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Bone Hollow: A Hudson Heartland Mystery
No place is safe…
if your enemy is everywhere
When a Catskill house-hunting weekend turns up two dead bodies, New York hipsters Serena and Jeffrey Gale find themselves at the center of a dark conspiracy that follows them back to their familiar Brooklyn neighborhood.
What brought an environmentalist minister and a white supremacist together to die in the woods of Bone Hollow? Who shot them? And why are three ex-cons and a gas drilling company so interested? The state police don't know, the local good old boys won't say, and someone keeps threatening the young couple.
Elmore Leonard meets T.C. Boyle in the non-stop rural suspense novel Bone Hollow as the Gales enter a world of cops and killers, bringing the fight to a ruthless enemy among back roads, farms and forests before he can destroy them and their simple dreams of a place to call home.
if your enemy is everywhere
When a Catskill house-hunting weekend turns up two dead bodies, New York hipsters Serena and Jeffrey Gale find themselves at the center of a dark conspiracy that follows them back to their familiar Brooklyn neighborhood.
What brought an environmentalist minister and a white supremacist together to die in the woods of Bone Hollow? Who shot them? And why are three ex-cons and a gas drilling company so interested? The state police don't know, the local good old boys won't say, and someone keeps threatening the young couple.
Elmore Leonard meets T.C. Boyle in the non-stop rural suspense novel Bone Hollow as the Gales enter a world of cops and killers, bringing the fight to a ruthless enemy among back roads, farms and forests before he can destroy them and their simple dreams of a place to call home.
317 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2015
2 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Bill Braine
2 books21 followersBill Braine is a Hudson Valley writer whose work has appeared in Runner's World magazine and in the critically acclaimed podcast Getting On with James Urbaniak (named one of Rolling Stone's "20 Best Comedy Podcasts," 2014). His blog Exurbitude was a funny and practical take on migrating north from New York. Bone Hollow is his first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 4, 2015
Picking this up based on it's Hudson Valley locale, I hoped this book would provide some brainless enjoyment. It was certainly the former, but not the later. What really took me out of this one quickly was that the actions of the main characters are simply ridiculous. I don't care if Versailles was available for a buck and a quarter, if two dead bodies, one with its head blown half off, are laying in its backyard, I am not buying it, no less calling the real estate agent to set up an appointment to view it right after dialing 911. This couple, particularly the unstable wife, make progressively more idiotic decisions, including doing everything they can to badger the lead investigator and chasing the police down while they're on the way to catch the suspects! While I shouldn't, I can forgive the typos present throughout, but what I can't overlook is nonsensical writing. So while I welcomed the idea of the Hudson Valley as the locale for a thriller, after finishing this one, I would have preferred the author chose a valley that apparently attracts more intelligent main characters.
March 9, 2015
What fun this book is! The setting is the Hudson Valley, where I happen to live, and the author captures its beauty and seductive mystery perfectly. The dialogue positively crackles, the characters are interesting and rife with layers and complexity. Several times I even found myself laughing out loud (between page-turning suspense). I didn't want it to end, and I can't wait to see what this writer does next. Hard to believe this is his first novel.
April 9, 2015
I picked up this book because it was set in the Hudson Valley, where I live, and because I love a good crime novel. The premise was great and I enjoyed the plot, but felt that it read more like a draft than a finished product. It had so much potential that it didn't live up to.
Also, I absolutely despised protagonist Serena Gale. There was nothing inherently likeable about her character and I was rooting for the bad guys to get her. She completely lost me at the beginning when, after finding two bodies and throwing up, she calls 911 then immediately calls a realtor because she wants to buy the property on which the bodies were discovrered. It was just so callous and unbelievable that someone I'm supposed to sympathize with has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
I really wanted to love it, but couldn't. That being said, I do look forward to reading more from this promising author.
Also, I absolutely despised protagonist Serena Gale. There was nothing inherently likeable about her character and I was rooting for the bad guys to get her. She completely lost me at the beginning when, after finding two bodies and throwing up, she calls 911 then immediately calls a realtor because she wants to buy the property on which the bodies were discovrered. It was just so callous and unbelievable that someone I'm supposed to sympathize with has no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
I really wanted to love it, but couldn't. That being said, I do look forward to reading more from this promising author.
September 8, 2015
The decriptions of the Hudson Valley brought me right into the story and helped me want to know the characters and after I became familiar with them I was all wrapped up into the story. It was a good time with new friends.
July 8, 2018
This was not a good book. The plot might have been ok in different hands but the writing was amateurish. There were many characters, several cops, several bad guys, none of which had a distinctive voice. The only distinguishing feature any character had was the irrationality of the wife from Brooklyn (Serena?). Within the first few pages she and her husband stumble upon a house for sale and they pursue purchasing this house through situations you would not believe! Every few chapters the author would get stuck on a phrase and use it repeatedly. (If Serena nuzzled into the neck of her husband one more time ...). Finally, there were multiple typos and misspellings. I live in Brooklyn and was reading this while in the Catskills. I thought that would be amusing. But I still didn’t like it.
