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Point Hollow
Point Hollow, NY. A town with unspeakable secrets. To the tourists that visit each summer, it is quintessential America. They stroll through its picturesque streets and hike its stunning trails. No one sees the cracks in the town’s veneer. No one knows its terrible a secret that has been buried—forgotten. But Abraham’s Faith, the mountain that overshadows Point Hollow, doesn’t forget so easily. It booms, wicked and controlling. It is filled with the bones of children. Oliver Wray is Point Hollow’s favourite son, its most generous benefactor, admired by all. But Oliver, like the town, has a Abraham’s Faith speaks to him, and he has spent a lifetime serving its cruel needs. He believes his secret is safe, but one person has glimpsed the darkness in his heart . . . Matthew Bridge hasn’t set foot in Point Hollow for twenty-six years. Something horrifying happened to him there. Memories of an ordeal that flicker and taunt, but cannot be recalled. Now, trying to find the answers to his failed marriage and failing life, Matthew is coming home. Back to Point Hollow. Back to Abraham’s Faith.
- GenresHorror
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 17, 2015
5 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Rio Youers
90 books433 followersRio Youers is the British Fantasy and Sunburst Award–nominated author of Lola on Fire and No Second Chances. His 2017 thriller, The Forgotten Girl, was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Crime Novel. He is the writer of Refrigerator Full of Heads, a six-issue comic series from DC Comics, and Sleeping Beauties, a graphic novel based on the number-one bestseller by Stephen King and Owen King. Rio’s latest novel, The Bang-Bang Sisters, was published by William Morrow in summer 2024.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
May 25, 2015
5 of 5 Stars
If I had to find something to complain about with regards to the work of Rio Youers it would be that he is not terribly prolific. Three years since his last novel is a very long time. Of course, that last novel was Westlake Soul, one of my favorite books of the last five years and now he's given us another gem.
Point Hollow presents the reader with a new and intriguing premise that gets off to a wickedly good start. Old Bear Mountain is known to the locals as Abraham's Faith. At thirty-four hundred feet, it was the tallest of the peaks surrounding the town of Point Hollow. It was also a place of which the locals tend to steer clear.
When he was ten years old, Matthew Bridge had a terrifying experience with the mountain, one that would (although he couldn't recall what had happened) haunt his dreams well into adulthood and could end up costing him his marriage.
The characterizations in this novel are strong, Rio's skill at creating conversations is excellent, he shows the ability to do with words what a great artist can do with paints and a canvas.
At times disturbing and exceedingly dark, the story flows quickly through its 280 pages and is one of the most complete novels I've read in some time. The truth, when revealed, is horrible beyond words And the last third of the book was just a heart pounding race to the finish.
Youers may not be pounding them out like James Patterson or even Stephen King, but what he creates places him right up there with the leading writers of modern horror.
I can honestly say Point Hollow is my favorite read so far in 2015 and it's going to be a tough one to top. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy, available now in paperback or ebook from ChiZine Publications.
I give this one my highest recommendation.
If I had to find something to complain about with regards to the work of Rio Youers it would be that he is not terribly prolific. Three years since his last novel is a very long time. Of course, that last novel was Westlake Soul, one of my favorite books of the last five years and now he's given us another gem.
Point Hollow presents the reader with a new and intriguing premise that gets off to a wickedly good start. Old Bear Mountain is known to the locals as Abraham's Faith. At thirty-four hundred feet, it was the tallest of the peaks surrounding the town of Point Hollow. It was also a place of which the locals tend to steer clear.
When he was ten years old, Matthew Bridge had a terrifying experience with the mountain, one that would (although he couldn't recall what had happened) haunt his dreams well into adulthood and could end up costing him his marriage.
The characterizations in this novel are strong, Rio's skill at creating conversations is excellent, he shows the ability to do with words what a great artist can do with paints and a canvas.
At times disturbing and exceedingly dark, the story flows quickly through its 280 pages and is one of the most complete novels I've read in some time. The truth, when revealed, is horrible beyond words And the last third of the book was just a heart pounding race to the finish.
