This is an absolute classic Sean Doyle story! Honestly, Hutson hasn’t come off the boil one bit. Instead, what we have is another slab of high-adrenaline, gritty and grim entertainment, adding a further instalment into this horror/thriller series.

As with the previous Sean Doyle books, with ‘Hollow Point’ we see this blend of the two genres coming into perfect harmony once again. A fusion of intense action blended with a dark occultist horror. It’s the arena we know Hutson work best within. Intensity coupled with an unsettling undertone. That’s what we want from a Sean Doyle novel, and that’s exactly what Hutson has delivered again.

The plot is textbook. A kidnapping of a high-profile wife, who herself has a big question mark surrounding her past. It’s something that draws connections to the previous Sean Doyle novel, ‘Testament’ (2019). Why can’t anyone find any details whatsoever about Amanda Webber’s history, other than for the last ten years when she fell into the public eye? Why is her past shrouded in so much history? It’s like she suddenly appeared from out of nowhere!

Then we have Webber himself. A billionaire who’s been purchasing ancient churches, only to tear them down, with no indication of why. Acting as a liaison between Webber and the team he’s recruited, is a man named Giles Caldwell. A formidable individual himself. Blunt, straight-to-the-point, and without a hint of bullshit. Declaring this is what Webber needs from the team. Nothing more, and nothing less. The risks are high, but then so is the reward.

We also have Nicholas Foster. A multi-millionaire in his own right. A collector of art, who believes art should be viewed and accessible to all, not locked away in storage. But it’s a painting by Gustav Lang which he’s after the most. A painting called ‘The Desolation of Oedipus’ which had been outlawed by the Catholic church at the start of the eighteenth century, stolen from a private collection in the nineteenth century, and sought after by the Nazis during the second world war. 

But it’s not the painting itself Foster is after. Instead, there’s something beneath the overpaint which he seeks to reveal. A completely different image that hasn’t been seen for more than two-hundred years.

So, we have Doyle and this mob of unlikely individuals, who’ve been recruited to bring back this wealthy billionaire’s wife. However, they’ve also been tasked with retrieving two objects that Webber needs. The sword that decapitated John the Baptist, and the dagger that blinded Saint Lucy. The sword is in New York; the dagger is in Florence.

You can maybe see the style of tale where this is all leading. A mission with many moving parts. A band of unlikely individuals, with their own unique skillsets, which don’t necessarily fit together upon first examination. However, the mission is more than just a rescue mission. There’s something far more sinister at play here. A side to it all which Webber plans to keep to himself.

The novel uses this rich eclectic cast of characters throughout its length. Doyle is obviously our main man, but alongside him we have the rest of the team, who all bring their own unique qualities to the mix. We also have Webber’s side as well as Foster’s. With all of this, Hutson weaves in a raft of aspects from Doyle’s backstory, such as with the Irish explosive’s expert – Michael Fallon – who’s IRA father was killed by Doyle many years ago. Ergo, we have a simmering relationship of ingrained disdain and rivalry between them, often fuelled through short, sharp digs from Fallon whenever the opportunity rises.

Alongside this assortment of characters, we have a latticework of subplots, weaving into each other, with the short chapters leaping from one to the next, keeping the pace at breakneck speed. Admittedly, some of these threads end up only partially fleshed-out, even with the big reveal in the last few chapters. For example, Gustav Lang’s painting feels like it’ll become a big part of the story, but almost peters out midway, to be overshadowed by the more forceful charge of the Doyle et al’s mission.

This thriller side to the story pretty much dominates the tale for the most part, until the occultist horror takes its stand in the last few chapters. Although we do get brief bouts of these darker aspects throughout. Moments when we’re reminded of the dark mind of the author, such as with the kidnappers wearing masks made of human flesh. Skin that had been flayed off two fresh corpses before the bold and brass kidnapping.

It’s all high-octane stuff. Entertaining from start to end, with so many merging threads, it keeps you on your toes throughout – utterly engaged and absolutely enthralled. Which is what Hutson does. What he’s a fucking master at.

It’s a novel that won’t disappoint. Sean Doyle doing what Sean Doyle does. Hutson has delivered!

The novel runs for a total of 263 pages.