The Hollow Kind

A Novel

By: Andy Davidson

Narrated by: Susie James

Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

Andy Davidson's epic horror novel about the spectacular decline of the Redfern family, haunted by an ancient evil.

Nellie Gardner is looking for a way out of an abusive marriage when she learns that her long-lost grandfather, August Redfern, has willed her his turpentine estate. She throws everything she can think of in a bag and flees to Georgia with her eleven-year-old son, Max, in tow.

It turns out that the "estate" is a decrepit farmhouse on a thousand acres of old pine forest, but Nellie is thrilled about the chance for a fresh start for her and Max, and a chance for the happy home she never had. So it takes her a while to notice the strange scratching in the walls, the faint whispering at night, how the forest is eerily quiet. But Max sees what his mother can't: They're no safer here than they had been in South Carolina. In fact, things might even be worse. There's something wrong with Redfern Hill. Something lurks beneath the soil, ancient and hungry, with the power to corrupt hearts and destroy souls. It is the true legacy of Redfern Hill: a kingdom of grief and death, to which Nellie’s own blood has granted her the key.

From the author of The Boatman's Daughter, The Hollow Kind is a jaw-dropping novel about legacy and the horrors that hide in the dark corners of family history. Andy Davidson's gorgeous, Gothic fable tracing the spectacular fall of the Redfern family will haunt you long after you hear the final word.

A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

©2022 Andy Davidson (P)2022 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2022, Barnes and Noble Best New Books of the Year, Long-listed

“Andy Davidson is quickly establishing himself as the newest master of southern gothic horror. The Hollow Kind seeps into your subconscious and waits for you in your nightmares.” —S. A. Cosby, bestselling author of Razorblade Tears

"Whether you call it historical horror, folk horror, or southern gothic, Andy Davidson's The Hollow Kind is as beautifully written as it is chilling. The combination of dual timelines with a little-explored piece of America's past truly sets this book apart. Every page reverberates with inescapable dread." —Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor

“A deep, dark story of family secrets and inherited horrors, Andy Davidson’s The Hollow Kind is as gripping and twisted as old tree roots—you can practically smell the creosote and longleaf pine. This one kept me up, turning pages long into the night.” —T. Kingfisher, author of What Moves the Dead

More please!

I cannot get enough of Andy Davidson! I stumbled into In The Valley Of The Sun while I was looking for something to haunt me. And now that I have finished The Hollow Kind I can say this book too stays with you and haunts you! Elaborate and rich world building with patient skillful storytelling makes for a book that sneaks up on you again and again! Fantastic narration of this book makes for an experience that is engrossing and powerful!

not spoon fed

first off im horrible at writing. This is a horror story where you actually have to pay attention and understand names of people. it's totally reshresing and it's not spoon fed. Great horror story and I have about 5,000 horror books.

Excellent southern horror

This book is fantastic. The author's style is beautifully descriptive and almost lyrical I a way that lends itself to the audio format.

Okay

Definitely could have been better. Doesn’t go in to a lot of detail regarding the main villain.

Amazing!!

I don’t get the 1 star reviews for this book, though I’m guessing there’s no accounting for taste. Andy Davidson is a master of weird, slithery, skittery, horror! An excellently woven story with a very original adversary. If you like stories with old creaky houses, historical flashbacks, strange and unusual creatures, and things that will make your skin crawl, this book is for you. The narrator did a good job but she may have benefited from asking about the pronunciation of words she was unfamiliar with. Some she seemed to guess at. Otherwise this was excellent!

I really enjoyed this book

Original and engaging story, interesting and likable antiheroes, a mostly likable protagonist (aka Nelly) and believable characters. Although there were a few inner monologues of Max’s that, having raised 5 boys, I found entirely absurd. Ten year old boys don’t think that way friend. Narration was B+ (she gets a little monotone here and there, and will make these random high school drama-club, breathy and winsome inflections, setting a rather melodramatic tone, where it would otherwise have been meaningful. Also, her reading of male characters, especially angry male characters, is laughable. They all sound like a female impersonating Oscar the grouch.
However, as a whole these little hiccups get smoothed out.
Not scary though. Not at all.

generic af

narrator did great with what she had to work with. the story is boring and poorly written. it should have been from hanks pov. breasts are mentioned where they don't need to be. it's a lot of describing things that aren't important to the actual story. all the overthe top brand naming could be replaced with backstory on the ancient evil the synopsis says this stort is about. the time jumps and character switching plays like we're watching a movie, but it's poorly executed in book form. it is more frustrating, annoying, and daunting than the suspense it's supposed to be.

dont waste a credit

this book was such a hard listen that i just ended it. whoever approved this for print doesnt know a good book