Youers may not be pounding them out like James Patterson or even Stephen King, but what he creates places him right up there with the leading writers of modern horror.
I can honestly say Point Hollow is my favorite read so far in 2015 and it's going to be a tough one to top. Do yourself a favor and get yourself a copy, available now in paperback or ebook from ChiZine Publications.
I give this one my highest recommendation.
March 4, 2016
Fantastic! That is all.
July 12, 2015
3.5 Stars
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
When Oliver was a kid, the mountain spoke to him for the first time, demanding a sacrifice. Now he's the most respected member in the Point Hollow community, but the mountain hasn't stopped calling...
I was surprised how much I liked the story. It's grim. A mountain filled with children's bones. A seemingly perfectly normal little town. All good ingredients for a spooky read. Although the story was predictable at times I still enjoyed reading it a lot, although it might not be the best read for those with a weak stomach.
I was - like usually - not really charmed by the changing POVs in combination with a historical and a modern time line. It's not my favourite, but something that's done a lot these days.
I would pick up another book by this author.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
When Oliver was a kid, the mountain spoke to him for the first time, demanding a sacrifice. Now he's the most respected member in the Point Hollow community, but the mountain hasn't stopped calling...
I was surprised how much I liked the story. It's grim. A mountain filled with children's bones. A seemingly perfectly normal little town. All good ingredients for a spooky read. Although the story was predictable at times I still enjoyed reading it a lot, although it might not be the best read for those with a weak stomach.
I was - like usually - not really charmed by the changing POVs in combination with a historical and a modern time line. It's not my favourite, but something that's done a lot these days.
I would pick up another book by this author.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
November 1, 2016
Rio Youers can write. His Mama Fish is one of the best reads of the past few years; so needless to say I was primed and ready to love Point Hollow.
First thing first...I don't know why they decided to call this novel "Point Hollow" The more memorable and apt title would have been "Abraham's Faith" which to me seemed the more eerie and marketable title. But, that's neither here nor there.
There's no spoilers here. For those who haven't read the book, the review may prove a little frustrating as I will talk about things that won't make sense unless you have.
Youers has me early on in this novel, creating some really interesting characters and eeking out some really nice tension. Oliver, the antagonist, is really well drawn and Matthew, the semi-protagonist, although a little milquetoast, proved interesting as well. Youers really had me hooked when he introduced Bobby, a childhood friend of Matthew's. Great character. Youers excelled at the setting and the characters and the tension and the horror and throughout the first half of the book, I was with him all the way.
But at about the half way point, things began to get terribly wrong. Oliver's communing with nature got so amazingly repetitive, to the point that I started to skim over large segments of his communing. As the novel progressed, this communing actually started to get very, very silly (and I don't think it was intentional for it to come off silly). Youers' choice to tell parts of the story via insight to Oliver's personal journal worked early on, but then it became laden with journals inside of journals and press clippings in side of journals. He crafted a very complex backstory and clearly needed a way to communicate it without confusing the hell out of the readers, but it started to become a crutch and a distraction. I understand the need, but when I was three journals in, I'd had enough.
Matthew was an interesting character and early on, his exploration of his repressed memories was not only spot-on truth wise (I know whereof I speak) but also a really humanizing aspect that helped keep this character from getting whiney and annoying.
But, again, midway through the novel, the exploration was pretty much dropped and Matthew became whiney. In fact, Matthew disappears completely for a huge chunk and the focus goes solely to Oliver. Unfortunately, by this time Oliver had become very one-note. It feels like Youers wasn't quite sure what to do with Matthew or even if he was the protagonist.
But the biggest problem with this novel is that starting at the mid-point, all the great crafting and character building gives way to a cliche-ridden second half. Someone said that this novel reads like a movie and it does...unfortunately, at the second half it starts playing like a c-grade horror film. Every cliche is there, up to an including multiple endings where the killer must be dead....but gets back up again...and then must be dead....and then gets up again....and then...well, you get the idea. I found myself mumbling the same thing I had when I watched the Lord of The Rings movies in theaters. "Just end the damn movie already!"
