Many thanks to Angry Robot, the author, and NetGalley for my copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is about as Northern as they come, and good grief I love that. I've recommended this to one of my American friends in the full understanding that she won't have a clue as to what the characters are talking about half the time, and I'm OK with that.

In the dead of winter up in the Peak District, the sleepy little town of Barsall learns that one of the residents from Barrowman Farm has frozen to death just outside the border of his home. Found by a young couple while out on a walk, constable Ellie Cheetham and GP Milly Emmanuel assess the scene only to find strange markings beside the body - markings that end up spelling disaster for the entire village and beyond.

Let's start with the characters for a change, shall we? I'm sure I'm not alone in this, but I'm always wary when a man writes lead female characters. I wish that weren't the case - in reality, most of my closest friends are men, in fact - but generally when I crack open a book by a man, he will invariably be gross about the women he writes at some point.

Ladies, I am extremely happy to report that not only does Daniel Church not do this, he EXCELS in his characters. Every single character is fleshed out and interesting in their own right; Church takes the time to add in little things that make characters human, even if they aren't plot-significant characters: mannerisms, personalities, the way they smile, non-verbal reactions, etc. He's really, really good at it. Every major and minor character has their own voice, and with each POV change (for while Ellie is our main girl, many others get a chance in the spotlight too) the voice changes perceptably too.

Ellie has become one of my all time favourite characters. She's complex, far from perfect, and is just so... human. She's a police officer who takes her job of protecting people seriously, but she fantasises about ending the lives of the people who hurt her and vulnerable innocents (namely Keira). She drinks too much to blot out the ongoing pain caused by the sudden death of her child some years ago. She loves her friends, but refuses to entertain the thought of a romantic relationship again. She is kind to the abused teenager Jess when others are not. She cries over the death of her friend's dogs and even buries them for her, and she adopts the survivor. She's terrified of death, yet she also embraces the possibility of it when it counts.

I just... really enjoyed reading about her.

Liz Harper, the matriarch of Barrowman House and the clan, was amazing as well. Terrifying and cruel, yet you could see how and why she was the way she was. She's a victim of abuse herself from past generations, and instead of breaking the cycle and looking after her children as we know is best, she continues the abuse, taking out the worst of it on poor teen mum Jess, a victim of drug r*pe.

Jess. Wow, Jess. Her growth was beautifully written, and her eventual determination to end the generations of misery for the sake of her little boy was so inspiring. I was rooting for her SO hard, her and little baby Joel.

Writing-wise, Church writes well. Nothing fancy, no purple prose or anything poetic, but his writing isn't dry or boring, either. It draws you in quickly, and while I do think that the middle of the book could have been condensed some, it wasn't a slog to read. I'm actually really surprised this is his debut novel.

The creepy creatures unsettled me from the off, and I'm really glad that they were revealed so early rather than going with the typical choice of not knowing what the monsters look like until the end of the book. This was refreshing and, as we find out later, plot-necessary.

I was going to give this book 5/5 stars right until around 75% of the way through, roughly. The ending reveal was brilliant and exactly the kind of thing I love (self-proclaimed Cthulhu-worshiper and lover of all things Elder God-related here), and because of that I was expecting--and left wanting--so much more than I got. I think it's a me problem. While that ending was indeed chilling and foreboding, the desolation-loving weirdo in me wanted them to Wake Up. You know. No spoilers here, but... yeah.

I was also a little uncomfortable with the huge amount of Christianity in this book, but I think it's because I wasn't expecting it. I know little secluded villages are more likely to cling to their faith, but as an atheist born and raised it always makes me uncomfortable having so much religion shoved at me like that. I very much enjoy old religions from a historical and social point of view though, so the inclusion of old Pagan and Norse rituals was interesting, but I dunno. Having Milly the GP be so incredibly religious didn't seem very realistic either; I work with doctors for a living, and speaking from experience, they generally don't believe in God.

All in all I really liked The Hollows, and I'm so grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read it ahead of publication. I've put in my pre-order for the book now and look forward to seeing it in my bookcase in November!

In the little village of Barsal, a community must overcome an evil that will terrorize the village. It starts with the frozen body of a man. Then, two families are attacked.

Ellie Cheetham, the village’s constable, is in charge of investigating these attacks. As the day carries on, new clues are revealed, Cheetham realizes there is something evil attacking her village. She, along with other members of the village, work together to save who they can and their village.

While this story was phenomenal, it is at times repetitive. Daniel Church is great at describing the fear and the creatures, but we are told the same descriptions a few too many times. I think if a lot of the repetitive descriptions were deleted, this could have been a 5 star book.

Thank you #NetGalley and Angry Robot for sending me #TheHollows by Daniel Church.

I liked the sound of this one and while it started strong, I found early on that it dragged quite a bit. A few pages could be skimmed and still not much had happened and, before long, I found my attention wandering. I thought it was a horror but from the beginning it seemed more like a crime book as a lot was put into the crime scene etc. It also felt to have that slight jovial tone such as with The Chalk Man or books by T Kingfisher which is not my preference for creepy books. Thanks to Netgalley for the arc.

I went into this with high expectations. I'm not sure why. Maybe too high.
It's a long book. Too long.
It really dragged in a lot of places. It may have worked better if it was half the size.

Nice premise, it just didn't deliver for me.

My thanks to Angry Robot, Daniel Church and Netgalley.
I loved the way this story started out. Heck, I was for sure and certain.that I'd be giving this a glowing review!
Beep. Beep! Yeah, back that up!
The premise was freaking awesome! Unfortunately, this story was repetitive as anything I've read and hated before.
The damned thing just seemed to go on and on.
By the end, I just didn't give a hairy rat's ass about any of it! I just wanted it to be over. It's nice to see other's rated this higher than me, but this is one long assed story that would have been better if it had at least 100 pages cut out. "Again, too repetitive."
No recommendations for this mess.

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!