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The Red Hollow
Warwickshire, 1934
Deep in a hamlet in the Warwickshire countryside, Red Hollow Hall is a male-only sanitorium run by the charismatic psychiatrist Dr Moon. However, all is not well, and Dr Moon's patients are leaving Red Hollow in droves.
Recent disturbances, which originally appeared to be pranks, have descended into something more sinister, and now the men believe they have a malevolent visitor - the mermaid of Red Hollow. The ghost of a murdered girl, they believe the mermaid wreaks bloody revenge on unsuspecting men each time the hamlet floods.
When Private Enquiry agent, William Garrett, and freshly minted detective, Phyll Hall, are called in to uncover the identity of the intruder, they become trapped in a world of madness, the occult and grisly murder. A world where William must use all his strength to differentiate between the real-life monster haunting Red Hollow Hall and the monsters of the mind.
The Red Hollow is the follow-up to Natalie Marlow's critically acclaimed debut, Needless Alley . Available for pre-order now.
Deep in a hamlet in the Warwickshire countryside, Red Hollow Hall is a male-only sanitorium run by the charismatic psychiatrist Dr Moon. However, all is not well, and Dr Moon's patients are leaving Red Hollow in droves.
Recent disturbances, which originally appeared to be pranks, have descended into something more sinister, and now the men believe they have a malevolent visitor - the mermaid of Red Hollow. The ghost of a murdered girl, they believe the mermaid wreaks bloody revenge on unsuspecting men each time the hamlet floods.
When Private Enquiry agent, William Garrett, and freshly minted detective, Phyll Hall, are called in to uncover the identity of the intruder, they become trapped in a world of madness, the occult and grisly murder. A world where William must use all his strength to differentiate between the real-life monster haunting Red Hollow Hall and the monsters of the mind.
The Red Hollow is the follow-up to Natalie Marlow's critically acclaimed debut, Needless Alley . Available for pre-order now.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 28, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 3, 2025
Good story, a mix of gothic horror and straight-up crime fiction. However, I'm not sure the narrative flows as smoothly as it should, and would have benefitted from tighter editing.
February 21, 2024
"Men are far more dangerous than ghosts and monsters, darling girl."
After a rather negative opinion regarding Needless Alley (first book of this series), I had a lot of apprehensions about starting this second book. So it was very pleasant to find myself totally hooked from the first chapters!
This book subtly combines the noir genre and the paranormal atmosphere that Red Hollow Hall gives off. The descriptions throughout the novel really allowed you to feel fully immersed in the story. However, I still found the rhythm a little disjointed and confusing at several points.
As for the characters, I unfortunately remain quite detached when it comes to them. I found William (aka Billy) more interesting in this second volume but I was still unable to get attached to him. That said, the side characters really brought the perfect energy to the main trio.
And so apart from a slightly long ending, overall I appreciated this 2nd book way much more! I'm curious to see where Billy, Phyll and Queenie's adventures will take us next ☺️
thank you Netgalley and Basketville for the arc in exchange of my honest review!
After a rather negative opinion regarding Needless Alley (first book of this series), I had a lot of apprehensions about starting this second book. So it was very pleasant to find myself totally hooked from the first chapters!
This book subtly combines the noir genre and the paranormal atmosphere that Red Hollow Hall gives off. The descriptions throughout the novel really allowed you to feel fully immersed in the story. However, I still found the rhythm a little disjointed and confusing at several points.
As for the characters, I unfortunately remain quite detached when it comes to them. I found William (aka Billy) more interesting in this second volume but I was still unable to get attached to him. That said, the side characters really brought the perfect energy to the main trio.
And so apart from a slightly long ending, overall I appreciated this 2nd book way much more! I'm curious to see where Billy, Phyll and Queenie's adventures will take us next ☺️
thank you Netgalley and Basketville for the arc in exchange of my honest review!
March 5, 2025
Barking mad.
February 1, 2025
thank you to netgalley and the JMP team for providing me with an arc!
in natalie marlow's stunning sequel to 'needless alley', william and phyll continue their work as detectives in birmingham. when phyll is informed that her brother, a mentally-ill patient at red hollow hall (a male-only sanitorium), has not been well, the two find themselves in the warwickshire countryside and suddenly part of a problem much bigger than themselves. patients of dr moon's sanitorium have been leaving in droves, frightened by the visits of an elusive, malevolent mermaid - the horrific reincarnation of a murdered girl taking her revenge on abusers and misogynists. tasked with finding the identity of the intruder, william and phyll find themselves tangled in a web of lies, deceit, greed and sin - all woven together by threads of the occult.
just like her debut, i loved this book. the plot was so intricately sewn together and well established and i was so invested in the storyline and the characters. i'm so glad that needless alley got a sequel and we got to dive even further into the characters of william, phyll and queenie as well as having new characters such as freddy introduced - all of the characters in this book are so vibrant and it's evident that so much time has been invested in fleshing out both their desires and faults. i'm also convinced natalie marlow is one of the only authors that can write morally grey women well - i'm so glad we got to see more of bad bitch queenie even though most of her actions are so morally questionable. i will say, there was a slight lull in the middle of this book and i was slightly confused by certain chapters but, overall, i was so enamoured with this book and i hope there's another one on the way. if there is a next book, my only request is that william finds happiness.
and that clara gets reincarnated please i miss her.
in natalie marlow's stunning sequel to 'needless alley', william and phyll continue their work as detectives in birmingham. when phyll is informed that her brother, a mentally-ill patient at red hollow hall (a male-only sanitorium), has not been well, the two find themselves in the warwickshire countryside and suddenly part of a problem much bigger than themselves. patients of dr moon's sanitorium have been leaving in droves, frightened by the visits of an elusive, malevolent mermaid - the horrific reincarnation of a murdered girl taking her revenge on abusers and misogynists. tasked with finding the identity of the intruder, william and phyll find themselves tangled in a web of lies, deceit, greed and sin - all woven together by threads of the occult.
just like her debut, i loved this book. the plot was so intricately sewn together and well established and i was so invested in the storyline and the characters. i'm so glad that needless alley got a sequel and we got to dive even further into the characters of william, phyll and queenie as well as having new characters such as freddy introduced - all of the characters in this book are so vibrant and it's evident that so much time has been invested in fleshing out both their desires and faults. i'm also convinced natalie marlow is one of the only authors that can write morally grey women well - i'm so glad we got to see more of bad bitch queenie even though most of her actions are so morally questionable. i will say, there was a slight lull in the middle of this book and i was slightly confused by certain chapters but, overall, i was so enamoured with this book and i hope there's another one on the way. if there is a next book, my only request is that william finds happiness.
and that clara gets reincarnated please i miss her.
