The Hollow Sea

OutFoxing the Paranormal #4

by Jordan L. Hawk

The dead will not be silenced.

When Oscar, Nigel, and the rest of the OtP ghost hunters travel to Devil’s Den Island, their job seems simple: lay the ghost of a dead medium to rest at last.

But more than one ghost haunts Devil’s Den, and soon the team realize there’s more to the island’s dark past than they’ve been led to believe. As the fallout from century-old secrets closes in around them, one thing is clear: the dead have a story to tell.

And ignoring it could prove fatal.

Genres: Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Ghosts, M M Romance, LGBT, Queer

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2026

About the author

Jordan L. Hawk writes queer fiction with a helping of eldritch monsters and things that go bump in the night. He's best known for the award-winning Whyborne & Griffin series. He lurks in the forests of Massachusetts, but can be lured out with pizza.

Reviews

[Marianne]

The Hollow Sea was a another good, and I'm assuming the final, entry in the Outfoxing the Paranormal series. The setting (oppressive heat) felt appropriate given the current heatwave the world is experiencing and the suspense scenes were well done. Though I don't think anything with surpass The Forgotten Dead for creepiness. Some people might think that the villains were too extreme, but I don't think you can ever underestimate how people, especially those with wealth, will treat those whose humanity they refuse to acknowledge. On another note, I appreciated the Christina Rossetti poem — "The Poor Ghost" — at the beginning, and it does look like all the titles from the series comes from it. This, along with the resolution of the Lawson/Montague subplot, suggests to me that The Hollow Sea is the final book in the series. One little quibble: there were noticeable copy-editing errors that often pulled me out of the story — sometimes it was Ruth Lawson and other times, even on the same page, it was Ruth Lawrence.

[Rebecca]

Bonus points to Hawk for naming this book after one of Christina Rosetti's more haunting poems. I always enjoy this series no matter what the individual titles, though, because they manage to be scary without being terrifying and inclusive without making it the point.

[Emily]

I hope this isn't the end of this series because I have thoroughly enjoyed each book. This one is much less scary that the last, perhaps the least of the quartet in fact, but I found the mystery engaging. It moves at a fast clip, has some truly gross revelations, and had a nice blend of mystery and action. I've been a fan of Hawk's writing for years, and I would love to see him do more of this speculative fiction mystery with a paranormal twist genre. Makes me miss the days when I'd watch hours and hours of Supernatural. The vibes are similar and thus pretty perfect.

[Kristel (hungryandhappy)]

Scary!! And it kept me guessing about motives, mysteries, and the twists I definitely did not see coming. The book might be short but it isn't lacking on content; you get everything, you already know and care about the characters, the established couple does not have time for naughty times when there are evil ghosts trying to end them, and what they use to help them know when a ghost is approaching is really creepy. This series would make a perfect mini tv series!

[Loves]

I've read Patreon ARC and I've enjoyed it. It's a fast paced ghost story with atmospheric setting, great characters, good dialogues and plenty of action. I've finished it in a day. Nevertheless, there were two big problems that I couldn't ignore:
- The mystery aspect was weak. Very obvious leads and content guidance more or less gave the main mystery away by the middle of the book. The great reveal wasn't shocking.
- For me this book marked the point where Hawk's anti-capitalistic theme turned from reasonable social commentary to plainly disturbing. (Major spoilers)

This is not the first book he'd written with extremely rich villains, nor is it the second. But this is the first book where money and power explain monstrous behavior on their own, without requiring any additional context:
1. It's implied that the pack moved from hunting game to hunting men and cannibalism because they were rich and powerful so game did not satisfy them. However, this is not a natural transition for anyone sane, rich or poor.
2. Ms. Montague risked the lives of her lovers, cruelly manipulated them and lied to them just to protect her family fortune. The words Hawk gave to Robin to explain this behavior were the most damning in the book: "I don't think she loves us as much as we love her. I don't think she can". Why not? Was Ms. Montague presented as a raging sociopath on previous books? Was there some childhood trauma that left her cold? Maybe it's her struggle as a female businesswomen on a male dominant era? No, none of this was mentioned here or used to justify herself. She's just very very rich, so obviously conscience and decency were optional to begin with.
So no. Cynicism aside, the stinking rich are not inherently evil and ruthless, in the same way that the penniless poor are not inherently kind and altruistic. Yes, money and power tend to corrupt people to some extent, but they can't be used as deus-ex-psychopathia the way Hawk applied them here. It's not good writing and it's demonization.

[Amethyst]

As with the previous books in this series, I loved the casual queerness and the representation of diversity. Here, we also had an arc come to an end.

This time, the gang is shipped out to an island that belongs to the family of their sponsor, Patricia Montague. The mansion there is haunted by three ghosts, one of them the former friend and lover and Montague and Dr Lawson, Nigel's old teacher. As before, Montague follows her own agenda which endangers the others.

The main focus was on the paranormal investigation. Since this is the fourth installment in the series, we didn't get many explanations about the equipment they used. But that was okay since we learnt what each gadget was when it was applied. It made the ghost no less scary. And scary they are, until the team finds out what's going on.

One of the things I like about this series, is the dynamic between the characters: the friendship, trust, and mutual support between the four members on the OtP-Team, their morals and ethical thinking, and their interaction with people, dead or alive, who go against them.

