Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris

The Hollow Man by Oliver Harris

The Hollow Man

by Oliver Harris

  • Critics' Consensus (2):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2012, 480 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

Describing London police detective Nick Belsey, hero of The Hollow Man, an enthrallingly original thriller from British crime novelist Oliver Harris - the Daily Mail declared, "He's got to be London's coolest cop." Crime fiction fans are sure to agree, especially those hooked on the novels of Ian Rankin, Peter Robinson, Mark Billingham, and Jo Nesbø. The first book in a series of tense and twisting police procedurals, The Hollow Man starts with Belsey at rock bottom, and then embroils him in a brazen identity theft scam and possible murder that could leave him either wealthy or dead. It's time to discover Oliver Harris, a new master of noir who's destined to be a big man at the scene of the crime.

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Searing ... Readers should be prepared for a mind-bending resolution that hurtles down as remorselessly as an avalanche." - Publishers Weekly

"The narrative is buoyed by good writing and piercing insights ... And is our heel-hero really a study in conflict or a have-it-both-ways fraud, true blue under a raffish surface? That's the real puzzle, and one thoughtful readers will relish." - Booklist

"A twisting spiral of lies and corruption, a pitch-perfect portrait of contemporary London, and a beguiling bastard of a hero—what a recipe for a great read." - Val McDermid, author of The Mermaids Singing

This information about The Hollow Man was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Hollow Man, try these:

  • Fagin the Thief jacket

    Fagin the Thief

    by Allison Epstein

    Published 2026

    About this book

    A thrilling reimagining of the world of Charles Dickens, as seen through the eyes of the infamous Jacob Fagin, London's most gifted pickpocket, liar, and rogue.

  • Down the River unto the Sea jacket

    Down the River unto the Sea

    by Walter Mosley

    Published 2019

    About this book

    From trailblazing novelist Walter Mosley: a former NYPD cop once imprisoned for a crime he did not commit must solve two cases: that of a man wrongly condemned to die, and his own.

  • If We Were Villains jacket

    If We Were Villains

    by M. L.. Rio

    Published 2018

    About this book

    Intelligent, thrilling, and richly detailed, If We Were Villains is a captivating story of the enduring power and passion of words.

We have 10 read-alikes for The Hollow Man, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
When No One Else Will
by Amanda Skenandore
1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
    by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
    Son of Weather Underground radicals recounts life on the run and decades of revolutionary struggle.
  • Book Jacket
    Look What You Made Me Do
    by John Lanchester
    A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
Who Said...

If there is anything more dangerous to the life of the mind than having no independent commitment to ideas...

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.