I keep reading the word creepy mentioned when this book comes up and I would disagree, Its the next level up from creepy!! the author wraps the reader in a blanket of claustrophobia and angst and just keeps you dangling there till the end

A good spin on the classic "trapped in a remote location" horror trope. Rather than a family or a small group of friends, this book explores what would happen if an entire town was attacked by monsters while cut off from the outside world.

The winter setting automatically gives the book a creepy atmosphere, with the snow preventing the characters from simply running away and forcing them to come up with innovative ways to respond to the monster threat. Thus, the book is filled with interesting twists and turns as the characters fight for survival.

I did think some of the characters needed a little more depth; there were several different POVs throughout the story, and that jumping around from character to character prevented some of the characters from being fully fleshed out. But the characters who could best be labeled the "main characters" were reasonably well developed, so this is just a minor issue for me.

The monsters were a fresh take (in my horror genre experience), which I always appreciate. There was a lot to learn about them, and since the characters knew very little, I was learning about the monsters right alongside them as the plot progressed. That kept my attention on the story even in the lulls between the action scenes.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It's bit rough in some areas, most notably the structure, but I think it succeeds as an action-oriented horror story.

Excellent folk horror / “base under siege” style story, focused on an isolated small community in the Peak District. Real Stephen king vibes to it in the earlier stages, reminiscent of Adam Neville later on, whilst keeping its own unique character.

Good central characters, with sufficient local baddies to give a human enemy as well as the more unnatural horrors. Great sense of jeopardy as well - characters drop thick and fast which is always good for building suspense for the main cohort!

One point - it’s labelled as horror / humor. I’d challenge the humour categorisation- it’s not without the odd amusing line but I nearly didn’t bother as horror / comedies can be touch and go. This is horror with the odd bit of dark levity to provide contrast.

What a phenomenal story. I've only read a handful of folk horror stories, but this one is by far my favorite. I initially felt overwhelmed by the length of the novel, but once I got about 15% through, I was sucked into the story. Looking back on it, I feel like the length and dialogue and character development was all very necessary. I loved the strong female characters. I loved how nasty and vile the Harper clan was; I think the author did such a great job with building every single character in this story. This was so intense; I had to take breaks because I was on the edge of my seat, and it made me anxious. It reminded me a lot of the folk horror I read from Adam Neville and "The Watchers" by A.M. Shine. I loved the old religious themes and history that ran through out the story and all the folklore of the town. This was an entertaining, bloody, wild ride and I loved it. I can't wait to purchase a physical copy in November!

This was fun! A wild ride for sure. I'm not sure if it's "for me" really but just objectively it's a really good time. Perfect for cold winter nights when you REALLY want to freak yourself out.

I requested an arc of The Hollows due to the gorgeous cover which already had me feeling isolated in a snow storm which is one of my favorite types of books to read.

This story is set in a remote snowy town where multiple murders occur during a once-in-a-lifetime storm… 

Someone is found dead but the facts don't add up as numerous off circumstances surround their death.



The next victims are two families from the outskirts of town. As the storm rises and the body count grows, and it becomes clear that the killer is using this storm to cover their tracks. If that doesn't sound scary enough, it gets worse and worse.

This book had very Stephen King "Storm of the Century" vibes and I was totally here for it as that is my favorite cozy horror/winter movie of all time. I will be re-reading this book when it starts to get cold again. I recommend this to literally anyone. 5/5 stars!

The Hollows by Daniel Church reminded me of a movie that could have been featured on Dialing for Dollars show (yes, this ages me!). The story is creepy and the author sets the stage for a spooky read and setting.

I liked the author's writing style and how he gave each character their faults and "demons" they had to work through.

I would recommend this book.

#TheHollows #NetGalley @angryrobotbooks

This book combines all the elements of a great horror story you could want. Monsters, lovecraftian elder gods, a main protagonist that you want to see win, and a family of spectacularly creepy rednecks that are every bit as frightening as the monsters. And it all takes place in a remote village during a devastating snowstorm.

The author does a fantastic job of providing us with well developed characters and a horrifying mix of folk horror and cosmic atrocities that will leave your jaw hanging in gory amazement.

