She has to remind herself how to be acceptably feminine, which is not an easy task for someone who grew up a tomboy and now works a job that has always been a man’s role. In the midst of this time-consuming investigation, Lily is also worrying about her election and struggling with pressure from her mother and others to maintain her role as a woman in town. Finding out who the old lady was and why she died the way she did is Lily’s first priority. Or was she pushed? The deceased is dressed in only a nightgown with rags tied on her feet. The action of The Hollows opens when Lily is called out to investigate the death of an elderly woman who had fallen from atop a tunnel onto an oncoming train. The Hollows is a strong standalone novel, however, so don’t feel like you have to wait to read The Widows first.
Like Louise Penny’s Three Pines series, readers get to know different characters in each book and come to have a deeper understanding of scenes and relationships as the series develops. That’s the beauty of having a series based around characters in a small community. Characters that were minor in the first book now take a more prominent role, while those that were major now provide background support. Many of the characters from The Widows are back in The Hollows. Montgomery explores how they impact both individual lives and the larger community. The mystery at the heart of The Hollows is infused with issues of race, gender, and mental health. Her competition is Perry Dyer, a man who believes a woman’s place is in the home.
The Widows is a gripping read centering on Lily’s struggle with the death of her husband, assuming the role of sheriff, and dealing with local coal mining problems.īook two picks up a year later when Lily, like her real-life inspiration, has to run her first election campaign to keep her position as sheriff. Lily is based on Ohio’s first female sheriff, Maude Collins, who was appointed to the position in 1925 after her husband was shot while arresting a man for speeding. The first book in the series, The Widows, introduced readers to Lily Ross, who is appointed sheriff after her husband is killed in the line of duty. The Hollows is Jess Montgomery’s second book in the Kinship historical mystery series set in Southern Ohio. The Hollows by Jess Montgomery is the second book in the Kinship series, a powerful, big-hearted, and exquisitely written follow-up to her highly acclaimed debut, The Widows.
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