What do you think?
Rate this book
Hemlock Hollow
Past and present, love and loss intertwine in a magical mountain hollow. Holderfield's love of place shines in his sensitive descriptions while his storytelling enthralls the reader.
—Vicki Lane, author of And the Crows Took Their Eyes.
Caroline McAlister, college professor and life-long skeptic, is reeling from the loss of her father and her marriage. Her once promising career has come to a standstill. When her father bequeaths the family cabin to her, it comes with a ghost who haunted her childhood. When she discovers a century-old journal in the attic, she awakens the voice of Carson Quinn. The journal reveals Carson's love for the same hollow that enthralled Caroline growing up. A little sleuthing uncovers rumors that the kind, curious boy in the journal grew up to murder his brother. Caroline plunges into the project of exonerating Carson, only to find herself in the throes of a personal past she's spent her life trying to avoid. Hemlock Hollow is about how we forever haunt the places we love and how they haunt us in return.
—Vicki Lane, author of And the Crows Took Their Eyes.
Caroline McAlister, college professor and life-long skeptic, is reeling from the loss of her father and her marriage. Her once promising career has come to a standstill. When her father bequeaths the family cabin to her, it comes with a ghost who haunted her childhood. When she discovers a century-old journal in the attic, she awakens the voice of Carson Quinn. The journal reveals Carson's love for the same hollow that enthralled Caroline growing up. A little sleuthing uncovers rumors that the kind, curious boy in the journal grew up to murder his brother. Caroline plunges into the project of exonerating Carson, only to find herself in the throes of a personal past she's spent her life trying to avoid. Hemlock Hollow is about how we forever haunt the places we love and how they haunt us in return.
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 6, 2022
17 people are currently reading
349 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
September 14, 2022
I couldn’t stop reading this novel!! It's full of mystery, ghosts, drama, history, love, and connections. Culley Holderfield beautifully describes North Carolina’s western forests and landscapes with his easy literary prose. The magic of Hemlock hollow is shared through the centuries with such deft writing that the place becomes a character itself. Holderfield is a master at bringing his complex, compelling characters and places alive to the reader.
As Caroline, a believable take-charge archaeologist, and her eclectic general contractor, Micah, sort through debris from her family’s abandoned cabin they uncover an old metal box. Inside is a journal written by young Carson Quinn in the late 1800’s. Holderfield weaves the modern-day story of Caroline’s fears, curiosity, and relationships with Carson’s written encounters of nature, yearnings, and love. Local lore claims that a ghost haunts Caroline’s family cabin and as she uncovers a century-old murder, the resident characters she meets take her and the readers on thrilling, twisting adventures. She and others have to reconcile their own pasts while Carson writes about determining his future. The ending is a surprise – showing Holderfield’s gift of storytelling. I wanted to keep reading about the characters and places that he brought to life.
As Caroline, a believable take-charge archaeologist, and her eclectic general contractor, Micah, sort through debris from her family’s abandoned cabin they uncover an old metal box. Inside is a journal written by young Carson Quinn in the late 1800’s. Holderfield weaves the modern-day story of Caroline’s fears, curiosity, and relationships with Carson’s written encounters of nature, yearnings, and love. Local lore claims that a ghost haunts Caroline’s family cabin and as she uncovers a century-old murder, the resident characters she meets take her and the readers on thrilling, twisting adventures. She and others have to reconcile their own pasts while Carson writes about determining his future. The ending is a surprise – showing Holderfield’s gift of storytelling. I wanted to keep reading about the characters and places that he brought to life.
January 25, 2023
Check out all my reviews at: https://www.avonnalovesgenres.com
HEMLOCK HOLLOW by Culley Holderfield is a lyrical and moody southern fiction novel with intertwining murder mystery and family history storylines from the past and present set in the Northern Carolina mountains. This book is more literary than genre style of writing that I usually prefer and yet it pulled me in to every aspect of the beautiful story and place.
Professor Caroline McAlister is shocked to discover the family’s cabin in Hemlock Hollow has been left to her on the death of her father. Not only is she morning the loss of her father, but the end of her marriage which all together has left her adrift personally and professionally. She decides to return to Hemlock Hollow and have the old cabin renovated. When a tin box is discovered in the attic, Caroline discovers the century old journal of the young Carson Quinn. Carson is an inquisitive young boy who loves Hemlock Hollow but then grows into a recluse that the others in the hollow believe killed his older brother.
Caroline dives into Carson’s journal and the oral and written history of the hollow to discover if the young, intelligent and nature loving boy of the journal could grow into the killer many believed him to be and discovers many truths about herself in the process.
This is a bewitching story that mixes past and present in a deeply moving depiction of southern life. Once I started reading this book, I could not stop. The characters are fully drawn, complex and memorable. The writing took me to Hemlock Hollow in both timelines in a way that made me feel as though I was present and involved in both. The ending had me tearing up as the tragedy from the past led to the emotional discoveries in the present.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author!
HEMLOCK HOLLOW by Culley Holderfield is a lyrical and moody southern fiction novel with intertwining murder mystery and family history storylines from the past and present set in the Northern Carolina mountains. This book is more literary than genre style of writing that I usually prefer and yet it pulled me in to every aspect of the beautiful story and place.
Professor Caroline McAlister is shocked to discover the family’s cabin in Hemlock Hollow has been left to her on the death of her father. Not only is she morning the loss of her father, but the end of her marriage which all together has left her adrift personally and professionally. She decides to return to Hemlock Hollow and have the old cabin renovated. When a tin box is discovered in the attic, Caroline discovers the century old journal of the young Carson Quinn. Carson is an inquisitive young boy who loves Hemlock Hollow but then grows into a recluse that the others in the hollow believe killed his older brother.
Caroline dives into Carson’s journal and the oral and written history of the hollow to discover if the young, intelligent and nature loving boy of the journal could grow into the killer many believed him to be and discovers many truths about herself in the process.
This is a bewitching story that mixes past and present in a deeply moving depiction of southern life. Once I started reading this book, I could not stop. The characters are fully drawn, complex and memorable. The writing took me to Hemlock Hollow in both timelines in a way that made me feel as though I was present and involved in both. The ending had me tearing up as the tragedy from the past led to the emotional discoveries in the present.
I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more from this author!
June 2, 2022
Really lovely narration and a wonderfully visual story, it somehow reminded me of Alice Walker’s ‘The colour purple’ - I got totally lost in it.
September 8, 2022
When it comes to this astonishing book by Culley Holderfield, I got lucky. A good six and a half years before the rest of the world was invited into Hemlock Hollow, Culley Holderfield invited me to edit an early draft. As with all great writers who know the power of revision, Culley has transformed this book from the promising draft I saw into the rich mixture of past and present, love and grief, history and psychology, that you now have the opportunity to read.
