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The Hollows

(Kinship #2)

Jess Montgomery (Goodreads Author)

4.07 · Rating details · 569 ratings · 139 reviews

Jess Montgomery showcases her skills as a storyteller in this powerful, big-hearted and exquisitely written follow-up to her acclaimed debut The Widows.

Ohio, 1926: For many years, the underground railroad track in Moonvale Tunnel has been used as a short cut through the Appalachian hills. When an elderly woman is killed walking along the tracks, the brakeman tells tales of ...more

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Hardcover, 343 pages

Published January 14th 2020 by Minotaur Books

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Jan 24, 2020 James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 3-multi-book-series, 4-historical-fiction, 1-fiction, 7-netgalley, 9-read-2020-01-january

The Hollows is the 2nd book in the Kinship series by Jess Montgomery. I previously read the first book in this historical / mystery fiction series and enjoyed it a lot. I had to read the second one, and it definitely was equally as strong. The series revolves around Lily Ross, a woman who becomes the sheriff of a small Ohio county when her husband is murdered. In the last book, chapters alternate between Lily and Marvena, the former sheriff's girlfriend, who has become Lily's confidante and frie The Hollows is the 2nd book in the Kinship series by Jess Montgomery. I previously read the first book in this historical / mystery fiction series and enjoyed it a lot. I had to read the second one, and it definitely was equally as strong. The series revolves around Lily Ross, a woman who becomes the sheriff of a small Ohio county when her husband is murdered. In the last book, chapters alternate between Lily and Marvena, the former sheriff's girlfriend, who has become Lily's confidante and friend now. In this one, the chapters alternate between Lily and her almost-sister-in-law, Hildy, who has a connection to the latest crime.

Montgomery has merged two of my favorite genres together in this series. The setting takes place in the late 1920s, and I enjoy immersing myself in a culture from nearly one-hundred years ago. In the prologue, an elderly woman runs through a wooded area and arrives at The Hollows, where a train is about to pass by. A few chapters later, we learn the woman's body is found on the side of the tracks after being hit by the train. Was she murdered? An accidental fall? Or suicide? Lily is called to the scene, but no one knows anything about her. She came from a nearby county, but because the death was in Lily's territory, she's responsible. As the case unfolds, connections to her own friends and family emerge... all the while, Lily's fighting to keep her seat as sheriff in the official county election.

What I love about these books is how the author quickly transports you to history. As I read along in my head, I have a rhythm which is different from when I read a cozy mystery, a thriller, or contemporary fiction. My inner voice acclimates to the writing style, slow and methodical, descriptive and gentle, almost simple and casual. I mean this fully as a compliment, as that was what life would've been like in this time period. Yes, people had it difficult and suffered tremendously, but the rush to get to work or respond to a phone call or meet someone to chat wasn't like today. When Lily wants to discuss the case with Marvena, it's several hours journey by horse and carriage to get to her part of town. But I adore the entire series of events to get there.

The mystery is strong. I liked seeing the connections to the women's version of the KKK during this period. I had no idea it existed, nonetheless in the 1920s. Prohibition apparently made it re-surge (or become more widely known). As much as women were prejudiced against, there were strong voices, and some of them were just as evil and nasty as the men of their time (in terms of their hatred of African Americans, Native Americans, etc.). I liked seeing the balance of how women were portrayed because amidst the injustice, there were moments of power and strength. It wasn't just a sad story about lack of equal rights but one where readers could hear exactly what they tried to do to become more equal. This applies to any of the groups being victimized at the time, not just women. The author does an exquisite job of balancing all the necessary facts and truths of the period.

On a few occasions, I thought the book got a little too descriptive and/or left out some information I would've liked to know. As an example, the asylum was prominent for several chapters, but in a scene were someone researches patient care, it felt rushed. I didn't get to connect as much as I had in other areas of the book. All minor stuff, as it doesn't at all stop me from recommending this series. It's a great alternative to modern crime fiction or mysteries, and I definitely plan to keep this one in my rotation. I can't wait for the next book to come out. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Berit☀️✨ rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc-physical, 2020, blog-tour

The perfect blend of history and Mystery this is the second book in Jess Montgomery’s Kinship series based on The real first female sheriff of Ohio. While I thought this worked just fine as a standalone, I also would have liked a little more of the characters backstory that I am sure is given in the first book. 1926 Ohio Lily is called to the scene of an elderly woman having dropped onto the train tracks from above and then been hit by the oncoming train. No identification, no shoes, no idea if ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 DJ Sakata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: family-drama, historical-fiction, netgalley, small-town, suspense, southern

Favorite Quotes:

Since her husband’s death, Lily has found that the absences of ordinary, predictable sounds— Daniel shaving in the washroom, Daniel humming, Daniel sitting on the edge of their bed to pull on his boots and then clunking his feet on the floor— are more noticeable than the sounds themselves ever were.

She’d also blushed then, redness rising up her chest and creeping over the top of her high-necked dress collar, as she realized for the first time in years… she was regarding a man and Favorite Quotes:

Since her husband’s death, Lily has found that the absences of ordinary, predictable sounds— Daniel shaving in the washroom, Daniel humming, Daniel sitting on the edge of their bed to pull on his boots and then clunking his feet on the floor— are more noticeable than the sounds themselves ever were.

She’d also blushed then, redness rising up her chest and creeping over the top of her high-necked dress collar, as she realized for the first time in years… she was regarding a man and feeling surprisingly delicious tingles dance over her skin.

Marvena’s hand shakes as she points to something on the floor. A hooded cape, sewn from rough white cotton. The pointed hood has buttonholes to attach a face covering, with slits cut for eyes. Lily recoils, more startled by this than by the snake from moments ago.