Other well drawn characters also fall into horror-movie cliche. The Sheriff, though not the most complex of characters to begin with, suffers most from this. The second half also relies far to much on multiple deus-ex-machinas.
At the end, we're treated to a nice, neat wrap-up for Matthew which feels enormously forced and out of place since his absence through much of the novel (due to over-reliance on Oliver) hardly makes him feel like the hero. In fact, Matthew does almost nothing in the novel to solve the problems. He is utterly and completely a passive character from beginning to end.
In the end, this really was a let down. It started out so strongly and then descended into something dar too cliche and derivative. I Still give it three stars because Youers can write. Man can he write. But this one would not be the Youers book I'd recommend people start with.
First thing first...I don't know why they decided to call this novel "Point Hollow" The more memorable and apt title would have been "Abraham's Faith" which to me seemed the more eerie and marketable title. But, that's neither here nor there.
There's no spoilers here. For those who haven't read the book, the review may prove a little frustrating as I will talk about things that won't make sense unless you have.
Youers has me early on in this novel, creating some really interesting characters and eeking out some really nice tension. Oliver, the antagonist, is really well drawn and Matthew, the semi-protagonist, although a little milquetoast, proved interesting as well. Youers really had me hooked when he introduced Bobby, a childhood friend of Matthew's. Great character. Youers excelled at the setting and the characters and the tension and the horror and throughout the first half of the book, I was with him all the way.
But at about the half way point, things began to get terribly wrong. Oliver's communing with nature got so amazingly repetitive, to the point that I started to skim over large segments of his communing. As the novel progressed, this communing actually started to get very, very silly (and I don't think it was intentional for it to come off silly). Youers' choice to tell parts of the story via insight to Oliver's personal journal worked early on, but then it became laden with journals inside of journals and press clippings in side of journals. He crafted a very complex backstory and clearly needed a way to communicate it without confusing the hell out of the readers, but it started to become a crutch and a distraction. I understand the need, but when I was three journals in, I'd had enough.
Matthew was an interesting character and early on, his exploration of his repressed memories was not only spot-on truth wise (I know whereof I speak) but also a really humanizing aspect that helped keep this character from getting whiney and annoying.
But, again, midway through the novel, the exploration was pretty much dropped and Matthew became whiney. In fact, Matthew disappears completely for a huge chunk and the focus goes solely to Oliver. Unfortunately, by this time Oliver had become very one-note. It feels like Youers wasn't quite sure what to do with Matthew or even if he was the protagonist.
But the biggest problem with this novel is that starting at the mid-point, all the great crafting and character building gives way to a cliche-ridden second half. Someone said that this novel reads like a movie and it does...unfortunately, at the second half it starts playing like a c-grade horror film. Every cliche is there, up to an including multiple endings where the killer must be dead....but gets back up again...and then must be dead....and then gets up again....and then...well, you get the idea. I found myself mumbling the same thing I had when I watched the Lord of The Rings movies in theaters. "Just end the damn movie already!"
Other well drawn characters also fall into horror-movie cliche. The Sheriff, though not the most complex of characters to begin with, suffers most from this. The second half also relies far to much on multiple deus-ex-machinas.
At the end, we're treated to a nice, neat wrap-up for Matthew which feels enormously forced and out of place since his absence through much of the novel (due to over-reliance on Oliver) hardly makes him feel like the hero. In fact, Matthew does almost nothing in the novel to solve the problems. He is utterly and completely a passive character from beginning to end.
In the end, this really was a let down. It started out so strongly and then descended into something dar too cliche and derivative. I Still give it three stars because Youers can write. Man can he write. But this one would not be the Youers book I'd recommend people start with.
June 25, 2015
WESTLAKE SOUL was a powerfully transcendent novel that sorta made me wanna cry by the end. Raw emotion hummed through that novel, showing the world what most folks already knew: Rio Youers could just WRITE, period.
