Hollownton Homicide

Anthony Hollownton #1

by Gretchen S.B.

Homicide detective Anthony Hollownton thought he had seen it all until he and his partner, Rick Nelson, are called to a murder scene unlike any Tony has come across. There are no witnesses and none of the neighbors heard a thing.

Once Tony starts to investigate the facts of the case become stranger and stranger. As the body count rises Tony is drawn into a world he did not know existed. Starting with a visit from a dead woman from his past. He must decide whether the paranormal truly exists or if these killing are some kind of delusional gang war.

Genres: Fantasy, Thriller

235 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 24, 2014

About the author

Gretchen is a Seattleite that loves her home. She has a day job as a Program Coordinator a local university. She loves to read, write and create characters. As well as knit and binge watch Netflix. She currently lives with her husband and their mischievous Rotti mix, who always seems to find something new she shouldn't be chewing on.

Gretchen loves to hear from her readers. So feel free to drop by:

Gretchens.b.author@gmail.com
Gretchensb.com
Twitter.com/GretchenSB
Facebook.com/authorGretchenSB
Plus.google.com/+GretchenSB

Reviews

[PJ Lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts slow but eventually picks up the pace, though there were parts further on where I was tempted to skip forward.
Good characters, unfortunately I was hard pressed to particularly care about them. The story was well thought out, I just didn't feel a connection to make it as thrilling and exciting as other people might find it.
I'm glad I gave it a chance, it was an interesting concept with unusual supernatural creatures, just not quite there for me.
*I received a copy of this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.*

[Jessica Bronder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthony Hollownton and his partner Rick Nelson are called in to a particularly brutal murder that seems to have religious tones. Unfortunately the neighbors neither heard nor saw anything that could help Tony find the killer. Then there is another murder and Rick starts acting strange and disappears. Tony is getting frustrated with the limited information. Then Tony is visited in his sleep by a woman that died years earlier.

Tony doesn’t want to really accept the paranormal, even with a ghost trying to help him catch the killer. But there is more to Tony than he thinks and with Chris’ help he might just stop the killer. I really enjoyed the paranormal additions to the story. I admit that I was starting to get just as frustrated at Tony trying to figure out what the heck was going on. But that just lead to me up in the early hours of the morning just reading one more chapter.

This is a dark and gritty story. It has lots of action and great paranormal beings added in. I admit that I would have liked a little more about Chris but maybe that is explained more in the second book.

I received Hollownton Homicide from Silver Dagger Book Tours for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

[PelicanFreak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cover:
Good, fitting, original and relevant.

Editing/Proofing:
Seems professionally done.

Formatting:
Very easy on the eyes, no distractions.

Character Development:
Absolutely perfect, continuity-wise this is well done, with advanced personalities / development. Really felt I got to know everyone in this book and definitely feel like I need to keep up on these people.


Plot/Overall
This book is easily 4 stars for keeping me on the edge of my seat and being overall, very well written. The professional demeanor makes it an easy read. Although it’s over 80K words, it reads FAST. Very fast-paced, lots of dialogue.
It combines some cop-thriller/ mystery with some paranormal and/or urban fantasy. MC is a human who has no prior knowledge of the existence of anything supernatural and is resistant to believe and accept, but not so much that it hinders his ability to solve the case and do what needs to be done. He’s a strong, well-developed character who could easily star in his own best-selling series. Absolutely loved this book and had a hard time putting it down, kept me excited.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read that I got caught up in quickly. A creepy case thrusts the two investigating detectives Tony Hollownton and his partner into a previously unknown supernatural fight. It’s enough to cause both men to question their sanity. As the action escalates, Tony gets pulled deeper into the dark mystery after his partner turns up missing.

I liked the way in which the story unfolded. Hollownton is a strong character but his limits become severely tested as he delves into the grisly murders during the convoluted investigation. If you like Urban Fantasy mysteries you should definitely give this book a read.

