Dark Hollows by Steve Frech

The werewolf "brings destruction to itself and all those around it. It is in his nature."

Jacob Reese, former bagman for a small time drug dealer, has gone straight. He's bought himself a coffee shop in The Hollows, a tiny town in Vermont. Once Groundworks was in the red, Jacob decided to turn a cottage on his property into a B&B, taking advantage of the huge tourist traffic in that New England area. Although he's careful about his renters, he makes a mistake when he hosts Rebecca Lowden to stay for just one night. For one thing, she looks eerily like a former girlfriend, Laura Aisling. But, he knows that despite appearances that this cannot be Laura because he knows that Laura is dead. And it all comes rushing back to him...and soon he's in the middle of a nightmare. NO SPOILERS.

The main theme of this quick read is guilt. Jacob can't escape it and can't save himself. In short, he's a mess and runs around like a crazy person trying to figure out what's going on, who's doing this, and why. Every bit as unbelievable as you might imagine, a great deal of suspension of disbelief will be required as the tale unfolds. Perhaps you will be surprised at the twists, but if you're paying attention, you'll see the setup from the start. I was engaged while reading and it kept my attention as I raced through in a couple of hours. The time shifts were interesting because of the way they were inserted into the narrative. Jacob is the main character and basically the total focus and all I could see was a man drowning under the weight of his past and his mistakes. I really didn't care for the ending but I can make a logical guess though I think I really hoped it would conclude another way. I would say this is a mystery more than anything else.

Thank you to NetGalley and HQ (HaperCollins Publishers) for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - mystery