Told firsthand by Caroline McAllister in the present day, and Carson Quinn in the late 1800s, Hemlock Hollow is both a murder mystery and a love letter to a secluded Appalachian hollow in North Carolina. An old rusted box and a boy’s journal give us insight into the small community where Caroline finds herself years after Carson’s death. Caroline, who cannot believe that someone who could love this hollow as she does could be a murderer, uses her investigative skills to widen the search for the truth buried in history. At the same time that she is working to resurrect Carson’s reputation, she is trying to resurrect her family cabin in Hemlock Hollow, discovering in the process that she may be able to resurrect herself as well, by letting go of a brittle sense of isolation and letting in the people who care about her.
With generosity to his characters and unflinching fidelity to the complexities of southern life, Culley Holderfield has created a book that weaves together natural and human history to arrive at a truer sense of the south than any we read in newspapers or history books.
Told firsthand by Caroline McAllister in the present day, and Carson Quinn in the late 1800s, Hemlock Hollow is both a murder mystery and a love letter to a secluded Appalachian hollow in North Carolina. An old rusted box and a boy’s journal give us insight into the small community where Caroline finds herself years after Carson’s death. Caroline, who cannot believe that someone who could love this hollow as she does could be a murderer, uses her investigative skills to widen the search for the truth buried in history. At the same time that she is working to resurrect Carson’s reputation, she is trying to resurrect her family cabin in Hemlock Hollow, discovering in the process that she may be able to resurrect herself as well, by letting go of a brittle sense of isolation and letting in the people who care about her.
With generosity to his characters and unflinching fidelity to the complexities of southern life, Culley Holderfield has created a book that weaves together natural and human history to arrive at a truer sense of the south than any we read in newspapers or history books.
October 16, 2022
Culley Holderfield’s debut novel, Hemlock Hollow, captures the reader from the first step of Caroline’s quest as he skillfully weaves the past and present through two narrators. Inheriting the run-down family cabin, finding an 1880s journal, and a confronting a ghost occupy Caroline’s summer off from her teaching and research responsibilities. A few pages into the book, you are intertwined as tightly as a wild grape vine on a strong oak tree.
I enjoyed learning about the flora and fauna of the mountain wilderness nearly as much as I enjoyed going on the quest with Caroline. Each tree seems to holds a story deep in its core just as Holderfield’s love of the mountains of North Carolina lives in his.
The novel is informed by historical facts and humans whose lives reminds us of our complex past as it played out in hollows and legislative hallways. The Quinn family became as real to me as my father’s stories of his father’s family and that’s what good novels do- immerse you a world where you can smell ginseng and old books, taste moonshine and sun tea.
Great for group reads -book clubs or colleges freshman common reads.
I enjoyed learning about the flora and fauna of the mountain wilderness nearly as much as I enjoyed going on the quest with Caroline. Each tree seems to holds a story deep in its core just as Holderfield’s love of the mountains of North Carolina lives in his.
The novel is informed by historical facts and humans whose lives reminds us of our complex past as it played out in hollows and legislative hallways. The Quinn family became as real to me as my father’s stories of his father’s family and that’s what good novels do- immerse you a world where you can smell ginseng and old books, taste moonshine and sun tea.
Great for group reads -book clubs or colleges freshman common reads.
June 22, 2022
Culley Holderfield's complex and stirring depiction of Appalachia reflects the beating heart of the south. Mark Twain stated, "The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter- 'tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning." Holderfield knows the difference. His masterful prose weaves a story that will stick with you and have you returning to wander the pages of this novel over and over again. No words are wasted yet he creates a rich environment, characters to care about (Carson is my personal favorite) and a story that is at once fresh and legend at the same time. Highly recommend this author.
December 5, 2022
via my blog: https://bookstalkerblog.wordpress.com/
𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅. 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒏. 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓.
I have a yen for Appalachian fiction, maybe it’s all the trips to the mountains to visit my daughter and sister. I admit, it is also the beauty and promise of tranquility, but such places can harbor deep secrets, and just as much dark history as populated places. What Caroline McAlister knows about Carson Quinn is that he and his brother Thomas were in love with the same woman, Marinda, a love that ended in a murder in the 1800’s. Surprised to learn her father kept and left her the family cabin in North Carolina (a place of both fond and painful memories), Caroline is soon restoring it with a man named Micah and his crew. One day the attic coughs up a box from the past. Upon opening it, Caroline discovers photos of people who once lived on the mountainside and more, a journal made of high-quality leather that has stood up to the ravages of time. Stunned to learn it is the journal of Carson Quinn, a door is opened into a mystery. When she sees a wedding photo and recognizes the brooding, bearded man in the back row, it takes her back to a terrifying thirty-year-old memory. The summer she turned 12, a ghost sat at the foot of her bed at the cabin, that ghost was none other than the man in the photo, Carson Quinn.
The hollow that was once Carson’s sanctuary became Caroline’s enchanted realm a century later, a seemingly unchanged place where she escaped into her imagination, wandered and played. Now that she is older, and life has had its way with them all, memories of her brother, father and mother churn inside of her mind. It is also the place she received terrible news from her mother, and in the aftermath, they never returned, until now. The years between have been successful, striding through life, gaining tenure at a top university as an archaeoastronomy (look up the definition) professor , but the pursuit of her career cost her friends and with the failure of her marriage, her career took a hard hit. Now, in a sense, orphaned with both parents gone to the grave, she and her brother are leading separate lives. All that remains is the cabin and the ghosts.
The deeper she dives into Carson’s past, the more the boy and later, the man she gets to know leaves her questioning the person many came to revile. How could a man who was passionately curious about the world and all the people in it, nourished on the study of Latin, Arithmetics, Geography, History and Literature, who had his eye on the horizon, and adored Marinda so much that he taught her to read, end up committing fratricide? She is also overwhelmed by sorting through her own past, the remnants of her childhood like forgotten artifacts. Worse, the locals have a beef with Micah and his crew and don’t like Caroline’s presence. In order to learn more about the murder, she needs to speak to the locals, but rooting through memories of the past is an action the descendants don’t all welcome. Her prior academic research and book was for anthropologists before, now she wants something new and fresh. Nothing challenges her more than figuring out mysteries, and here in the hollow one is begging to be uncovered. Carson was an intellectual, just like her, and both have carried wounds made in this magical place.
How a love story turned to murder plagues her mind, but her own past will rise just like any haint. There are threats and tragedies everywhere, including the Duncans. Jesse Duncan is suffering PTSD from his time in the army, and his father Charles owns the land that is Caroline’s front yard, land that has been in his family for over two hundred years, land that he will not sell to her. To his family she is nothing more than a “passerby” despite the time she spent there in her childhood. Even what seems like the remotest place in the world can be home to trouble. Haunted by the past and present, will Caroline’s life remain in suspension?