This book took me completely by surprise and I didn't think I'd like it as much as I did. The need to read one more chapter continued well into the night until I had finished it with an awesome and action packed conclusion. I highly recommend it!

This was amazing! From the blurb I was expecting a murder mystery in a village isolated by a snowstorm, and that would have been great. But this was so much more! I wasn't prepared for the horror elements, they added such a menacing, scary touch. The characters were all well-drawn and believable. Non-stop tension, I couldn't put this down. Brilliant!

Daniel Church is a new name in the horror scene and, with luck, it's going to be a big name. He certainly deserves it.

This book is a thrill ride of a horror novel. It starts with the local cop, Ellie, checking into the discovery of a frozen corpse on a hillside on the outskirts of her village.

The dead man is Tony Harper, a local drunk and troublemaker from a particularly nasty family of criminals, responsible for the majority of crime in the village.

What Ellie doesn't know is that this is just the first of many. As the winter storm moves in to cut the village off from civilisation, creatures are rising from the barrows beneath the hills to wreak havoc and pave the way for something else.

Church manages to keep the action moving at a cracking pace throughout, with minor pauses to allow the reader a welcome breath or two of relief, before the stakes are raised once more and the action begins again at an even more frenetic pace.

I could easily see this being adapted into one hell of a movie. It's got everything you need, a cut off location under siege, human villains who are as nasty as the monsters, genuinely scary creatures ripping the townsfolk to shreds, enough tension to build a dozen suspension bridges and enough action to keep the most jaded fan excited.

It's all written in an easy, unpretentious style. The lead characters are well drawn, even if some of the supporting cast come across as rough sketches. There were a couple of times when I wondered about the decisions being made, but it's human nature not to get everything right first time, and this book is about a high pressure situation. Mistakes will be made.

This is high octane entertainment with a walloping side order of gruesome nastiness and sheer terror.

When it comes out in the shops, you need to buy it to experience it for yourself.

Where to begin…. Incredible characters, terrifying creatures, giant sleeping gods under the earth…. Add in winter snows, a murderous outcast family and you’ve got a story that can’t be put down.

I was so sad when I finally got to the end!! Can there be a prequel or sequel with the old gods?? Pleassseee!!

Seriously one of the best books I’ve read this year!! The only thing I would add would be a little map of the area in the beginning of the book. I just had a hard time picturing/referencing where all these townsites/places where in reference to each other.

Thank you to NetGalley, Daniel Church, and Angry Robot for a copy!!

Ps just loved loved loved the character of Ellie and that she winds up with a pup of her own 💕

The best way to describe the feel of this book, is to say it’s like sitting in a small dark room as the walls crowd in on you. It is purely un-put-downable from the first sentence to the last. The fact that this is a debut novel seems absolutely mind boggling to me, as it has none of the kinks I often see in early novels. The pacing is absolutely perfect, and keeps a nail biting friction and tension throughout while interspersing truly laugh out loud humor and soft moments for intermission on what would otherwise be a 400 page heart attack. The characters were so distinct and developed that I could even picture the way they spoke and their particular mannerisms. Even the descriptions of the “villains” made my skin crawl because I saw so much humanity in them. And then there’s the end, which was both satisfying and heavy, full of a raw kind of hope that only this book could cultivate. Truly an incredible work of fiction, and undoubtedly marks the beginning of an amazing new author’s career.

Thanks to Angry Robot for the ARC!

4.5 stars

Wow! This was a phenomenal book! Completely addicting. I love the snowed in/trapped horror trope, and this one just hit the spot. The Hollows is a good classic horror story with all the right elements and pacing. I can’t wait until I can own a physical copy of this!

A monster thriller with a hint of Fargo Season 2. A family keeps watch over Them who are sleeping under the earth. A village investigates a bizarre death where someone has frozen to death. For readers who love mythology and gods and monsters.

The Hollows was a super chilling horror story that had such a thrilling mystery that I couldn't put down. When a once in a lifetime snow storm approaches the small village of Peak District, a seemingly innocuous death turns out to be the start of a very long, cold night of thrills trying to figure out who the killer is. Super fun folk horror!