April 2, 2024
Discover the locations in the novel here
I absolutely loved Natalie’s first book in the series –Needless Alley – and think it’s best if you read this first as it’s the best introduction and reminder of past events for what happens in this book. What a wonderful second book in the series! Immersive, gripping and with a sense of foreboding at the heart of an asylum.
We’re in Warwickshire – close to Birmingham and there’s an asylum for men only in the remote countryside. Some one is scaring the patients and playing stupid pranks within the secure walls. So, PIs Billy and Phyll are sent to investigate. It’s even more interesting as Phyll’s brother is a patient there so there’s mixed emotions on all sides.
By the time they enter the asylum, someone has been murdered and the stakes have been raised significantly. How do they solve a murder when you’re dealing with people who can’t always communicate or speak, and when they do, can you trust them?
This is a menacingly good read. It’s all a bit Peaky Blinders in book form and I am THERE for that. I imagine if you wear a cap when reading this and a nicely turned out suit, you’d get even more from your reading.
Marlow – (author gangster name) – you did good. Respect.
July 17, 2024
Fantastic - Peaky Blinders meets Max Porter’s Lanny. A well written and well paced crime story with an underlying elegy to English folklore. Well worth a read.
April 1, 2024
William (Billy) Garrett and Phyll (Hall) are back, six months after the events of Needless Alley, for another investigation in the 1930s Midlands. In this story, though, Marlow moves away from the noir-ish atmosphere of the earlier books, with its dark, smoky cityscape and its themes of political and economic corruption, and gives us something more like a classic 30s murder mystery in which a group of people are stranded in a remote country house. The sense of place is equally strong. But so is the sense of cloying evil - reminding me of Sherlock Holmes's comment that the vilest crimes take place in the countryside.
The story opens with a call for help. Phyll's brother, Freddy, is being cared for in a private asylum in the village of Red Hollow "out in the county" (though within a short driving distance). The fees for this have swallowed up the family money, explaining why she's been so desperate for cash and now its proprietor, Dr Moon, asks her and William to investigate strange disturbances and a death that have taken place. The unspoken deal is this will cover some of the fees.
So Phyll and William venture out into the woods, and soon find themselves out of their depth, The surviving patients - including Freddy - put the strange events down to the legendary man-hating "mermaid" which is said to haunt the local lake. This creature recurs, in folkloric allusions, a carving in the local church, and as part of the family backstory of Lady Pike, who owns the Hall but has been forced to let it out. her family has, it seems, many eminently hateable men in its lineage.
A phantom mermaid can't, however, have been killing and mutilating patients, even if the weather has taken a preternatural turn for the torrential, stranding Phyll overnight. Fretting alone in Birmingham, he calls on his old gangster friend Queenie for help. Then the fun really begins...
This is an exceptionally creepy, tense novel, mainly focussed on the events of a single night during which William, Phyll, Queen and Moon, joined by a ragtag collection of patients and the fearsome dowager Lady Pike, sustain themselves variously by copious amounts of drugs, drink and tobacco. There are gruesome deaths (the local vicar is bludgeoned in the first few moments). There are disturbing visions. And there is a tangled plot bringing together the unspoken secret of Red Hollow Hall, modern gang violence and of course the shadow of the War.
As to the latter, this book is soaked in the backwash of the Trenches - most of the male characters played some part and it shapes their hopes and fears, their responses to, especially, the kind of stress they find themselves under here. This is very much an asylum where the patients are in charge - indeed Moon himself struck me as a man who could easily be on either side of the padded door, as it were. So, be assured, the switch to something that at first sight looks like a cosy Golden Age mystery doesn't mean that Marlow is going soft on us, indeed the opposite is true. Nor, in the end, are we free of political or at least social commentary with two very different historical trends - the stifling hand of the aristocracy, and the dark stirrings of organised crime - surfacing. (Or perhaps, not so very different trends, isn't aristocracy just gangsterism which has forgotten its roots?)
Plot strands wrap together - the delusions of the patients, that relentless fear of something evil in the dark, the decline of the Pike family in the face of coal mines and clay pits eating up their land and dissolute fathers and sons eating up the estate, Queenie's uneasy sway over the Birmingham underworld, and more.
It makes for a messy, compromising, affair, one that nobody comes away from with clean hands, but which is a fascinating, nail biting read and one I'd strongly recommend.
The story opens with a call for help. Phyll's brother, Freddy, is being cared for in a private asylum in the village of Red Hollow "out in the county" (though within a short driving distance). The fees for this have swallowed up the family money, explaining why she's been so desperate for cash and now its proprietor, Dr Moon, asks her and William to investigate strange disturbances and a death that have taken place. The unspoken deal is this will cover some of the fees.
So Phyll and William venture out into the woods, and soon find themselves out of their depth, The surviving patients - including Freddy - put the strange events down to the legendary man-hating "mermaid" which is said to haunt the local lake. This creature recurs, in folkloric allusions, a carving in the local church, and as part of the family backstory of Lady Pike, who owns the Hall but has been forced to let it out. her family has, it seems, many eminently hateable men in its lineage.