This historical fiction is engaging, it has everything from ghosts to ancient early science and yet it is really about the things we refuse to address, about ourselves and those we love. It is about how being misunderstood can serve as salvation or your ruin. I find Carson, Marinda and Thomas’s tale deeply sad, more so in the choices made in the aftermath of a horrible incident. Caroline was at times a distant star, I would have liked to delve more into her marriage and career but Carson’s tale was a unique tale that kept me reading. A solid mountain fiction.
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Mindbuck Media
Regal House Publishing
𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒆𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆. 𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒅. 𝑪𝒂𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑸𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒏. 𝑰 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅. 𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒓.
I have a yen for Appalachian fiction, maybe it’s all the trips to the mountains to visit my daughter and sister. I admit, it is also the beauty and promise of tranquility, but such places can harbor deep secrets, and just as much dark history as populated places. What Caroline McAlister knows about Carson Quinn is that he and his brother Thomas were in love with the same woman, Marinda, a love that ended in a murder in the 1800’s. Surprised to learn her father kept and left her the family cabin in North Carolina (a place of both fond and painful memories), Caroline is soon restoring it with a man named Micah and his crew. One day the attic coughs up a box from the past. Upon opening it, Caroline discovers photos of people who once lived on the mountainside and more, a journal made of high-quality leather that has stood up to the ravages of time. Stunned to learn it is the journal of Carson Quinn, a door is opened into a mystery. When she sees a wedding photo and recognizes the brooding, bearded man in the back row, it takes her back to a terrifying thirty-year-old memory. The summer she turned 12, a ghost sat at the foot of her bed at the cabin, that ghost was none other than the man in the photo, Carson Quinn.
The hollow that was once Carson’s sanctuary became Caroline’s enchanted realm a century later, a seemingly unchanged place where she escaped into her imagination, wandered and played. Now that she is older, and life has had its way with them all, memories of her brother, father and mother churn inside of her mind. It is also the place she received terrible news from her mother, and in the aftermath, they never returned, until now. The years between have been successful, striding through life, gaining tenure at a top university as an archaeoastronomy (look up the definition) professor , but the pursuit of her career cost her friends and with the failure of her marriage, her career took a hard hit. Now, in a sense, orphaned with both parents gone to the grave, she and her brother are leading separate lives. All that remains is the cabin and the ghosts.
The deeper she dives into Carson’s past, the more the boy and later, the man she gets to know leaves her questioning the person many came to revile. How could a man who was passionately curious about the world and all the people in it, nourished on the study of Latin, Arithmetics, Geography, History and Literature, who had his eye on the horizon, and adored Marinda so much that he taught her to read, end up committing fratricide? She is also overwhelmed by sorting through her own past, the remnants of her childhood like forgotten artifacts. Worse, the locals have a beef with Micah and his crew and don’t like Caroline’s presence. In order to learn more about the murder, she needs to speak to the locals, but rooting through memories of the past is an action the descendants don’t all welcome. Her prior academic research and book was for anthropologists before, now she wants something new and fresh. Nothing challenges her more than figuring out mysteries, and here in the hollow one is begging to be uncovered. Carson was an intellectual, just like her, and both have carried wounds made in this magical place.
How a love story turned to murder plagues her mind, but her own past will rise just like any haint. There are threats and tragedies everywhere, including the Duncans. Jesse Duncan is suffering PTSD from his time in the army, and his father Charles owns the land that is Caroline’s front yard, land that has been in his family for over two hundred years, land that he will not sell to her. To his family she is nothing more than a “passerby” despite the time she spent there in her childhood. Even what seems like the remotest place in the world can be home to trouble. Haunted by the past and present, will Caroline’s life remain in suspension?
This historical fiction is engaging, it has everything from ghosts to ancient early science and yet it is really about the things we refuse to address, about ourselves and those we love. It is about how being misunderstood can serve as salvation or your ruin. I find Carson, Marinda and Thomas’s tale deeply sad, more so in the choices made in the aftermath of a horrible incident. Caroline was at times a distant star, I would have liked to delve more into her marriage and career but Carson’s tale was a unique tale that kept me reading. A solid mountain fiction.
Publication Date: December 6, 2022
Mindbuck Media
Regal House Publishing
November 20, 2022
Culley Holderfield brings a fresh take on the mountain tale, mixing vivid childhood memories with the grown up dilemma of his heroine Caroline McAlister, a college professor haunted by the early death of her mother, the recent deaths of her father and her marriage as well. Into the empty spaces created by these losses comes an inherited cabin complete with a fascinating journal of a long dead inhabitant and a murder mystery.
In rich, vivid prose, and with the extraordinary coming to life of Carson Quinn, the journal writer, Holderfield twines the lives of two people from different centuries, both dedicated scientists. What an interesting thing to do - readers of Barbara Kingsolver's novel Unsheltered will enjoy these vivid weavings of lives and science! Caroline has a fascinating career as an astroarcheologist, that is, someone who studies the rocks and markings left by past cultures who studied light and stars (think Stonehenge), and Carson is a dedicated student of natural history in the mountains where he once haunted the laurel hells -- and loved a woman. Between the two, we have an extraordinary metaphor for love of place and love of the mind of the past.
As a natural history and history writer myself I was delighted to revisit the important work of North Carolina explorer-naturalists John Lawson, William Bartram, Elisha Mitchell, as young Carson himself discovers them. A love story, a history, a story of great depth and pain, Hemlock Hollow leads us down a mountain path toward deeper understandings of life and the haunting hold that past lives have on us, only seen clearly when we look at our ghosts face to face with love. I love this book, and I continue to be haunted by its characters! A fantastic book club book! With this novel, Holderfield joins the pantheon of those mountain writers of the South who paint both history and human nature with a fine brush - Ron Rash, Vicki Lane, Wiley Cash, and Dale Neal.
In rich, vivid prose, and with the extraordinary coming to life of Carson Quinn, the journal writer, Holderfield twines the lives of two people from different centuries, both dedicated scientists. What an interesting thing to do - readers of Barbara Kingsolver's novel Unsheltered will enjoy these vivid weavings of lives and science! Caroline has a fascinating career as an astroarcheologist, that is, someone who studies the rocks and markings left by past cultures who studied light and stars (think Stonehenge), and Carson is a dedicated student of natural history in the mountains where he once haunted the laurel hells -- and loved a woman. Between the two, we have an extraordinary metaphor for love of place and love of the mind of the past.
As a natural history and history writer myself I was delighted to revisit the important work of North Carolina explorer-naturalists John Lawson, William Bartram, Elisha Mitchell, as young Carson himself discovers them. A love story, a history, a story of great depth and pain, Hemlock Hollow leads us down a mountain path toward deeper understandings of life and the haunting hold that past lives have on us, only seen clearly when we look at our ghosts face to face with love. I love this book, and I continue to be haunted by its characters! A fantastic book club book! With this novel, Holderfield joins the pantheon of those mountain writers of the South who paint both history and human nature with a fine brush - Ron Rash, Vicki Lane, Wiley Cash, and Dale Neal.
