Divorced dad takes teen daughter on annual holiday, and his choice of resort leaves something to be desired.
Though Hollow Falls is a beautiful area, it has a dark history. Nearly twenty years ago a couple were slaughtered in the woods and the Maine woodland seems to be harbouring secrets. Secrets that someone knows more about than they ought to.
Upon learning the unpleasant truth about their chosen holiday destination, Frankie and her father Tom are resolved to make the best of their choice.
Unfortunately the number of strange and unusual events rises…and it seems that the town remains a place to fear.
When we’re first introduced to the resort it felt rather generic in tone. There were unsettling descriptions of the environment and I fully expected one of our modern guests to get injured in some way. This likelihood is heightened when Frankie and Ryan (the boy from the cabin next to them) manage to offend two neighbourhood kids who have something of a reputation for causing trouble.
As the strange occurrences escalate in tone, there’s a shift in focus to the events in the area at the time of the original crime. These details created a much more unsettling feel, with it becoming increasingly obvious that more than one person in the present has details they want to keep hidden.
Before too long we’re caught up in a very unusual turn of events. The sense of danger grows, and it was increasingly obvious they were dealing with some seriously unhinged behaviour. By the time we got to the end we had answers, some of them rather different to those we expected, but the most terrifying element was the clear sense of threat being posed by our lone perpetrator as our story fades. I don’t know if there’ll be a continuation of the story, but just the hint of how it could develop has made me pleased I finished reading this during the day!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.