A phantom mermaid can't, however, have been killing and mutilating patients, even if the weather has taken a preternatural turn for the torrential, stranding Phyll overnight. Fretting alone in Birmingham, he calls on his old gangster friend Queenie for help. Then the fun really begins...
This is an exceptionally creepy, tense novel, mainly focussed on the events of a single night during which William, Phyll, Queen and Moon, joined by a ragtag collection of patients and the fearsome dowager Lady Pike, sustain themselves variously by copious amounts of drugs, drink and tobacco. There are gruesome deaths (the local vicar is bludgeoned in the first few moments). There are disturbing visions. And there is a tangled plot bringing together the unspoken secret of Red Hollow Hall, modern gang violence and of course the shadow of the War.
As to the latter, this book is soaked in the backwash of the Trenches - most of the male characters played some part and it shapes their hopes and fears, their responses to, especially, the kind of stress they find themselves under here. This is very much an asylum where the patients are in charge - indeed Moon himself struck me as a man who could easily be on either side of the padded door, as it were. So, be assured, the switch to something that at first sight looks like a cosy Golden Age mystery doesn't mean that Marlow is going soft on us, indeed the opposite is true. Nor, in the end, are we free of political or at least social commentary with two very different historical trends - the stifling hand of the aristocracy, and the dark stirrings of organised crime - surfacing. (Or perhaps, not so very different trends, isn't aristocracy just gangsterism which has forgotten its roots?)
Plot strands wrap together - the delusions of the patients, that relentless fear of something evil in the dark, the decline of the Pike family in the face of coal mines and clay pits eating up their land and dissolute fathers and sons eating up the estate, Queenie's uneasy sway over the Birmingham underworld, and more.
It makes for a messy, compromising, affair, one that nobody comes away from with clean hands, but which is a fascinating, nail biting read and one I'd strongly recommend.
May 16, 2024
It’s great to have William back along with Phyll who I feel is a captivating character. The insulting jibe, calling her Burlington Bertie was brilliantly on point for the time and had me chuckling more than once. This time Queenie the boss of the waterways criminal gang and old friend (and more) to William grabs much more of the limelight.
The setting is wonderfully evoked; the grand hall starting to fade. It’s the 1930’s so the servant class has all but vanished with The First World War, and more owners realise that they cannot hope to afford the upkeep of these grand old Halls. Here the owner has moved into a tower in the gardens, leaving the main building to Dr Moon to use. There is also a church containing creepy symbolism and a crypt in the grounds. Almost all the plot is located within these buildings and the estate, allowing for a tight claustrophobic feel to story that is only enhanced by the periodic failure on the electricity generator. At times the tension is palpable.
The style is certainly unusual marrying elements of the noir genre with the supernatural. The setting might have suggested the traditional gothic, but it was the occult references that took over my imagination. Aleister Crowley is referenced and has some malign influences on the characters. He's certainly a man who has divided opinion, some regarding him as the most dangerous man in Britain (well he might have been in Leamington Spa where he was born) whereas others, like William just guffawed at the so called ‘Sex Magick’ man. The references are used sparingly and are used to give flavour to the plot.
The men in the sanitorium are troubled souls with damaged minds, so the evocation of the folklore mermaid to the suggestive state could easily terrify them. The work of Dr Moon also leaves them more susceptible to the idea that the supernatural can manifest into physical form.
William is still a man trying to recover from his wartime experiences and here he is dealing with men who have suffered just as he has. The reader gets to see more of the man beneath the carapace he has created to protect his feelings, the empathetic man as well as the deeply troubled one. He quickly finds an ally in Dr Moon, though as he comes to find out his methods are somewhat unusual. These techniques lead to some distinctly odd but wonderfully entertaining scenes that marry perfectly with the overall feel of the storyline. William also has flashbacks to his past that come to explain how he ended up with Queenie and Ronnie working on the narrowboats. These are cleverly segued into the story and just a few short paragraphs end up explaining so much about him.
Queenie ends up gatecrashing the investigation, bringing her marvellous combination no nonsense, ball breaking and tough love matriarch to the storyline. As well she might do as we discover that she knows more than initially thought and ends up spilling secrets. Queenie is not a woman to be crossed, but at times appears to have met her match. William sees a different side to Queenie that may change their relationship later in the series.
Tension and anxiety are cleverly built up throughout the story only to be released as a sudden crack of violence or relief of a false alarm. The violence is bloody and will have some readers wincing as the mermaid appears to wreak her revenge on men. The action scenes are thrilling, the villains are menacing and there is a real sense of danger.
The setting is wonderfully evoked; the grand hall starting to fade. It’s the 1930’s so the servant class has all but vanished with The First World War, and more owners realise that they cannot hope to afford the upkeep of these grand old Halls. Here the owner has moved into a tower in the gardens, leaving the main building to Dr Moon to use. There is also a church containing creepy symbolism and a crypt in the grounds. Almost all the plot is located within these buildings and the estate, allowing for a tight claustrophobic feel to story that is only enhanced by the periodic failure on the electricity generator. At times the tension is palpable.
The style is certainly unusual marrying elements of the noir genre with the supernatural. The setting might have suggested the traditional gothic, but it was the occult references that took over my imagination. Aleister Crowley is referenced and has some malign influences on the characters. He's certainly a man who has divided opinion, some regarding him as the most dangerous man in Britain (well he might have been in Leamington Spa where he was born) whereas others, like William just guffawed at the so called ‘Sex Magick’ man. The references are used sparingly and are used to give flavour to the plot.
The men in the sanitorium are troubled souls with damaged minds, so the evocation of the folklore mermaid to the suggestive state could easily terrify them. The work of Dr Moon also leaves them more susceptible to the idea that the supernatural can manifest into physical form.