December 20, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Hemlock Hollow by author Culley Holderfield is a surprising book and a book gem. I expected a spooky thriller/mystery story, but it was more historical fiction and family tragedy. A young woman inherits her childhood home upon her father's death and now owns a derelict cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. While moving to the homestead to begin restoration and repairs of the home in which her Mother passed, she discovers a journal barely discernable and ravaged by time. Caroline has accomplished great things in her life but also great failures, and she comes to the cabin to heal from the world's disappointments. As she delves into the journal and begins investigating a decades-old murder in the area, she solves the mystery of who murdered one of her ancestors. But most of all, she finds herself and realizes the importance of home, family, love, and history. The author writes, “One thing I think I may have learned along the way is that every person has a place, or at least should have a place. A place where he belongs, where he can sit and be free of judgment.” Mr. Holderfield also writes, “Any place that’s been loved is forever haunted by those that loved it.” What a beautiful story and a moving tale of love made even more meaningful to me having a second home in this same area of North Carolina. I reside elsewhere, but in my heart, my “true” home is North Carolina for reasons I can’t explain. Culley Holderfield describes it beautifully. #historicalfiction #NorthCarolina #Haunting #HemlockHollow #murder #mystery #thriller #literaryfiction #love #loss #morals #home #family #book #bookstagram #read #reader #HemlockHollow @netgalley @culleyholderfield @regal_house_publishing
🌲
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Regal House Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Published December 6th.
Hemlock Hollow by author Culley Holderfield is a surprising book and a book gem. I expected a spooky thriller/mystery story, but it was more historical fiction and family tragedy. A young woman inherits her childhood home upon her father's death and now owns a derelict cabin in the mountains of North Carolina. While moving to the homestead to begin restoration and repairs of the home in which her Mother passed, she discovers a journal barely discernable and ravaged by time. Caroline has accomplished great things in her life but also great failures, and she comes to the cabin to heal from the world's disappointments. As she delves into the journal and begins investigating a decades-old murder in the area, she solves the mystery of who murdered one of her ancestors. But most of all, she finds herself and realizes the importance of home, family, love, and history. The author writes, “One thing I think I may have learned along the way is that every person has a place, or at least should have a place. A place where he belongs, where he can sit and be free of judgment.” Mr. Holderfield also writes, “Any place that’s been loved is forever haunted by those that loved it.” What a beautiful story and a moving tale of love made even more meaningful to me having a second home in this same area of North Carolina. I reside elsewhere, but in my heart, my “true” home is North Carolina for reasons I can’t explain. Culley Holderfield describes it beautifully. #historicalfiction #NorthCarolina #Haunting #HemlockHollow #murder #mystery #thriller #literaryfiction #love #loss #morals #home #family #book #bookstagram #read #reader #HemlockHollow @netgalley @culleyholderfield @regal_house_publishing
🌲
I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to NetGalley, Regal House Publishing and the author for the opportunity to read this book. Published December 6th.
October 31, 2022
“Any place that’s been loved is forever haunted by those that loved it.” Hemlock Hollow, by Culley Holderfield
Culley Holderfield’s Hemlock Hollow is a place as distinct in my mind as the real-life landscapes I have known and loved all my life. Holderfield has conjured an intricate world inhabited by people so well rendered I would recognize them if I encountered them in my own neighborhood. His novel is a tender story told across two timelines that intersect at a rustic cabin in the Appalachian backwoods.
Carson Quinn, dreamer, adventurer, scholar, is shaped and ultimately scarred by the woods and culture of Appalachia. We meet Carson in 1886 as a young boy struggling with his identity and affectionately mentored by an eccentric grandfather. Through the reflections recorded in his own journal, we follow the delights, frights, and injustices of his journey to adulthood. From the opening pages of Hemlock Hollow, we are confronted with the question: Did he, or didn’t he murder his own brother?
Generations later, Carolyn McAlister inherits Carson’s remote cabin in Hemlock Hollow, by now fallen into disrepair. She sets about resurrecting the cabin, aided by a contractor who helps her negotiate confrontations with contrary neighbors and with her own heartache. In the process, Carolyn resurrects the life, love and legacy of Carson Quinn, finally unraveling the truth about the man who gave Hemlock Hollow its name.
Culley Holderfield’s Hemlock Hollow is a place as distinct in my mind as the real-life landscapes I have known and loved all my life. Holderfield has conjured an intricate world inhabited by people so well rendered I would recognize them if I encountered them in my own neighborhood. His novel is a tender story told across two timelines that intersect at a rustic cabin in the Appalachian backwoods.
Carson Quinn, dreamer, adventurer, scholar, is shaped and ultimately scarred by the woods and culture of Appalachia. We meet Carson in 1886 as a young boy struggling with his identity and affectionately mentored by an eccentric grandfather. Through the reflections recorded in his own journal, we follow the delights, frights, and injustices of his journey to adulthood. From the opening pages of Hemlock Hollow, we are confronted with the question: Did he, or didn’t he murder his own brother?
Generations later, Carolyn McAlister inherits Carson’s remote cabin in Hemlock Hollow, by now fallen into disrepair. She sets about resurrecting the cabin, aided by a contractor who helps her negotiate confrontations with contrary neighbors and with her own heartache. In the process, Carolyn resurrects the life, love and legacy of Carson Quinn, finally unraveling the truth about the man who gave Hemlock Hollow its name.
December 3, 2022
This debut novel has a little bit of something for everyone - mystery, history, ghosts, and even some romance.
Caroline inherited a cabin from her father. It is a cabin they visited many times when she was a child but had forgotten about it until many years later. It had become run down and invaded by vagrants, wildlife, and nature. Determined to bring the cabin back to its former glory (and maybe a little better), she hires Micah to restore the cabin and discovers the history of her family and those in this holler in the mountains. With the discovery of a journal, we are drawn into the past when ties were simpler.
I really enjoy stories that are told with a dual timeline. This one covers the late 1800s with the story told by Carson Quinn and the present from Caroline's perspective. The story seamlessly switches between the two, and I was drawn into a different life by the Quinn family. US history is woven into the story with battles, illegal stills, and bartering for needed items. There are also detailed descriptions of various plants, trees, and animals, including Latin names for these things.
Not only was it a journey to discover her roots, but it was also one to find her true self and unmask what has been holding her back from having a successful relationship.
I had difficulty putting the book down and found myself reading it whenever I had a spare minute or two.
I look forward to seeing what this author writes next and give this book 5 paws up.
Caroline inherited a cabin from her father. It is a cabin they visited many times when she was a child but had forgotten about it until many years later. It had become run down and invaded by vagrants, wildlife, and nature. Determined to bring the cabin back to its former glory (and maybe a little better), she hires Micah to restore the cabin and discovers the history of her family and those in this holler in the mountains. With the discovery of a journal, we are drawn into the past when ties were simpler.
