Cold Hollow, by Emilie J. Howard, is book 1 of 5 in the Cold Hollow Mysteries Series and is a very good creepy thriller.
The Barner family are Angus, Sophia and their children Layla and Liam. They have moved from Connecticut to Cold Hollow after Angus received a work promotion, marketing for the town’s ski resorts. Cold Hollow is a small town in Vermont, USA in the Green Mountain range.
On arriving in Cold Hollow, they find that the town has no phone facilities (mobile or landline) except within the town limits and some of the residents are strange, although all seem friendly enough. The town is ruled by the Town Keeper, Nazar, who imposes bizarre taxes called the Till and Living Fee which all residents must pay for “the upkeep of the town” or they disappear. He rules the town with an iron fist.
Sophia opens up her own small bakery but soon has a run-in with Nazar and things start to get more bizarre. The Barner’s are well-liked within the town but Nazar has decided they are troublemakers and this sets in motion a chain of events that will change this strange town forever.
This book starts with a wife plotting revenge against her abusive husband, a trucker falling asleep at the wheel causing carnage and the torture of an ex town employee and sets the tone and suspense for the rest of the book.
The Barner’s have relocated to a quaint and idyllic mountain town and soon come to realise that there is something seriously wrong with the town and its residents. But will they survive the town?
Cold Hollow is filled with lots of interesting and different characters and is extremely well-written, I couldn’t put it down. Without giving too much as away the story is filled with lots of twists and turns and the tale of this strange town soon unfolds in a flurry of thrills and suspense.
I loved reading this book, the story was well told with excellent characters, the story slowly unfolds keeping you guessing and is totally thrilling. The author has created a story that immerses the reader and I can’t wait to read the second Cold Hollow mystery; Weaving the Web.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £11.99 (Paperback) / £3.99 (Kindle)
Available to buy from Amazon here.
