‘The razor-sharp, high-concept literary thriller from the critically acclaimed author of Good Samaritans and Nothing Important Happened Today’
– Hinton Hollow Death Trip
[ About the Book ]
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 Review ]
Hinton Hollow Death Trip by Will Carver was published August 13th in original paperback with Orenda Books. When you pick up a Will Carver book be prepared to embark on a very unconventional and ever-so disturbing journey. Having previously read Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver, I was ready for something sinister, something that would take me out of my comfort zone and it certainly did not disappoint.
Hinton Hollow was the birthplace of Detective Sergeant Pace. Looking for space to deal with the aftermath of a very traumatic case, Pace decides to transfer home for a bit. Time-out in a rural setting where he is known and all is very familiar is just the medicine he needs for his mental health.
Hinton Hollow.
A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.
#Eviliscoming is the hashtag for this book as Evil, yes Evil, is the narrator of this tale. The darkness that permeates this book is unsettling and very intimidating. How often do you get to read from the perspective of Evil? Evil is shadowing Detective Sergeant Pace. Evil is not finished with this person who evades him. When Pace makes the decision to return home, little does he know what he brings with him. Evil isn’t picky. Evil isn’t choosy. Evil will prosper when and where the opportunity arises. Hinton Hollow is about to be immersed in a nightmare. All it takes is a gentle nudge, a soft whisper and the damage is done. A malevolent cloud hangs over Hinton Hollow. Pace has unwittingly brought Evil home.
There is death and devastation in Hinton Hollow. Grief, guilt and jealousy rage through the inhabitants. Friends no longer friends. Trust is soon gone replaced by suspicion.
A boy on a train
A detective
A pig hater
A food lover
A window breaker
and your narrator….
All the ingredients that are necessary to provide the reader with a lethal and deadly cocktail, a plot that is quite simply mind-blowing and very extraordinary. Chapters are very short with titles that begin to make sense as you follow the path of this most nefarious of narrators. Strangely, at times, Evil portrays himself/herself as almost kind, a gentle and thoughtful presence in all our lives. How we interpret the subtle hints, the light breath against our ear is all us. We are the weapons of destruction. We are capable of depraved and heinous acts. It is us that carries out the evil, not Evil……..
As you may note I have revealed very, very little about the plot because to do so would impact your experience. Hinton Hollow Death Trip is a book with a wonderfully diverse collection of characters. Will Carver’s portrayal of their individual personalities and traits adds an almost voyeuristic layer to this unsettling tale. We get into the minds of them. We get a very real sense of their regrets with their lives and the decisions made. I said it in my review for Nothing Important Happened Today and I will repeat myself here again, Will Carver writes ingenious storylines. He envisions plots from a place that can only be described as dark and very disconcerting, his mind!
Hinton Hollow Death Trip is an unorthodox, uncomfortable, bizarre and threatening read. I bow to Will Carver’s ingenuity. Pure innovation can be difficult in writing, in particular in writing a thriller, but Will Carver has boxed himself up as one-of-a-kind. This is intelligent writing folks. It might seem strange, like nothing you have ever read before when you open the initial few pages, and it is.
Hinton Hollow Death Trip is shocking. It is hypnotising. It is completely captivating and compelling. But most of all it is so bloody original…..
[ Bio ]
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 and Nothing Important Happened Today were both bestsellers, and were selected for Books of the Year in a number of national newspapers. Nothing Important Happened Today was longlisted for both the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2020 and the Theakston Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award.
Twitter ~ @will_carver