POINT HOLLOW is a very different novel - and yet another triumph. The small-town horror tale, evil cloaking itself in the veils of the divine, fractured characters struggling to make things right: this is a horror novel, and damn fine one. It could sit comfortably on the shelf next to FIRESTARTER or PET SEMETERY, and I don't mean to imply that Youers is Stephen King clone. His style is fluid, with a faint lyricism, and this his story. But, like King's finest works, Rio has crafted characters that transcend the tropes and gives us more than splattered blood and viscera. And he doesn't deny that sometimes, darkness cannot be completely extinguished, but is often conquered when there's someone by your side to share the pain.
POINT HOLLOW is a very different novel - and yet another triumph. The small-town horror tale, evil cloaking itself in the veils of the divine, fractured characters struggling to make things right: this is a horror novel, and damn fine one. It could sit comfortably on the shelf next to FIRESTARTER or PET SEMETERY, and I don't mean to imply that Youers is Stephen King clone. His style is fluid, with a faint lyricism, and this his story. But, like King's finest works, Rio has crafted characters that transcend the tropes and gives us more than splattered blood and viscera. And he doesn't deny that sometimes, darkness cannot be completely extinguished, but is often conquered when there's someone by your side to share the pain.
December 30, 2016
Point Hollow, New York is such a lovely little town - an idyllic tourist town filled with picturesque streets and stunningly beautiful scenery. It is certainly quintessential America - a place to where tourists come every summer to stroll through Point Hollow's quiet streets and hike its scenic nature trails. However, Point Hollow, New York is also a town with many secrets.
No one knows of the town's terrible history; of the secrets that have remained buried for so long - forgotten by so many. No one sees the delicate cracks in the close-knit town's facade. But Abraham's Faith, the mountain that overshadows Point Hollow, sees everything. And the imposing mountain has never forgotten, will never forget...
Because Abraham's Faith is wicked and controlling; it has always been the keeper of Point Hollow's deepest, darkest, most diabolical secrets. And the mountain has kept hold of the innocent souls of the town's children for decades. It has even become their burial ground...
Oliver Wray is Point Hollow's favorite son, its most generous benefactor, loved and admired by all. But Oliver, like the town, has a secret: Abraham's Faith speaks to him, and he has spent a lifetime serving its cruel needs; fulfilling the mountain's darkest desires. Oliver believes that his secret is safe, but one person has glimpsed the darkness in his heart...
Matthew Bridge hasn't set foot in Point Hollow for the past twenty-six years. Something happened to him there so long ago; something so horrifying that Matthew has spent decades trying to forget the trauma. However, as much as Matthew tries to move on with his life, he just can't. Memories of his ordeal continue to haunt him, to flicker through his memory and taunt the recesses of his mind - never to be fully recalled.
Now, determined to find the answers to his recently failed marriage and his equally failing life, Matthew is coming home again. Back to Point Hollow, New York. Back to Abraham's Faith...to confront his past and claim his future.
Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, Mr. Youers has a remarkably fertile imagination and I really wanted to see how the story would develop. The horror of the plot itself was certainly fantastic, but was used in such a way that the story seemed entirely plausible. The story was fast-paced and well-developed - I would definitely give this book an A+!
No one knows of the town's terrible history; of the secrets that have remained buried for so long - forgotten by so many. No one sees the delicate cracks in the close-knit town's facade. But Abraham's Faith, the mountain that overshadows Point Hollow, sees everything. And the imposing mountain has never forgotten, will never forget...
Because Abraham's Faith is wicked and controlling; it has always been the keeper of Point Hollow's deepest, darkest, most diabolical secrets. And the mountain has kept hold of the innocent souls of the town's children for decades. It has even become their burial ground...
Oliver Wray is Point Hollow's favorite son, its most generous benefactor, loved and admired by all. But Oliver, like the town, has a secret: Abraham's Faith speaks to him, and he has spent a lifetime serving its cruel needs; fulfilling the mountain's darkest desires. Oliver believes that his secret is safe, but one person has glimpsed the darkness in his heart...
Matthew Bridge hasn't set foot in Point Hollow for the past twenty-six years. Something happened to him there so long ago; something so horrifying that Matthew has spent decades trying to forget the trauma. However, as much as Matthew tries to move on with his life, he just can't. Memories of his ordeal continue to haunt him, to flicker through his memory and taunt the recesses of his mind - never to be fully recalled.
