Dark Hollow Road (A Possum Gap Novel Book 2) takes place in the hills of Kentucky between Sheriff Sadie and the community nestled up in the woods that want no part of mainstream life. The mysterious and chilling case centers around two boys who have gone missing years apart. Both boys turn up in the Puissant River, missing several fingers. Sadie refuses to back down no matter how much danger she finds herself in at every turn. She gets help along the way from the coroner. Russo has recently arrived in Possum Gap from his home in New Jersey. Darcy is her friend and wants to be sheriff. Sadie tries to find answers but just manages to get herself into trouble. She is attracted to John Dover, a man who lives and is kin to the folks in the woods. She is not sure she can trust him but he seems always to be there when she gets herself into trouble.

I very much enjoyed reading Dark Hollow Road. It has crime, thrills, mystery, excitement, and friendship as its base with likable characters and an interesting plot. The ending is exciting and turns into a 'can’t put it down' page-turner. Karen Ann Hopkins described the hill country, the Amish community, and the problems between the different sets of people in a way that made them feel alive and real. Dark Hollow Road covers many genres and is just an excellent, all-round story for anyone who enjoys reading about life in the backcountry with a crime story for flavoring.

Dark Hollow Road by Karen Ann Hopkins is the second book in the Possum Gap series. Sheriff Sadie Mills is faced with a case involving a young boy found dead in a river. When this case links to an older case from a nearby town and an Amish boy also goes missing, things become complicated. The last thing Sadie needs is to be distracted, and that is exactly when she and John Dover spend more time together than she would have liked. After all, he is a Dover, and they cannot be trusted. To further complicate things, Russo, the new coroner from New Jersey, has stayed away much longer than anticipated, and when he does return, his past seems to follow him, and he knows that Sadie will eventually figure out what he is hiding from her. But first, they must fight their way out of a dire situation in the hollow, where drug manufacturing and mental illness have caused much heartache for more than one family.

Dark Hollow Road by Karen Ann Hopkins is an excellent sequel to Free From Sin. The plot is solid and well-developed. The characters are authentic and show growth, while the novel is filled with well-rounded characters and fast-paced and heart-stopping action. Sadie Mills does not have a weak bone in her body. She epitomizes the strong female lead and never backs down in her search for the truth and in bringing closure to the families of the victims she has to deal with. With each book focusing on the story from Sadie and two other characters’ points of view, the reader has deeper insight into the plot and its development. I look forward to the third book, where Sadie Mills and Serenity Adams from Bloods Rock work together.