Orenda Blog Tours - Hinton Hollow Death Trip

TITLE: Hinton Hollow Death Trip
AUTHOR: Will Carver
PUBLISHER: Orenda Books
PUBLISHING DATE: August 6, 2020

FROM GOODREADS: 

It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.

Hinton Hollow. Population: 5,120. 

Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow. 

Because something was coming. Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves. 

Making them cheat.
Making them steal. 
Making them kill. 

Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.  

MY THOUGHTS: So if you don't know how much I tend to love books by published by Orenda Books, then you apparently haven't read my reviews.  For the past year or so, some of my favorite and most memorable reads have come from Orenda.  Well, this book pretty much solidifies it and given the time and the opportunity, I'm pretty sure I'd read anything they toss my way.

Hinton Hollow Death Trip is the third book in the Sergeant Pace series.  Have I read the first two? No.  Did I feel I missed out on something? Not really but let me clarify.  I clearly don't think I would have enjoyed the book anymore than what I did, but I do think I would have known a tad bit more about Sergeant Pace which might have filled in some gaps.  And in a rarity, did I go and immediately order the first two books?  Yes, because I'm pretty sure Will Carver is on the way to be one of my favorite must-read authors.

When the book opens, we are introduced to a little boy who has been put on a train alone with a note around his neck.  He has been sent away by his mother and has been told to keep quiet about where he lives for seven days.  See, his mother knows something is on its way to Hinton Hollow and she wanted her son clear of the devastation. Evil has come to town.  And it systematically has a plan for destruction.  Slowly the reader is introduced to the townspeople.  Some are pure of heart. Some are good but Evil tells us good isn't good enough anymore.  And some are bordering on the brink of doing bad deeds and all they need is a little push in the right direction.  I held on to every word and every chapter not knowing where Carver was leading me or how it would end.  All I know is I loved some of these characters and some deserved their outcome.

Finally, I would be remiss if I didn't address the unique style of this book.  As mentioned, it is narrated by Evil.  And through the take, the reader gets a good hard look at humanity, ethical dilemmas, and individuals faced with choices.  Evil is such a unique character and dare I say isn't all bad.  And the atmosphere Carver creates along with an eeriness and feeling of dread is reminiscent of some of my favorite horror authors.  I could actually see this playing out as a movie the further I read.

So yep, Orenda Books does it again.  They've yet to fail me and this time they introduced me to an author and series I absolutely have to start from the beginning.  Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.  Oh and last but not least, don't let the pretty cover fool you.  There is very little pretty in this book and I for one loved it even more so because there wasn't!

RATING: 5 PAWS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.