Now, determined to find the answers to his recently failed marriage and his equally failing life, Matthew is coming home again. Back to Point Hollow, New York. Back to Abraham's Faith...to confront his past and claim his future.
Actually, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, Mr. Youers has a remarkably fertile imagination and I really wanted to see how the story would develop. The horror of the plot itself was certainly fantastic, but was used in such a way that the story seemed entirely plausible. The story was fast-paced and well-developed - I would definitely give this book an A+!
July 21, 2015
Youers lays out clues as to how this ungodly pit of despair came to be, but backstory is not the fuel for this horror, it’s the physical manifestation of indescribable malevolence driving the narrative. As the extent of Point Hollow’s degeneracy becomes more and more apparent to the novels many characters (all of whom are extremely well-drawn), so too the horror exponentially grows. Youers’ creation is not a pleasant read — I’ll likely never eat an Oreo cookie again — but that’s as it should be, that’s how you know the horror is working. It’s a grotesque, filthy, and gruesome trek into evil (think Jack Ketchum), and I highly recommend it. It’d make a fine double-bill with Michael Rowe’s Enter, Night.
Read more at the Redeblog.
Read more at the Redeblog.
August 5, 2016
This is the fourth book that I've read by Rio Youers and it certainly won't be my last. His writing is imaginative, poetic, and it never ceases to create an immediacy in me that makes me want to devour the entire novel in one night.
The characters in Point Hollow are broken in beautifully haunting ways and their struggle to overcome the monsters that live inside of them quickly becomes the driving force of the story. I highly recommend this devilishly dark tale of small-town horror, but I especially recommend it to those of us who grew up near/in the woods and have always wandered who, or what, was watching us through the trees when we went to sleep at night.
The characters in Point Hollow are broken in beautifully haunting ways and their struggle to overcome the monsters that live inside of them quickly becomes the driving force of the story. I highly recommend this devilishly dark tale of small-town horror, but I especially recommend it to those of us who grew up near/in the woods and have always wandered who, or what, was watching us through the trees when we went to sleep at night.
September 23, 2015
There are reasons that some people can't bear to go back to their hometown. It could be the remembered horror of Gramma's cellar, or a too friendly Uncle or the bullies from long ago school days. For Matthew Bridge, it's not that easy. He is frightened but he doesn't remember why. For 26 years he has hidden the cause of his fear deeply in his mind. With the breakup of his marriage, Matthew feels the urge to go back to Point Hollow, New York if for no other reason than to take in the beautiful scenery and pull himself back together. And that is when he starts to fall apart. This is a tightly written suspense novel that will have you on the edge of your seat to the very end. It's a gripping horror novel that will scare you to death and it is a novel about survival, friendship and trust. I loved Youers first novel, "Westlake Soul," and although this one is entirely different in story and in tone, I loved it just as much. The perfect ending is often seen as the hero surviving and ending up living in a tropical island drinking rum punches and that is exactly what Youers gives us except that the ocean doesn't just break on the shore, it booms just like Abraham's Faith. For me, that is a story at its best, the one that will not let you go but leaves you shivering and wondering, "What next?"
May 15, 2015
After WESTLAKE SOUL, I will read Rio Youers’ grocery lists with enthusiasm. POINT HOLLOW is a very different book, still marked with the turns of phrase and word choices that make Youers’ writing unique and spectacular.
This book is about a small town in upstate New York, one that’s very easy to picture myself riding my motorcycle through and not even noticing. But everything is not well in this quaint little hamlet, no, there is a presence and it must be fed.
Youers paints his antagonist as extremely sympathetic, even as he does abysmal things. You can almost empathize with the guy. If circumstances had been different, you think he could have been an okay dude.
The supporting characters, Bobby and the sheriff, are compelling, and while the sheriff teeters on the brink of being a caricature, Youers keeps him believable.
It’s a book that will make you think twice about returning to your home town. You left for a reason, maybe you should stay away.
