I love to read historical fiction books – and it had been a while since I’d picked up a good one. I was pleasantly surprised to read Jess Montgomery’s new book, “The Hollows.” The setting is Moonvale Hollow Village, Ohio in 1926. It is an area of southeastern Ohio where a real coal mining town of Moonville used to exist. If you visit there today, you can hike to the Moonville Tunnel and hear local legends about ghosts named The Engineer, The Brakeman, The Lavender Lady and The Bully. (For more info, visit www.moonvilletunnel.net or tripadvisor.) In the book, “The Hollows,” there are not any ‘real’ ghosts at all – but there are hidden secrets from the past that have affected many lives in the town.
The main character is Lilly Ross, a female sheriff in the town of Moonvale. Her friends, Hildy and Marvena are other strong female characters, as well as several townspeople and relatives. Lily is called in to investigate the death of an elderly woman who wandered away from an asylum and was killed by a train at the Moonvale Hollow Tunnel. Did she fall? Or was she pushed? Facts and rumors about the Underground Railroad and abolitionists begin to emerge as Lilly follows the trail of clues left by the deceased woman. Just as troubling to Lily are discoveries about a possible WKKK group in Moonvale Hollow Village. (I never knew that the Women’s Ku Klux Clan existed in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Arkansas during the 1920’s.) The group spreads hatred and fear among the residents and can only be stopped by those who stand up for what is right.
If you enjoy strong female characters and like the historical aspects included from the 1920’s, you will love this book! “The Hollows” can be read on its own and is a great story – but now that I’ve finished it, I need to read “The Widows,” which is the first book in the Kinship Historical Mystery Series. I think “The Widows” will give more background on why Lily’s husband died and why she became sheriff. It may also give more information about some of Lily’s friends and what happened to their husbands. And I’m guessing, after “The Widows” and “The Hollows,” more books in this series might be coming in the future . . .
P.S. I DID go back and read “The Widows,” which is the first book in Jess Montgomery’s series. It tells the story of Lily and her first husband/sheriff Daniel Ross and also tells the story of Marvena, Tom and Jurgis. The plot centers around the coal mining industry and the unionization of the coal miners. I wish I would have read it first – just because I would have had a deeper understanding of Lily’s past. Marvena is a very central character in “The Widows” – and in “The Hollows,” she is mentioned often, but not much detail is given as to why she seems to stay in the shadows and out of community social life. Sooooo – my suggestion would be to read “The Widows” and then read “The Hollows.”
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