William is still a man trying to recover from his wartime experiences and here he is dealing with men who have suffered just as he has. The reader gets to see more of the man beneath the carapace he has created to protect his feelings, the empathetic man as well as the deeply troubled one. He quickly finds an ally in Dr Moon, though as he comes to find out his methods are somewhat unusual. These techniques lead to some distinctly odd but wonderfully entertaining scenes that marry perfectly with the overall feel of the storyline. William also has flashbacks to his past that come to explain how he ended up with Queenie and Ronnie working on the narrowboats. These are cleverly segued into the story and just a few short paragraphs end up explaining so much about him.
Queenie ends up gatecrashing the investigation, bringing her marvellous combination no nonsense, ball breaking and tough love matriarch to the storyline. As well she might do as we discover that she knows more than initially thought and ends up spilling secrets. Queenie is not a woman to be crossed, but at times appears to have met her match. William sees a different side to Queenie that may change their relationship later in the series.
Tension and anxiety are cleverly built up throughout the story only to be released as a sudden crack of violence or relief of a false alarm. The violence is bloody and will have some readers wincing as the mermaid appears to wreak her revenge on men. The action scenes are thrilling, the villains are menacing and there is a real sense of danger.
March 22, 2024
Local legend claims that the mermaid of Red Hollow kills young men. If you believe she is real, can she kill you? Mr Trent believed and Mr Trent died. Died in the bath, cardiac arrest, nothing suspicious. The mansion at Red Hollow is now a sanatorium for young men with psychological problems. Whether they believe in the mermaid or not, the residents and staff are aware that an intruder has been sneaking around the house and grounds, and the crypt in the nearby Church. Many have left – ‘just in case’. Private detectives Billy Garrett and Phyll Hall know nothing of this as they sit in their office in Needless Alley, Birmingham, trawling for business, until a call comes from Dr Moon, the Psychologist in charge of sanatorium. He wants someone to investigate the intrusions and has contacted them because Freddy Hall, Phyll’s brother, is a patient there, suffering from what they would have called “Shell Shock” and we might call PTSD. While staying there overnight, Phyll disappears, and Billy and Queenie (his paramour in a love hate relationship) rush to find her. By the time they arrive there’s a tremendous thunderstorm, the fields are flooded, the sanitorium is an island and The Red Hollow lake has overflowed – the lake where the mermaid dwells. And then things really starts to get chaotic and people start to die.
This is a sequel to “Needless Alley” but can be read as a standalone. There are allusions to the earlier events which are pertinent to this story, but mainly because they help to explain the relationships between Billy, Phyll and Queenie, and highlight Billy’s own mental fight coping with the aftereffects of WWI. As I noted in my review of the first book, the writing style is fairly authentic to its time period, 1934, and not pastiche. There are a number of twists and the main one is good, and not easy to spot, although the clues are there. However, the overall plot is a bit overwrought, the end sequence is too long and there are some details that I don’t think work. On the other hand, it’s basically a melodrama: a murder mystery with gothic touches and a cast of unlikely individuals. It’s unbelievable but perhaps that’s the point. I don’t really think it’s a 5, but I enjoyed it too much to give it a 4. So I’m calling it 4.5 and rounding up.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
This is a sequel to “Needless Alley” but can be read as a standalone. There are allusions to the earlier events which are pertinent to this story, but mainly because they help to explain the relationships between Billy, Phyll and Queenie, and highlight Billy’s own mental fight coping with the aftereffects of WWI. As I noted in my review of the first book, the writing style is fairly authentic to its time period, 1934, and not pastiche. There are a number of twists and the main one is good, and not easy to spot, although the clues are there. However, the overall plot is a bit overwrought, the end sequence is too long and there are some details that I don’t think work. On the other hand, it’s basically a melodrama: a murder mystery with gothic touches and a cast of unlikely individuals. It’s unbelievable but perhaps that’s the point. I don’t really think it’s a 5, but I enjoyed it too much to give it a 4. So I’m calling it 4.5 and rounding up.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
March 20, 2024
I would like to thank Netgalley and John Murray Press for an advance copy of The Red Hollow, the second novel to feature Private Enquiry Agent William Garrett and his partner Phyll Hall, set in the Midlands in 1934.
Billy and Phyll are asked to investigate strange goings on at Red Hollow Hall, a private asylum for damaged men run by Dr Moon. There has been vandalism, noises and sightings of a mermaid who wreaks vengeance on men when it rains.
I enjoyed The Red Hollow, which is a mixture of crime fiction, the occult, murder and hallucinations. I have not read the previous novel, Needless Alley, so it took me time to get to know the characters and their relationships, but once that was done I think that the novel works well as a stand-alone.
It is a difficult novel to categorise. It is a compelling crime story with several murders and unexplained happenings and is full of twists and turns. I admire the way the author has gone about her plotting by muddying the waters with occult practices and ghost stories. It is hard to see clearly, making each twist a surprise. It has a much harder edge than I am used to in historical fiction with a fair amount of violence and some nasty characters. I think it suits the tone of the novel that not all the ends are tied up neatly and not everyone gets their just deserts. I was less enthusiastic about the drug fuelled hallucinations. I think that William learns something from them but it was all unnecessary gibberish to me.
The novel moves along at a fast pace and is very atmospheric, not just the setting of a country house in a storm, but also the unease of the characters and the malevolence of the mermaid legend. It gets quite creepy at times. It is interesting that the majority of the male characters served in WWI. I think that the author does a great job of showing the long term effects of what would now be called PTSD.
The Red Hollow is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
Billy and Phyll are asked to investigate strange goings on at Red Hollow Hall, a private asylum for damaged men run by Dr Moon. There has been vandalism, noises and sightings of a mermaid who wreaks vengeance on men when it rains.