July 12, 2021
An unexpected pleasure. Bone Hollow was an enjoyable and very well written book. Bill Braine has a beautiful command of language and it was a treat to listen to the audio version with him reading. He’s a great reader! The characters felt very real, as did their interactions and their dialogues. The descriptions of the various locations were vivid and created a wonderful sense of place.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the protagonists as they found themselves swept up in this entertaining murder mystery. I hope to meet up with the Gales again in print as they stumble upon and future murders in the Catskills.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story and the protagonists as they found themselves swept up in this entertaining murder mystery. I hope to meet up with the Gales again in print as they stumble upon and future murders in the Catskills.
July 10, 2017
Ugh. While there are patches of good writing in this book, the main characters are so very self centered and silly that they just end up being irritating. Really - you find 2 dead bodies and without a thought immediately call a realtor right after calling the police since "the price of this house just went down...."? The book was uneven, but the very ending is literally the silliest and most annoying last paragraph that I have EVER read in a novel.
June 29, 2015
I just finished reading Bone Hollow. My thoughts about it are mixed, though I certainly enjoyed it on the whole.
The writing, especially when descriptive, is excellent. The author can write a mean sentence, his use of vocabulary is fantastic, and he evokes a feel of locations and characters that is excellent.
Bone Hollow is a “page turner” in the classic sense. I was invested in the story and characters enough that I wanted to know what would happen to them, and the story moved along at an engaging clip. I ripped through it quite quickly -- in large part because the writing is so compelling. And there are moments of genuine tension that I really appreciated.
I also enjoyed the descriptions of the seedy underside of the Fracking business, even if they seemed a bit mustache-twirly at times. And it was clear the author did a lot of research into the police-business side of things; the police inspector and his cohorts seemed believable and well-drawn.
Bone Hollow is not, however, without its problems. In my opinion the editing left much to be desired. The use of dialog tags is inconsistent, and a large number of them are unnecessary. There are typos and word mistakes, and ambiguous pronouns. There are also occasional inconsistencies and hiccups in the maintenance of POV. And while I accept the author's stylistic choice to lean heavily on fragments -- it suits the genre -- there are times when I feel he leans too heavily upon them, and it interfered with my enjoyment of the story. Finally, there are some oddities in the physical layout of the book, particularly in the lower margin.
I had a couple of other minor quibbles: to me the protagonists didn’t feel threatened enough, given the book is a thriller. I would have liked to see the book's major villain be more active in causing trouble for the main characters. And some of the actions of the protagonists seem unbelievable, in a "no normal person would do that" sort of way.
But, overall, this was a solid effort, and the sentence-to-sentence quality of the writing, along with with a compelling plot and characters, left me a satisfied reader. Three stars, and I look forward to what the author will produce next.
The writing, especially when descriptive, is excellent. The author can write a mean sentence, his use of vocabulary is fantastic, and he evokes a feel of locations and characters that is excellent.
Bone Hollow is a “page turner” in the classic sense. I was invested in the story and characters enough that I wanted to know what would happen to them, and the story moved along at an engaging clip. I ripped through it quite quickly -- in large part because the writing is so compelling. And there are moments of genuine tension that I really appreciated.
I also enjoyed the descriptions of the seedy underside of the Fracking business, even if they seemed a bit mustache-twirly at times. And it was clear the author did a lot of research into the police-business side of things; the police inspector and his cohorts seemed believable and well-drawn.
Bone Hollow is not, however, without its problems. In my opinion the editing left much to be desired. The use of dialog tags is inconsistent, and a large number of them are unnecessary. There are typos and word mistakes, and ambiguous pronouns. There are also occasional inconsistencies and hiccups in the maintenance of POV. And while I accept the author's stylistic choice to lean heavily on fragments -- it suits the genre -- there are times when I feel he leans too heavily upon them, and it interfered with my enjoyment of the story. Finally, there are some oddities in the physical layout of the book, particularly in the lower margin.
I had a couple of other minor quibbles: to me the protagonists didn’t feel threatened enough, given the book is a thriller. I would have liked to see the book's major villain be more active in causing trouble for the main characters. And some of the actions of the protagonists seem unbelievable, in a "no normal person would do that" sort of way.
But, overall, this was a solid effort, and the sentence-to-sentence quality of the writing, along with with a compelling plot and characters, left me a satisfied reader. Three stars, and I look forward to what the author will produce next.
June 18, 2015
I alternate between "literary" fiction (sorry) and genre stuff, usually detective novels. I always want the genre stuff to go fast and fun, without being silly. BONE HOLLOW fit the bill really well. The locale and some of the plot elements are familiar to me, since I live in the Catskills and have lived in NYC, and that was fun. There's a really good sense of place and a surprising plot.
April 6, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It has great characters, suspense, and is well-written. I enjoyed "being in the Catskills and the Hudson River Valley", where the story takes place. This is a good read for sure!
March 13, 2015
I thought this book was well written and interesting. I am interested in local history and even though fiction, it identified many areas of our counties.
April 5, 2015
fun, fun, fun...living in the area added to the enjoyment, recognizing the places where the action took place
April 9, 2015
I have lost so much sleep while reading this book, and loved every minute of it.
May 11, 2015
Loved it!
May 7, 2016
Recommend
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews