I came into this book without any familiarity with the first book in the series. It wasn’t really necessary. Even Shona’s injury is eventually explained. The story was timely in it’s examination of England’s flirt with facism. Unbenownst to many people all over the world, the US was not the only country with this issue. The characters are truly unpleasant to deal with. But our defiant journalist is not letting that get in the way. She’s witnesses the suicide of a naked, weirdly tattooed man at the wedding of a friend and knows there must be more behind it. The Hollow Tree uses its setting and atmosphere of intrigue, shadows, and pure hedonism, to lead the reader smoothly through this strange world. One that could very well be more true than people would like to think.