It made a nice difference that the book came without any spice. The love between Nigel and Oscar is palpable in every gesture and in how they care for and about each other. I do not need to watch them "at it" to get what they mean for each other.

I also liked what happened at the end, not only with the ghosts but between the humans as well.

All in all, a nice and entertaining read.

[Joyfully Jay]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

The Hollow Sea is the fourth book in Jordan L. Hawk’s OutFoxing the Paranormal series. It nicely picks up the threads of revelations we learn in earlier books, as the gang revisits the ghost from Montague and Lawson’s past. We know that the women dated when they were younger and that the third member of their polycule was a medium who was killed by a ghost. So here we get a nice series payoff as the story addresses that past head on and we see the group trying to help Robin pass along.

As with the other books in this series, this one is a blend of paranormal and a dose of horror. I don’t think this story is quite as scary overall as some of the books (I still get freaked out thinking about the reveal in The Forgotten Dead), but what we learn about the past is suitably horrifying and stomach churning.

I really enjoy this series and the way Hawk has created this paranormal/horror hybrid that is a different tone than many of his other series.

Read Jay’s review in its entirety here.

[Jenny Saul-Avila]

Absolutely loved this book - was completely & totally sucked into it & I really, really, really hope there will be another book in this series. I love the OtP crew & the setting for this book was an interesting one for sure. Were there some parts that perhaps required an extra stretch of the imagination? Yeah, probably, but we're talking paranormal stuff anyway, so the author can do whatever he pleases in his own paranormal world.
You can't really read this one & follow perfectly if you haven't read the previous ones - but if you enjoyed the previous ones, you'll enjoy this one.

[Louise]

Another very creepy addition to the series, once again managing to blend a gruesome human side with the ghostly elements. In some ways this definitely feels like a conclusion to the series, although it doesn't seem completely closed off but things with Montague have definitely come to a conclusion, which is good, especially after the events of the last book. The mystery unfolds nicely though, with well-paced scares and twists, and the dynamic between the group still works well. A solid addition to the series.

[Deeze]

Another very sad but gripping tale.

Ghost story wise this was everything I have come to expect from this series, spookiness with a side of human suffering. The ghosts were terrifying and as with the previous books not all was as it seemed.

Again while I enjoyed Nigel, Oscar and co as a group there is no real romance, but again I'm totally fine with that.

[Iris]

4.75 stars

[CRM]

Great story, with just enough twist and turns to keep you engaged. I hope there is more for these characters to do.

[Alaina]

Another marvelous ghost story from Hawk.

[Jo]

3.5⭐

[Storm]

I think my favourite in the series!

[Bookbeard]

story line: ****
main characters: ****
side characters: ****
world building: ****
editing: *****

[Jio]

Welp, the Dr Lawson to Dr Lawrence editorial oopsie pissed me off A LOT. Otherwise... the recycling of Ms Montague plot from the previous book was annoying.

[Lena Grey]

“The dead will be waiting because a crime buried without justice is never laid to rest.” ~ Scott Pelley

In ‘The Hollow Sea’ by Jordan L. Hawk, Nigel and the OtP team travel to Devils Den Island for a new mission. Since Ms. Montague owns the island, they can get in easily. Their main goal is to reach Robin, a psychic who died after a ghost pushed her out of a window and help her move on. Both Dr. Lawson and Ms. Montague were romantically involved with Robin. Recently, Montague has been dreaming that Robin is stuck in the house and cannot move on

Everything on the island feels lifeless, with no animals or birds, only darkness and fear. As they get closer to the estate, they grow more uneasy. Though nervous, they think staying together will help them endure whatever happens. Inside, they find piles of trash and broken furniture. It is sad to see, since the house used to be magnificent. Now it looks as empty and messy as the rest of the island.

Inside the house, they do not find Robin, but they do encounter two other ghosts. Using their equipment, they identify the ghosts as Ullman, the house’s owner, and Gloria, his daughter.

The team faces strange events and hears conflicting stories, which only create more questions. It seems that each discovery leads to another, sometimes confusing or surprising them. Their relationships with the ghosts are complicated, and they struggle to trust one another or to believe what the ghosts say. Ullman wants them to leave. Gloria is friendly at first, but when they ignore her request to find the treasure, she turns hostile. She accuses Montague of already knowing about the treasure and then turns against the group. The team also starts to doubt Montague’s story. With no reliable help, they must solve the mystery on their own.

‘The Hollow Sea’ is a strong addition to the ‘Outfoxing the Paranormal’ series. It feels like several stories woven into one, with nearly every character—living or dead—given a meaningful role. Jordan is one of the few authors whose blend of horror, drama, and suspense I genuinely enjoy. Thanks, Jordan!


DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book was purchased by the reviewer.

[Ellie Thomas]

Another gripping story in this wonderful series! The ghost hunting team, including couple Nigel and Oscar, might have their most dangerous challenge yet to a haunted house on a remote island to lay the ghost of a medium to rest. However, someone associated with the team is hiding a terrible secret which puts them all in danger.
I really enjoyed that the drama took place outside the established relationship and the close-knit team. I relished the complexities of the plot and how motivations, both human and ghostly are slowly revealed. A really satisfying and scary read.