Hollowstone

Hollowstone

Life for Noah Scott changes drastically when he is accepted to Hollowstone Academy, one of the most prestigious boarding schools in the country set in the mountains of Eastern Tennessee. Within the hallowed halls of the illustrious school, Noah soon discovers that the world of the privileged is rife with social hierarchies, politics, depravity and corruption. It is also there that Noah meets his roommate and best friend, the charming and enigmatic Caleb Warner.

Tragedy soon strikes when Cal is brutally murdered in a hold-up. But when Noah is haunted by Cal's ghost, he soon discovers that the random act of violence was in fact a premeditated one.

Determined to uncover the truth and find Cal's killer, Noah soon finds that the school and its patrons have more than their share of secrets. Secrets they are willing to preserve at any cost. Through a series of prophetic dreams and visions, Noah also quickly learns that greater supernatural forces are at play. In a race against time, Noah must solve Cal's murder and uncover the truth before he's the killer's next victim.

Hollowstone is author Dennis R. Upkins Jr.'s first novel.

Tropes used in Hollowstone include:

• Action Girl: Neely. Even the local bookie's thugs are in awe of her skills.
• Arc Words: "It's all connected."
• Axe Crazy: Ryan, after Eli is murdered. But he uses a gun, not an axe.
• Bi the Way: Neely.
• Boarding School
• Break the Cutie: The constant bullying that Ryan Foster endures. And he breaks quite spectacularly.
• Bunny Ears Lawyer / Insufferable Genius: Mr. Nolan, the eccentric and misogynistic music teacher who sexually harasses his female students.
• Deep South: Averted. While they're looked down upon by the boarding school kids, the "townies" aren't uneducated, drunken, redneck hicks.
• Did Not Do the Research: "Intermediate Music Theory" apparently consists of playing jazz solos, and the first-person description of violin playing is laughably amateur. The Art of War, one of the most (if not the most) influential military strategy book in the world is attributed to 'Shang Tzu'. Not to mention the judge's response to the verdict rendered at the end of the courtroom scene; the less said about that, the better.
• Evil Gloating: Phyllis and Wallace do this toward the end of the book, when they have Noah captive and are planning to kill him.
• Ice Queen: Cassidy. She eventually defrosts.
• Fiction 500: Caleb, by way of his father, Senator Goddard.
• I See Dead People: Noah. Lampshaded with:

"This is impossible. I'm not some little white kid in a Bruce Willis flick. I don't see dead people."

• • Also, Neely.
• Mysterious Past: Caleb. Eventually revealed to be a Dark and Troubled Past.
• Our Angels Are Different: Raphael and friends.
• Psychic Dreams for Everyone: Well, for Noah, anyway.
• Rich Bitch: Phyllis Goddard, full stop. Otherwise, mostly averted.
• Rouge Angles of Satin: The book is riddled with this.
• Troubled but Cute: Caleb.
• Wanton Cruelty to the Common Comma: The book is filled with comma splices and random capitalization errors.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Poor Chris.