The Whispering Hollows

The Hollows #4.5

by Lisa Unger

For the first time New York Times bestselling author Lisa Unger delivers her three spellbinding short stories featuring reluctant psychic Eloise Montgomery together as one The Whispers, The Burning Girl, and The Three Sisters, along with a new introduction to The Hollows and an excerpt from her upcoming thriller, Ink and Bone—Unger’s chilling story that highlights why The Washington Post hailed her writing as “brisk, crafty, and fascinating.”

Part The Whispers

On an ordinary day in The Hollows, a terrible accident claims the lives of Eloise Montgomery’s husband and oldest daughter and leaves Eloise in a coma. While recovering, she experiences her first psychic vision. Struggling to understand her frightening new abilities, Eloise is torn between helping her grief-stricken younger daughter move on and the work she feels compelled to do now—heed the tortured whispers of lost women and girls calling for her.

Part The Burning Girl

Ten years on, Eloise is a renowned working psychic who has resigned herself to her role in The Hollows and to “The Work.” She’s discovering some disturbing things—secrets about her genealogy and the dark history of The Hollows, and that her granddaughter, nine-year-old Finley, has her own powerful gifts. Most disturbing of all, Eloise realizes that not all of the whispering voices are calling for help. Some of them are looking for trouble.

Part The Three Sisters

When Finley, now nineteen, comes to live with Eloise, Eloise’s abilities transform. Her load is somehow lighter, and rather than chasing down people she needs, they are coming to her. She teams up with a detective to help a desperate father bring his daughter’s killer to justice. Meanwhile, Finley has bigger problems than she’s willing to admit. Can Eloise help her see the difference between justice and revenge—and the dark truth that nothing stays buried in The Hollows?

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Paranormal, Short Stories, Suspense

159 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 4, 2016

About the author

Lisa Unger is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of twenty-three novels, including her upcoming release SERVED HIM RIGHT (March, 2026). With books published in thirty-three languages and millions of copies sold worldwide, she is regarded as a master of suspense.

Unger’s critically acclaimed novels have been featured on “Best Book” lists from the Today show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, People, Amazon, Goodreads, L.A. Times, The Boston Globe, Sun Sentinel, Tampa Bay Times, and many others. She has been nominated for, or won, numerous awards including the Strand Critics, Audie, Hammett, Macavity, ITW Thriller, and Goodreads Choice. In 2019, she received two Edgar Award nominations in the same year, an honor held by only a few authors including Agatha Christie. Her short fiction has been anthologized in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, and her non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and Travel+Leisure. Lisa is the current co-President of the International Thriller Writers organization. She lives on the west coast of Florida with her family.

Reviews

[Judy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Talented Lisa Unger delivers a riveting and intriguing (addictive) series, THE WHISPERING HOLLOWS surrounded by The Hollows.

A fictional upstate New York town with an agenda and its own personality. It does not like secrets, yet it seems to encourage paths to cross. The Hollows is a character. All chain linked by place and people. So many elements. Layers, shades, something unique for each character. If you are a fan of the series, you will understand. Eloise "listens" and she is the one to lead the way. This is her life,and her extraordinary journey.

If you have not read the three novellas, this is your chance to catch-up with all the characters in one book, with a preview of the highly anticipated upcoming INK AND BONE.

The Whispers is a novella told in three-parts, spanning 30 years in the life of Eloise Montgomery, who discovers her amazing gift in the wake of tragedy. Its tendrils reach back to FRAGILE, the novel in which Eloise first appeared, through CRAZY LOVE YOU (5 Stars) and ahead to INK AND BONE (June 7, 2016)

Even though I have read all the books in the series, was dying to get a glimpse at Lisa Unger’s upcoming thriller, Ink and Bone.

INK AND BONE preview: We hear from a young girl, her love for her daddy, mom and older brother. She especially loves her Daddy; however, he seems to be often distracted by his phone. Dad was not supposed to be talking on his cell phone during their special outing on a hiking trail, while enjoying the nature and birds. A tragedy occurs, dad and brother are hurt, and she was taught to run. However, she was not fast enough. The men have caught her. All is turning black.