I enjoyed The Red Hollow, which is a mixture of crime fiction, the occult, murder and hallucinations. I have not read the previous novel, Needless Alley, so it took me time to get to know the characters and their relationships, but once that was done I think that the novel works well as a stand-alone.
It is a difficult novel to categorise. It is a compelling crime story with several murders and unexplained happenings and is full of twists and turns. I admire the way the author has gone about her plotting by muddying the waters with occult practices and ghost stories. It is hard to see clearly, making each twist a surprise. It has a much harder edge than I am used to in historical fiction with a fair amount of violence and some nasty characters. I think it suits the tone of the novel that not all the ends are tied up neatly and not everyone gets their just deserts. I was less enthusiastic about the drug fuelled hallucinations. I think that William learns something from them but it was all unnecessary gibberish to me.
The novel moves along at a fast pace and is very atmospheric, not just the setting of a country house in a storm, but also the unease of the characters and the malevolence of the mermaid legend. It gets quite creepy at times. It is interesting that the majority of the male characters served in WWI. I think that the author does a great job of showing the long term effects of what would now be called PTSD.
The Red Hollow is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
May 8, 2024
Following on just a few months after the events of Natalie Marlow’s first book ‘Needless Alley’ this book carries on the story of William Garrett, now in partnership with Phyll Hall. The setting is very different however. In the first book 1930’s Birmingham was one of the main characters with the gritty setting a constant companion. This book is more of a classic ‘locked room’ puzzle with almost all of the action taking place in an asylum in a stately home in the Warwickshire countryside over the course of a single night. The grime and squalor of Birmingham is swapped for a more claustrophobic setting with a heavy dose of magic and madness to keep the reader guessing. Two things hang heavy over everything. Firstly the impact of the Great War on the men who have suffered through it. At one point pondering who could have committed a horrible murder Billy describes ‘a whole generation of us trained to kill and now out in civvy street and all handy with a shooter’. The other thing hanging over the narrative is the Victorian age with the action taking place in a confusing and crumbling Gothic house echoing the way in which the certainties of that age no longer guide the characters. Billy remains a man of courage and integrity. Others characters look to magic, tradition or personal advancement for meaning.
Overall this was an enjoyable and satisfying read with a plot twist at the end which I didn’t see coming. The focus remained on Billy for most of the story although I would have liked to spend more time with Phyll and Queenie. Queenie in particular drives a lot of the narrative and action and remains a fascinating character. The setting was well outlined and atmospheric and the fact that the evil men do to is more to be feared that anything supernatural was well made.
In conclusion this was a rather different book to 'Needless Alley', which highlights the author's versatility. If you enjoyed the first book I think you will also like this one.
Overall this was an enjoyable and satisfying read with a plot twist at the end which I didn’t see coming. The focus remained on Billy for most of the story although I would have liked to spend more time with Phyll and Queenie. Queenie in particular drives a lot of the narrative and action and remains a fascinating character. The setting was well outlined and atmospheric and the fact that the evil men do to is more to be feared that anything supernatural was well made.
In conclusion this was a rather different book to 'Needless Alley', which highlights the author's versatility. If you enjoyed the first book I think you will also like this one.
March 3, 2024
The talented Natalie Marlow writes a chilling, eerie, and richly atmospheric follow up to the terrific gritty 1930s historical fiction, Needless Alley, shifting in direction here, as we once again aquaint ourselves with, the traumatised by his childhood and the mental scars of the war, the complicated Birmingham Private Inquiry agent, William 'Billy' Garrett, still reeling from previous events, is trying to pick up the pieces of his life and business. He is a man of integrity, driven by the need for justice, characters return, such as Phyllis 'Phyll' Hall, Queenie Maggs, and others, along with a host of new additions.
Phyll has a brother, Freddie, who resides at the troubled, men only asylum of Red Hollow Hall in rural Warwickshire, run by psychiatrist Dr Moon. A survivor of the war, Freddie suffers from associated mental health issues. Tensions are running sky high in this dark and well plotted novel as we become immersed in events at Red Hollow, where patients are terrified of a intruder, elements of the supernatural are woven in, it is believed that the legendary ghostly mermaid of Red Hollow, a murdered young girl, is seeking revenge in the men she targets during the floods. As Billy and Phyll investigate, matters have begun to ominously escalate to a horrifying murder and madness, it is hard to make sense of what is going on, but are they hunting for an all too human killer?
Marlow demonstrates her versatility as a writer in this sequel, and the intrigue, the characters she creates and develops, kept me totally gripped, along with the twists and turns in her marvellous storytelling. I cannot wait to see where she goes next in this stellar series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Phyll has a brother, Freddie, who resides at the troubled, men only asylum of Red Hollow Hall in rural Warwickshire, run by psychiatrist Dr Moon. A survivor of the war, Freddie suffers from associated mental health issues. Tensions are running sky high in this dark and well plotted novel as we become immersed in events at Red Hollow, where patients are terrified of a intruder, elements of the supernatural are woven in, it is believed that the legendary ghostly mermaid of Red Hollow, a murdered young girl, is seeking revenge in the men she targets during the floods. As Billy and Phyll investigate, matters have begun to ominously escalate to a horrifying murder and madness, it is hard to make sense of what is going on, but are they hunting for an all too human killer?
Marlow demonstrates her versatility as a writer in this sequel, and the intrigue, the characters she creates and develops, kept me totally gripped, along with the twists and turns in her marvellous storytelling. I cannot wait to see where she goes next in this stellar series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
March 19, 2024
The second in the William ‘Billy’ Garrett series set in Warwickshire in 1934. Billy is a Private Detective and Phyll Hall is his associate working from Needless Alley in Birmingham. I haven’t read the earlier book and this one read well as a stand-alone although I think it might have helped to read the first book. Billy and Phyll are called to Red Hollow Hall to investigate the mystery of the mermaid of Red Hollow. Red Hollow Hall is a sanitarium, where Phyll’s brother Freddy is being treated, however many of the patients and staff have left believing the mermaid is going to kill them. There is quite a cast list but they were distinct enough that it was easy to follow. The writing is quite idiosyncratic and there is some lovely prose, but I did find a bit of it a little confusing.
