Synopsis

Caroline McAlister, college professor and life-long skeptic, is reeling from the loss of her father and her marriage. Her once promising career has come to a standstill. When her father bequeaths the family cabin to her, it comes with a ghost who haunted her childhood. When she discovers a century-old journal in the attic, she awakens the voice of Carson Quinn. The journal reveals Carson’s love for the same hollow that enthralled Caroline growing up. A little sleuthing uncovers rumors that the kind, curious boy in the journal grew up to murder his brother. Caroline plunges into the project of exonerating Carson, only to find herself in the throes of a personal past she’s spent her life trying to avoid.

Hemlock Hollow is about how we forever haunt the places we love and how they haunt us in return.

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This book releases on 12/6/22. Preorder your copy today!

Review

This debut novel has a little bit of something for everyone – mystery, history, ghosts, and even some romance.

Caroline inherited a cabin from her father. It is a cabin they visited many times when she was a child but had forgotten about it until many years later. It had become run down and invaded by vagrants, wildlife, and nature. Determined to bring the cabin back to its former glory (and maybe a little better), she hires Micah to restore the cabin and discovers the history of her family and those in this holler in the mountains. With the discovery of a journal, we are drawn into the past when ties were simpler.

I really enjoy stories that are told with a dual timeline. This one covers the late 1800s with the story told by Carson Quinn and the present from Caroline’s perspective. The story seamlessly switches between the two, and I was drawn into a different life by the Quinn family. US history is woven into the story with battles, illegal stills, and bartering for needed items. There are also detailed descriptions of various plants, trees, and animals, including Latin names for these things.

Not only was it a journey to discover her roots, but it was also one to find her true self and unmask what has been holding her back from having a successful relationship.

I had difficulty putting the book down and found myself reading it whenever I had a spare minute or two.

I look forward to seeing what this author writes next and give this book 5 paws up.

About the Author

Culley Holderfield learned to love stories on the front porch of a cabin in a hollow in Western North Carolina. After completing his studies at UNC-Chapel Hill, he found his way to South America and later to Africa and Europe. When not writing or working in community development finance, he spends his time tromping through woods and paddling rivers. His short stories and poetry have appeared in a variety of publications. Hemlock Hollow is his debut novel. He lives in Durham, NC.

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