A delicious tantalizer--Finley Montgomery (Eloise’s granddaughter) will have her own story. She will move to The Hollows, and lands in the middle of a dangerous investigation involving a young girl who has been missing for ten months and the police have all but given up hope. 5 Stars

Whispers #1 THE WHISPERS Eloise Montgomery discovers her amazing gift in the wake of tragedy, an accident taking the lives of her husband and oldest daughter. She and her younger daughter try to move forward, as she learns to deal with this complex gift, using it to help save lost women and girls. 4.5 Stars

Whispers #2 THE BURNING GIRL Ten years after Eloise discovers psychic abilities, she is a full-fledged working psychic, with a partner and a business. She discovers some disturbing things: secrets about her genealogy that are, perhaps, best left in the past and not all her visitors want to be helped. 3.5 Stars

Whispers #3 THE THREE SISTERS At the end of The Burning Girl, Eloise discovers her granddaughter, Finley has powers. Presently, twenty-year old Finley comes to live with Eloise. (Much to Eloise’s daughter Amanda’s controlling displeasure). THE THREE SISTERS was my favorite of the three; a multi-layered story with gripping narrative, where all three elements fit together for an explosive finale of control, revenge, love, and forgiveness. 5 Stars

There is much drama and suspense in The Hollows in this fast-paced, action filled series. Get on board, where there is never a dull moment. Highly Recommend. Can't wait for June--Hope I can snag an ARC.

Love Florida Authors!

Fans of Linwood Barclay's Promise Falls series will enjoy The Hollows--both upstate New York fictional towns-- full of secrets, crimes, and intrigue. Maybe a book with both authors/towns-- fun, fun! Can you imagine?

JDCMustReadBooks

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to these three short stories separately on Audio but posting on this book collection

๏  Highlights ๏

The Whispers - Novella 1
The Burning Girl - Novella 2
The Three Sisters - Novella 3
Psychic Powers
Some Mystery

With Audio Performed by January LaVoy

๏  My Thoughts ๏
 
I listened to each one separately, but consecutively on Audio, which was performed by one of my favorite narrators, January LaVoy.  I listened to this mainly so I would be up to speed for Ink & Bone by Lisa Unger.  These short novellas are sort of a prequel to that story.  These were each very short, quick listens and while I didn't find them overly special...I'm certainly not upset with spending my day with them.

๏  MY RATING ๏ ☆3☆STARS - GRADE=C

๏ Breakdown of Ratings ๏ 

Plot⇝ 2.7/5
Narration Performance⇝ 4.5/5
Characters⇝ 3.7/5
The Feels⇝ 3/5
Pacing⇝ 2.5/5
Flow (Writing Style)⇝ 2.5/5
Ending⇝ 2.7/5
๏ ๏ ๏
Setting⇝ The Hollows
Source⇝ Audiobook (Library & Scribd)
๏ ๏ ๏

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I haven't read a Lisa Unger book in 6 years, how that is possible I do not know as she is one of my all time favourite authors. After reading Beautiful Lies and Sliver of Truth I was going to devour every book she wrote as those two novels were something else… my only excuse for not doing so is many new authors came on the scene but now thanks to the fabulous a-z author reading challenge my first choice for the letter ‘U’ author was a no brainer. And wow, what an enthralling read Lisa Unger’s The Whispering Hollows was and one I gobbled up in no time!

Three short stories combined into one book but also comes as three individual novellas titled The Whispers, The Burning Girl and The Three Sisters.

Loved everything about this book. I’m drawn to stories featuring psychics for the reason that I once visited a clairvoyant and everything, EVERYTHING I was told came true and ever since then when the focus is on a psychic/fortune teller I’m attracted even more so to the book.

Eloise Montgomery is the main protagonist in these three short stories and her psychic abilities began after a horrific tragedy. Each story centres on a different stage of Eloise’s life which spans three decades.

I’ve discovered that these three novellas set the stage for the full length novel, Ink and Bone, a book I’m certainly looking forward to reading and one I’ve heard is exceptional.

