#SpooktasticReads The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Saga Press (October 6, 2020)
Length: 352 pages
Author Information: Website | Twitter
I absolutely adored T. Kingfisher’s (Ursula Vernon) The Twisted Ones, so I was looking forward to The Hollow Places with a great deal with anticipation, as you can imagine. To my delight, this book also featured the same superb balance of humor and horror, with some added portal fantasy and Lovecraftian elements besides. All throughout, I was strongly reminded of 14 by Peter Clines and if, like me, you’re a fan of the Threshold series, then I think there’s a good chance you’ll also get a huge kick out of this one.
Our story begins with an introduction to Kara, our newly divorced and strapped-for-cash heroine who now faces the unenviable reality of having to move back in with her mother. Fortunately, Uncle Earl comes to the rescue at the very last minute. For as long as she can remember, Kara’s eccentric uncle has been the owner and curator of the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosity, and Taxidermy in her hometown of Hog Chapel, North Carolina. It’s a place she remembers fondly, where, as a little girl, she would spend hours exploring its strange and exotic exhibits while listening to her affable uncle share his stories and pearls of wisdom. Lately though, Earl has been having some trouble with his bad knee and needs some extra help around the museum, so he offers Kara a chance to work for him in exchange for free accommodation.
Happy to be back at the museum (and relieved to be free of her mother), Kara immediately sets to work cataloging Earl’s massive collection of curios and oddities in between taking care of daily operations. She also befriends some of the townsfolk, including the museum’s regulars as well as Simon, the happy-go-lucky gay barista from the coffee shop next door. But then Earl’s condition takes a turn for the worse, requiring knee surgery and a prolonged stay at a hospital out of town, and Kara readily agrees to hold down the fort while he is away, determined not to let him down. So when a hole is later discovered in one of the walls of the museum, presumably caused by some careless tourist’s elbow, Kara is understandably annoyed. Recruiting Simon to help patch up the damage, the two of them go to inspect the wall…only to find a portal that leads to a whole different world! Intrigued, they decide to investigate, unaware that they’ve just stepped through a door to another reality, one where their darkest nightmares lurk.
Once again, readers are treated to a narrative told in a light and breezy tone which belies the creepiness and macabre nature of the story’s contents. That’s because Kara isn’t your typical horror novel protagonist. Like Mouse from The Twisted Ones, she’s in desperate need of a distraction from a relationship that ended badly, moving back to the tiny podunk town she grew up in to manage a museum of wacky exhibits and artifacts from around the world (some admittedly not so genuine). Heck, if I hadn’t known any better, I would have thought this was the intro to a contemporary romance, especially given Kara’s distinctive voice—which was by far my favorite thing about this book. Her personality is good-humored with just a bit of snark, but she’s also only human, giving in to the occasional breakdown whenever she sneaks a look at her ex’s Facebook page because she simply can’t help herself. It’s this candidness and wit that makes Kara such an incredibly genuine and relatable character, and I loved every moment spent in her head.
It’s also this energy that helped carry me through some of the novel’s slower parts—because as much as I enjoyed myself, I have to admit there were a few sections that dragged. The time Kara and Simon spent in the “on the other side” was perhaps a little too drawn out for my tastes, for instance, and I was also somewhat underwhelmed by the ending revelations, in the light of the considerable buildup leading to the conclusion. More than that I don’t want to say in case it gives too much away, but I did feel the finale and its “explanations” were a bit rushed.
That said, I still had a great time with this book. The fabulous Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosity, and Taxidermy also deserves a mention, as I couldn’t imagine a more apropos setting for a story about weird shit happening than in place full of actual weird shit. I was riveted by Kara’s descriptions of all the different exhibits, and some of them even made me laugh out loud. Best of all, the museum was integrated into the horror and mystery of the plot in the most mind-blowing way, and it’s definitely worth experiencing for yourself.
In conclusion, The Hollow Places is a book I would recommend, especially if you find the premise of a weird horror and portal fantasy mashup intriguing. The novel’s slower parts meant that I probably still enjoyed The Twisted Ones just a tad more than this one, but nevertheless I would say my second time with a T. Kingfisher book was another resounding success. I look forward to reading even more.
The BiblioSanctum 
Ooh, a portal to where nightmares lurk! You have me intrigued, Mogsy. This book seems to have a lot – romance, humor, horror. Sorry to know the ending seemed rushed to you. Brilliant review, as always, Mogsy.
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Even with the rushed ending though, I enjoyed it a lot! A very strong horror novel with humor 🙂
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You had me at museum of curiosities and taxidermy… and a portal in the wall? I have got to read this! 😃
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The museum was the best!
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You’ve really been sticking the Halloween theme with the books you’re reviewing. How much work did it take to line them all up that way?
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I usually start stacking horror/dark fantasy reads in October anyway, so I read a lot of these earlier in the month. I only decided to do jump on board #SpooktasticReads recently, but it worked out perfectly 🙂
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It’s not my genre but it seems that the light tone could ease me in that one!
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The light humorous tone definitely helps!
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This one sounds very different than I thought it would, but interesting just the same. It brings back memories of visiting some of these odd little “museums” full of strange stuff when driving cross country.
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Yes, those tourist traps…but you always find the most interesting things in places like those!
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I’m loving this too, and its seriously creepy in spots! I had to put the book down a couple of times because it was night and, yeah, I just couldn’t 🤣
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I felt like that with The Twisted Ones! This one was thankfully less freaky! 😀
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If the book deserved a 4-star rating despite some slower sections and a rushed ending, I think it’s worth a peek, particularly because your mention of abundant weirdness piqued my curiosity… 😉
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Yep, four well deserved stars! Despite my criticisms, which were minor, this was a great read!
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I’ve still not braved The Twisted Ones, I’m too worried about getting too creeped out!
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Haha, that one was creepy! I found this one easier to handle 🙂
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I’m so curious about her horror because I’ve only read a fantasy romance of hers so far but I do LOVE her humor. Keep wanting to check out some of her other stuff. Glad you enjoyed this!
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I’ve never read anything else but her horror, so I’m the opposite – really curious about her other genres and the stuff she writes under the name 🙂
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I will say that Swordheart while being a romance is also SUPER hilarious so even if you don’t love romance you might love it just for the humor. I snickered my way through that book.
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Good to know! That sounds pretty great actually, I want to read it now 😀
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Hope you enjoy it if you get to it!
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Oh I’m intrigued by the lightness of the tone! :O I was curious about T Kingfisher before but now I really want to read her horror books, it might work better for me than “regular” horror stories. I like them but I’m a chicken to they tend to creep me out easily lol.
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With the humor, I definitely think it works better than “traditional” horror. It’s still creepy as hell, but the lightness helps 😛
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I’m so tempted to try this, but I didn’t like Twisted Ones as much as I thought I would and I’m wondering if my experience will be the same with this, esp since you mention it dragging a bit in some parts. I also wonder if humor in horror isn’t my thing. Twisted Ones was the first I’d read such a book so… I might just try Hollow Places to see if I can hang with it.
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I think if you did not like The Twisted Ones, you might not like this one either. The character’s tone is very similar, as is her brand of humor. I actually found their voices to be nearly identical!
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Oh, yea. Def not for me then. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll tell my coworker, tho, because she loved Twisted Ones.
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I have this and the Twisted Ones on my wishlist already. I think my tbr is about to topple.
Lynn 😀
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I’ve been really interested in reading this but I wanted some more information, you cleared everything up for me so.. Thanks so much! 😊
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