I really enjoy stories that are told with a dual timeline. This one covers the late 1800s with the story told by Carson Quinn and the present from Caroline's perspective. The story seamlessly switches between the two, and I was drawn into a different life by the Quinn family. US history is woven into the story with battles, illegal stills, and bartering for needed items. There are also detailed descriptions of various plants, trees, and animals, including Latin names for these things.
Not only was it a journey to discover her roots, but it was also one to find her true self and unmask what has been holding her back from having a successful relationship.
I had difficulty putting the book down and found myself reading it whenever I had a spare minute or two.
I look forward to seeing what this author writes next and give this book 5 paws up.
December 6, 2022
Hemlock Hollow is a novel of love and loss, mystery and misery, humor and hubris. Family and neighbors, the ties that bind, the lines that divide all swirling around a small spot in the Carolina mountains, the continuous character connecting them all across the centuries.
Inside its pages, you’ll find yourself savoring particularly well-crafted lines, and perhaps wishing you could read them again for the first time.
In the time-honored Southern storytelling tradition, Holderfield’s exceptionally well-crafted characters not only inspire hatred, loyalty, and even the odd swoon from the reader, they also stick with you long after you’ve closed the book.
Eagerly anticipating the next novel from this talented author
Inside its pages, you’ll find yourself savoring particularly well-crafted lines, and perhaps wishing you could read them again for the first time.
In the time-honored Southern storytelling tradition, Holderfield’s exceptionally well-crafted characters not only inspire hatred, loyalty, and even the odd swoon from the reader, they also stick with you long after you’ve closed the book.
Eagerly anticipating the next novel from this talented author
December 11, 2022
Read his full review on Rosepoint Publishing.
Love is sometimes a cruel and hypnotizing mistress. Carson Quinn and Marinda fell in love at first sight. They became inseparable and a long-loving future was surely theirs.
However, Taylor (Carson’s older brother), also took a shine to Ms. Marinda! There was no question as to who she was interested in, but Taylor was never far out of the picture. Then Carson went away to college. Completing his education, he came back to Hickory Nut Gap to marry the girl he loves but discovers Taylor has taken his place with Marinda. Carson leaves his beloved Hickory Nut Gap and does not return to North Carolina for over ten years.
The tale weaves a lovely setting of Henderson County, North Carolina, and the conflict that was the “War of Northern Aggression.” Carson becomes an officer in the northern army because he and his family do not believe in secession.
This book is well written and engenders many of the wild and lovely places that are North Carolina. The description of the woods, mountains, and hollows paints a gorgeous picture of an enchanting country. Read and enjoy this tale! 4.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
Love is sometimes a cruel and hypnotizing mistress. Carson Quinn and Marinda fell in love at first sight. They became inseparable and a long-loving future was surely theirs.
However, Taylor (Carson’s older brother), also took a shine to Ms. Marinda! There was no question as to who she was interested in, but Taylor was never far out of the picture. Then Carson went away to college. Completing his education, he came back to Hickory Nut Gap to marry the girl he loves but discovers Taylor has taken his place with Marinda. Carson leaves his beloved Hickory Nut Gap and does not return to North Carolina for over ten years.
The tale weaves a lovely setting of Henderson County, North Carolina, and the conflict that was the “War of Northern Aggression.” Carson becomes an officer in the northern army because he and his family do not believe in secession.
This book is well written and engenders many of the wild and lovely places that are North Carolina. The description of the woods, mountains, and hollows paints a gorgeous picture of an enchanting country. Read and enjoy this tale! 4.5 stars – CE Williams
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.
June 8, 2022
A poignant and compelling historical fiction / mystery. Told in two different timelines, the stories of the two protagonists come together beautifully and deeply.
December 6, 2022
Extremely well written first novel! Captivating from the first pages. Would be a very good book club book.
September 20, 2023
When Caroline McAlister was young, her family would spend summers at their cabin in Hemlock Hollow. It was her mother's special place--she loved the mountains of Carolina. Late one night, when Caroline had two of her friends staying with her, she saw a figure standing at the end of the bed. He was a tall, sad-faced man in brown with a hat. She never quite knew for sure what she'd seen and she wasn't sure she believed in ghosts, but the memory stuck with her. Not long after that incident, her beloved mother died of cancer and she, her brother, and her father stopped coming to the cabin.
Years later, Caroline is college professor whose life seems to be coming apart. Her father has now died, her marriage has come to an end, and research for a new book has stalled. When she learns that her dad still owned that cabin in Hemlock Hollow and had left it to her, she goes to check it out. After years of disuse (and abuse from random squatters and "hippies") it is in desperate need of renovation and she hires Micah, a local general contractor, to oversee the job. There are still treasures among the clutter and debris--including a curio cabinet where Caroline would store her "archeological" finds (a professor in the making), some of the more practical furniture (a bed, a table, etc.), her grandmother's quilt, and...a metal box that Caroline has never seen before.
The box contains a journal written by Carson Quinn in the late 1800s. Quinn was suspected (but never arrested or tried) of the murder of his older brother, Thomas. The young men had grown up smitten with the same girl, but Thomas was the one she married. Because there were other suspects and no real proof, the murder was never solved. Caroline suspects that the sad-faced man who visited her that night long ago was Carson. As she begins reading the journal, she finds an intelligent, curious young man with a deep love of the natural world and especially the place called Hemlock Hollow. She finds it difficult to believe that the same young man who wrote this journal could be a killer and decides to investigate. The case may be cold, but her research skills are used to investigating the past. But the answer may not be as simple as she'd like.
This novel is a lovely mix of fact and fiction. Holderfield builds on the historical facts of life in the Carolinas in the troubled years after the Civil War and includes a rich mixture of characters that reflect the conflicted views of Southerners during the period. The Quinn family had a set of values that didn't always mesh with those of their neighbors, but for the most part they each, in their own way, stayed true to them. I loved the characters of Gramps, Carson's mother, and Carson. They are fully realized in Carson's journal and come to life as Caroline learns about the events that led up to the murder. Hemlock Hollow is just as much a character as these folks with the presence of the mountains and the trees and the secluded spots that Carson, his mother, Caroline, and her mother all love influencing events as much as the people do. And when Caroline finds that they will need to remove some of the trees sheltering the cabin (due to an insect infestation), the sudden sunshine falling on the cabin seems to indicate that the mystery is clearing and soon all will be revealed.