Briefly, before even getting to the hall they stumble across the body of a vicar and it’s clear that there is a killer on the loose. Freddy has found a mermaid carving in the church and he explains that the legend says the the mermaid will kill men who treat women badly by emasculating them. With all sorts of strange happenings at the Hall and in the church our detectives have a lot on their hands.
The setting of the novel is very atmospheric and it was difficult to tell what was real and what wasn’t - the mind is a complicated thing. This is a dark gothic read with a Golden Age detective vibe and a real bunch of complicated characters - shocking secrets, oodles of tension and a lot of twists and turns. Crime fiction with a kick and an entertaining read.
Briefly, before even getting to the hall they stumble across the body of a vicar and it’s clear that there is a killer on the loose. Freddy has found a mermaid carving in the church and he explains that the legend says the the mermaid will kill men who treat women badly by emasculating them. With all sorts of strange happenings at the Hall and in the church our detectives have a lot on their hands.
The setting of the novel is very atmospheric and it was difficult to tell what was real and what wasn’t - the mind is a complicated thing. This is a dark gothic read with a Golden Age detective vibe and a real bunch of complicated characters - shocking secrets, oodles of tension and a lot of twists and turns. Crime fiction with a kick and an entertaining read.
November 17, 2023
3.5 stars
Can't remember when I started reading this because I forgot to add it on goodreads but I definitely didn't read it in a day.
Billy and Phyll are down-on-their-luck Private Detectives, scrabbling to make a living in the ominous build up to WWII. At the sanatorium where Phyll's shell-shocked brother is recuperating, an elusive intruder is scaring the patients and playing sinister pranks. Billy and Phyll are recruited to investigate. By the time they arrive, the situation has already escalated to murder.
This is the second book in a series and while it can be read as a stand alone, I think you'd gain a fuller understanding of the relationships with the background of the first story.
I quite enjoyed the first three-quarters of this. It was very atmospheric and I enjoyed the noir/gangster-ish writing style. The story was fast pasted and suspenseful and there were a few clever twists that took me by surprise. Unfortunately, it slowed right down in the end game and things draaagged at a snail's pace to a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.
I received this book for free on netgalley in exchange for a review.
Can't remember when I started reading this because I forgot to add it on goodreads but I definitely didn't read it in a day.
Billy and Phyll are down-on-their-luck Private Detectives, scrabbling to make a living in the ominous build up to WWII. At the sanatorium where Phyll's shell-shocked brother is recuperating, an elusive intruder is scaring the patients and playing sinister pranks. Billy and Phyll are recruited to investigate. By the time they arrive, the situation has already escalated to murder.
This is the second book in a series and while it can be read as a stand alone, I think you'd gain a fuller understanding of the relationships with the background of the first story.
I quite enjoyed the first three-quarters of this. It was very atmospheric and I enjoyed the noir/gangster-ish writing style. The story was fast pasted and suspenseful and there were a few clever twists that took me by surprise. Unfortunately, it slowed right down in the end game and things draaagged at a snail's pace to a somewhat unsatisfying conclusion.
I received this book for free on netgalley in exchange for a review.
November 21, 2023
5 stars
An excellent read. I have read the first book which I think helps me appreciate William's angst over Ronnie and Queenie. William Garrett (Billy) is a private investigator. He works out of Needless Alley in Birmingham and has a secretary called Phyl, who also poses as a life model. Phyl & Billy are looking through the paper to see if they can pick up any work. Having in the last book alienated their usual souce. Phyl's brother is at a sanatorium. Like Billy, Freddy is a casaulty from the first world war trenches. The Doctor leading the asylum wants them to investigate a break-in. Billy & Phyl go down to Red Hollow. Phyl stays behind to spend time with her brother and William returns to Birmingham because of his son's christening. Phyl is supposed to go back on the train and meet him there...
It's a well crafted story and I found it fascinating the detail that was given and the twists and turns. If you like Peaky Blinders I think you will enjoy this dark read. Highly recommended.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
An excellent read. I have read the first book which I think helps me appreciate William's angst over Ronnie and Queenie. William Garrett (Billy) is a private investigator. He works out of Needless Alley in Birmingham and has a secretary called Phyl, who also poses as a life model. Phyl & Billy are looking through the paper to see if they can pick up any work. Having in the last book alienated their usual souce. Phyl's brother is at a sanatorium. Like Billy, Freddy is a casaulty from the first world war trenches. The Doctor leading the asylum wants them to investigate a break-in. Billy & Phyl go down to Red Hollow. Phyl stays behind to spend time with her brother and William returns to Birmingham because of his son's christening. Phyl is supposed to go back on the train and meet him there...
It's a well crafted story and I found it fascinating the detail that was given and the twists and turns. If you like Peaky Blinders I think you will enjoy this dark read. Highly recommended.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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February 17, 2025While I love genre-bending in general, the taste of noir and supernatural mixed together rarely sit well on my palate. A gritty mystery requires intellect and cleverness and quick wits and a moral code and preferably a sharp tongue and blunt fists. When supernatural is mixed in, where and how well those things are being employed is not easily distinguished.
A few immediate exceptions (eg Dead Boy Detectives establish their world rules and thus their investigative rules are different; The Hound of the Baskervilles makes it clear from the go Holmes doesn't believe in a supernatural explanation, etc).
And while the psychology of the setting, the time period, and the characters, are all well deployed, and mental illness, PTSD, and psychopathy all play their part, again I feel it dampened by having the supernatural layer infect every part of the story, not merely one characters' belief and with an ultimate full unmasking (eg Baskervilles).
