Hollow Pike by James Dawson

Published by Indigo / Orion.

A killer is out there, and the birds see everything…

Lis London is hoping for a fresh start when she arrives in the sleepy village of Hollow Pike.

But nothing here is as it seems…and a killer stalks the night.

 

 

 

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES…

She thought she’d be safe in the country, but you can’t escape your own nightmares, and Lis London dreams repeatedly that someone is trying to kill her.

Lis thinks she’s being paranoid – after all who would want to murder her?

She doesn’t believe in the local legends of witchcraft. She doesn’t believe that anything bad will really happen to her. You never do, do you?

Not until you’re alone in the woods, after dark – and a twig snaps…

With one of the most striking covers I’ve seen in a long time, Hollow Pike suggested everything from gothic mystery, witchcraft and, with its flocking birds imagery the possibility that this would be akin to Stephen King’s The Dark Half.

Although I will be honest and say it was not quite the book I was expecting, it was a great read and kept me guessing throughout as to where the tale was to turn – and when it did it was an unexpected and smart twist.

Its a tale of Lis London and her initial struggling to fit in when she arrives at Hollow Pike, wanting to be in with the right crowd at a time in her life when she and those around her are seeking to find their way in life, their place in the world, to find their allegiances and to confirm their sexuality. The school setting and the seeking of acceptance made me think of the movies ‘Heathers’ and, on more of a witchcraft theme, ‘The Craft’. The author mentions another movie ‘Mean Girls’ within the book, which I haven’t seen, but I’m guessing that also had an influence.

When Laura Rigg is murdered, following a staged attack by a group of pupils from the school as a prank, the tone shifts from cruel bullying and vying for popularity to what is, in every sense of the word, a witchhunt.

Comment is made at several points to ‘The Crucible’, both Arthur Miller’s novel and the movie adaptation starring Winona Ryder, and there are clear parallels and, after closing Hollow Pike, reading the Crucible would make a great companion read.

Dark and brooding – beware the woods… 

And, you can order Hollow Pike here.

Keith