Breakfast at the Koffee Kup Kafe Anyone?...

DOWN IN THE HOLLOW by Timothy Hobbs

No spoilers. 3 stars. While Eli Stone was away, fighting in the Spanish American War...

Eli's wife, a Mexican Indian witch, seduced their only son Arlis and had an incestuous son, Jacob...

Who had a thirst for raw meat and blood...

Eli kept a ring of perpetual fire around his cellar door to keep Jacob from roaming at night in search of prey...

One night...

The thing in the cellar realized that the fire had burned out and crept out in search of any living creature to devour...

Eli reasoned he'd have to take off Jacob's head to end him...

After Jacob was lured into Eli's cabin by the promising squeals of a caged pig, Eli took an ax and lopped off Jacob's noggin...

But...

The headless corpse ran wild, while the head snapped and snarled, trying in vain to get to the meat and blood of the pig...

Fast forward: Hamilton, TX, 1926...

Adam and Donnie Cross, neighbors of Eli, discover a rotting head in a well on their land. Sheriff Stone is alerted and...

After breakfast at the Koffee Kup Kafe...

He investigates the find using a rope ladder to bring up the head and take it back to town to be examined by the local doctor...

But first...

The sheriff and doctor needed lunch at the Koffee Kup Kafe. In fact, nearly the whole town was there eating in that restaurant...

After the medical exam...

The head was taken next door to Newell, the undertaker, to have reconstruction done for identification...

But first...

Dinner at the Koffee Kup Kafe...

This story was good but slow-moving with too much time spent at the Koffee Kup Kafe, which was practically a character in this story.

Also, slowing the movement of the plot were shots and shots of liquor along with cigar smoking and napping. It was a wonder, after all the drinking and smoking, there was anyone left to die of blood loss instead of lung cancer and cirrhosis of the liver.

Not a bad novel, but I found myself skimming through a lot of fluff.42 s Marie1,003 331

So what to say about this book....

I don't even know where to start if you can believe that but I will do something just a little different on here by putting in "s" and "diss".

So a teeny-tiny backstory first:

The time setting is early 1920's (around the Model T days) and a couple of brothers along with their dog come across a decapitated head in an old well. Sheriff Bertram Stone and some of the local town folk try to get to the bottom of the mystery of why there is a head in an old well and what happened to the body.

That is about all I can hand out with a backstory without giving away spoilers.

Thoughts:

"s":

1) The book was atmospheric
2) The book was spooky in some spots
3) There was some mystery and suspense in parts of the story.

"Diss":

1) The book became repetitive in some parts of the story. Same thing over and over again of why there was a head in the well without a body.

2) The characters - I just could not get attached to them and I really didn't care what happened to them.

3) The story didn't move at a fast rate of speed - the story felt sluggish and it dragged along.

4) Eating out was the main part of the story - detailed descriptions of food that was cooked and served at the Koffee Kup Kafe. The author literally described everything that the characters were eating at the Kafe. So am I reading a cook book or a horror story?! Maybe that is all they had to do in the town was eat out - chasing heads in wells must make them hungry. lol

5) Supposedly the book is about vampires which you don't see the creatures for a long time in this book and eventually (probably near the 70% mark) things don't escalate till around that time.

Giving this book two "Headless Well Wishes" stars!2023-read-books horror-books horror-vampires ...more22 s Horror Reads337 115

Set in Texas during the early 1900s, this novel is a rip roaring story about vampires that doesn't play by vampire rules.

Really, it's the setting and characters which really gives this book a fantastic vibe. It's set in a small town and the sheriff, doc, and undertaker are all characters who make this story flow. But it's the vampires and the absolute carnage they bring that gives the terrifying narrative it's teeth (pun intended).

A headless vampire? Hey, it's not what you think but it's here and serves it's purpose within this world. And these are some vicious and extremely hungry vamps. They drain humans and animals of their blood while feasting on their flesh.

There's also plenty of surprises in store. Deaths will happen that will surprise you and, in this novel, they don't stay dead for long. Only fire or chopping off their heads can end them...or maybe not!

I loved the attention to detail with the setting. It was easy to suspend my disbelief and feel I was there in that wintery town, never knowing if I would become vampire chow along with some of the characters.

This is a fantastic historical vampire novel with great characters and an excellent narrative. I highly recommend it.4 s Kim1,037 14

This book had an interesting plot and I d it but I just didn’t really seem invested in any of the characters. I read this as part of a book club so I stuck with it and read it over a few days. As I am one that doesn’t to DNF books I would’ve finished but I probably wouldn’t have prioritized it over other books on my TBR.

This is a great concept but it is kinda of a slow build story, not really one of my favorite type of books. So not really my type of books. If you a slow plotted book this is a book for you. 6 s Wade Johnston158

A fun fast moving horror romp during the last death throes of "the wild west". In a small far off Texas town evil that has been imprisoned for years is finally going to escape its prison and all he'll will be unleashed on this small town and its ex ranger sherif who just wants to " spend his sunset years in peace and quiet". Well sherif you're in for a rude and wild awakening.

I really enjoyed this book. It's been on my radar for a few months now and I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger on it. The main characters are very well fleshed out and you really get a sense and feel for this small Texas town that "nothing really ever happens in". There were a few scenes that actually freaked me out. Yeah it falls into some tropes but it also goes places I went in NEVER imagining it would go to. I highly recommend this book. It also made me laugh SEVERAL times. These old timers in the book say the funniest things. 300-pages-or-under classic-horror contemporary-horror ...more3 s Susan Vrabel-Williams82

I d this book. A pretty good vampire story, set in 1920s Texas. It begins with neighbors, on Halloween, and escalates over the course of a week.3 s Ashley ?124 17

Best vampire book I have ever read!