This is mostly a matter of personal taste, and how I engage with the genres (and especially noir); unsure if Needless Alley had a similar setting, but there was enough in Marlow's pen to make me curious to check and see.
A few immediate exceptions (eg Dead Boy Detectives establish their world rules and thus their investigative rules are different; The Hound of the Baskervilles makes it clear from the go Holmes doesn't believe in a supernatural explanation, etc).
And while the psychology of the setting, the time period, and the characters, are all well deployed, and mental illness, PTSD, and psychopathy all play their part, again I feel it dampened by having the supernatural layer infect every part of the story, not merely one characters' belief and with an ultimate full unmasking (eg Baskervilles).
This is mostly a matter of personal taste, and how I engage with the genres (and especially noir); unsure if Needless Alley had a similar setting, but there was enough in Marlow's pen to make me curious to check and see.
April 9, 2024
Investigating team William and Phyll return - this time venturing away from Birmingham to Red Hollow Hall. A sanatorium for men where Phylll's brother is being treated. He is among a small group of men who believe they are being tormented by a mysterious legendary mermaid, a phantom that avenges women mistreated by men. There is definitely something going on at the hall and the not so merry band of characters become part of a noir thriller in an isolated country house, slowly being attacked, murdered and drugged - but is the culprit a vengeful spirit or something far more deadly.
The return of William, Phyll and Queenie is another compelling thriller. There was a lot of this I really enjoyed, the only problem for me was the section of the book where hallucinations and drama merge and it's difficult to work out what might be 'real' or imagined. However I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens to the characters. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
The return of William, Phyll and Queenie is another compelling thriller. There was a lot of this I really enjoyed, the only problem for me was the section of the book where hallucinations and drama merge and it's difficult to work out what might be 'real' or imagined. However I'm still looking forward to seeing what happens to the characters. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.
December 30, 2024
A disappointing follow up to the excellent Needless Alley.
In this story, William and his new partner Phyll head to Red Hollow House to investigate some mysterious and tragic happenings. Red Hollow is haunted by a devilish mermaid (with vagina dentata) which preys on men of evil nature.
Cut off by flooding, William and Phyll find themselves trapped in the old house as the murders pile up. But who amongst the occupants of the house is the mortal hand behind the supernatural killings?
Easy to read but the plot is far from convincing and the finale is just awful in its ridiculousness.
Let’s hope the next in the series ditches the psychoanalysis and the supernatural and returns to the grittiness of the Birmingham streets.
In this story, William and his new partner Phyll head to Red Hollow House to investigate some mysterious and tragic happenings. Red Hollow is haunted by a devilish mermaid (with vagina dentata) which preys on men of evil nature.
Cut off by flooding, William and Phyll find themselves trapped in the old house as the murders pile up. But who amongst the occupants of the house is the mortal hand behind the supernatural killings?
Easy to read but the plot is far from convincing and the finale is just awful in its ridiculousness.
Let’s hope the next in the series ditches the psychoanalysis and the supernatural and returns to the grittiness of the Birmingham streets.
March 28, 2024
The Red Hollow is the follow up to Needless Alley and is another noirish Brummie thriller featuring private investigator Will Garrett and his ex-journalist sidekick Phyll Hall.
This time the duo are called to investigate strange happenings at a country house where shell-shocked soldiers try to regain their mental health under the care of Dr Moon. Phyll's brother is one of the patients who reports sightings of a vicious sharp-toothed mermaid as flood waters rise around the house. This is dismissed as a hallucination, dream or imagination, but then men start going missing and mermaid hysteria fully takes hold.
A really gripping read.
This time the duo are called to investigate strange happenings at a country house where shell-shocked soldiers try to regain their mental health under the care of Dr Moon. Phyll's brother is one of the patients who reports sightings of a vicious sharp-toothed mermaid as flood waters rise around the house. This is dismissed as a hallucination, dream or imagination, but then men start going missing and mermaid hysteria fully takes hold.
A really gripping read.
April 6, 2024
William Garrett and his partner Phyll are called in to investigate a mysterious death at Red Hollow. This is the sanitarium where Phyll's brother, Freddy, is being treated for the after-effects of the war. When they arrive they find the residents terrified of the 'mermaid', a monster that appears in wet weather and who kills abusive men.
I really enjoyed Marlow's first novel and this is even better. It's a wonderful combination of 1930s detective grounded in Birmingham mixed with gothic-inspired horror which shouldn't work but it does. The period detail is fantastic and the setting suitably scary. This is a very original book and well worth reading.
I really enjoyed Marlow's first novel and this is even better. It's a wonderful combination of 1930s detective grounded in Birmingham mixed with gothic-inspired horror which shouldn't work but it does. The period detail is fantastic and the setting suitably scary. This is a very original book and well worth reading.
October 14, 2024
I really enjoyed the first book in this series, but this one wasn't as good. The plot was just too far-fetched and full of too many handy coincidences for me.
William is still a great character, but he was operating at reduced power in this book. Phyll was side-lined, although Queenie got a bigger part.
The whole thing was very gothic and tortured, with the plotline twisting around a local legend of a genitally fanged mermaid out to kill bad men. It had moments of high drama, but the free-form, drug-induced bits got old fast for me.
I will read this author's next William Garrett book, but this one fell short for me.
William is still a great character, but he was operating at reduced power in this book. Phyll was side-lined, although Queenie got a bigger part.
The whole thing was very gothic and tortured, with the plotline twisting around a local legend of a genitally fanged mermaid out to kill bad men. It had moments of high drama, but the free-form, drug-induced bits got old fast for me.
I will read this author's next William Garrett book, but this one fell short for me.