Lily’s gaze hardens as she looks up at Abe, the tallest man she’s ever met, and so slender it’s hard to imagine he takes any joy in eating… his exaggerated Adam’s apple as still as a stone lodged in his throat, his chin and jawline shaved so smoothly as to suggest that even stubble is too scared to brush his face.

You’re sad, Lily. It’s been more’n a year, the length of time people give for mourning, but there’s no clock running on sorrow.

My Review:

I was quickly pulled into this quagmire of a tale by the mesmerizing storytelling quality, insightful observations, and perceptiveness of the writing. It was highly descriptive, swirling with atmosphere, and taut with raw emotions that were close to the surface as well as deeply buried – primarily frustration and grief. I was so deeply engaged I found myself holding tension in my body and clenching my teeth as I read. The main characters were deeply flawed women who were attempting to solve an intriguing murder in a small village that was, “inaccessible by automobile. Folks can get in and out only by train, mule, or foot,” all while struggling with their own personal issues and societal limitations of the 1920s. They were constantly on edge, physically and emotionally exhausted, hungry, anxious, frustrated and thwarted at every turn, yet striving to do their best and taking great personal risks. I cringed for them as I sucked down copious amounts of wine while they labored to untangle several complicated subplots to ultimately merge their diverse storylines. This intensely complex book was ingeniously and cunningly contrived and well worth the effort.

I will admit my ignorance, I had no idea there was such a group as the WKKK— the Women of the Ku Klux Klan. I should not have been surprised, but I was, and profoundly so. These not so secret groups were found all across the nation in the 1920s and were not just wives and daughters attending events with their families, but “an auxiliary women’s group, born of the KKK,” which had spun off from the suffrage movement and incorporated the tenets of prohibition and all the arrogance, antagonistic warfare, and bigotry of the KKK toward any person or group that was not white or Protestant. Yikes. Those women sound like the worst type of insufferable battleaxes. Gasp - I hope none of them would fall out of my own family tree, which in retrospect would not seem all that unlikely as there appears to be an overabundance of diseased branches. ;) ...more

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Jan 29, 2020 Mackenzie - PhDiva Books rated it really liked it

I remember when Jess Montgomery’s first book in this series The Widows came out and the book world was abuzz with praise for it. I missed out when it was first published, but that led me to the amazing opportunity to read not only The Widows, but the sequel which was just published this month, The Hollows back-to-back. All of the pain of waiting for more from the series was washed away, and I pretty much dropped everything to read them.

I have to say—the praise was well-earned! Jess Montgomery w I remember when Jess Montgomery’s first book in this series The Widows came out and the book world was abuzz with praise for it. I missed out when it was first published, but that led me to the amazing opportunity to read not only The Widows, but the sequel which was just published this month, The Hollows back-to-back. All of the pain of waiting for more from the series was washed away, and I pretty much dropped everything to read them.

I have to say—the praise was well-earned! Jess Montgomery writes a mystery that had my mind so engaged, trying to work through the pieces. With a slight edge of myth and lore, The Hollows is already primed to be a favorite book of mine in 2020, and it’s only January!

The appeal of The Hollows (and it’s predecessor The Widows) is the complexity of the story and the characters. In every way that thrillers can feel larger than life, this book shines in how subtle and authentic the mystery felt. In fact, I could have imagined this to be based on a true story (and in part, it is, I learned after reading it!). The books in the Kinship, Ohio series are based on the real first female sheriff from the 1920s in Appalachia, Ohio.

Lily Ross is a widow and mother to two young children when she was appointed to fill the role of sheriff after her husband (the current sheriff) died. When Lily later goes on to be officially elected as sheriff based on her own merit, history was made. But Lily is a character who shows all of the authenticity, vulnerability, and even strength that a woman (or even a person) in her position would face. She’s doing her best to hold her life together for her town and for her two small children.

When an elderly woman dies in a fall near the railroad tracks, Lily quickly finds that they town wants her to declare the death accidental. Lily isn’t so sure though. It doesn’t quite add up, the notion that a woman could vanish and no one would know they were missing. But as she looks into the death, she discovers a troubling link to the Ku Klux Klan in a house the woman had been in the night that she died.

When Lily discovers the identity of the woman and that she had escaped from the Hollows Asylum for the Insane, as well as discovering her past ties to the murder of her own father and her testimony that helped convict an escaped slave for committing the crime, she realizes this case is much more complicated than it seems.

The historical setting of small town Ohio combined with the town’s roots in racial tension and conflict was such a rich context for this mystery. I loved the town lore, and the talk of ghost stories. The way the town searched for mystical explanations to explain away the troubling truth of the rotten core that threatened their community. These all led to an atmospheric quality to the story that I couldn’t quite dismiss. Do I believe in ghosts? Let’s just say I don’t NOT believe in them!

There’s almost a delicateness to this series that is hard to explain. The themes of racism and a community threatening to boil over if disrupted are powerful, but the writing itself and the story is so carefully woven, it felt like an entirely different reading experience than the typical mystery. The women were powerful in this town, as evidenced by the incredible things Lily has done and has yet to accomplish. But there is an evil to some of the town and some of the history of the community that even the strongest among them feel diminished by.

I lost myself in these books. I can’t recommend them enough! I also think you could easily jump in straight at The Hollows, though I’d be doing a disservice as a reviewer if I didn’t encourage you to read both! They are that good!

