House of Hollow, published in March 2021 and written by Krystal Sutherland, is full of everything an avid reader could want from a book. Liminal spaces. Modernized fairy tales. Dark and compelling myths. Twists and turns that will leave a reader with their head spinning. Sutherland’s writing flows flawlessly throughout the book, leaving a vividly imaginative plot that is easy to visualize and follow.
House of Hollow is written in first person, guiding the reader through the eyes of the main character Iris Hollow. Iris has two older sisters-Grey and Violet Hollow. Each of the characters are unique and interesting in their own right, varying from a determined and intelligent schoolgirl with brewing questions, to a mysterious and calculated supermodel, to a fiery rebel, respectively. All three sisters are shown to have a tight and unshakeable bond despite the distance between them. A bond that eventually takes shape into something much more sinister than what meets the eye.
The main issue that the book presents is the disappearance of the Hollow sisters in a lonely Scotland street on New Year’s Eve, ten years from the time the book takes place. After their disappearance, the sisters come back different–their hair changes to shocking white and their eyes turn wholly black. However, the physical differences are not the only thing that changed when the sisters disappeared.
After ten years of living a semi-regular life following the disappearance that none of the sisters seem to recall any memory of, Grey Hollow disappears again, sparking a striking reaction as the supermodel supposedly falls off the face of the earth without a trace. This leads Violet and Iris, the two other sisters, to take matters into their own hands in search of Grey, as local police and investigators seem to pay no heed to the missing supermodel.
Throughout the book, more and more secrets and mysteries are presented, and slowly but surely are uncovered by Iris and her sister. As the plot progresses, so do the characters and with them, the sinister secrets do as well. House of Hollow has a unique atmosphere that cannot be found in any other book.House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland is a captivating blend of everything a dark fantasy reader could ask for, drawing readers in from the very first page. Sutherland creates a mesmerizing and haunting story that flows from one page to the next. The twists, turns, and mysteries will keep the reader wholly entranced till the very end, leaving an enthralling story that will have a lasting impression.