This book is about a small town in upstate New York, one that’s very easy to picture myself riding my motorcycle through and not even noticing. But everything is not well in this quaint little hamlet, no, there is a presence and it must be fed.
Youers paints his antagonist as extremely sympathetic, even as he does abysmal things. You can almost empathize with the guy. If circumstances had been different, you think he could have been an okay dude.
The supporting characters, Bobby and the sheriff, are compelling, and while the sheriff teeters on the brink of being a caricature, Youers keeps him believable.
It’s a book that will make you think twice about returning to your home town. You left for a reason, maybe you should stay away.
July 20, 2016
Of the five best books I read in 2015, Point Hollow is solidly in the top two! This book is an amazingly unsettling mixture of supernatural and real world horror that blends with all the high notes of Thomas Wolfe style small town homecomings without falling flat. This is without a doubt, my favorite Rio Youers book to date, and, like I said, one of the two best novels I read last year.
September 14, 2016
Set in Point Hollow which is a small village under the shadow of the mountains and most notably in the shadow of Abraham’s Faith. Surrounded by thick woods, it seems not just isolated by physical barriers but by an insular culture as well.
In this setting, we have two men whose lives seem completely separate, except for being born in Point Hollow. But as the story progresses we find that they are inevitably related to one another and must find resolution within each other.
It’s not an easy book to read and you really have to persist as the story moves from chapter to chapter along the two personal story lines.
Oliver’s story is open but difficult. He ‘hears’ the mountain talking to him and he does was he does to appease it; growing more and more weary, and further away from reality as he does nonetheless.
Matt, on the other hand, moved with his family to the city and only returned to Hollow Point for a break when his marriage broke up in an ugly fashion. He has no real past, as he does not remember it. But he does regain the friendship of a childhood friend who remembered him, Bobby, and he works to regain his own sense of self.
When they finally meet in the middle, in the same storyline, Oliver and Matt, the story becomes completely engulfing. I was consumed and could not put it down, the pages turning so fast that I was barely aware of the passing of the chapters. Quicker and quicker.
In the background, the secret of Point Hollow, the village, and its history is revealed.
So it’s full of violence: physiological and psychologically. There’s revenge, there’s enlightenment and saving; there’s heroism and betrayal. So for me, it was a darn good read.
In this setting, we have two men whose lives seem completely separate, except for being born in Point Hollow. But as the story progresses we find that they are inevitably related to one another and must find resolution within each other.
It’s not an easy book to read and you really have to persist as the story moves from chapter to chapter along the two personal story lines.
Oliver’s story is open but difficult. He ‘hears’ the mountain talking to him and he does was he does to appease it; growing more and more weary, and further away from reality as he does nonetheless.
Matt, on the other hand, moved with his family to the city and only returned to Hollow Point for a break when his marriage broke up in an ugly fashion. He has no real past, as he does not remember it. But he does regain the friendship of a childhood friend who remembered him, Bobby, and he works to regain his own sense of self.
When they finally meet in the middle, in the same storyline, Oliver and Matt, the story becomes completely engulfing. I was consumed and could not put it down, the pages turning so fast that I was barely aware of the passing of the chapters. Quicker and quicker.
In the background, the secret of Point Hollow, the village, and its history is revealed.
So it’s full of violence: physiological and psychologically. There’s revenge, there’s enlightenment and saving; there’s heroism and betrayal. So for me, it was a darn good read.
October 26, 2016
Point Hollow is set in a small town set among deep woods with a narrow-minded population that struggle to overcome monster inside of them. The horrors inflicted on the children of the community in the name of salvation are appalling. This reminded me of some of Stephen King’s novels without the wordiness, but it is still horror at it’s best and one that I will keep on my kindle to reread in the future.
4.5/5 STARS: **I want to thank the author and/or publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are mine.**
4.5/5 STARS: **I want to thank the author and/or publisher for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are mine.**
April 9, 2020
Point Hollow is my introduction to Rio Youers, and I'm super excited to dive into more of his work. Lyrical sentences of stunning caliber meld seamlessly with deft genre prose, making this dark tale of evil in a small town a quick and enjoyable read. Each character here has their due, whether likable or loathsome, and the dialogue rings true with plenty of wit to bring some levity and light to the darkness saturating the pages. A fun read, with a satisfying and suspenseful conclusion. Highly recommended!