Thank you to TLC Book Tours and Minotaur Books for my copy. Opinions are my own. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Nursebookie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: blog-ig-feature, booktour, murdermystery, womensfiction, tlcbooktour, thrillers, arc-physical, women-author, minotaur-books, mystery

The Hollows is the second book of the Kinship Historical Mystery Series and great as a standalone book. This is my first Jess Montgomery book and she has quickly become one of my favorite authors.

The series is based on real life events and focused on a 1920’s female sheriff in Appalachia. As the sheriff, Lily Ross is called to investigate the mysterious death of an elderly woman in the remote district called Moonvale Tunnel. Lily is assisted by her deputy sheriffs’ Hildy and Marvena, as their i ...more

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Mar 14, 2020 Tammy rated it it was amazing

The Kinship Series is a delightful series taking you back in time to the 1920-30’s Ohio Appalachian region, centering on main character and first “female” Sheriff, Lily Ross.

This follow up to book #1 The Widows is chocked full of local history and legend. There’s a new murder mystery for Sheriff Lily to solve with racial prejudice at its core. In this 2nd installment the characters are more fully developed with relationships evolving, including possibly a new romance where Sheriff Lily is concer ...more

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Apr 01, 2020 Anna rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery

Lily Ross is the acting Sheriff in a rural Appalachian County in Southeastern Ohio. It's 1926, and many still do not support a woman as Sheriff, but Lily is determined to uphold the law. When an elderly woman is hit by a train in the Moonvale Tunnel, Lily is called to investigate. The locals believe the area is haunted, and the brakeman claimed he saw a ghostly figure at the time of the accident. But was it an accident, or was she pushed? Who is this elderly woman, and what's her story? With the ...more

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Jan 27, 2020 Jypsy rated it really liked it

Thank you Minotaur for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

The Hollows
By: Jess Montgomery

*REVIEW* 🌟🌟🌟🌟

The Hollows is my first read by Jess Montgomery. Lily Ross is the first female sheriff in the Appalachian region via Kinship, Ohio. It's hard to imagine how difficult the job must have been for a woman. The death of an elderly woman in Moonvale Tunnel means Lily is called to investigate. The case is not as cut and dry as it seems. Things a ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Dawnny rated it it was amazing

I loved her other books and this didn't disappoint. A fast paced mystery crime novel that held me all the way through. Outstanding historical fiction. I loved it.

Dawnny-BookGypsy
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley NY ...more

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Jan 27, 2020 Asheley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020-read, historical-mystery

4.5/5

I cannot describe how excited I was to read The Hollows after loving The Widows so much. I think I loved this one just a little bit more than the last one, but that’s because I already know these characters pretty well after reading the first book twice.

In the previous story, Lily was appointed to the sheriff position after her husband, then Sheriff Daniel Ross, was murdered. In this story, Lily is up for re-election. I love the way there is the tension of an upcoming election and the campa 4.5/5

I cannot describe how excited I was to read The Hollows after loving The Widows so much. I think I loved this one just a little bit more than the last one, but that’s because I already know these characters pretty well after reading the first book twice.

In the previous story, Lily was appointed to the sheriff position after her husband, then Sheriff Daniel Ross, was murdered. In this story, Lily is up for re-election. I love the way there is the tension of an upcoming election and the campaigning that goes on around the different candidates. Even more, I love that we get to see that Lily’s job doesn’t slow down or stop just because of politics, so the stresses of solving crimes and getting her re-election message out are at the forefront of Lily’s mind. Of course, this stress bleeds into the hard work of being a widowed mother. Lily relies a lot on her mother’s help, and the help of her friends Hildy and Marvena. I’ve really grown to love this community of strong women.

While the previous book centered mostly on coal-mining issues, this installment focuses heavily on racism and the judgment women had for one another during this time. While trying to solve the mystery of an unknown woman’s murder, Lily bumps up against the WKKK (why didn’t I know about the women’s KKK?) and discovers more about her county’s ties to the Underground Railroad. I felt more like I existed within the lives of these women while they navigated these hard things rather than just merely reading about them above the pages. The history of this area and time was really well-researched, and that’s been something that I have loved about both books in this series.

I can’t sing the praises of Lily and her friends and family enough. Lily is tough but tired, smart but sensitive, and fair but fiercely protective of the ones she loves. The women in this story have a strength and a determination that reads like it should for the early 1900’s (rather than feminism by today’s standards) when gender roles were a bit more “traditional” than they are today. This feels completely true to these characters, rather than something a contemporary author has forced, and I 100% here for that. I’m just such a fan of this series and I can’t wait for the next thing from Jess Montgomery.

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you, Minotaur Books!

Find this review and more like it on my blog, Into the Hall of Books! ...more

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Jan 26, 2020 Mogsy (MMOGC) rated it liked it

Shelves: review-copy

3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/02/02/...

Definitely not my usual kind of read, but when I was first pitched The Hollows by Jess Montgomery, I went and dug around for some information. This was how I found out the book is part of a historical mystery series inspired by Maude Collins, Ohio’s first female sheriff, and that was enough to pique my interest.

While The Hollows is technically the second book in the Kinship sequence, following Montgomery’s debut The Wido 3.5 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum https://bibliosanctum.com/2020/02/02/...

Definitely not my usual kind of read, but when I was first pitched The Hollows by Jess Montgomery, I went and dug around for some information. This was how I found out the book is part of a historical mystery series inspired by Maude Collins, Ohio’s first female sheriff, and that was enough to pique my interest.

