Steve Frech offers a well-paced, intriguing psychological suspense. The entire narrative was well rounded and offered the perfect amount of foreshadowing. Frech intertwines shifts from the past and the present to keep the reader on engaged. The tertiary cast of characters and setting both play quintessential parts of the story line that make this novel feel unique. It was refreshing to have an author develop a story around a setting opposed to just inserting main characters into one. Excellent read. 4 stars


Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #DarkHollows. It was read and reviewed voluntarily by Tarrah Marie (@wayward_readers) All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to HQ Digital and the author for this advanced readers copy in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

Jacob Reese lives an easy going, quiet life with his dog. He owns a coffee shop in the local small town and runs a business hosting guests in the quaint cottage on his property. All is shaken up when he has a guest in the cottage who eerily looks just like his ex-girlfriend Laura and given that Laura is dead, this is understandably unsettling. The scary thing is, he then starts seeing Laura everywhere. But she can’t be Laura. So who is messing with him and why?

General Thoughts 🤔

This was a nice quick read. At only 5 hours total, and after reading a bunch of quite lengthy books, I enjoyed jumping into a book that was snappy and straight to the point. There were times when I wasn’t quite sure where the story was going to go and was often asking myself “is Laura REALLY dead?!” and I liked that. I liked the unknowns.

Although the end of the story wasn’t a huge shock to me, it was all tied off nicely and it wasn’t an ending to the story that annoyed me or disappointed me.

Characters 👫👭👬

There aren’t a huge amount of characters in the book but there really doesn’t need to be. The story is mostly focused on Jacob and I came to really like him and actually empathise with him quite a lot. His relationship with his dog is so sweet!

Writing Style ✍🏽

There is a tiny tiny thing about the writing style in this book that I absolutely loved. There is a little bit of jumping around in the timeline and every time it jumps from the past to the present or vice versa, there is a word that links the two. Small little thing, but I really really liked that.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I expected it to be a little more horror and a little less thriller, but I was definitely not disappointed when I realised it wasn’t. Nice tension build throughout the story and just the right amount of suspense. I’d definitely recommend this if someone wants a short read on a wintery afternoon. I’ll be looking out for more Steve Frech to add to my TBR for sure.

#DarkHollows #NetGalley
My blood turned to ice. Its a perfect psychological thriller.
Jacob Reese enjoys the quiet life, running a coffee shop and renting out his cottage in The Hollows, Vermont.
Things become creepy when he sees a guest with a stick doll that belonged to his so called dead girlfriend Laura Aisling. Then the guest leaves a message in the guest book. The guest disappeared the next day. Who was this guest? What was happened to Laura Aisling? Who is Jacob? What is he hiding?
Characters are at their peak and creepy. I was feeling as if i was seeing a movie. Its a powerful debut. I didn't expect that much perfection but this author is awesome.
Thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for providing me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller.
Highly recommended.

I really liked this book- it grips you from the beginning and I read it in a few hours. The story centers around Jacob, a coffee-shop owner in a small town. He has some unresolved issues around the death of his college girlfriend, and creepy things start to happen that he needs to figure out in order to recapture his quiet life.

The story here was really good- there were twists and turns and suspense from beginning to end. I really liked how it went back and forth between past and present tense- a word or a phrase would either bring Jacob back to his memories or back to the present This was a clever way of storytelling.

My only small nits were that Jacob seemed to effortlessly get himself out of trouble throughout the book and still get what he needed, which was great for the pace of the book but felt a little unrealistic at times. For example, when he visits the mental institution, it wasn't too hard for him to bully the administrator to get the information that he needed, and I think in real life it wouldn't have worked that way. Not a huge deal in the whole scheme of things, though.

All in all, this was a great read. I believe this is a debut and am looking forward to reading what's next by this author. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

Jacob Reese enjoys a quiet life, running a coffee shop and renting out his cottage in The Hollows, Vermont.
But the calm is shattered when a woman who looks eerily similar to his ex-girlfriend Laura turns up to stay in the cottage and leaves a mysterious note in the guest book.

Now Jacob’s seeing Laura everywhere—a glimpse of her face across the street, her music box left outside his house, a gift he gave her years before hanging from the trees.

But it can’t be Laura. Because of Laura’s dead.

It was a ride. I enjoyed it. It was not horror, more a mystery. It was one that at times got bogged down Other than a few slow moments and a number of people I enjoyed.

Thank you NetGalley and HQ for the opportunity to read and give an honest
review of this book.

Jacob Reese seems to have a great life and future in the idyllic little town of The Hollows. He owns a successful business, a coffee shop, and he rents out the small cottage on his property to discriminating vacationers.

What is it then that causes his nightmares and guilty conscience?
Gradually, we find that to pay his college tuition, years ago, he took on a job delivering drugs and picking up payments for the drugs. A significant piece of the story is wrapped up in this part of his life. However, things have changed and strange occurrences have knocked Jacob a little off kilter. He begins his own investigation. It leads him to places that he never expected.

The book was well written and had a different plot than other mysteries or thrillers. The main character was likable but had some character flaws like all humans. The story was interesting and well thought out. I would have given it 5 stars if the ending had given some closure.

I liked the book and I would recommend it.

Dark Hollows by Steve Frech - 5 Stars
Publisher: HQ Digital
ISBN: 9780008368227

Dark Hollows is an enjoyable mystery set in the fall in a quaint New England town. The setting and characters are beautifully described. Staying in Jason’s guest house, having coffee in the village coffee shop, and meeting Murphy, the friendliest dog ever, would make the perfect fall vacation.

The plot is somewhat spooky and interestingly complex. It is a nice length. I read it in a fairly short time. The ending was abrupt. At first, I was annoyed that there wasn’t an epilogue or something to tell me more. Then I thought about it and decided it was uniquely perfect. It made me think about what I would have done if I were Jason. It would be a great book to share with friends and to spark a discussion about Jason’s decision and events that led up to it.

Reviewer: Nancy

Jacob Reese has quite the checkered past. He now owns a coffee shop in the Hollows. A respectable citizen, as he also is making money renting out his cottage as a B&B.

When the chance for a franchise of Jacob's coffee shop arrives, he jumps at the idea. Potentially millions of dollars. - paid off for his hard work becoming established.

As always in life, the past rears it's ugly head. His old flame, Laura, appears (but isn't she dead?) as the major celebration in the Hollows - Halloween - draws near.

The reader relives Jacob's past and what has brought him to the Hollows. And what may make him want to LEAVE the Hollows...

Excellently scripted and easy to read from the "then" to the "now" . The characters are mostly believable and the scenes are well depicted. A good, fast read for a number of genres.

Many Thanks to HQ Digital and NetGalley for a fun read!