The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani

 

Ten months after two young boys went missing, suspected to have drowned in an ice-cold lake, one of them returns home. However, he claims he's not the person everyone knows him to be.

From the opening chapter of The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani you get an ominous feeling. You are never quite sure if this is a tale of evil perpetrated by an individual or something supernatural. There is something that seems to lurk at the periphery of the narrative, keeping you wondering and on edge as you read.

Set in a small, rundown town in America, already dealing with the downturn in industrialisation and facing devastation in the next decade as an underground coal seam burns out of control. Into this mix comes Emily Yates, a grieving mother, whose son, Danny, and his best friend, Will, died in a lake ten months earlier. The bodies of the nine-year-old boys have never been found, adding to the lack of closure for everyone concerned. Emily's mental state is fragile, frequently exploited by a local practitioner of Hoodoo. Believing that she can bring back her son, Emily performs a ritual, one which is incomplete. Suddenly, Danny stumbles into town, but Emily is warned, "There is a reckoning coming," ........ "a blood debt that needs settling."

This sinister warning, and the mysterious events which follow, keep you on edge. The author has managed to tread a fine line between reality and the supernatural. I was never quite sure which way the story would turn. There were instances, particularly late at night, where I was reluctant to read on (but I did anyway, as I was desperate to know the truth).

Desperately trying to figure out what happened to Danny is Chief of Police John Deacon. Deacon is a sympathetic character; open-minded, determined, empathetic, and someone who believes in the community he works tirelessly for. Supporting Deacon are some great characters; I particularly liked Kasey. You can feel the apprehension of the local police when two FBI agents arrive, but they prove to be supportive; their only interest is to uncover what happened ten months ago and find the boy who is still missing.

As for whether there is a supernatural element to the disappearance of the boys, you'll just have to read the book yourself and find out. The conclusion is tense and heartbreaking. The open-ended nature of the fate of one character in particular leaves the end of the book on an equally menacing note to its opening.

The Hollow Boys by Tariq Ashkanani will be published on 14th May 2026 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Viper for a review copy.

Author Details

Tariq Ashkanani is a writer based in Edinburgh, Scotland. His debut thriller, Welcome to Cooper, won the Bloody Scotland Debut Award and was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger. The Cooper-verse continues in the prequel novel, Follow Me to the Edge. His latest book - THE MIDNIGHT KING - won the Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Award. When he's not writing, his dulcet tones can be heard interviewing other writers on the podcast Page One, which he co-hosts.