The Hollow Places

There are five-star horror novels like Stephen King's It that are pillars of the genre, essentially defining it with exceptional storytelling, a cast of characters drawn to perfection, unexpectedly literary construction, and enough horror to ensure that even remotely squeamish readers will want to make a wide berth. Then there are five-star horror novels like Shaun Hamill's A Cosmology of Monsters that melds Lovecraftian scope and world-building with a undercurrent of heart that sets it in a league of its own. Then, there are the novels of T. Kingfisher. I have read three - and I have given out three sets of five stars. They are self-contained, easily-accessible and filled with likable characters working through wonderfully inventive and horrifically satisfying circumstances. The Twisted Ones, What Moves the Dead and now The Hollow Places are like the third options for Goldilocks - just right. That said, they aren't perfect. Some repetition niggles and some inability of characters to recognize moments of importance stretch to extremes, but these works are so good otherwise that such minor annoyances don't detract from their singular success as fun, fast-paced and unique horror. Kingfisher is an auto-buy and, so far, an auto-love.