes that this small town never sees, isn't the only odd occurrence Ellie Cheetham finds a body. Looks like a tragic accident but was it?

The dead man is holding a knife and his position suggests he was hiding from someone but who? Who left the mark drawn on the stone next to his body and what does it mean?

When people start to disappear right out of their homes and the only trace is smashed in windows and doors…. Someone or something is killing and taking people under the cover of darkness.

The storm is relentless and the village is now without power, phone lines and cut off from the outside world. Can who’s left make it through the night? Can one family's bible explain what is happening and help them survive the longest night of the year?

This book was well thought out and researched which was just the very start to this brilliantly written novel. I actually didn’t have any expectations of this book as I felt the synopsis was cleverly vague but intriguing enough that I was happy to sit down and get stuck in. It started a little slow but it was again, a clever tactic of the author to gently introduce you to what will become a book full of mystery, intrigue and a little horror with a dash of carnage. I enjoy books that straddle genres and this one I would call a paranormal mystery.

So cleverly done and I wanted to know more about what was going bump in the night and sometimes, I find books like this don’t offer up explanations of what the what was but this one didn’t do that and that excited me no end!

Loved the location and the plot. Was well worth the read.

4.5 stars! If you love some paranormal in your mystery books then grab this one today! Happy publishing day!

Thank you to #netgalley and #angryrobots for my digital and paperback copies in exchange for my honest review.

In The Hollows, a village and surrounding area in the Peak District is beset by the worst winter in years and something far fouler as the body of one of the local trouble making family, the Harpers, is found dead alongside a curious symbol.

Church writes the tale elegantly and captivatingly as the horrors falling upon the people of the town grow. PC Ellie Cheetam finds herself in the maelstrom as a former police officer in the city winding down and living out what’s left of her service only to find herself leading the people against evil she cannot fathom having thought the Harpers were as bad as things could get in her part of the world.

The author plays upon the dread winters of the remote parts of the UK to bring us a cracking horror for the ages.

The Hollows by Daniel Church is a recommended folk horror novel.

In the Peak District an intense snow storm is about to hit when Constable Ellie Cheetham responds to a call about a body being found. It appears the man froze to death, but there are clues that point to his death being something else and that he his death was watched. Then the storm hits the village and the next victims are two families on the outskirts of town. Ellie soon realizes that something is killing people under the cover of darkness and the storm, and what ever it is, it is moving in closer to the village.

The writing is good, but the novel is over-written. After a strong, riveting start full of suspense and trepidation, the narrative then began to drag on a bit, drawing the story out longer than was perhaps a prudent choice. It would have benefited the overall plot to tighten up the writing and keep the focus on the action. However, many readers will be able to push past this as the ancient creatures are creepy, their actions are frightening, and the battle between good and evil is fought on several different levels.

There perhaps should be a language warning for a portion of the prospective readers. Some will be able to simple put it in context and read on, but there is a lot of usage of certain objectionable words that others may find unpleasant. The length slowed the pace down a bit too much for me. 3.5 rounded down
Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Angry Robot via NetGalley.
The review will be published on Barnes & Noble, Google Books, Edelweiss, and Amazon.

Is it cold out? Settle in with a terrific whodunnit in a stark, icy setting with Daniel Church's thriller, "The Hollows." If you are a fan of folk horror like me, you will want to dived into this one. The female protagonists are awesome, and the creepy backwoods family made my hair stand on end. I don't want to spoil the fun, so I'll stop here.

The countryside we love in the UK to think as quiet and sedate, but you do when you visit realise how cut-off from the world you can be. Sherlock Holmes was written to have said ‘that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside’. But the countryside is not thanks to its nature safe; farming has accidents; the weather can quickly turn as many a hiker has found to their costs and of course there are all the old myths and traditions lurking in plain or not so plain sight. In Juliet E McKenna’s excellent Green Man series, we are regularly shown a countryside modern; tough and filled with the real monsters everyone else in our comfy cities forgot. Now Daniel Church adds to that with the excellent The Hollows which provides one of the stand-out horror novels of the year for me with a small Peak District Village facing annihilation by monsters on the longest nights of the year.