*Book ‘U’ of the a-z author challenge

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been meaning to read Lisa Unger's book for quite a while now, and with her recent publication of Ink and Bone, I decided to make a start of reading about The Hollows, so beloved by throngs of readers. I have begun with The Whispering Hollows, a compilation of three stories featuring Eloise Montgomery and her unusual life in The Hollows of upper state New York. As the three stories span a period of almost three decades, it was a gamble that I might encounter material that would be spoilers for the novels, but after finishing this collection, I am well satisfied that the stories will instead enrich my enjoyment of the novels.

The first story in The Whispering Hollows, "The Whispers," introduces Eloise Montgomery, wife and mother of two daughters in the small town of The Hollows. Life is good for Eloise and her family, and it's all a lovely routine, until it isn't. Tragedy strikes fast and hard for the Montgomery family, and Eloise will in every sense never be the same again. There is a gift or curse that Eloise becomes aware of in herself, the ability to see dead people or people in trouble and the need to help them. This new awareness will play havoc in both Eloise's life and her surviving daughter's, but it will have to be lived with and dealt with, as Eloise's abilities are here to stay, and when Eloise has a chance to help save a life, there's no turning back.

The second story/novella takes place ten years later from the first. In "The Burning Girl" we see the darker side of what comes with Eloise's psychic abilities. Not all those who appear want help. But, Eloise is more adept at dealing with her visitors after ten years of experience and mentoring by a fellow psychic, Agatha. Eloise's daughter has distanced herself from her mother by moving across the country and establishing her life with her husband and two children separate from her mother's unusual world. However, distance doesn't alter the fact that Eloise's granddaughter has inherited the family abilities to see beyond the living. Eloise is also using her abilities to work with a private detective, although her goal is never money or earthly rewards.

The last story, "The Three Sisters," takes place twelve years after story #2, and it brings Eloise's granddaughter, twenty-year-old Finley, to the Hollows to live with her grandmother and try to sort out the abilities/gifts that both have been given. Finley has much to reveal to her grandmother about growing up without understanding the psychic world into which Finley was born. Eloise and her friend and mentor Agatha will work to help Finley learn to deal with her gifts and certain unwelcome visitors. "The Three Sisters" takes place right before Lisa Unger's new book, Ink and Bone, does, so it's a nice slide into the novel.

The Whispering Hollows has accomplished its purpose and whetted my appetite for the Whisper series novels. I'm so glad to be starting this reading journey at last. Now maybe the "whispers" of my favorite reading friends will quieten as I finally follow their recommendations.

[Bokbabbel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Småputtrigt mysig, ingen direkt spänning egentligen, men ett måste för alla oss som läst Ungers tidigare böcker och trivs i det fiktiva The Hollows i upstate New York

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't haiku shorts.
But if I did, I would say
this one's pretty good.

[Jülie ☼♄ ]

I nearly fell into a trap here! This book contains the three short stories of The Whispers trilogy...which I own and have already read.
I was under the impression that this was a new novella, though it does contain an excerpt from her upcoming thriller Ink and Bone, it is NOT a new book...except in the fact that it contains all three of the Whispers trilogy inside one new cover.

[Joannie Layne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a satisfying Read

The story jumped around too much for me. There were too many unexplained parts if the story which kind of rambled. Worst of all the ending wasn't an ending. It was like the writer just wanted to end the story. She pulled out a convenient way to do it.

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three short novellas.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started to try to read and kept getting sidetracked with projects until it stormed one weekend and I read right through the lovely Introduction to a major Setting and character in Lisa Unger's books that I really love. The Whispering Hollows takes place in a delightful little town , The Hollows surrounded by a lovely area of forest and lake they refer to as The Whispers . The breeze blowing through the trees sounds so close to me now as I think about reading the three novellas that are contained in this book to give you, the readers , a perfect past, present , and lead into Lisa Unger's newest novel Ink and Bone that was just released .

