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HOLLOW MAN is definitely not a Hugo Marston book, although both that series and this newest standalone are written by the same author, Mark Pryor. In this departure, Pryor's authorship is evident in the way the reader is transported to a different place. While in the Hugo Marston series, the distant location is usual Paris and its environs, in this new book the reader is taken inside the head of a sociopath. In all of Pryor's books, the terrain (whether geographical or psychological) is exquisitely brought to life, so it is not surprising that the author is able to do the same in such a different context.
The "hollow man" of the book is a sociopath who has become successful in life by mimicking the emotions and empathy demonstrated by others, whom he calls "empaths." While Dominic doesn't experience any empathy directly, he does experience emotions that relate to himself, such as anger, disappointment, and lust. He uses his intelligence to build a façade of empathy, and he has mastered the outward appearance of outward-facing emotions without ever feeling them. This is the hollowness inside. As the book begins, Dominic is having a very bad day – he is notified that his parents have died, he is removed from his job as a prosecutor to work in juvenile court, and he is fired from his nonpaying after-hours job as a musician. All of these events spur him to acts of retribution that swirl around one another and provide the force behind the narrative of the book.
The book employs Pryor's signature twisty plot structure, with it being unclear from moment to moment where it is actually leading…or, at least, how it's going to get there. While the Marston books have similar convoluted plot structures, Dominic's nature fuels the twists and turns in HOLLOW MAN, giving the reader cause to question who is scamming whom. Near the end of the book, Dominic refers to the movie, The Sting, and this book is reminiscent of that movie…as well as reminiscent of the Dexter TV shows. In HOLLOW MAN, Dominic and two other men decide to commit a robbery and end up committing a double murder. The robbery/murder scene is dramatic, but the consequent attempts by all three to keep safe from jail and the death penalty comprise the bulk of the book. The other two men have no idea what they are dealing with as they plot with and against Dominic, so the reader has a somewhat better guess at where this is heading than they do.
The intensity of the plot, combined with the uniqueness of its main character, kept me fully engaged even though the description of the book didn't immediately appeal. Having read and loved all of the Hugo Marston books, I was willing to give Pryor's new departure a go. I was very glad that I did so. I found myself up much later than I should have been, reading through to the end to find out where all the twists and turns would lead. HOLLOW MAN was, in the end, a fascinating study of a sociopath's ability to manipulate and function in our “normal” world.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, October 2015
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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