Book Review: “Hemlock Hollow” by Culley Holderfield
Professor Caroline McAlister just lost her father and, because of her relentless pursuit of her research studying ancient peoples relationship with the stars, has no real friends and her brother, Andrew, has a life of his own.
Caroline is the new owner (thanks to Dad) of an old rotting cabin in the North Carolina mountains /woods where she and her family spent many summers….until her mother passed away decades ago.
One summer in that cabin, when Caroline was 12, she was visited by what can only be described…….as a ghost.
But, since Mom’s death…the family never went back.
Now she is renovating the old cabin when her contractor, Micah, brings her an old steel box he found in the attic.
Ever the curious archaeologist, or more precisely: Archaeoastronomist, Caroline opens the box to find old pictures and an ancient journal written by the previous owner of this cabin:
Carson Quinn.
Carson was…..
An educated man who loved nature, and had an insatiable thirst for learning.
A man who could give the Latin names of flowers, trees, and animals.
A man who wanted to live his life wandering / exploring the natural world.
A man who, in 1900, is thought to have murdered his brother.
But, did he?
Caroline is determined to find out. And in the process she will not only learn a lot about Carson….but, also, herself.
“Hemlock Hollow” is an absolutely enthralling novel. A novel that occupied my mind even while the book was closed and sugar plums were supposed to be dancing in my head.
The publisher used the perfect word in the description of this book:
Haunting.