Folk horror meets ancient gods in a remote snowbound Peak District town where several murders take place… 

In a lonely village in the Peak District, during the onset of a once in a lifetime snow storm, Constable Ellie Cheetham finds a body. The man, a local ne'er do well, appears to have died in a tragic accident: he drank too much and froze to death. 

But the facts don't add up: the dead man is clutching a knife in one hand, and there's evidence he was hiding from someone. Someone who watched him die. Stranger still, an odd mark has been drawn onto a stone beside his body. 

The next victims are two families on the outskirts of town. As the storm rises and the body count grows, Ellie realises she has a terrifying problem on her hands: someone or some thing is killing indiscriminately, attacking in the darkness and using the storm for cover. 

The killer is circling ever closer to the village. The storm's getting worse... and the power's just gone out.
Really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and Angry Robot
I just reviewed The Hollows by Daniel Church. #TheHollows #NetGalley

Like hell. This book was so addictive, I just had to finish it. It surprised me when I was suddenly 45% of the way through - next thing I realise, I'm at 98%.

The suspense is there, built up through carefully-timed perspective cuts, the loss of named and main characters, sometimes in horrible ways (Kate Beck and the engine block comes to mind). While the war wages upstairs, the fight to stop it all continues downstairs - and both stories continually build on the suspense of the other until the final bang.

The characters are nice and believable, well-written with heart. The mains all have their quirks and faults, the mark of an author who thought about what they were doing. The setting is well-chosen, none of the actions seem forced... a great read, overall!

This one has all my favourite elements, legends of rural folk horror passed down the ages, the threat of Lovecraftian Old Gods, and unstoppable marauding inhuman monsters. Couple that with some well-drawn, believable and sympathetic characters, a sharp sense of location and a knack fro conveying atmosphere and you’ve got a really strong horror novel, the best I’ve read since Will McLean’s Apparition Phase.

Ellie is the main deputy for Barsall Village. So when she is called to the site of two teens who found a dead body she thinks nothing of it, but when she sees who it is she instantly think she knows the story. When Dr. Millie gets there however and Ellie find clues they don’t lead to where she thought they would. It only gets worse when she hast to do a death notice to his family. The Harper family is a menace to the village the brother Paul is a rapist, Frank is a jerk his girlfriend Cara is a b…. Liz is the pudgy mom and ring leader the only good ones is the sister Jess in the deceased man Tony. When she asked them about their whereabouts the night before they attack her. She gets away but a snowstorm is coming in so if she wants to arrest them she’s going to have to wait until the roads open up again, but before then she will have bigger problems. When the lights go down strange looking creatures wrapped in cloth or attacking the villagers insult to say they’re on her back burner would be pointless. She will make a plan to fight the creatures but before it’s over she’ll have to fight the Harpers as well. This book was so good it is a horror story that reads like a classic. Strange creatures no cell phone service and the only thing the creatures are scared of is light and in the middle of the night that isn’t easy to come by. This is a great book I truly enjoyed it and think Daniel church did a great job. If you love horror you’re going to love the hollows it’s always scary when an urban legend comes to life. I was given this book by Nat Gally and I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review but all opinions are definitely my own.

Thanks to Angry Robot and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review Daniel Church's 'The Hollows.'

This is a terrifically enjoyable mixture of English folk- horror, cosmic, and Lovecraftian horror. If you like Ramsay Campbell, especially, or James Brogden 'The Hollows' will really resonate with you.

Set in a depths-of-winter Derbyshire village and surrounds we're treated to the very early introduction of the aforementioned Lovecraftian monsters as a slightly fish-out-of-water policewoman investigates the death of a local troublemaker. It unfolds from there and we're introduced to a really great cast of main and supporting characters.

The horror and terror unfolds over just a few pre-Christmas days as an ancient horror begins to seep out of the earth to wreak its periodic havoc on the inhabitants of the area.

Many of the village characters you'd expect to find are here - the bobby, the doctor, the clergy, the shopkeeper, the despicable businessman, and the outsider farmers - but they're all so well done and updated from the stock characters you might expect that it all feels very fresh even though it's a treading fairly well-worn path. It's really well-paced and I found myself ripping through it with glee.

I don't know how he would do it given the nature of this story but I'd love to encounter these characters again in a future novel from this author.

Well done to Daniel Churchman, I loved it.