Review: The Hollows by Jess Montgomery

The Hollows

by Jess Montgomery

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Pages: 352

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Ohio, 1926: For many years, the underground railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a short cut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of seeing a ghostly female figure dressed all in white.

Newly elected Sheriff Lily Ross is called on to the case to dispel the myths, but Lily does not believe that an old woman would wander out of the hills onto the tracks. In a county where everyone knows everyone, how can someone have disappeared, when nobody knew they were missing? As ghost stories and rumors settle into the consciousness of Moonvale Hollow, Lily tries to search for any real clues to the woman’s identity.

With the help of her friend Marvena Whitcomb, Lily follows the woman’s trail to The Hollows—an asylum is northern Antioch County—and they begin to expose secrets long-hidden by time and the mountains. 

Kritters Thoughts:  The second in the series and this is one of those series that I completely recommend starting at the beginning as you will lose out on some of the character development if you skip ahead.

This book takes on a different social justice issue of the first one, it deals with racial injustices and the struggle of integration.  In the same small mining town as the first book, there is a murder and there could be racial biases towards the murder and other things going on in the town.  At the same time Lily Ross their female sheriff is dealing with an impending election and wondering if she still has the support of her town to be the sheriff.  

I liked this book, but didn't love it as much as book one.  For me this one didn't read as smoothly and the plot wasn't as interesting as the first book.  I think I just enjoyed learning about the politics behind starting a union and how that affects a town. With less of a focus on the mining in this book, I missed reading about what made this town function.  

I would still read another book set in this town as I did fall in love with Lily Ross and the ladies that surrounded her in this book and I love that she shares the narration with another character in each book, but I hope that I enjoy the focus of the next book more than this one.  

Rating: enjoyable, but didn't leave me wanting more

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.