While The Hollows is technically the second book in the Kinship sequence, following Montgomery’s debut The Widows, I had absolutely no problems jumping right into the story. The author does an excellent job catching us up with the protagonist, Lily Ross, who became the sheriff of the small mining town of Kinship, Ohio after the death of her husband who had previously held the post. The year is 1926, and while most the townsfolk know and trust Lily, not everyone is ready to openly support a woman sheriff, making her even more determined to show she has what it takes. On her latest case, she is called out to the Moonvale Tunnel, a site used as part of the underground railroad used to aid and shelter escaped slaves from the South during the early to mid-19th century. An elderly woman in her 70s, dressed in a nightgown with her feet wrapped in cloth, had been found dead on the tracks, and a witness report claims that she may have fallen—or was pushed by a mysterious assailant—from the hills above.

Lily’s first task is to identify the woman, whom no one in town seems to recognize, which in itself is a bit strange. With the help of her friend Marvena and a scent hound, they track the trail to an asylum in a neighboring county, from where the old woman had escaped. Lily now has a name to go with the victim, one with connections to some old families in Kinship, as well as a long history that traces back to the Civil War. Now Lily’s job is to figure out how all of it is related, though it isn’t going to be easy in the face of reticent witnesses and disturbing rumors of Klan activities on the rise again. In addition, there is the upcoming election to decide if she’ll be able to keep her position as sheriff, as well as the private struggles of her best friend Hildy Cooper who is trapped in an unwanted engagement while being romantically involved with another man. It would be so easy, and not to mention more convenient for Lily, if she simply labeled the old woman’s death an accident, the way the entire town would prefer. However, our protagonist is a damn good sheriff, and she will not rest until she finds the truth and bring those responsible to justice.

First, the good stuff: Montgomery does a great job spinning this mystery, threading in side-plots that involve many of the secondary characters, resulting in a narrative that felt bigger than it really was. I did not expect such scope when I picked up The Hollows; by the end of it, I was impressed with the way personal stories as well as the setting’s rich history were both incorporated into the larger picture. Relationships are at the forefront (in fact, occasionally they even get to be too distracting from the main mystery plot), and all the tensions flying around in a small town like Kinship where everybody is deeply connected can be likened to a pressure cooker about to explode. Almost everyone has a secret—scandals, hidden pasts, or other dangerous knowledge that can potentially ruin reputations or destroy lives.

I also liked that The Hollows made the lives of its female characters the main focus—and that goes for both protagonists and antagonists. Our heroines Lily, Marvena, Hildy are all brave and determined women, strong in their own ways. They’re ahead of their time, struggling against social norms in a time where sexism and racism are still big problems. Thing is, much of the pressure to conform is also from other women, and in Hildy’s case, from her own mother. Lily deals with discrimination as sheriff too, from people who don’t take her seriously or think she doesn’t have what it takes to do a “man’s job.” As well, she’s a widow grieving for her murdered husband, trying to raise her kids the best she can. One of the best scenes from the books, which is also one of its most touching moments, is when Lily talks to her daughter about how to deal with a bully. It’s moments like these that are the most revealing about her character and that make me want to pick up The Widows to find out more about her back story.

As for criticisms, I mentioned earlier how relationship drama would sometimes get in the way of the story’s flow. I thought the mystery plot itself dragged a bit, mainly because of these frequent detours to focus on the characters’ personal stories. Don’t get me wrong; I liked that we got to know more about the characters, but the murder investigation could have been more interesting—and the pacing improved—had things been better balanced. This being a historical novel, I was also disappointed and a little surprised I couldn’t get a stronger sense of the place and time. Montgomery is a talented writer, but her prose is sparse on description and she doesn’t take nearly enough time to establish the physical and social environment. As a result, even though my mind knew I was reading a story set in the 1920s, my heart just didn’t feel it.

But all in all, I’m very glad I decided to venture outside my comfort zone and try The Hollows. A decent historical mystery with a heavy emotional comment, this was a very good read and a nice change of pace. I will be watching for more from Jess Montgomery in the future. ...more

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Nov 15, 2019 Annette rated it really liked it

Shelves: books-read-2019

I thought this book started out a bit slow and I had some trouble following it. However not quite halfway through it suddenly got better. It had some interesting history weaved in the story. I liked the spunkiness of Lilly and the determination of the other characters. I ended up really liking the story much more than I expected. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

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Jul 26, 2020 Kris - My Novelesque Life rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, america, historical-fiction, mystery, historical-mystery, audiobook, police, 1930s, elibrary

RATING: 4 STARS

I read The Widows recently, and enjoyed the novel immensely. It reminded me a bit of William Kent Krueger's standalone novels. There is so much I loved about it - it based on true events in history (although I am not sure how much of it is true), it has mystery, some romance, brave women, and gorgeous descriptions and writing. I was so happy to hear there was a sequel, but I wasn't sure if it would be as good as the first novel. In The Hollows we learn more about Lily's friend, Hi ...more

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Jan 08, 2020 Cathy Cole rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

The Widows, the first book in Jess Montgomery's Kinship historical mystery series, was one of my stand-out books in 2019, and it gives me so much pleasure to say that this second book, The Hollows, is now a stand-out book of 2020. I find the combination of Montgomery's evocative setting, her descriptive language, her story, and her marvelous characters to be well-nigh perfect.

Perhaps the setting speaks to me so strongly because I was raised in a small farm town that had a coal mine until the mi The Widows, the first book in Jess Montgomery's Kinship historical mystery series, was one of my stand-out books in 2019, and it gives me so much pleasure to say that this second book, The Hollows, is now a stand-out book of 2020. I find the combination of Montgomery's evocative setting, her descriptive language, her story, and her marvelous characters to be well-nigh perfect.