Barsall Village has less than a thousand residents. Most of the time the biggest excitement is a row about planning permission or the endless deed of the notorious Harper family in live separated farm stead. It’s a decent quiet community and for Ellie who has left the busy life of Manchester it’s a life she needs after the unexpected death of her son and break-up of her marriage. She just takes it a day at a time. But on the 19th of December they find the frozen body of Tony Harper – probably the only one most people liked. A strange symbol is found next to his body; beyond signs he was being chased there are no signs he was killed but that someone watched him die. Ellie and her colleague start investigations but are unaware this event has triggered events underneath the Village. The Tatterskins are awakened; and they need to hunt. Over the coming nights death will sweep this village and Ellie will find herself and the remining survivors just trying to survive hour by hour.

This is one of the best paced stories I’ve read this year and always changing. It starts pretty much a police procedural (the kind you would expect on a Sunday evening). Church builds up characters sharply and swiftly focusing Ellie our key character who is pragmatic, decent but very much seeking a quiet life. Her best friend Milly the local sweary village Doctor with whom a sense of humour is shared and Tom Elie’s boss who seeks a quiet life before retirement; we get landlords caring for their sick wife, vicars trying to keep the community happy or studying local history. Very swiftly though Church plunges his village into a horrific nightmare. The village is taken by surprise as you’d expect. No-one actually expects monsters to be real. But in this story, we get Tatterskins and oh these poor souls have very little chance.

The Tatterksins are where Church very nimbly transits this tale into cosmic and survival horror. I won’t tell you much about them as I want you exposed to them unawares. They are many, they are smart, they are deadly and only come out at night. Their first appearance properly in spinechilling terrifying stuff and they have no mercy. I absolutely am impressed how Church just switches the story into pure horror and from that moment on you and the surviving members of the village will view sunset when it is mentioned with trepidation. They’re inhuman and also have a goal in mind.

Church provides a gritty feel for the rest of the book. When Tatterskins attack at first its luck more than anything that keeps some alive and then we have people walking through ruins of convenience stores, surgeries and churches trying to survive. Ellie Millie and also the local historian/vicar Madeline all have to work together to try and explain what happens. The latter half of the book is characters coming together, putting everything on the line and just trying to do good. I loved the sense of fatalistic camaraderie that develops with the villagers and of course we remember that guns are often part of village life. We get makeshift armies, last stands, and heart-stopping attempts to escape all thrown in and you care for everyone under Ellie’s protection and Church makes survival very random as is life when monsters lurk everywhere. The latter scenes plunge firmly into Cosmic Horror territory as we explore underneath this village; and we finally get to understand all the stakes that are at play. All delivered superbly!

Alongside the Tatterskins Church provides the generally loathsome Harper family. Your standard rural crime family who do whatever they like provided they can get away with it. But unusually they actually do know a bit more about what is going on and may hold the key to survival. Church provides a sly, evil, and magnetic matriarch named Liz who rules her family as a benign dictator and wants scores settled with Ellie. They’re a fantastic rogue element in the storyline and herald a gritty shotgun filled set of scenes later on in the book that really make the reader hold their breath.

Gentle Reader, I loved this book! Its use of transitions, genre-slicing and pacing make this a read I could not put down and it delivered all the peaks of the finest horror action film. You can imagine a John Carpenter soundtrack in the background as we look at snow covered with blood, burning fires and hear constant gunshots all alone in an isolated English village. Curl up in a comfy chair, devour this book and get worried about that noise at the window. I shall be watching out for more from Church in the meantime. Strongly recommended!

Promising start, draws you in quickly with the discovery of a body in a bleak winters day in the Peak District.
A mix mall town folk horror, and also a thriller. Monsters are well described and the story unfolds slowly but quite gripping in parts.
Some strong female characters with Ellie and Liz but also unfortunately some less remarkable, rememberable characters that roll into each other.
Overall, worth a read if you like the folk horror genre.
This book is long, a lot of religious aspects that were drawn out and which I did not enjoy.

2.5/5 stars - A creature horror novel set in a small mountain town during an isolating snow storm. The monsters were interesting and horror for sure. The "deep dwelling sleeping gods" were very much something out of a Lovecraft story. My sticking points on an otherwise interesting horror novel are: waaaaay too long, parts were dragging in the middle and repetitive boring things led me to skim many pages just to get past them; and there was ultimately a weird amount of Christian God stuff that had me wondering if I'd stumbled on Christian fiction of some kind. I mean I get the offsetting old world gods with contemporary religion, but some of the dialog and character narration were a little cloying the the God department for me. Also, what the heck was up with this terrible family that just, unbelievably, wouldn't die? Seemed to come from the exaggerated length rather than any necessary story component. But again, creatures were cool and the concepts of the things beneath the earth were super unnerving.

