I won’t deny it- I am a fan of debut novels, and for a number of reasons. Partially, it’s getting to discover someone new, to add to the already large list of authors whose work I try to read regardless of genre or publisher. Another main reason is I simply like a different voice with a new song or a different take on an old idea. Mary Sangiovanni has been around in horror circle for a while, but this is her first novel and my first chance to read her work.

From the opening pages, SanGiovanni, sets the tension bar high by leading off with a suicide. After the killing shot is fired, she reveals, empty footsteps trailing out an open door. Her main characters are all broken people- a recovering coke-addict, a barmaid who was  molested as a child, an alcoholic and his mentally unstable younger sister, an emotion-fearing cop, and a young boy whose father died early. The common ground between them is a “man” wearing a black fedora, trench coat and gloves that comes to expose their deepest fears. This man has no face, but instead a smooth, blank canvas where its features should be.  All our characters are tormented by this creature who becomes known as the Hollower and pursue it back to its lair, the home of the novel’s opening-scene suicide. Here, they are forced to fight through their vices and fears to bond together and vanquish their enemy.

SanGiovanni avoids the standard monster-from-another-world horror cliches and turns in a very impressive debut, taking her characters through intense challenges of willpower, resolve, and strength in order to actually fight for their survival rather than curling up and submitting to the terror against which they are faced. The writing is strong, the plot solid, and the characters sympathetic in a realistic rather than exaggerated manner.

Overall, 8.5 out of 10. I find myself looking forward to SanGiovanni’s next project and hope to see it soon.