March 28, 2024
William Garrett and Phyll Hall are called in to investigate sinister goings on at The Red Hollow Hall! by Dr Moon. Dr Moon is running an addiction clinic, where Freddy (Phyll's brother) is living. Billy and Phyll learn about a local myth of a mermaid, who haunts the hall. It is set in 1934 near Birmingham. The story is full of twists and turns with a few red herrings with a shocking conclusion that I didn't see coming. It is a dark tale of greed and very descriptive. I will be recommending this book. I hope there is a book 3!
September 25, 2024
I really enjoyed this second book in Natalie Marlow’s series of Noir detective thrillers, set in and around Birmingham in the 30s. It took me a while to get into the first book in the series, but this one had me hooked right away.
Set largely in a country house in Warwickshire, doubling as a nursing home for those with mental illness, this book has a spooky feel as the residents react to the fear of supernatural goings on.
It’s dark, pacey and has some excellent characters. Well worth the read as the darker evenings roll in.
Set largely in a country house in Warwickshire, doubling as a nursing home for those with mental illness, this book has a spooky feel as the residents react to the fear of supernatural goings on.
It’s dark, pacey and has some excellent characters. Well worth the read as the darker evenings roll in.
March 28, 2025
I have mixed feelings about this book (Audible read).
I really enjoyed 'needless alley' and was keen to read more.
I did enjoy "the red hollow', very gothic and eerie, mystery, murder and folklore. This was a very different book to the previous one, and at times it seemed to try to be everything at once, with lots of overly complicated descriptions.
However, I did really enjoy this book, and I will happily read whatever Natalie Marlow decides to write next.
I really enjoyed 'needless alley' and was keen to read more.
I did enjoy "the red hollow', very gothic and eerie, mystery, murder and folklore. This was a very different book to the previous one, and at times it seemed to try to be everything at once, with lots of overly complicated descriptions.
However, I did really enjoy this book, and I will happily read whatever Natalie Marlow decides to write next.
February 23, 2024
I’m such a fan of Needless Alley so absolutely delighted for another outing with William & Co
Under the cloud of a brewing war in Europe, William and Phyll are scrabbling for cases. When they are contacted by a Dr Moon regarding some strange goings on at Red Hollow asylum, they travel into the Warwickshire countryside to investigate.
At Red Hollow William & Phyll immediately enter a world of uncertainty. Are the disturbances supernatural or something mych more earthly? The isolation, the strangeness of the house and its occupants and the myth of the mermaid that have the men so worked up all go to putting William (and the reader) off balance.
There is a real sense of eerie claustrophobia as William hunts the killer and as well as being throughly creeped out, I had absolutely no idea which way it was going.
You can read this without having read the first in the series, but I think you will have a better feel for the characters if you’ve read Needless Alley. I enjoyed their development in this book too as William battles his own demons and his love/hate relationship with the brilliant Queenie continues.
As in Needless Alley, there is something very filmic about this story. These books would translate so well to the screen - hint hint any TV folks reading!
A cracking addition to this series and I'm excited that there are more on the way
Under the cloud of a brewing war in Europe, William and Phyll are scrabbling for cases. When they are contacted by a Dr Moon regarding some strange goings on at Red Hollow asylum, they travel into the Warwickshire countryside to investigate.
At Red Hollow William & Phyll immediately enter a world of uncertainty. Are the disturbances supernatural or something mych more earthly? The isolation, the strangeness of the house and its occupants and the myth of the mermaid that have the men so worked up all go to putting William (and the reader) off balance.
There is a real sense of eerie claustrophobia as William hunts the killer and as well as being throughly creeped out, I had absolutely no idea which way it was going.
You can read this without having read the first in the series, but I think you will have a better feel for the characters if you’ve read Needless Alley. I enjoyed their development in this book too as William battles his own demons and his love/hate relationship with the brilliant Queenie continues.
As in Needless Alley, there is something very filmic about this story. These books would translate so well to the screen - hint hint any TV folks reading!
A cracking addition to this series and I'm excited that there are more on the way
April 7, 2024
I loved Needless Alley and liked this one, a mix of noir and gothic. It's a well plotted and enthralling story that kept me guessing.
I appreciated the characters, was glad to catch up with the detectives. The mix of gothic and noir works fine but I found it a bit slow at times
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
I appreciated the characters, was glad to catch up with the detectives. The mix of gothic and noir works fine but I found it a bit slow at times
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
May 13, 2024
This book was so brilliantly atmospheric. The story telling kept me so involved with the characters and the plot. Saying that I did feel I was glad I had read Natalie's first book, Needless Alley, as I could appreciate the relationships between Billy, Phyll and Queenie. I look forward to what is to come next!
April 18, 2025
Some gems in here: ‘“The shakes won’t stop,” he said, thinking he kept saying just what he was thinking. “I keep saying just what I’m thinking.” And “If there was a God, he’d been on a fag break for years.” Also, the novel’s best section is the climax - an excellent series of twists as the country house murders unravel and the cases are solved.
April 3, 2025
This was not what I expected, but I still enjoyed the ride. We move away from central Brum to a sort of country house murder mystery. With added peyote... Queenie and Phyll are fabulous. William? How is he still functioning!!?
January 12, 2024
I was given an ARC of this book.
Set in 1930s Britain, although much of the dialogue has a more modern feel to it. It combines crime with elements of horror. Most of the action takes place at a rural sanatorium, its isolation increased by heavy rainfall and flooding. Patients, and visitors, are falling victim to attacks that a local legend attributes to a mermaid living in a lake, the red hollow of the title.
More action thriller than whodunnit. It got a bit too weird for me.
Set in 1930s Britain, although much of the dialogue has a more modern feel to it. It combines crime with elements of horror. Most of the action takes place at a rural sanatorium, its isolation increased by heavy rainfall and flooding. Patients, and visitors, are falling victim to attacks that a local legend attributes to a mermaid living in a lake, the red hollow of the title.
More action thriller than whodunnit. It got a bit too weird for me.
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