The Hollow Places is another great novel by T. Kingfisher that just happens to belong to the horror genre. I'm not a fan of horror, but I love Kingfisher's work and decided to give this book a read in hopes that it wouldn't "freak me out." It didn't! The main character, Kara or "Carrot," is a recently divorced woman who goes to live in a room at her uncle's "museum" of bizarre and wondrous things. Carrot grew up around the museum/tourist shop and feels completely at home there (among lots of weird items, many of which have come from the taxidermist), until her uncle leaves the museum in her hands to have minor surgery. When Carrot finds a hole in a wall that she assumes was made by vandals, she enlists the help of Simon, the barista from next door, to help her cover it up. But they find that the hole leads somewhere that couldn't possibly exist. And here begins their adventure and nightmare.

Lovers of T. Kingfisher, horror fans.

Carrot and Simon have great chemistry and deal with their mutual terror with good doses of humor that are relatable. They both struggle through normal life as they're haunted by their terrifying experiences, and contend with the disbelief and recurrent questioning of their own memories and what is dream and what is reality. Carrot is also desperately brave and fights through pain and fear because she knows that if she gives up, the horror that she's facing will grow and effect her uncle and the town.

Go back and re-read all of T. Kingfisher's books that I've read in the past, because it's been a while and this book reminded me how much I enjoy her writing.

This story was charming, captivating, funny, and terrifying. I think T. Kingfisher is a wonderful storyteller and I recommend anyone interested in a good story to investigate her works.

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Created Apr 04, 2022 at 7:29pm • Submit your own review...