This is one of the first audiobooks I ever picked up and decided to try listening to. Three years later, once I finally got into audiobooks and was able to take time to listen and comprehend what was going on, I picked The Hollow Ones by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan up again. Absolutely loved it!
First, I really enjoyed the narrator. The voices for each character were clearly able to be differentiated and honestly? Loved the the voice she did for John Blackwood, aka the love of my life. I think if I were to read this instead of listen, I would not have cared as much for the characters.
Second, the story was really interesting. Pacing was fast, which was good because it kept me from digging too deep into everything or from getting bored. Some might complain that it is too shallow, that it hasn’t been developed enough. I would argue that this is (or was meant to be) a book one. If it had stuffed in all of the explanation and world building in, the pacing would have suffered and there’d be less to look forward to in following books.
I think there was a good balance between procedural legal things and supernatural creepy things. It wasn’t scary, but eerie. There were hints of love angle but it didn’t burden the story and was kept mainly to the background. Likely foreshadowing things to come, hopefully.
I say hopefully and meant to be because this book was published in 2020 and, three years later, a sequel has never been released. I’m afraid that it will become an abandoned series. It wouldn’t be terrible. If it ended with book 1, the ending wouldn’t drive me crazy. It feels pretty wrapped up, but very obviously begging for a second.
If you like crime stories and paranormal stories, The Hollow Ones by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan might be for you. Just don’t go into this book expecting it to lean heavy into either genre.
