# Tariq Ashkanani on The Hollow Boys: Crime, Horror and Dark Small-Town Secrets Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-small-town-secrets Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-small-town-secrets.md Podcast: [Quick Book Reviews with Philippa Hall](https://stenobird.com/podcast/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832) Published: 2026-05-11T00:01:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/quick-book-reviews/episodes/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-sma Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/6087d3aca4a81031ba098a59/e/69f23c58ae2fba210fcf3175/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832/episodes/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-small-town-secrets Duration seconds: 2730 ## Resource In this episode of  Quick Book Reviews , Philippa talks to  Tariq Ashkanani  about his latest novel  The Hollow Boys , a dark, atmospheric blend of crime, horror and small-town mystery. Set in the fictional Appalachian town of Aurora,  The Hollow Boys  begins after two boys go missing. Ten months later, one boy returns — but claims he is the other boy. What follows is a chilling investigation into identity, memory, fear and the secrets buried beneath a dying town. Philippa also reviews three very different books: Dissection of a Murder  by Jo Murray Bloom  by Delilah S. Dawson The Magic Faraway Tree  by Enid Blyton In this episode Tariq Ashkanani on  The Hollow Boys How crime and horror overlap Writing dark, atmospheric fiction Why setting can become a character Small towns, secrets and creeping dread The influence of books such as  Red Dragon Writing while balancing another career Why publishing can move so slowly Podcasting, author interviews and literary festivals Philippa’s spoiler-free reviews About The Hollow Boys The Hollow Boys  is a tense, unsettling mystery about two missing boys, one impossible return, and a town haunted by what lies beneath it. Perfect for readers who enjoy: crime fiction horror-tinged thrillers dark small-town mysteries eerie atmosphere missing person stories morally complex characters Books reviewed Dissection of a Murder  – Jo Murray A gripping legal thriller with courtroom tension, secrets and a compelling murder case. Bloom  – Delilah S. Dawson A book that begins with cosy romance energy before taking a shocking turn into full horror. The Magic Faraway Tree  – Enid Blyton A nostalgic return to Moon-Face, adventure, peril and childhood reading magic. Books and au… ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832/episodes/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-small-town-secrets/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/quick-book-reviews-with-philippa-hall-183832/tariq-ashkanani-on-the-hollow-boys-crime-horror-and-dark-small-town-secrets.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.