The identity of the murderer didn't come as a huge surprise to me, but Holderfield has woven such an interesting tale, told with emotional subtlety and a real sense of place, that it doesn't bother me. The detective fiction lover in me would have like Caroline to do more independent investigating and not have the solution given first in a seance with the ghost and then through one more written document from Carson (long after the journal ends), but the solution is satisfying and the story is compelling. A really nice piece of historical fiction.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
Years later, Caroline is college professor whose life seems to be coming apart. Her father has now died, her marriage has come to an end, and research for a new book has stalled. When she learns that her dad still owned that cabin in Hemlock Hollow and had left it to her, she goes to check it out. After years of disuse (and abuse from random squatters and "hippies") it is in desperate need of renovation and she hires Micah, a local general contractor, to oversee the job. There are still treasures among the clutter and debris--including a curio cabinet where Caroline would store her "archeological" finds (a professor in the making), some of the more practical furniture (a bed, a table, etc.), her grandmother's quilt, and...a metal box that Caroline has never seen before.
The box contains a journal written by Carson Quinn in the late 1800s. Quinn was suspected (but never arrested or tried) of the murder of his older brother, Thomas. The young men had grown up smitten with the same girl, but Thomas was the one she married. Because there were other suspects and no real proof, the murder was never solved. Caroline suspects that the sad-faced man who visited her that night long ago was Carson. As she begins reading the journal, she finds an intelligent, curious young man with a deep love of the natural world and especially the place called Hemlock Hollow. She finds it difficult to believe that the same young man who wrote this journal could be a killer and decides to investigate. The case may be cold, but her research skills are used to investigating the past. But the answer may not be as simple as she'd like.
This novel is a lovely mix of fact and fiction. Holderfield builds on the historical facts of life in the Carolinas in the troubled years after the Civil War and includes a rich mixture of characters that reflect the conflicted views of Southerners during the period. The Quinn family had a set of values that didn't always mesh with those of their neighbors, but for the most part they each, in their own way, stayed true to them. I loved the characters of Gramps, Carson's mother, and Carson. They are fully realized in Carson's journal and come to life as Caroline learns about the events that led up to the murder. Hemlock Hollow is just as much a character as these folks with the presence of the mountains and the trees and the secluded spots that Carson, his mother, Caroline, and her mother all love influencing events as much as the people do. And when Caroline finds that they will need to remove some of the trees sheltering the cabin (due to an insect infestation), the sudden sunshine falling on the cabin seems to indicate that the mystery is clearing and soon all will be revealed.
The identity of the murderer didn't come as a huge surprise to me, but Holderfield has woven such an interesting tale, told with emotional subtlety and a real sense of place, that it doesn't bother me. The detective fiction lover in me would have like Caroline to do more independent investigating and not have the solution given first in a seance with the ghost and then through one more written document from Carson (long after the journal ends), but the solution is satisfying and the story is compelling. A really nice piece of historical fiction.
First posted on my blog My Reader's Block.
December 6, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Pages: 287
Thank you to @mindbuckmediabookpub and @regal_house_publishing for the #gifted copy of the book.
Happy Pub Day to this book and debut author!
I love to support authors in my home state of North Carolina. I was so excited when I was asked if I would read and review this book. I enjoy spending time in the NC Mountains. Many of the places mentioned were known to me.
I was immersed in Hemlock Hollow within the first few pages of reading. Caroline is gifted the family cabin after her father passes away. She had not visited it in years, but had fond memories of the place and decided she was going to renovate it. Hemlock Hollow was an atmospheric read, taking readers back in time through the journal of Carson Quinn. The dual timeline flowed well throughout the story. I was vested in learning who murdered Thomas and the secrets Caroline was keeping from her childhood.
If you enjoy Historical fiction and mysteries, you will not want to miss this book!
#hemlockhollow #debutauthor #pubday #newbook #ncauthor #kmoreadsnc #applachia #hickorynutgorge #hendersonvillenc #historicalfiction #mysterybook #bookstagram #appalachian #ncmountains #westernnc #booksbooksbooks #bookreview
Hemlock Hollow by Culley Holderfield
Genre: Historical Mystery
Publisher: Regal House Publishing
Release Date: December 6, 2022
Pages: 287
Thank you to @mindbuckmediabookpub and @regal_house_publishing for the #gifted copy of the book.
Happy Pub Day to this book and debut author!
I love to support authors in my home state of North Carolina. I was so excited when I was asked if I would read and review this book. I enjoy spending time in the NC Mountains. Many of the places mentioned were known to me.
I was immersed in Hemlock Hollow within the first few pages of reading. Caroline is gifted the family cabin after her father passes away. She had not visited it in years, but had fond memories of the place and decided she was going to renovate it. Hemlock Hollow was an atmospheric read, taking readers back in time through the journal of Carson Quinn. The dual timeline flowed well throughout the story. I was vested in learning who murdered Thomas and the secrets Caroline was keeping from her childhood.
If you enjoy Historical fiction and mysteries, you will not want to miss this book!
#hemlockhollow #debutauthor #pubday #newbook #ncauthor #kmoreadsnc #applachia #hickorynutgorge #hendersonvillenc #historicalfiction #mysterybook #bookstagram #appalachian #ncmountains #westernnc #booksbooksbooks #bookreview
December 23, 2022
Hemlock Hollow is an engaging story within a story. It is a beautifully written book that tells the story of a young woman searching for a resolution to a mystery. Caroline McAlister returned to Hemlock Hollow to restore the cabin that her father had given to her mother, and then to her upon his death. There she finds a mysterious box that contains a journal that takes her on a journey through the lives of those who lived in the hollow in the late 1800s. As she reads the journal she begins to explore the people in the journal, tracing their lives through historical records, graveyards, and family stories. She is determined to solve the murder instead, she finds romance, fascinating family tales, and relationships for herself. I enjoyed this book. It is full of interesting characters from both the past and the present, It has a dual plot, one from the past she is unraveling and her own set in the present, both are well told. There is a freshness about the story, the characters, and the setting in a beautiful hollow of Appalachia that readers will find appealing. Thoroughly enjoyed the book.
January 13, 2023
Hemlock Hollow
By Culley Holderfield
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to review!
Upon her father's death, Caroline McAlister inherits her family's vacation cabin. It has been decades since she has seen the place. The family stopped going to the Hollow after her mother passed away when Caroline was an adolescent.
Now a shell of what it once was, Caroline feels drawn to her family's special place and decides to renovate the cabin and make it her home. While contractors re-build, she begins to research the history of the cabin and the land on which it sits. As she digs deeper, the mystery grows and Caroline realizes that she is connected to Hemlock Hollow in ways she never imagined. Haunted by memories from when she was a child, she discovers who she really is and why this has always been her home.
Hemlock Hollow is a magical place where reality and fantasy merge into one.
By Culley Holderfield
Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book to review!
Upon her father's death, Caroline McAlister inherits her family's vacation cabin. It has been decades since she has seen the place. The family stopped going to the Hollow after her mother passed away when Caroline was an adolescent.
