Chapter Sample

A teaser from my internationally bestselling, award-winning novel 'The Hollows'

“Midnight opened himself to the darkness, bore the pain of its acceptance with his usual stalwart dignity, and pushed gently into the mind of one of the female victims. As always, with older memories, it was foggy. He had to concentrate hard to make it out.

‘Hey Sal! Bring us another pint will ya?’

‘Ain’t you had enough? I ain’t having you pissin’ in the corner again ‘Arry! Its scares me customers away.”

‘It ain’t the piss what scares ‘em Sal, it’s the size of me tackle!’

‘Away with ya, go on! Dirty bloody bastard.’

“She’s a barmaid, her name is Sal.”

Arthur jumped at the sound of Midnight’s voice and instinctively opened his eyes. He pushed away from the door, suppressing his fears, his detective instincts taking over.

“What else?” Arthur demanded, his notepad already in his hand.

“Wait one moment.” Midnight delved again and another memory opened to him.

“Fetch me the bucket Em, quick!’

‘You sick again Sal? You don’t look so good poppet.’

‘I don’t feel it neither, I’m dog tired.’

‘What’s the doc say? Here! Try an aim in the bloody bucket will ya!’

The memory faded in Midnight’s mind and another came into view. There was no speech and he could see nothing except for two red glowing orbs surrounded by a black void. Sal’s body jerked under his touch, her eyes flew open and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Midnight withdrew from her, her lids closed, and she stilled.

“It’s the same as before – red eyes and then nothing. She’s very sick too, her liver is damaged. I can’t do much for her.”

Arthur reached out and patted his colleague’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s not much to go on but it confirms my suspicions that we’re looking at a serial attacker.”

Pensive, and momentarily lost in his own thoughts, Midnight moved to the next bed. Here lay a man of around the same age as himself – early to mid-twenties at a guess, although a hard life had aged him somewhat. He was skinny and malnourished with patches of hair missing on[…]”

Excerpt From

The Hollows: A Midnight Gunn Novel

C L Monaghan

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