Perhaps the setting speaks to me so strongly because I was raised in a small farm town that had a coal mine until the mine blew up on December 24, 1932, killing over fifty men. In reading the mine's history, I see many parallels to the mines around Montgomery's fictional Kinship, Ohio. The language used, the bred-in-the-bone lifestyle of "make do and mend" all add to the verisimilitude of The Hollows as well. As I read this slow-moving, rich story, I savored its Appalachian flavor and learned more about the attempts to unionize mine workers as well as something I'd never heard of before. Just what that is, I'll leave for you to discover.

The word "hollows" has many meanings in Montgomery's book. It's used in various terms locals use in relating to the landscape, but it also has a physical and emotional meaning-- especially to Hildy Cooper who feels like a failure when compared to her best friend, Sheriff Lily Ross. Hildy has found it impossible to break away from her domineering mother.

Lily Ross-- as well as her friends Marvena and Hildy-- show readers what was expected of women in the rather isolated mining communities of the 1920s, and these women also illustrate what can happen when women insist on breaking the molds others have forced them into. All three women can be mule stubborn, but when it comes to upholding the rule of the law for everyone, Lily joins the camp of Harry Bosch. Everybody counts, or nobody counts, and it's useless to threaten her.

And, oh, the secrets these three women uncover! Never, ever think that small towns and isolated areas are dull. Wherever humans are to be found, there are secrets, and secrets abound in Kinship and the surrounding area.

I loved this book. If you read and loved The Widows, rejoice, because The Hollows is, in many ways, even better. If you've read neither book, rejoice, because you have some excellent stories and characters ahead of you. Don't wait to get your hands on either of these books!
...more

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Feb 03, 2020 Victoria Thompson rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

You'll love it as much as the first one

This is a worthy successor to the first book in the series. It immerses you in this world and makes you part of it. Keeps you guessing until the end and them surprises you. ...more

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Jan 30, 2020 The Lit Bitch rated it really liked it

I have had my eye on Jess Montgomery’s debut novel, The Widow’s, for some time so when this one came up for review, I couldn’t pass on it even if it was the second in a series.

A number of readers said this book could be read as a standalone even if it is part of a series so I was eager to jump in and see if that was truly the case. I loved the ‘ghost story’ angle in the summary and couldn’t wait to start reading it!

Admittedly the midwest area and the 1920s aren’t really my go to location or eras I have had my eye on Jess Montgomery’s debut novel, The Widow’s, for some time so when this one came up for review, I couldn’t pass on it even if it was the second in a series.

A number of readers said this book could be read as a standalone even if it is part of a series so I was eager to jump in and see if that was truly the case. I loved the ‘ghost story’ angle in the summary and couldn’t wait to start reading it!

Admittedly the midwest area and the 1920s aren’t really my go to location or eras for a historical mystery novel but I heard such great things about her debut that I was sure to love this one as well!

First of all I have to say, I love Lily as the sheriff! She has a great presence in this book and I love how her mind works to solve things. I also loved that the author based her character and mystery series in real life happenings in that area and a real life female sheriff. I thought it added a lot of historical interest to the narrative and characters so I applaud the author for this!

This book was well written and I thought the author showed her skills at story telling nicely throughout this mystery. The mystery itself was solid with some twists and turns to keep me guessing. I was constantly entertained and eager to see what happened next and how the crime would be solved.

I am also a huge fan of the gothic and I loved how this story incorporated little elements of the gothic to it’s mystery. In addition to the fun little elements of ghosts in this book, the historical research is top notch. As I said earlier, I loved reading about all the historical politics of the time as well as the setting of this area. While I am not a huge fan of small town post war, mid west America, as far as history is concerned, I am a fan of well written and researched history brought to life in a mystery such as this!

This was a book that I had no trouble breezing through in a few days and trying to decipher the mystery and motives was so fun and I thought the author did an amazing job keeping her audience engaged and excited about what was to come in the next chapter as well as the series overall. I would also like to go back and read her debut novel so that I can get a more detailed understanding of Lily as a main character. I loved her so much and enjoyed how witty and intelligent she was so I would like to go back and ‘meet her’ for the first time in The Widows!

Overall a solid historical mystery, this is an author to watch!

See my full review here ...more

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Jan 22, 2020 Lynn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: best-reads-2020

I read the first book The Widows and enjoyed it very much. I was eager to read the 2nd book in the Kinship series. I liked it even more than the first book in the series. It will be one of my best reads for 2020 since I gave it five stars.

The time is 1925 and the location is Kinship Ohio which is in South East Ohio. It is mining country and close to the Appalachian Mountains. The written descriptions of the area are just beautiful. Several times I would reread passages again savoring the descrip I read the first book The Widows and enjoyed it very much. I was eager to read the 2nd book in the Kinship series. I liked it even more than the first book in the series. It will be one of my best reads for 2020 since I gave it five stars.

The time is 1925 and the location is Kinship Ohio which is in South East Ohio. It is mining country and close to the Appalachian Mountains. The written descriptions of the area are just beautiful. Several times I would reread passages again savoring the descriptions visualizing them in my mind.

The characters seem so real that they seem like they can come off the page. The main characters are three amazing women Sheriff Lily, Hildy and Marvena. Sheriff Lily is doing a nontraditional job after her husband was killed on the job as he was the previous sheriff. The author mentions that there was a woman sheriff around the same time period in Ohio as Lily who took over her husband's job when he lost it serving as sheriff. Sheriff Lily is a mother of two young children. She could take the easy way out in the current case which the book is about but she wants to find justice.

Hildy is a young women who lost her fiance in the War. She cleans the jail and helps Sheriff Lily with whatever is needed. She wants to change the image people have of her and become a strong and independent woman like Lily and Marvena.