Now a shell of what it once was, Caroline feels drawn to her family's special place and decides to renovate the cabin and make it her home. While contractors re-build, she begins to research the history of the cabin and the land on which it sits. As she digs deeper, the mystery grows and Caroline realizes that she is connected to Hemlock Hollow in ways she never imagined. Haunted by memories from when she was a child, she discovers who she really is and why this has always been her home.
Hemlock Hollow is a magical place where reality and fantasy merge into one.
December 12, 2022
Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for an ARC of this story.
I love a story that takes you back and forth between present and past as you slowly unravel the happenings, and that’s what this story did. Struggling with the loss of her father and her sudden inheritance of the cabin that her mother held dear, Caroline dived into journals found at the property to work out whether the previous occupier and accused murder, Carson Quinn, was in fact guilty of killing his brother.
It’s a tale of love and longing, of family and sibling rivalry, but also of grief and heartache. I loved the journal entries of Carson; learning of his relationship with his gramps, who had a solid hand in raising him. Written well with descriptions you can’t help but see in your mind’s eye.
An interesting read that kept me enthralled.
I love a story that takes you back and forth between present and past as you slowly unravel the happenings, and that’s what this story did. Struggling with the loss of her father and her sudden inheritance of the cabin that her mother held dear, Caroline dived into journals found at the property to work out whether the previous occupier and accused murder, Carson Quinn, was in fact guilty of killing his brother.
It’s a tale of love and longing, of family and sibling rivalry, but also of grief and heartache. I loved the journal entries of Carson; learning of his relationship with his gramps, who had a solid hand in raising him. Written well with descriptions you can’t help but see in your mind’s eye.
An interesting read that kept me enthralled.
April 30, 2023
Here's a quick read for you. I started this on the weekend and finished within 48 hours. It's under 300 pages.
Caroline McAlister is a college professor and lifelong skeptic who is struggling to come to terms with the recent loss of her father and the end of her marriage. She inherits her father's cabin, unaware that it comes with the ghost who haunted her childhood.
With the discovery of a journal from the 1800s, Caroline embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about the ghost, Carson Quinn, and his rumored murdering of his older brother.
There are a lot of familiar tropes in Hemlock Hollow: an old, run-down cabin; a ghost in need of peace and redemption; a murder mystery; an old journal that may hold the key. I'm OK with all of these in the right hands. Author Culley Holderfield has written a southern mystery with sharp pacing and elegant prose. Recommended.
Caroline McAlister is a college professor and lifelong skeptic who is struggling to come to terms with the recent loss of her father and the end of her marriage. She inherits her father's cabin, unaware that it comes with the ghost who haunted her childhood.
With the discovery of a journal from the 1800s, Caroline embarks on a journey to uncover the truth about the ghost, Carson Quinn, and his rumored murdering of his older brother.
There are a lot of familiar tropes in Hemlock Hollow: an old, run-down cabin; a ghost in need of peace and redemption; a murder mystery; an old journal that may hold the key. I'm OK with all of these in the right hands. Author Culley Holderfield has written a southern mystery with sharp pacing and elegant prose. Recommended.
January 20, 2023
I devoured this book in one night, waking up at 2:00am to finish the last half because I couldn't get it out of my mind. Holderfield's exacting depictions of a region of Appalachia - the landscape, the people, the history - merits a closer read because he gets it so right, slashing any shorthand stereotyping to reveal a deeply felt place peopled by faceted, changeable characters. Yet the plot pacing had me galloping to see what unfolded next. This unpredictable historical mystery was a treat.
January 14, 2024
"Hemlock Hollow" by Culley Holderfield is a poignant and haunting novel that explores the depths of loss, redemption, and the enduring connection between people and the places they hold dear. Caroline McAlister, a college professor grappling with personal turmoil, inherits her family cabin, accompanied by a ghost from her childhood. This sets the stage for a gripping and emotionally charged journey of self-discovery.
Holderfield crafts a narrative that seamlessly weaves together Caroline's present struggles with the echoes of the past. The familial cabin becomes the focal point of a ghostly connection, intertwining Caroline's life with the spirit of Carson Quinn, whose century-old journal she discovers in the attic. The revelation of Carson's love for the same hollow that captivated Caroline in her youth adds layers to the narrative, creating a bridge between two souls separated by time.
The mystery surrounding Carson's past, including rumors of a fratricide, propels Caroline into a compelling quest for truth and justice. Holderfield skillfully unfolds the story, blending elements of mystery, historical fiction, and supernatural intrigue. The author's ability to evoke a sense of place and atmosphere adds depth to the novel, immersing readers in the haunting beauty of Hemlock Hollow.
Caroline's journey of exonerating Carson becomes more than a historical investigation; it becomes a personal reckoning with her own past. As she delves into the mysteries surrounding Carson's life, she is confronted with her own demons and the interconnectedness of her history with Hemlock Hollow. The exploration of personal redemption and confronting long-buried secrets adds a profound emotional layer to the narrative.
The prose in "Hemlock Hollow" is evocative, capturing the essence of the hollow and the emotions of the characters. Holderfield's writing style is immersive, drawing readers into the world of the novel and allowing them to experience the haunting beauty of the setting alongside the characters.
In conclusion, "Hemlock Hollow" earns its four stars for its skillful blend of mystery, supernatural elements, and emotional depth. Culley Holderfield delivers a thought-provoking and beautifully written story that lingers in the reader's mind. This novel is a compelling exploration of how our pasts shape us and how the places we love can forever hold the echoes of our lives.
Holderfield crafts a narrative that seamlessly weaves together Caroline's present struggles with the echoes of the past. The familial cabin becomes the focal point of a ghostly connection, intertwining Caroline's life with the spirit of Carson Quinn, whose century-old journal she discovers in the attic. The revelation of Carson's love for the same hollow that captivated Caroline in her youth adds layers to the narrative, creating a bridge between two souls separated by time.
The mystery surrounding Carson's past, including rumors of a fratricide, propels Caroline into a compelling quest for truth and justice. Holderfield skillfully unfolds the story, blending elements of mystery, historical fiction, and supernatural intrigue. The author's ability to evoke a sense of place and atmosphere adds depth to the novel, immersing readers in the haunting beauty of Hemlock Hollow.
Caroline's journey of exonerating Carson becomes more than a historical investigation; it becomes a personal reckoning with her own past. As she delves into the mysteries surrounding Carson's life, she is confronted with her own demons and the interconnectedness of her history with Hemlock Hollow. The exploration of personal redemption and confronting long-buried secrets adds a profound emotional layer to the narrative.
The prose in "Hemlock Hollow" is evocative, capturing the essence of the hollow and the emotions of the characters. Holderfield's writing style is immersive, drawing readers into the world of the novel and allowing them to experience the haunting beauty of the setting alongside the characters.