I will be thinking about this book for a while…
What a wild ride! I thoroughly enjoyed the depth of the folklore presented and how things were connected!
This book definitely gave me Stephen King/Dean Koontz vibes and I’ve already recommended it to several people!
I appreciated the “no one is safe” feeling in this day where it’s all too common for the main characters to always escape their fate.

This one checked all the spooky action horror boxes for me:
Quaint village cut off and isolated from the rest of the world by snowstorm – check!
Creepy happenings rooted in folklore – check!
Terrifying creatures – check!
Group of survivors with complicated pasts banding together to battle said terrifying creatures– check!
This is a great cold weather or travel book – once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.
Thanks to NetGalley and Angry Robot for the chance to read and review this book!

As immersive as it is creepy, The Hollows strikes the perfect balance of folk horror, mystery, and crime drama.

I loved this book! It’s atmospheric and slow-burn, bringing in not only typical horror tropes, but crime drama, mystery, and some Lovecraftian elements. The entire time you understand what’s going on, but what propels you further is why. The novel maintains a healthy tone throughout, with evocative descriptions of not only the monsters but the winter landscape.

The characters are interesting and well-developed - some you root for and others you hate. Ellie, the main character, is a cop with baggage. While this trope we’ve seen many times, the way Ellie’s backstory unfolds shows it to be one of those commonplace tragedies not related to her being a copy. Her grief and anger are more complex than revenge, and drive the actions she takes in the story.

In terms of the plot, I loved how this was both a folk horror - with very creepy monsters - as well as crime drama (with lots of action) between a family from the “wrong side of the tracks” and the rest of the townsfolk. At first, I wasn’t too keen on this outcast family being the human antagonists, as that felt a bit reductive, but as the story progresses the reason for this, like Ellie’s cop with a chip on her shoulder backstory, became more complex.

While the tension with the monsters was great, the interactions between Ellie and Liz were harrowing and I was on the edge of my seat. This tension was different than that of the monsters, but human vs human always scares me more than creatures. In truth, the monster scenes later in the novel could have been trimmed down a little bit, but I was never bored or skipped ahead.

The story also branches out a bit to follow different characters as the story progresses, so we get a broader range of perspectives and points of view. The novel strikes the right balance of making us care about the characters but not making them too real that when they die (as the body count in the story is stupendous) we are emotionally damaged. That’s not to say any character is safe, though! I also very much enjoyed the bonding of women in this novel, especially given it was written by a man.

The only parts I wasn’t super into were the religious discussions that popped up a few times, but that’s just a preference on my part.

Highly highly recommended if you love horror set in winter towns, a bit of crime drama, Lovecraftian elements, and good, old-fashioned, creepy monsters.

(Some content warnings on top of the usual stuff you’d expect to see in horror: child abuse/neglect (of an older teenager), mentions of sexual assault, children in peril, and dogs in peril. Nothing is particularly graphic or even shown - it’s more that you know it’s happening in the background.)

Yet another creature feature. A small village is cut off in Winter and now it begins. A body of one of the Harper clan is found frozen to death yards away from his home and what are the strange markings found near his body?? Only two police officers in this village which is cut off from the rest of the world. They hunt at night and no one is safe. The Harper clan knows what is coming and the barricades go up. A chilling read, well it is set in Winter in the Peak district. Whether it is folk lore or urban legend the reader has to decide. Did it get my heart racing no not even a flutter. The storyline was old hat and has been done before and better. You the reader can decide. For me this was a damp squib.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

Well that was fun.

It is December and in the Peak District town of Barsall the 700 residents (give or take) are cut off and about to face a horrendous winter storm. But it is not just the cold and snow threatening the folks who live in this isolated area. Something much more dangerous and terrifying has awoken, and it is hungry.

This is a proper knicker gripping, intensely atmospheric monster horror story with elements of folk lore. The characters are all fantastic, particularly the women. Honestly, the girl power in this book is off the scale. Of course there area few good men too but it is the ladies (and I use that term very loosely where some of the females are concerned) who take charge and do most of the arse kicking.

