The Hollow Places

June 8, 2020
Kingfisher (The Twisted Ones) imagines the horrors lying between worlds in this chilling supernatural thriller. Recently divorced Kara (aka Carrot) moves in with her uncle Earl to help run his Wonder Museum. The “museum” houses a hodgepodge of curiosities, taxidermy, and assorted knickknacks, but it’s always held good memories for Carrot. Then a hole mysteriously opens in the museum’s wall, revealing a hallway that should not exist. With the help of Simon, the barista from the coffee shop next door, Carrot sets out to discover where the hall leads. On the other end they find a strange world comprised of tiny islands covered in willows and containing concrete bunkers—and a mysterious group of occupants simply referred to as They. They can read minds and have a habit of flaying the people who stumble upon their home, leaving visitors’ bones neatly piled. Carrot and Simon escape but are drawn back by recurring dreams of what they’ve seen. Though some overly familiar elements mar the otherwise tight plot, in They Kingfisher has crafted a truly terrifying monster with minimal descriptions that leave the reader’s imagination to run wild. With well-timed humor and perfect scares, this one is a keeper for horror fans. Agent: Helen Breitwieser, Cornerstone Literary.

September 15, 2020
A door to another world appears in a museum of oddities, but it's no gateway to Narnia. Rudderless after her divorce and terrified at the prospect of moving back in with her parents, 34-year-old Kara returns to where she grew up, quaint Hog Chapel, North Carolina, to stay with her beloved, kindly Uncle Earl, who calls her Carrot and owns the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities and Taxidermy. The museum is chock full of taxidermic animals (and more fantastical creatures) and an assortment of other strange and wondrous items, including a grizzled tabby cat named Beau, who keeps the mice from ravaging the exhibits. It doesn't take long for Kara to settle in, and she earns her keep by cataloging the museum's collection. After hours, she enjoys hanging out with the gregarious (and often top-hatted) Simon, who works at the Black Hen coffee shop next door and regales Kara with outrageous stories from his Florida childhood. When Earl is hospitalized for knee surgery, Kara happily takes over the day-to-day work at the museum and enlists Simon's help in patching a significant hole in the building's drywall. Curiosity gets the best of Kara and Simon when they discover a dark corridor behind the hole, which leads to a door to an otherworldly place where willows whisper with the promise of horrors that soon threaten to spill out into Kara's world. Luckily, Kara has Simon and maybe even a bit of help from some of the museum's inhabitants. There are no cheap scares here, and while a few are Lovecraft-ian in flavor, they're entirely of the author's wonderfully twisted and endlessly fertile imagination, and readers will have no trouble rooting for the instantly likable Kara, who narrates, and the delightfully offbeat Simon. The perfect tale for fans of horror with heart.

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2020

Inspired by Algernon Blackwood's "The Willows," a story that terrified H.P. Lovecraft, Kingfisher (The Twisted Ones) crafts an original homage. Kara is sad, confused, and listless when she returns to help her Uncle Earl run his Wonder Museum after the dissolution of her marriage. She finds peace surrounded by the macabre and eccentric items, as it is the only place she has ever felt truly safe and happy. But while Earl is away recovering from knee surgery, Kara and her neighbor, Simon, find a portal to another world in the back of the museum, a nefarious Narnia where murderous willows rule that they cannot escape. This is an imaginative, intense, cinematic story filled with regret, madness, and an overdue coming of age. It overflows with tension, but the sweet and amusing friendship between Kara and Simon provides necessary moments of respite, allowing both readers and Kara to breathe and find the best resolution. VERDICT This unsettling, character-driven story of a young woman in search of herself reads like a darker, more macabre version of Alice in Wonderland, keeping readers turning the pages long after dark. Suggest with confidence to fans of Jeff VanderMeer's "Southern Reach" trilogy or Zoje Stage's Wonderland.

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2020
Kara?or Carrot to her family?is newly divorced and newly homeless. A favorite uncle, who just happens to run the Glory to God Museum of Natural Wonders, Curiosities, and Taxidermy, has a spare room for her. Taking a break from the heartbreak, she gladly stays in the museum in exchange for helping her uncle during his medical leave. The museum holds and hides more than it reveals, and Carrot finds a portal to an unknown space. Bringing in a trusted friend who works at the caf� next door, Carrot embarks on an exploration that leads to unbelievable places and terrifying discoveries. Kingfisher, who also writes quirky middle-grade fantasy under the name Ursula Vernon, is no stranger to the weird and obscure, and readers of The Twisted Ones (2019) will recognize her quirky humor and independent heroine, though The Hollow Places is less frightening. A small Southern town provides a similar backdrop, and locals add color and depth. With echoes of Terry Pratchett, this will appeal to fans of alternate universes and quirky sf/fantasy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)