June 19, 2015
I could make some small criticisms if I wanted to (the ending was very SURPRISE, BITCH in the sense that the villain kept dying and then making a sudden recovery; it was extremely thin on female characters, and the ones that did exist got rather the short end of the stick) but honestly, I'm so pleased that this novel features evil being defeated by the power of friendship and A HERD OF ANGRY DEER, I just can't bring myself to pick on it. Shine on, you cloven diamond.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2015
Very good thriller about about missing children, a man hearing voices, and another man trying to rediscover his past. Reminiscent of early Koontz before he found religion or started writing with a formula.
December 10, 2016
Weird, gory, and terrifying. Great horror novel.
May 7, 2023
Point Hollow is a small town in upstate New York. Looming beside it is a mountain known as Abraham's Faith. Though it seems tranquil, the town has a dark and sordid history including mass murder, suicide and children disappearing, because the mountain is hungry - it's always hungry. When he was 14 years old, the mountain called to Oliver Wray, and he has served it ever since.
Years ago, Matthew Bridge barely escaped Abraham's Faith and Point Hollow. Now living in Brooklyn, his marriage is on the rocks, and he needs to get away for awhile. And Point Hollow is calling him back. Where Oliver is waiting.
One of Youers's earliest works, this novel was downright intense. An emotionally broken Matthew runs into nothing but trouble from the moment he arrives back at Point Hollow. Meanwhile Oliver is doing his best to quell the thundering in his mind from the insatiable mountain. The collision course the two men are set upon is a pulse-pounding one full of blood and violence, and just when it seems to be concluding, the intensity picks up again.
Years ago, Matthew Bridge barely escaped Abraham's Faith and Point Hollow. Now living in Brooklyn, his marriage is on the rocks, and he needs to get away for awhile. And Point Hollow is calling him back. Where Oliver is waiting.
One of Youers's earliest works, this novel was downright intense. An emotionally broken Matthew runs into nothing but trouble from the moment he arrives back at Point Hollow. Meanwhile Oliver is doing his best to quell the thundering in his mind from the insatiable mountain. The collision course the two men are set upon is a pulse-pounding one full of blood and violence, and just when it seems to be concluding, the intensity picks up again.
June 7, 2018
An absolutely phenomenal thriller. Rio Youers presents us with an entirely plausible small-town setting that presents a pleasant, peeling veneer that hides a very dark secret. At the same time, he not only reveals the antagonist from the get-go; he also manages to present him in a sympathetic light.
Highly recommended. I will definitely read more of his books. I also appreciated his use of tension, and there are things I can apply to my own fiction.
Highly recommended. I will definitely read more of his books. I also appreciated his use of tension, and there are things I can apply to my own fiction.
June 7, 2017
I could not finish this book. I did not care about the characters or find anything interesting to make me want to turn pages. I can't summon much empathy for an insane murder as the protagonist.
January 3, 2020
4.4 stars!
One of the best horror novels published since 2010! Horror/Mystery mashup. Flashbacks. Supernatural serial killer murders.
Welcome addition to any serious horror collection.
One of the best horror novels published since 2010! Horror/Mystery mashup. Flashbacks. Supernatural serial killer murders.
Welcome addition to any serious horror collection.
August 16, 2023
Perfect small town horror! I loved it. Great characters and just the right amount of ambiguity. Recommended!
March 3, 2025
Very good spooky small town book. Had my skin crawling with little kids getting kidnapped.
June 20, 2015
Brilliant work by Rio Youers. I enjoyed reading Point Hollow for two reasons: it played like a movie in my head, and Rio Youers has a flare for writing unbridled horror that strikes you in the gut and surprises. I’m excited for what this author will come out with next. Bravo Rio. Read my full review at https://darrylfoster16.wordpress.com/...
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews