Page Count 368
Publication date November 2020
Publisher Titan
Synopsis
Pray they are hungry.
Kara finds these words in the mysterious bunker that she’s discovered behind a hole in the wall of her uncle’s house. Freshly divorced and living back at home, Kara now becomes obsessed with these cryptic words and starts exploring the peculiar bunker—only to discover that it holds portals to countless alternate realities. But these places are haunted by creatures that seem to hear thoughts…and the more you fear them, the stronger they become.
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Review
First of all, I wish I had an Uncle Earl. The opening pages describing him and his Wonder museum were so adorable my cheeks ached from smiling my way through them.
I found all the characters so endearing in The Hollow Places that it made Carrot and Simon being in constant peril so much more intense for me.
Carrot and I had far too much in common when it came to her relationship- though thankfully the similarities end there! Simon was fantastic, I enjoyed his quirky dress sense and no nonsense approach to total absurdities.
The comradery between these two was so pure and at times hilarious.
Refreshing for me too was the complete lack of romance- none of the overdone insta love tropes, just a heartwarming friendship and a loving family.
The alternate world was honestly terrifying! Kingfisher made it extra creepy by putting mundane objects like a school bus in the middle of such a dangerous landscape. These ‘safe’ recognisable, everyday items being in an unexplainable other world created a jarring contrast.
I really liked that the monstrous entities weren’t over explained, leaving the reader and the characters to conceptualise them with negative space and instinct.
There’s very much a good versus evil theme, there was absolutely nothing to dislike about the three main characters, not a bad or unkind bone in their bodies. Even when facing imminent death Carrot and Simon thought of others first and what could happen if what dwells in the hollow places came into our world.
Loyalty and kindness is shown to and by every person (and cat) in this novel.
Somehow Kingfisher has made The Hollow Places both frightening and feel-good all at once!
This is an entirely unique sort of cosmic style horror. Unknowable, unexplainable and uncontrollable. I was blown away by my first Kingfisher read and now I’m off to buy The Twisted Ones for more.
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An Average Life 
Kingfisher is one of those authors who has been on my radar for so long but I am yet to pick up one of their books. But this sounds incredible and right up my alley. Loved the review. Happy reading!
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