Reviewed by Laurie=-J

[Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise for this one is intriguing and I really liked the combination of the paranormal with a crime procedural. The story starts off a bit slow and the writing is somewhat stilted, almost as though the author was finding her footing with the story. It does pick up and the story flows better as the story progresses. Our hero, Tony, is thrown into the supernatural world in a big way and it's easy to feel his struggle as he tries to keep a grip on reality. The conclusion isn't a huge cliffy, but there are more questions than answers for the likable Tony.

[Karen Voitik · Rating 3 out of 5]

>Subject - Hollownton Homicide

>I received this book from the author and from Paranormal Romance and Authors that Rock. This is the first book in the Anthony Hollownton Series. The story does not end in an HEA, but not exactly a cliffhanger either. There is more to come as Tony continues his investigation.

>Tony Hollownton is a homicide detective. Tony and his partner, Rick, are called to the scene of a horrific murder, with religious undertones. As the investigation is continuing, Rick begins to act strange, then disappears. This is never really used or explained in the story, which is a shame, as it could have been a huge misdirection.

>Tony discovers there are other races among the humans behind the killings. By this time there are 5. As he struggles to understand the paranormal aspect, it is hinted that he is more than he seems, as well. Hopefully, this will get explored in a later book, as it was just mentioned in passing once or twice. A dead friend from his past, Chris, keeps showing up in his dreams to try and help him. There is an unresolved mystery in regards to Chris and Tony and what terrible thing happened to her in high school. Yet another item mentioned more than once and not explained.

>Now Tony is getting frustrated and so is the reader. What little happens does not explain anything and the danger to the new race and humans, along with Tony's dead friend, is put on hold as Tony recovers in a hospital bed. I enjoyed the pacing of the story and I liked the character of Tony. I wish that more could have been explained in order to make this story in the series feel complete. Maybe less hints for future plots should have been introduced.

> This book is for an adult audience due to graphic descriptions of homicidal violence.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rate this book with 3.5 stars. This is the first book by this author that I have read, so I wasn't sure what to expect. What I found was an interesting mix of a police procedural and paranormal suspense. While this book is supposed to be the first in a series, no other books in this series has been released. While it doesn't end in a traditional cliffhanger, you know that Tony's story just beginning. There is a lot of graphic violence and may not be appropriate for more sensitive readers.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that info here. The author did a good job of keeping a steady pace throughout the book to keep this reader interested. She kept you guessing what twists and turns would be revealed in the pages ahead.

I really enjoyed this book and had a hard time putting it down.  Now I want to read more about Tony and this supernatural world, but will have to wait until the author writes another book in this series.

I received this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for my honest review. Wow! This is my first paranormal book that I've read and I really enjoyed it. Anthony Hollownton is a bad-a**. He starts by investigating a quite horrific murder. Then there's another murder. His own partner is acting strange and disappears, so there's no help there. Then the paranormal beings come into play and Tony has a really, really hard time explaining to himself what is happening. This book was paced really well and went along smoothly. This book was a good way for me to get into reading this genre. I would recommend it to any adult interested. And I'm looking forward to another Hollownton book.

[Susan Burgess-Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by Gretchen S B and I have to say that I liked it. This is the first Mystery Thriller/Paranormal book I have in a long time. Nothing like a book with murder, handsome detective, and a ghost. Anthony Hollownton is awesome detective and good at his job. He and his partner are investigating a gruesome murder. How is he to investigate a murder if there are no witnesses? What makes it even harder is the neighbors didn’t seem to hear anything. With the body count rising, and a ghost of a woman from his past seems to appear what does he do? Will he solve the murders?

No Spoilers. I received this book from eBook discovery in exchange for an honest review.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story that started out a little slow. Once it picked up though I couldn't put it down. There were twists and turns all throughout the book. The groups in this supernatural world were so intertwined that it made such an elaborate world. I hope there will be a follow up novel so we can see what really happened to Tony's friend Chris. Due to graphic descriptions of the violence inflicted on the victims I would recommend this book for readers 18+.
*I received a copy of this book from eBook Discovery in exchange for my honest review.*

[Rachel Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book free in return for writing this review. The book was interesting to say the least. It kept you on the edge of your seat. I would definitely recommend this book.