In conclusion, "Hemlock Hollow" earns its four stars for its skillful blend of mystery, supernatural elements, and emotional depth. Culley Holderfield delivers a thought-provoking and beautifully written story that lingers in the reader's mind. This novel is a compelling exploration of how our pasts shape us and how the places we love can forever hold the echoes of our lives.
January 12, 2024
3.5 ⭐️‘s
Caroline McAlister is at a crossroads in life when her father dies. Finding out she’s inherited the family cabin, a place filled with memories and a place she thought was sold many years ago, she decides to take her inheritance money and rebuild it. After all it’s been neglected for so many years, it has good bones, but it’s dilapidated. Finding an old journal in the attic, Caroline is immediately immersed and sets out to find out about the mysterious Quinn’s that once lived in the hollow and built the cabin. Finding out that Carson Quinn was suspected of killing his brother (but never convicted), Caroline sets out to prove his innocence. Finding exactly the information she needs at just the right time, felt a bit too convenient as she puts everything together. As Caroline delves into the past, many questions about her own life are answered as well and puts her on the path to her own future. The journal entries were quite intriguing as we get a birds eye view into family and political life in the later 1800’s. A book that touches on love, family, racism, religion, and education with a ghost thrown in, this book was a good read. Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
Caroline McAlister is at a crossroads in life when her father dies. Finding out she’s inherited the family cabin, a place filled with memories and a place she thought was sold many years ago, she decides to take her inheritance money and rebuild it. After all it’s been neglected for so many years, it has good bones, but it’s dilapidated. Finding an old journal in the attic, Caroline is immediately immersed and sets out to find out about the mysterious Quinn’s that once lived in the hollow and built the cabin. Finding out that Carson Quinn was suspected of killing his brother (but never convicted), Caroline sets out to prove his innocence. Finding exactly the information she needs at just the right time, felt a bit too convenient as she puts everything together. As Caroline delves into the past, many questions about her own life are answered as well and puts her on the path to her own future. The journal entries were quite intriguing as we get a birds eye view into family and political life in the later 1800’s. A book that touches on love, family, racism, religion, and education with a ghost thrown in, this book was a good read. Thank you to Regal House Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.
January 7, 2025
Mountains create an atmosphere all their own, not just in terms of temperature and precipitation, but in mood, attitude and perception. Impassively, they loom and shelter, dominate and welcome, guarding the secret spaces they create in place and in mind. Culley Holderfield, who knows mountains and families well, recreates the complexity of both in his deeply discerning novel, “Hemlock Hollow.” Set among the densely forested hills of western North Carolina, Holderfield’s story takes place in both the present day and in the late 1800s, when the ancestors of a contemporary woman named Caroline lived in a cabin that she has just inherited. While overseeing renovation work on the tumbledown structure, she discovers an old journal; soon she is probing her relatives’ long-ago past, including some dark family lore about a love triangle and ghosts and one brother who was said to have murdered the other. As she ever more urgently learns about her family history and herself, it is not only her own depths and new perspectives that are revealed: Holderfield’s own keen emotional insight and sensitivity to the natural world emerge through prose as powerfully evocative as the changeling, sun-and-shadow spirit of the Blue Ridge itself.
July 9, 2024
Hemlock Hollow is a story of history, secrets, love, and most of all, personal discovery. This wise and immersive historical fiction moves seamlessly between the two lives of those forever united whom will never meet: Caroline McAlister and Carson Quinn. Caroline and, a hundred years before, Carson, share a deep love for the same North Carolina hollow and are thereby bound together through heart and locale—and Caroline’s discovery of Carson’s words. Caroline discovers that “Despite Carson Quinn’s faith in the everlasting quality of the hollow and [her] own reverence toward it, [she] was learning a hard lesson about how fickle impermanence could be.” Readers are meanwhile learning that “Any place that’s been loved is forever haunted by those that loved it” and that “every person has a place, or at least should have a place.”I especially adored Carson Quinn, as well as his interest in Socrates, Darwin, a life of the mind, and equality for all people. I also discovered that through his eyes, I was anchored to Miranda too. This moving book will secure its rightful place in your own heart and hollow. Drink pairing: cognac.
August 8, 2022
A story of places that hold memories will always haunt us.
Caroline McAlister is a college professor who is off-kilter after the loss of her father and her marriage. Everything is at a standstill.
When she discovers that her father has left her the family cabin in the hollow, little does she know it comes with a ghost. The same one that haunted her childhood. When she discovers a very old journal in the attic, she finds it belonged to Carson Quinn. Accused of killing his brother, Caroline hears something different in the journal. He loved the hollow as Caroline did. And she sets out to clear his name. That doesn't go so well.
A tale of how the places we love still haunt us.
This one was a bit slow for me.
NetGalley/ Regal House Publishing December 06, 2022
Caroline McAlister is a college professor who is off-kilter after the loss of her father and her marriage. Everything is at a standstill.
When she discovers that her father has left her the family cabin in the hollow, little does she know it comes with a ghost. The same one that haunted her childhood. When she discovers a very old journal in the attic, she finds it belonged to Carson Quinn. Accused of killing his brother, Caroline hears something different in the journal. He loved the hollow as Caroline did. And she sets out to clear his name. That doesn't go so well.
A tale of how the places we love still haunt us.
This one was a bit slow for me.
NetGalley/ Regal House Publishing December 06, 2022
March 17, 2023
After her father dies, Caroline inherits the old family holiday cabin that they used to holiday in. She has not been there for many years and while exploring the cabin she finds a 100 year old diary written by Carson Quinn, who she discovers is later convicted of murder. She finds it hard to believe that a person who loved the cabin so much and was educated enough to be able to know the Latin names for all the local flora and fauna could be able to commit such a heinous crime and so she sets out to try and clear up the mystery. Whilst doing this we see Caroline go on a journey to discover her families roots, help solve the mystery and also discover a lot about herself that she hadn't realised.
June 5, 2022
Thank you NetGalley and Mindbuck Media for the copy of Hemlock Hollow. I’m afraid this book wasn’t for me. I think that the story was really about love and loss with the murder just another example of both and I was expecting more about the murder. It felt so long with so much information about Carson and his life that I got bogged down, especially when it didn’t feel relevant to the ultimate story. I really liked how things were wrapped up in the end and I wished I had paid more attention to some of the other characters! If you are looking for a leisurely read that is mostly past diary entries I think you would love this book
September 2, 2023
When I bought this novel at a reading, the author wrote above his signature: “Haunt the places you love.” Hemlock Hollow will be a place I haunt, so richly drawn that I feel as if I’ve been there and so compelling that I want to return. The novel is more than the ghost story I expected, with elements of mystery, romance, and cultural history. It had me contemplating the places that have shaped my life, the places I’ve helped take shape, and how echoes of the past can both lead us and lead us astray. This award-winning book deserves an audience. Please haunt it, and it will haunt you back.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews