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Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Release Date: August 4th, 2020

336 Pages

Synopsis: Odessa Hardwicke’s life is derailed when she’s forced to turn her gun on her partner, Walt Leppo, a decorated FBI agent, who turns suddenly, inexplicably violent while apprehending a rampaging murderer. The shooting, justified by self -defense, shakes the young FBI agent to her core. Devastated, Odessa is placed on desk duty pending a full investigation. But what most troubles Odessa isn’t the tragedy itself—it’s the shadowy presence she thought she saw fleeing the deceased agent’s body after his death.

Questioning her future with the FBI and her sanity, Hardwicke accepts a low-level assignment to clear out the belongings of a retired agent in the New York office. What she finds there will put her in the trail of a mysterious figure named John Silence, a man of enormous means, who claims to have been alive for centuries, and is either an unhinged lunatic, or humanity’s best and only hope against unspeakable evil.

The Hollow Ones isn’t quite as good as the authors’ previous joint venture, The Strain Trilogy, but I do think it’s a promising start to this new series. The biggest issue I have is with the character of John Silence. As a fervent fan of The Pendergast Series, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, Silence shares far too many similarities to Aloysius Pendergast, the enigmatic FBI agent, including living in the same building and driving the same style of car. Once more of his backstory is revealed, there are some differences, but I still found it off putting, especially in the beginning. Thankfully, I loved the other two main characters, Odessa and Solomon, and enjoyed reading how Silence came into and effected both their lives. I thought the plot itself very imaginative and quite frightening, and it kept me turning the pages. I’m hopeful that as Silence’s backstory is fleshed out even more in subsequent novels, the shared traits between him and Pendergast won’t be as noticeable. I assume from the ending The Hollow Ones is the first book in a planned trilogy or series, so I will definitely be checking out the next book.