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The Hollows

Daniel Church
Chapters (77)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. PART I
  6. 1.
  7. 2.
  8. 3.
  9. 4.
  10. 5.
  11. 6.
  12. 7.
  13. 8.
  14. PART II
  15. 9.
  16. 10.
  17. 11.
  18. 12.
  19. 13.
  20. 14.
  21. 15.
  22. 16.
  23. 17.
  24. 18.
  25. 19.
  26. 20.
  27. 21.
  28. 22.
  29. 23.
  30. 24.
  31. 25.
  32. 26.
  33. 27.
  34. 28.
  35. 29.
  36. 30.
  37. 31.
  38. 32.
  39. 33.
  40. 34.
  41. 35.
  42. 36.
  43. PART III
  44. 37.
  45. 38.
  46. 39.
  47. 40.
  48. 41.
  49. 42.
  50. 43.
  51. 44.
  52. 45.
  53. 46.
  54. 47.
  55. 48.
  56. 49.
  57. 50.
  58. 51.
  59. 52.
  60. 53.
  61. 54.
  62. 55.
  63. 56.
  64. 57.
  65. 58.
  66. 59.
  67. 60.
  68. 61.
  69. 62.
  70. 63.
  71. 64.
  72. 65.
  73. PART IV
  74. 66.
  75. 67.
  76. 68.
  77. Acknowledgements

Front Cover

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Title Page

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Copyright Page

ANGRY ROBOT

An imprint of Watkins Media Ltd

Unit 11, Shepperton House

89 Shepperton Road

London N1 3DF

UK

angryrobotbooks.com

twitter.com/angryrobotbooks

A pale, thin hand

An Angry Robot paperback original, 2022

Copyright © Daniel Church, 2022

Cover by Kieryn Tyler

Edited by Simon Spanton and Andrew Hook

Set in Meridien

All rights reserved. Daniel Church asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Sales of this book without a front cover may be unauthorized. If this book is coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed” and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.

Angry Robot and the Angry Robot icon are registered trademarks of Watkins Media Ltd.

ISBN 978 1 91520 238 3

Ebook ISBN 978 1 91520 239 0

Printed and bound in the United Kingdom by TJ Books Ltd.

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Dedication

Dedicated to Debbie Pearson and Gus Lambert, without whom this book would not exist.

PART I

PART I

Came the dread Archer

19th December

Sunrise: 0817 hrs

Sunset: 1549 hrs

7 hours, 32 minutes and 38 seconds of daylight

1.

1.

White sky stretched from Wakeman’s Edge, across the wedge-shaped valley of Thursdale, to Slapelow Hill. Drystone walls and bare black trees marked the blanket of snow; nothing broke the silence. The only signs of life were a police Land Rover parked halfway up the hill road, and a policewoman in a grey fur hat, peering over the crash barrier.

Ellie crouched and squinted down the slope. The man lay on one side, doubled up around the base of a tree in the beech coppice below. He wore a donkey jacket, jeans and Wellington boots, dusted by the snow that clogged his tangled hair and covered his upturned face.

The air was clear and sharp, the afternoon cold and still.

The two hikers who’d called it in were huddled together in the back of the Land Rover. Only idiots went blundering around the Peaks in this weather; at least stumbling over the corpse had stopped them from getting lost in the snow while Ellie and Tom Graham spent the night out looking for them. Or adding two more bodies to this year’s total, because some idiot always thought he or she knew better – especially, for some reason, when it came to this part of the Peak District. It was usually hikers who came to grief, although a couple of years ago some amateur archaeologist looking for the ruins of Kirk Flockton had drowned in the marshes on Fendmoor Heath. Every year, it seemed, there was always at least one.