I have been obsessed with vampire books ever since 8th grade me devoured the Twilight series. Fortunately, my tastes have evolved since then and I find myself craving scary, gory, blood sucking monsters. Man, did this book deliver.

This book had an excellent story line. I think the author did a wonderful job telling an engaging story, balancing the character development, and providing enough gore and description. It was the perfect combination. I found myself excited to read this book every time I found time and hating to go to bed at night. I definitely stayed up way later than I should have a few times because I couldn't put it down.

One thing what really grasped me was the family dog, Turk. I loved how we still get little updates on him throughout the book and how the author made him feel he was just as important a character as everyone else. I also think he was a great way to build suspense. His animal instincts would kick in, basically warning everyone danger was near. It would give me goosebumps.

I also LOVED how the author did his own thing with the concept of vampires. There was no hissing, glittery killers here. Not only were the things themselves its own concept, but the backstory as well. I feel everyone goes with the same recycled idea that vampires have always existed and we are just now finding out about them. The author actually gives us a whole new way of how vampires were created and how they make others. It was a brilliant idea that was not only different but it wasn't even cheesy.



I also loved the way it ended. The author didn't feel the need to wrap everything up in a perfect little bow. I am perfectly satisfied with what happened to the group of vampires and I love how the surviving characters will live in suspense going forward.

I will say that I wish there was a little more connection with the characters. I feel we get enough of their stories and information that makes me care about them, but I didn't feel any serious connections with any of them. I don't see myself reminiscing in the future over any specific character in this book. They were all more acquaintances than beloved friends. If that makes sense. I still cared for them to a degree, I didn't want anything bad to happen to any of them, but when something did happen I was , "aw man", shrugged and moved on.



Overall, I genuinely enjoyed this book. Despite the character connection lacking, I think everything else really made up for it. I wouldn't hesitate to reread this one. Out of all of the vampire books I have read, this one is my favorite.need-to-buy3 s Sarah B1,072 18

Intense Scary Fun!!

Wow! This was a fantastic story! It moves very fast, has great interesting characters and it is definitely creepy! I was a tad surprised at the path the story took but it was great fun, a slightly different spin on an old idea.. I basically read this in one sitting as it was that good. Definitely could feel the intensity in a few of the scenes where you just know some horror thing is going to happen...

This is set in 1910 and later in the 1920s. People are still using horses but there are cars now too. The author did some excellent research to write this as the time period truly comes alive with so many details. Those details make the book for real. Party lines, the beginning of electricity, kerosene lamps + candles, men wearing ankle length nightgown to bed, shotguns, people coming into town for supplies....

And yes this is a creature story. Its very supernatural in nature. And very bloody.

It moves fast. Never a dull moment in here.

I d the characters too. And I am quite happy at the end all of the loose ends were tied up. Otherwise I would not have been happy.

Definitely give this one a try - but you may want to sleep with the lights on afterwards. 3 s1 comment Kay OliverAuthor 13 books167

A sheriff near retirement is in for a hell of a ride, plunging into nightmarish depths that all begin with a well and a severed head.

I absolutely loved this book. Captivating and fast paced. The wild west setting made it all the more unique. The macabre atmosphere and writing were brilliant.3 s Kelly46

Very interesting concept for a vampire novel. The setting being in 1920's small town Texas, along with the animalistic nature of the vampires was a refreshing change from a typical vampire novel. While overall I enjoyed the book, there were some parts that dragged, and I felt myself skimming over. If this was about 50 pages less and not filled with random pointless narratives that didn't add to the story, then it would've been damn near perfect2023 2023-halloween-challenge2 s Kirsten AucoinAuthor 6 books13

Down in the Hollow is quite the book! The vivid imagery featured throughout made my stomach churn and my pulse rise more than once. The lore was a mixture of the familiar that still came off as unique. The characters are strong, and I gained a sense of connection to all of them - even down to Turk, a family dog mentioned throughout. The opening left me curious. The rest of the book certainly fulfilled that desire, as it drags you deeper into the darkness and begins to reveal its mysteries.
The story did take me a bit to get into. There's a lot of characters, and the author has a tendency to jump back and forth in the timeline of events. There also was one or two moments that felt odd enough to take me out of the story (such as the body of a young child being briefly described). However, overall, I immensely enjoyed this story and I look forward to seeing what else Timothy Hobbs writes.2023 horror-read2 s Serenity737 29

Really it!

Really enjoyed this book! Bertram, Peterson, and Newell were such good and loveable characters. It was a nice change to read a book where the characters all looked out for each other instead of being mean to each other. Well written. I loved that the vampires were animalistic instead of refined you see in so many stories. 2 s Rebecca Schaller3

Hollow

This book is awesome. It will grab your attention and keep it. You definitely want to make sure you are able to sit for an extended period of time to read it. Really hard to tear yourself away once you start.2 s Susanne19

Wow just Wow!!!!

Loved everything about this book.  I have finished it, and now sad it is over. If your into horror novels check this one out, it was great reading into a stormy night. 2 s Brad Harvey13 2

One of the best Vampire horrors I’ve read!

I am extremely glad I downloaded this book on a whim. The main characters were great, the story kept me turning the page, and the time period was a nice touch. Looking forward to more Timothy Hobbs!

2 s Gloria21 3

Best vampire book!

This is the best vampire book I've read, and that includes Salem's Lot and Interview with a Vampire. A totally great read.2 s Carrie173 19

Pretty Good

The setting of the 1930s and the interesting backstory make this a nice scary tale. Gave me a good fright. 2 s Kassandra113 5

3.5 ??
Going into this book I had no idea what kind of supernaturalness lurked beneath the surface. But of course to my not so surprise, it’s a vampire novel
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