Marvena who was featured more in the first book is a Union Organizer for the mines and now working on integrating the work force in the mines. In today's terminology, it could be said that Marvena and Lilys relationship could be termed as "complicated" They both loved the same man and while Lily married Daniel, Marvena had been a life long friend and previous lover. She and Lily now are best friends.

A frail elderly lady is found dead from a fall unto a railroad tunnel as the train went through. A railroad worker said he saw someone push her off while everyone else was calling it an accident.

I liked that the author told of her research into the past of the location and events. She uncovered things she didn't know before and put them into the book. One in particular surprised me too as it had the author. At one point, she visited the area and walked without shoes as had the elderly lady in her book. She was is the same area as where the fall unto the tracks took place.

If this book was ever made into a movie, there are some plum roles for the actresses. It was an exceptional read. ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Annarella rated it it was amazing

Shelves: edelweiss, historical-mystery

An excellent historical mystery, engrossing and entertaining.
I liked the well crafted plot, the well researched historical background and the solid mystery.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

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Jan 04, 2020 Michelle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: x-edelweiss

I loved the first book in this series and was so happy that the second was just as good.
I love a good historical novel and The Hollows was one of them. The mystery in this one was just as good as the first. It had me staying up way too late to finish it, just to find out what happened.
The Widows had POV's from Lily and Marvena. The Hollows adds in Hildy's POV as well. I really enjoyed her arc to the story.
There is an elderly woman who is hit by a train and Lily must determine whether it was an ...more

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Jan 10, 2020 Robin rated it it was amazing

The second novel in Jess Montgomery’s remarkable series set in a 1920’s Ohio mining town is every bit as memorable and vivid as the first, The Widows, which was far and away one of the best books of 2019. Montgomery brings to life the story of the first female sheriff, Lily Ross, in tiny Kinship, Ohio. While the first novel concerned itself with the politics of mining, this novel is more of a straight mystery, which veers into the unfortunate territory of racism and because of the time period, a The second novel in Jess Montgomery’s remarkable series set in a 1920’s Ohio mining town is every bit as memorable and vivid as the first, The Widows, which was far and away one of the best books of 2019. Montgomery brings to life the story of the first female sheriff, Lily Ross, in tiny Kinship, Ohio. While the first novel concerned itself with the politics of mining, this novel is more of a straight mystery, which veers into the unfortunate territory of racism and because of the time period, an ever present and ingrained sexism. This is naturally a hindrance at times to Lily’s carrying out her duties.

The book opens with the wandering of an old woman down some railroad tracks, where she ultimately falls to her death. As Lily is called in to investigate, she of course wonders if the frail, shoeless old woman fell, or was pushed. One of the strengths of both novels are the network of kin (her town is even called “Kinship”) and friends that Lily calls on and relies on to both help her get through the day taking care of her children – that’s often her mother, raising her own late on life child – to taking care of prisoners at the jail, to figuring out the deep connections in the backwoods hollows that to any outsider would be impenetrable.

Hildy, Lily’s friend since childhood, is the one Lily calls on to help with tasks at the jail. Lily is somewhat dismissive of Hildy, thinking her soft and simply awaiting marriage to the staid Merle, owner of the town grocery store. Then there’s Marvena, encountered in the first novel, union worker, still owner, and force of nature. What Marvena doesn’t know about the backwoods isn’t worth talking about. She’s also Lily’s source for tracking dogs, so the two of them set out to track the dead woman’s path.

The path takes them to the doors of the mental asylum, The Hollows of the title, where Lily discovers that the woman suffered from dementia. She ultimately discovers family ties the woman had to the town. Deep and terrible events bound the woman to Kinship, and as Lily peels back layers, exhausted and helped by Marvena, she also uncovers a women’s branch of the KKK, known as the WKKK. This was sadly a real organization.

Montgomery does not shy from politics, and she includes the unfortunate history of this awful racist organization, as well as the work the Quakers did on the underground railroad. As in all things, it’s a crazy balancing act, with extremes existing at the same time and in the same place, often with no common ground.

Montgomery also has a hand with prose. Her writing is lovely, and she truly illuminates the Ohio valleys she’s describing, as much as she illuminates the inner lives of her characters. This novel mainly belongs to Lily and Hildy, another illustration of a relationship out of balance throughout much of the novel. Montgomery’s love for her characters, for the land she’s writing about, and for the time period she’s chosen, shines through on every page.

If she has a direct ancestress I would say it would be Sharyn McCrumb. Sharyn McCrumb’s Appalachia is in a slightly different location, but McCrumb and Montgomery share a reverence for folk culture and even the possibility of an unexplained spirit or two. My best advice: dive into these wonderful novels. It’s an immersive and beautiful experience.
...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Michelle Kenneth - PerfectionistWannabe.com rated it really liked it

[I received a gifted copy of this book from the publisher.]

I liked this murder mystery. It is perfect for the Bechdel Test prompt.

When I picked this book, I assumed it would be a little scary, mixed in with a murder mystery. There are ghosts in this book, but they are not present in a way that will make you believe this book is supposed to be scary. The ghosts are only there as if they're a part of everyday life.

There are women in this story who are heroes and others who are villains. This book ...more

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Apr 30, 2020 Val rated it really liked it

Story set in Appalachia appeal to me and this does not disappoint . This historical mystery set in an area where the underground railroad was active follows the newly elected woman sheriff investigate the death of an elderly woman found near the tracks. There is so much to the story--so much entwined in the lives of those who live in the hollar and harbor secrets, prejudice, anger, and love.