I bloody loved this book. It is ridiculously over the top and daft. But, monsters and mindless violence, what's not to love?

The Hollows opens like a traditional detective novel. In a quiet, lonely village, in the middle of winter, Constable Ellie Cheetham finds a body. A man, frozen to death.

Potentially perfectly ordinary... except there's a strange symbol scrawled on a ledge near where he died, and a lot more strangeness to come. She quizzes the locals, nearly gets into a fight with some, and then the strangeness - and the horror - escalates until Ellie and just about everyone in the village is running for their lives.

The author successfully creates an eerie atmosphere and the feeling of a small community that's been left to its own devices for too long. The antagonists (both human and other) are scary enough. I was keen to find out what would happen and who would survive.

The book's weakness is that it's very long (or feels it) and the action sequences can feel a bit overdone. For me personally (so maybe it's a personal issue) what matters to me re an action sequence is the outcome - how does it impact the plot? So when they go on a bit I can get a bit exhausted. As the book draws to a close, it feels like it's going to end several times but somehow there's always another disaster/monster/someone reappearing out of the blue with a gun. It's written well, just stretched out too much for my taste.

Categories: Small Town, Long Night, Monsters, Gods, Rituals, Strange Symbols, Large Casualties, Chaos, Disappearances, Snowstorm, Isolation

** This review contains minor spoilers. It seemed unavoidable to talk about the good and bad without certain things being said. **

The Premise: A large snowstorm is approaching a remote village where a vile family holds a secret knowledge. A body is found. By all appearances, the man died scared and watched. Constable Ellie Cheetham launches an investigation into the family that gets hot real fast. Just in time for the storm. That night, people go missing. It’s the beginning of something vastly destructive for all.

The Review: This is a difficult review to write. I hate giving any book a score below 3 out of 5, but I really did not enjoy this book at all. My verdict below reflects my experience coupled with the potential this novel has for others to enjoy it. I think there’s definitely a market for readers that will devour this story and enjoy every last drop. I just wasn’t part of that market (though I should have been, seeing as I usually like small town horrors). There were just too many choices made by the author I did not like. The language was very distracting. The characters all blended together, except for those at Wakeman Farm—I couldn’t stand them, but at least several of those names stood out on their own, like Liz and Jess. I also found the action sequences severely lacking in the monstrous violence that should have come from them. Had this book been cut down from 450 pages to 200, I think I could have enjoyed it a lot more. But everything is drawn out and takes too long.

Drawbacks: None of the characters made an impression. Ellie is the one with the most depth, but she still seemed like a one-dimensional heroine (despite her lightly touched upon backstory). // The family of Wakeman Farm are atrocious. I know that’s the point, but scenes focused on them made me cringe so much that I didn’t want to read them. I’ve known families like this and cannot stand them. And their foul language was too much. That’s saying something because I curse a lot. // The scenes in which the monsters are attacking people around the village and killing/taking them were surprisingly very, very weak. There was practically no violence “on screen” during these sequences. The author missed big opportunities by writing those attacks the way he did. // The book is too long, in general. The finale is far too drawn out, specifically. It felt like a hundred pages, and I was constantly distracted by other things that held my attention far better. Even with its action, I was relatively bored.

Highlights: The premise is not original, but it is a fun one. I really like small town horror stories. I like tales of isolation and terror coming together. // The monsters were cool, even though I thought their yellow rat teeth detracted from the visual I had in my mind when reading. The idea of large spider-like creatures is always frightening. // The big gods underground brought to mind Cabin in the Woods, which is a fantastic movie. I like the idea of having monstrous gods beneath our feet just waiting to wake and destroy us all. // Some of the visuals underground were haunting, especially the salt mines with human remains.

Verdict: 3

Tis the season for a horror and while i found The Hollows to be more thriller than horror it certainly provides enough jump to scare you to keep the lights on.
Full of strong female characters, a kick ass cop and a supporting cast that you will want on your apocalypse team. They were spunky, brave and engaging.
And the story was fantastic. Well thought out with a history to back it all up. All believable, so believable it may make you question the next strange happenings.
Grab this book and think twice about your reading location. Keep the lights on, the fire stoked and keep your doors and windows locked.