The Hollow Places, by T. Kingfisher

T. Kingfisher, the horror pen name of Ursula Vernon, is inspired by Lovecraft and is a very decent writer. She has some brilliant ideas that sometimes land and sometimes do not. This one landed perfectly, alright! Imagine a combination of Stranger Things and The Call, via whatever story about a recent divorcee and her gay male friend sharing adventures you've been subjected to recently, and you get The Hollow Places. It's "unexplainable spaces" horror, which I love, from House of Leaves to Backrooms, which then morphs into body and cosmic horror, while somehow still keeping things down to earth. It's not perfect and some parts of the experience remain opaque and unexplained, which is deliciously frustrating at times and just frustrating at others. It's also standalone, no trilogies, no cliffhangers, no promises of future closure which inevitably ends up disappointing, just a character and her story, from start to end. Bottom line: it's exactly the type of horror I love to read and it…