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Feb 14, 2020 Jessica Strawser rated it it was amazing

The 2nd book in Jess Montgomery's Kinship series delivers—and promises more great things to come—with a beautifully written, atmospheric, and compelling story of unlikely heroes in 1920 Appalachia. I rooted hard for this ensemble cast of strong women finding the courage to do the right, hard thing—and finding themselves in the process. ...more

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Nov 13, 2020 Renae rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2020, genre-historical, genre-mystery-thriller

I do like this female-lead mystery series about a unique "lady sheriff" in the 1920s. Although this book's protagonist is a member of law enforcement, Montgomery strays far from typical "cop-centric" mystery beats. The stories in this series tend to unveil the less-than-idyllic portions of rural America, rather then rely on tired tropes of drunken murderers or sociopathic serial killers: in The Hollows, the "bad guys" are members of the KKK and those who enable them. This is as much a book about ...more

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Nov 16, 2019 Emily rated it really liked it

Jess Montgomery has created another winner. The Hollows is the second book in a series that follows a female sheriff in small-town, post WWI Ohio. And just like in the series' first book, The Widows, Montgomery has treated us with a fantastic cast of characters; a complex, multi-layered mystery; a wonderful sense of place and time; and a fascinating history lesson.

Lily Ross became sheriff of the fictional Bronwyn County during The Widows, and as The Hollows opens, we learn she is running for re- Jess Montgomery has created another winner. The Hollows is the second book in a series that follows a female sheriff in small-town, post WWI Ohio. And just like in the series' first book, The Widows, Montgomery has treated us with a fantastic cast of characters; a complex, multi-layered mystery; a wonderful sense of place and time; and a fascinating history lesson.

Lily Ross became sheriff of the fictional Bronwyn County during The Widows, and as The Hollows opens, we learn she is running for re-election. As the election draws close, a woman is found dead - possibly thrown from a train tunnel, possibly an accidental fall. Lily must solve this mystery - all while continuing her campaign for re-election, being a mother to her two small children and being a friend to some people who are very important to her.

I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First, the characters. These are women I can get behind. They are strong but do not destroy the sense of time. It is not obvious they are written by a 21st Century woman. They are as strong as women have always been, but they have early 20th Century struggles with 20th Century society. Marvena was a main character in The Widows and has a more supporting role in The Hollows. I absolutely adored her and wished for more of her. But her role makes sense, and having more Marvena wouldn't have really added to the plot. As far as other characters, we met many in The Widows. I definitely would recommend reading these books in order, or you'll be lost.

Speaking of characters, I feel like the setting of this book doubles as a character. The town of Rossville, Bronwyn County, the hills of Ohio are more than just realistic places. They add to explaining the characters and their mindsets - the differences between an old mining town, the industrial town, the big city of Cincinnati. Where each character comes from is made so real, it helps explain many thought processes.

The second reason I really enjoyed this book is the multi-layered aspect to the mystery surrounding the dead woman. This is far more complex than a "whodunnit." During our journey to discover who killed Thea - or whether it was an accident - we learn about race relations, the Underground Railroad, the Women's KKK, treatment of women in the 19th and 20th Centuries, asylums and more. I read historical fiction to learn what it might have been like to live through different times. And The Hollows expertly drops the reader into the middle of the 1920s. All the while, the struggles and clashes between different view points are still quite topical.

I will admit the first quarter of this book dragged for me. I am not a fan of the romance genre, and I really didn't care much about who Hildy (Lily's best friend) ended up with. I felt this aspect of the book was a bit drawn out, but fans of the romance genre surely will enjoy it. The first quarter of the book was spent mainly explaining Hildy's love problems. And that she felt left out a lot.

But, after the first quarter, the book really picked up in pace, and I had trouble putting it down. I wanted to know so much more about Thea. She was absolutely fascinating and someone I really would have enjoyed knowing. I also was kept guessing about the details surrounding her death. And when we learn what happened, it is realistic and shocking.

There is plenty of "telling instead of showing" throughout this book. We are told how the characters are feeling all the time. I didn't mind. The characters suddenly realize how exhausted they are quite frequently. I got a little impatient with a character carrying on and realizing all of a sudden they haven't slept in days. But, that didn't bother me much in the end. The rest of the book is so good, it softens some less-than-stellar editing. This book is definitely worth the time to read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction, a good mystery, interesting characters and simply being very entertained.

I received a free advance copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review. ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Marlene rated it it was amazing

Originally published at Reading Reality

I want to call this “Southern Gothic” but it isn’t really Southern and only parts of it are gothic. But still, that feeling persists.

While this isn’t truly Southern, it also kind of is. It may be set in Ohio, but it’s in the southeast corner of the state, a place that has always been more a part of Appalachia than it is the Midwest. Far away from the big cities, which would have been Cincinnati and Cleveland at the time this story is set, locked in their et ...more

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Nov 16, 2019 Cat rated it it was amazing

The Hollows is the second book of the Kinship Historical Mystery Series, following The Widows. Jess Montgomery bases her storyline on actual 1920’s events of Ohio’s first female sheriff.
The widow Lily Ross is very good at her job as sheriff, but it seems she must devote more energy defending the fact that she’s female than she does just trying to keep her responsibilities in order. The election is coming up, too, which is already causing some backstabbing and mumbling among the town’s inhabitant ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Yolanda rated it liked it

This was a good fast paced historical drama with believable twists and turns and characters . Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

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Jan 15, 2020 Jen rated it really liked it

The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is the second in her Kinship series. Lily Ross is the sheriff of Kinship, a small town in Bronwyn County. In 1926, a female sheriff could be controversial. Actually, there still aren't many women in the role of sheriff: "Of the 3,084 sheriffs in the United States, only 42 are women, says Fred Wilson, director of operations for the National Sheriffs’ Assn. And that number is nearly twice what it was just seven years ago, he says. "(Source)

In addition to the fact tha The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is the second in her Kinship series. Lily Ross is the sheriff of Kinship, a small town in Bronwyn County. In 1926, a female sheriff could be controversial. Actually, there still aren't many women in the role of sheriff: "Of the 3,084 sheriffs in the United States, only 42 are women, says Fred Wilson, director of operations for the National Sheriffs’ Assn. And that number is nearly twice what it was just seven years ago, he says. "(Source)

In addition to the fact that Lily Ross is still grieving her husband's death, she has children, a demanding job, and an upcoming election to deal with as well. Called out in the middle of the night about an elderly woman who was hit by a train. Accident, suicide, or murder?