Ink and Bone will continue to take place in this mesmerizing and mysterious town with all of its quirky characters in place . The most important and uniquely my favorite is the beautiful yet totally charismatic and yet always complicated Eloise Montgomery . She is a semi - psychic - vision - dreamer who comes upon these traits by heredity and only through a tragedy does she even realize they give her the drive so strong to save or help people as much as she can that she cannot let them go until she knows why they come to her. She ends up working with the law and some private detectives in unconventional ways that affect her whole life and her family and friends. It is something she finally has to accept but not before she goes through many trials and tribulations . I had never been much of a believer of these forces. Lisa Unger gave me a reason to consider the idea with Eloise , so you might want to read this one before you tackle her new book Ink and Bone which I cannot wait to start right now !

I have been reading Lisa Unger for a very long time ! She is a fast read for me because I just think like she does. Sometimes as I read her books , I feel I wish I would have written a character like that first and used that line . She takes lines that are straight from my life and they grasp at my heart strings as I gulp to hold back a tear and remember a tender moment I once lived. It is as though she has been places and experienced things we all have at one time or another.

I must give an example from the story or this would not be anything but hot air. Specially , there is a scene when one spirit is a young girl who is very beautiful and has been a model . You know the type who has looks and thinks that is all she is in life and has nothing else worthwhile a man could love. So she tries her best to sell herself for attention. Her own father has been making money off of her since she was a young child modeling and saying she was older. Then she starts the drinking and the drugs to keep her going because she feels always not good enough. She just wants to die.

Finally, she crosses the boundary . She knows just the same as I did , there would be no getting in cars and riding with boys . This was my #1 rule too! I paid and she paid too. I hated that time in my life. It still bothers me. That is just the world.

I love Lisa!
4'ju
Enjoy!?

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a compilation of three previously released short stories based on Eloise Montgomery, Jones Cooper and Eloise Montgomery (her granddaughter). All three stories ("The Whispers," "The Burning Girl" and "The Three Sisters") are intriguing and lend great insight into Eloise and her family.

It doesn't matter if you read these three short stories before or after reading her latest book which comes out in June. I received an ARC of "Ink and Bone" and read these afterwards. They would fit in either way.

I have read all of Lisa Unger's books and I can't get enough of these characters and The Hollows! I hope to see more of The Burning Girl, as well!

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost fell into this trap also along with everyone else that read the three novella's that came out before they were compiled into this one book. I just finished reading Lisa Unger's newest book "Ink and Bone" and I started to read this book before I began it to realize that I already read this. This was a good book for the start of this new series.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I've review these individually just reminding my self this is a set I've read already

[Dianna (SavingsInSeconds blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished reading Fragile a few days ago, and immediately bought The Whispering Hollows ebook to read more about Eloise. It was quite short; I was able to read it in a handful of hours.
I loved Eloise's easy-going personality and the way she fit into the whole Hollows community. If there was another book entirely about Eloise and her abilities -- or even about Agatha -- I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because there were some discrepancies between the stories. Maybe it was just me, but some of the details weren't aligned, making it confusing and took me out of the moment. Otherwise, this is an excellent book for those who like stories about psychics and mediums.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three short stories combined into one telling the story of Eloise. #1 - how she became psychic, #2 - dealing with her losses and new abilities from story #1, and #3 -her granddaughter's abilities, while working on cases. If these three stories weren't combined together, I might not have continued on with the second two.

[Doreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 part read about Eloise and the family she loved. A daughter and husband lost in a tragic accident, her grown daughter unable to cope with the powers that her mother inherited from the maternal side, and the granddaughter who also inherited those powers. This is a powerful story of the love and strength of women.

[Alisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an e-book of 3 short stories. I haven't really read any other stories about these characters, but it's apparent they are in many other stories or books if you really want to fill in the blanks. Overall, it was a fun little read, but not memorable. I have read some better books by this author, but this one was just ok for me.

[Sue Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read all the Hollows books a while ago. The short stories tied together as a novella were a great addition to those stories as told through Eloise and those whom she let into her life. The Hollows stories are how I came upon Lisa Unger as an author, and I've read and loved all her books since then.

