Chapel Hollow
#5114.01 adjusted 3.99 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Unfinished 1993–2006 Reading commitment Medium Nina Kiriki Hoffman Last reviewed 2026-11-02
Overview
Chapel Hollow is a modern-day fantasy series by American writer Nina Kiriki Hoffman, set mostly in Oregon. It centres on the Bolte Family, whose members use inherited magic and live among spirits and ghosts. The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993) follows Tom Renfield, who can see ghosts, after he meets Laura Bolte and is drawn into her clan at Chapel Hollow. The Silent Strength of Stones (1995) tells of a teenager at a mountain lake who meets a family with similar gifts, and Spirits That Walk in Shadow (2006) follows a college freshman from the Family. The three novels can be read in any order. Hoffman has added a later short work in the same setting, and no further novels are announced.
Urban fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
Chapel Hollow Nina Kiriki Hoffman
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Thread That Binds the Bones; First novel of the Chapel Hollow series. | 1993 | 1 | core | 4.00 (1,296 ratings) |
 | The Silent Strength of Stones; Companion to the first novel, set in the same world rather than continuing its plot. | 1995 | 2 | core | 4.08 (798 ratings) |
 | Spirits That Walk in Shadow | 2006 | 3 | core | 3.94 (713 ratings) |
Three novels about the magical Bolte Family in Oregon, loosely connected rather than sequential.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Chapel Hollow? Chapel Hollow's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for Chapel Hollow? Publication order, starting with The Thread That Binds the Bones. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Chapel Hollow finished? Unfinished (1993–2006).
- How much reading does Chapel Hollow take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is Chapel Hollow ranked? #511 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,807 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #511?
Ranked #511 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.01 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (2,807 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 3 rated core books rate within 0.14 of each other.
- 0.02 behind #510, Dragon Sword and Wind Child.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 3 books · Unfinished · 3k ratings · Ranks #511 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length urban fantasy universe.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993)
- The Silent Strength of Stones (1995)
- Spirits That Walk in Shadow (2006)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.01 across 2,807 ratings on 3 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 28 universes; Greyhawk gains three novels; 2 candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-02
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Fantastic Fiction Chapel Hollow Tier 2
- Green Man Review Tier 2
- Worlds Without End Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-02
Rule: Core Canon = the three Chapel Hollow novels, from The Thread That Binds the Bones (1993) to Spirits That Walk in Shadow (2006); the 1995 omnibus Common Threads and the 2018 novelet The Spirit in the Clay are excluded.