Determined to find out who the woman was and where she came from leads to a number of secrets past and present, events and connections that a number of people would prefer to ignore. Politics, racism, and sexism all play a role in the 1926 small town.

I had not read the first novel The Widows, but my interest and appreciation grew as I continued reading. Character-driven, yes. Good mystery, yes. Setting that feels genuine, yes. The Widows now on my list, yes.

It wasn't until I finished reading the novel, that it dawned on me that all of the important characters were women, which made me curious about the number of female sheriffs and made me think of the Bechtel test.

The Bechdel test (/ˈbɛkdəl/ BEK-dəl),[1] also known as the Bechdel–Wallace test,[2] is a measure of the representation of women in fiction. It asks whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. The requirement that the two women must be named is sometimes added.[3]About half of all films meet these criteria, according to user-edited databases and the media industry press. Passing or failing the test is not necessarily indicative of how well women are represented in any specific work. Rather, the test is used as an indicator for the active presence of women in the entire field of film and other fiction, and to call attention to gender inequality in fiction. Media industry studies indicate that films that pass the test financially outperform those that do not.[citation needed]
The test is named after the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel in whose comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For the test first appeared in 1985. Bechdel credited the idea to her friend Liz Wallace and the writings of Virginia Woolf. After the test became more widely discussed in the 2000s, a number of variants and tests inspired by it emerged. (Source)
and this quote from Virginia Woolf in "A Room of One's Own":
All these relationships between women, I thought, rapidly recalling the splendid gallery of fictitious women, are too simple. ... And I tried to remember any case in the course of my reading where two women are represented as friends. ... They are now and then mothers and daughters. But almost without exception they are shown in their relation to men. It was strange to think that all the great women of fiction were, until Jane Austen's day, not only seen by the other sex, but seen only in relation to the other sex. And how small a part of a woman's life is that ...[5] Source (high light mine)

Two women inspired the author's characters. Maude Collins (the inspiration for Lily Ross) and Mary Harris Jones (although Marvena's character is less educated than "Mother Jones") --two women who broke barriers in law enforcement and activism.

I was working on this review when I saw Cathy's review yesterday, so I will skip the plot and point you to Cathy's blog. :)

NetGalley/St. Martin's Press
Historical Mystery. Jan. 14, 2020. Print length: 352 pages. ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Suz Jay rated it really liked it

Shelves: netgalley, arc

“For some time, people and moments and events—living and dead, past and present—have been raveling free of one another, like pieces in a patch quilt whose connecting stitches have broken, the pieces all still there but floating separately, randomly, in her mind.”*

Lily Ross’s term as sheriff is nearly over and she’s up for re-election. The town is split, some support Lily, knowing what a great job she’s done after inheriting the role after her husband Daniel’s death, while others want a man in th “For some time, people and moments and events—living and dead, past and present—have been raveling free of one another, like pieces in a patch quilt whose connecting stitches have broken, the pieces all still there but floating separately, randomly, in her mind.”*

Lily Ross’s term as sheriff is nearly over and she’s up for re-election. The town is split, some support Lily, knowing what a great job she’s done after inheriting the role after her husband Daniel’s death, while others want a man in the position. Many of the people who support her opponent are cronies of his domineering, power-hungry wife. But Lily’s priority isn’t her campaign. She’s focused on determining if the death of an elderly woman who escaped an asylum was an accident or murder. But to solve the case, she may have to make a deal with the Devil.

At the heart of THE HOLLOWS is the theme of star-crossed lovers. There’s Hildy who is engaged to the much older owner of the grocery store, but is in love with a miner. The town’s teacher, Olive, fears that her interracial romance with a local man will make them the target of a hate group. Union supporter Marvena is keeping her relationship with a local man on the down-low. Lily has feelings for a friend of her deceased husband who works in the Bureau of Mines, but puts her own happiness on hold for the good of her family and town.

Thea, the elderly woman whose death is the core mystery of the novel, serves as a role model and source of inspiration for the women. She never settled and never let society hold her back from her desire to dance and live on her own terms. Lily investigates Thea’s past and present in order to piece together the events that led to Thea’s death.

Each of these women are strong, yet unique. Each has dreams and desires and responsibilities and regret. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for Lily and her friends.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thanks to the NetGalley and Minotaur Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group, for providing an Advance Reader Copy.

*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text. ...more

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About Jess Montgomery

Jess Montgomery

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JESS MONTGOMERY is the author of the Kinship Historical Mystery series, focusing on a 1920s female sheriff in Appalachia. You can find out more about her books at her website, www.jessmontgomeryauthor.com, or reach her on Facebook @JessMontgomeryAuthor, Twitter @JessM_Author and Instagram @JessMontgomeryAuthor.

Under Jess's given name, she is a newspaper columnist, focusing on the literary life, au ...more