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't feel like there was much going on. It could've expanded more on any one of the female spirits to create a more in depth plot. It felt almost like a SparkNotes version of a longer version of the book. It was quick and easy to read but not my favorite.

[Martha Crone · Rating 2 out of 5]

I skimmed this to get backstory on the characters in Ink and Bone. It does a decent job with that, but the three novellas are not very compelling. It was a lot of telling, and honestly not much actually happens in real time.

[Noel Lowery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a great page turner. Try it out.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of silly (unintentionally) paranormal thriller. Nice escapism after the very disturbing (but brilliant) In Cold Blood.

[Bevjirwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

An introduction to Eloise Montgomery and the Hollows, this is a series of books that just keeps getting more and more interesting.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes the three Eloise short stories and an intro to Ink & Bone, Finley's (Eloise's granddaughter) first case. (See individual stories for reviews)

[Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of kind people in this book mixed with lots of sadness.

[John P · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Whispering Hollows is a 2016 collection of, as described in http://lisaunger.com,“three short stories featuring reluctant psychic Eloise Montgomery together as one novella: The Whispers, The Burning Girl, and The Three Sisters.” Although written over 2014 and 2015, the three are linear in that together they describe three periods of Eloise Montgomery’s life in chronological order. The strongest of the three is Three Sisters, the third, which reveals the theme of all three taken together: “But there is no controlling this life, no matter how powerfully she wanted to. There were only two choices really: to act out of fear, where you clung and railed and killed yourself seeking justice or revenge for the wrongs you perceived; or the act out of love. And love let’s go.” But to appreciate the collection, you need to read all three in order.

The “plus” of reading the three in the 2016 collection is that it begins with “Welcome to the Hollows,” in which Unger describes The Hollows as a “strange little upstate New York burg” that has become equivalent to a “character” in her novels.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Characterization is one of Unger’s strengths. Eloise had to come to grips with her new abilities (such as interacting with the dead) after suffering through an incredible tragedy (the deaths of her husband and one of her two daughters). In so many books this role would be written for a much younger character. The focus on Eloise was perfect–it made for a fresh angle on the story. This is a stay-at-home mom who suddenly has to deal with her world both caving in and expanding. It’s not surprising that fourteen years later she’s still trying to find some sort of balance between her life and her abilities. The author did a great job of showing how she’s changed in that time, and why things are still so difficult for her. In the final story we see Finley–an amazing compare-and-contrast between her awakening into her abilities and Eloise’s struggle to protect her.

The three stories beautifully capture these three such pivotal points in Eloise and Finley’s lives. These aren’t fast-paced thrillers; they’re character studies. And they’re handled so very beautifully. The Hollows (where Eloise lives) is kind of a character of its own, with an agenda and a personality. That line about a haunting being a relationship really resonated with me. I felt it was such a wonderful way of looking at that sort of plot.

Now I have to track down and read all the other books in Unger’s Whispers series. Having read both these short stories and the upcoming novel, I’m totally hooked!


Original review on my site: http://www.errantdreams.com/2016/06/r...

[Marla · Rating 3 out of 5]

This books sets the stage for Ink & Bone, which our book club reads this month

[Vee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I almost never read short stories or novellas. I just find them to be more of a teaser than an actual satisfying story. But after reading Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger (check out my post a few days ago!), I knew that I had to give this trilogy of novellas a shot, especially since it concerned the mysterious town known as The Hollows.
I love Eloise. She is the best person ever and I wish she were my grandmother. The author has done a fantastic job in portraying such a warm, strong, and realistic person. I liked how all of the stories revolve around Eloise; even if they deal with different issues, they come back to the feelings and experiences of the protagonist. One thing that I didn't really like about this novel was that it left me with some gaps in my knowledge of events in The Hollows. As someone who is new to this fictional setting, I would have loved to have some more details and less ambiguous information. But I didn't really mind it, as it has made me even more eager to read more of the novels that are about The Hollows. Overall, this is one of the few short story/novella collections that I have actually enjoyed. And if you are a fan of The Hollows, then you definitely do not want to miss out on this fix!