The Hollows by Mark Edwards

 

The plot:  Tom Anderson and his teenage daughter, Frankie, have come to Hollow Falls, a cabin resort nestled deep in the woods of Maine, for their summer vacation. Tom lives in England, so these ten days each summer is his only time with his daughter. But what they don't know is that twenty years ago this very week there was a double murder in the woods, and the murderer was never found. Rumor around the resort is that he's still hiding somewhere in the woods. But as eerie as those past murders were, there's something else going on at the resort...something that seems to be threatening Tom's daughter in particular. And Tom finds himself torn between leaving with Frankie before their week together is up, or staying and  trying to figure out the truth of those past murders in order to resuscitate his own writing career.

My thoughts:  Mark Edwards knows how to write a compelling pyschological thriller where "scary things happen to ordinary people". Between the resort's dark past and the creepy things happening to Frankie there's a nice build-up of suspense. It's also very atmospheric. And I liked the push and pull between Tom and Frankie, too, as Tom constantly struggles to deal with her teenage attitude and still be a good dad. Their relationship felt very real. And the mystery of what really happened in the past, and how it connects to the present, kept me guessing right up to the end. I didn't love the epilogue (and felt it was completely unnecessary!), but the rest of the book was great. 

Happy Reading!