Ok, I will admit that I had to give up on this. I actually thought it was an intriguing way of constructing a story and i would have persisted but i'm afraid I cannot deal with animal abuse in books.. i know this seems strange in a book about death but that's just me. So I wouldn't not recommend this book if.you are made of sterner stuff than me, but really books ought to come with a warning!!

Will Carver is a real master of a unique genre of storytelling with Hinton Hollow Death Trip being something of a cross between a procedural crime thriller, a documentary on the the plight of humankind, a statement that uncovers the depravity that exists in all of us just beneath the surface, and a self-help book that actually states what is blatantly obvious yet is so needed in order to jolt us in someway out of our unrelenting stupor.

Hinton Hollow Death Trip is the third in Carver’s Detective Sergeant Pace series and sees Pace return to his childhood home in an attempt to get away from himself and the aftermath of the ‘people of choice’ multiple suicide groups in the city. Pace brings Evil with him and Evil wreaks havoc in the small town, bringing to bear all that which exists just beneath the surface in horrific, violent and devastating ways.

Somehow amidst the darkness that envelops the usually sleepy town, Carver shines a spotlight on the fragility of humans, the facades and the facts that they cover up and the propensity that people have to believe their own rhetoric and self-deception. Humans are paradoxical by nature and Carver’s tale brings this to bear in the most vivid of ways.

Detective Sergeant Pace is a dark and broody character, almost a caricature in some ways. He is a sad and pathetic character in all reality, likeable because we are all Pace at times. I think that’s the starkness of this book... there’s something very pulp about it but at the same time there’s something very real, and sometimes we don’t want to look at the real. The facade is so much easier until it’s not easy anymore and the bandaid has been ripped off to reveal the scars underneath.

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Things in the small town of Hinton Hollow, population 5,120, are about to go seriously awry...

It all starts with a boy put on a train by his mother, in an attempt to keep him safe from the something that is about to visit this small town.

That something is Evil, who is travelling in the wake of DS Pace as he returns to his childhood home in search refuge from the terrible events that haunt him.

Unfortunately, Evil has a plan to occupy the attentions of DS Pace and the next five days are about to have very little to do with rest and relaxation.

Hinton Hollow is abut to become famous for the worst of reasons....

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This is the kind of book that is very difficult to review, because it follows the darkest of paths and it quite simply, is not going to be for everyone - although to be fair Will Carver goes to great lengths to let us know this is not going to be a hearts and flowers, happy ending kind of story from the start.

DS Pace is a troubled man, who is bogged down with the weight of his past deeds... and misdeeds. He seems to have been chosen by the personification of Evil to follow a dark and tortured star, and you know from the outset that very bad things are going to happen in Hinton Hollow on his return.... and happen they do. Events in this small town take on a wicked momentum with the arrival of Pace and his shadowy companion, and as Evil's plan unfolds the inhabitants are forced to dance to his dastardly tune.

The action plays out is an unusual and rather original way, as series of vignettes interspersed with the sardonic and philosophical narration of Evil himself, and we actually get to know him and his way of thinking pretty well over the course of the book. In fact, he is rather likeable in a strange way, unlike the inhabitants of Hinton Hollow, and you almost find yourself agreeing that they had it coming simply because they could have chosen to live good lives if they had really wanted to.

Coming in cold to the trials and tribulations of DS Pace, as I have by not having read the first two books (yet!), I am still not sure what to make of this unsettling tale. It is as disjointed and shocking as the twitching corpse of an RTA casualty - and yet, it is also a darkly compelling exercise in human frailty. Our tale may be narrated and the action directed by Evil himself, and yet it only takes for him to nudge the characters, sometimes with the very lightest of touches, to awaken their basest instincts and force them off the straight and narrow onto a course of action that leads to a downward spiral into depravity, murder and mayhem - it's strangely voyeuristic.

There is also something quite unnerving about the implication that the bar of what is now considered "good" in this day and age has been set so low that it does not take much to nudge even so called upstanding citizens towards the dark side, that will stay with me for a long time.

Be in no doubt, this is a chiller of a book, and parts of it are so disturbing that they are hard to read - think the combination of the insidious menace and violent happenings of a Stephen King tale and you will get the picture. If this is not your bag, then you should pass this one by, but if you are up for something quite original and discomfiting that will challenge your view of what can be done with a crime fiction tale then Will Carver's Hinton Hollow Death Trip should definitely be on your to-be-read pile.

So much fat phobia in this. Hated the way it was written, but the overall plot was okay. Disappointing from this author, as I’ve enjoyed the other books.

I am Evil.  And I have come to destroy your town.

This is my first Will Carver book and what can I say...the man has a unique way of storytelling. It's shocking, thrilling, and incredibly mindboggling.

Hinton Hill Death Trip is told by an unusual narrator with a message that if all humans were good, Evil wouldn't have a job. Evil presents itself in all forms in the quiet and quaint town of Hinton Hill. Jealousy, guilt, despair, fear, and gluttony, to name a few, are running rampant with the residents.  And a killer is wreaking havoc.  Detective Sergeant Pace comes home to Hinton Hill to get away from the city and death, but within six days the population decreases by seven people. Evil is following him. Pace feels cursed. Pace feels guilty. Pace feels Evil. 

Carver breaks the rules when it comes to crime thrillers. He inserts brilliant bits of wisdom where you least expect them while describing a horrific death in the next breath. It's hard to explain this book without giving things away. 

What I learned by reading this book is that it is probably best you read the first two books in the series before you pick this one up. I felt lost in some parts and needed more background on D.S. Pace.

This is a dark and chilling tale that has to be experienced. However, it has many triggers so it is not for the faint-hearted.  I highly recommend this one-of-a-kind, thought-provoking book that will stay with you for a long-time. You will never be the same.

Thank you to Mr. Carver for giving me the opportunity to read this book with no expectation of a positive review.