Hidden is the first book in Bone Secrets, the multimillion-copy bestselling series.Eleven years ago, the Co-ed Slayer murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus. Lacey Campbell barely escaped his attack, but lost her best friend whose remains were never found. As the sole surviving victim, Lacey helped send the sadistic serial killer to prison for life.Now a forensic … life.
Now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner, Lacey is devastated when she arrives at a crime scene and identifies the skeletal remains as her college friend’s.
The remains are discovered on the land of ex-cop Jack Harper. Sparks fly between him and Lacey, even as they realize that the prosecution’s witnesses from a decade ago are now being murdered one by one. All the evidence points to the Co-ed Slayer as the culprit—only, he’s long since dead. So who’s the new killer? And is Lacey next in line to die?
Golden Heart finalist Kendra Elliot combines chilling suspense and steamy romance in a gripping tale, uniting in-depth forensic knowledge with a passion for thrillers. Set in the snowy winter of Oregon, Hidden creates spine-tingling chills.
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Hang on to your hats – there is a new suspense sheriff in town. I can not express how much I loved this book. I am a huge fan of Karen Rose and when I saw her recommend this author I didn’t even think twice just bought it and started reading.
From the opening scene until the last, the words just flowed. The author flawlessly takes us on a journey that spans the course of 11 years.
There are many cast of characters. The sole surviving victim of the Co-ed Slayer who had murdered nine female students 11 years before. Lacey Campbell barely escaped but her best friend was taken and never heard from again even after he was caught and sentenced to death based on her testimony. She is now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner and is shocked when called to a scene to help identify bones that were found under an apartment that they are the bones of her friend that was taken all those years ago.
Jack Harper is a ex-police officer who happens to own the property that the remains are found on. Before Lacey figures out that the bones are of her friend there are some sparks that fly between him and Lacey. Jack who used to date one of the murdered college women and was questioned as a suspect back then and comes under the scrutiny of the press again after the body was found on his property.
Michael an investigative reporter who is also Lacey ex-boyfriend and best friend doesn’t like Jack and when he sees there’s an attraction between Lacey and Jack he runs Jack through the ringer in the paper. But his first and only goal is keeping Lacey safe and that common tread eventually make Jack and Michael allies.
Mason Callahan and Ray Lusco are with the Oregon State Police Major crimes and play a big part throughout the story.
Then we have our sick and twisted killer. Who could this killer be that is going after all the people that put the Co-ed Slayer away. It can’t be him as he died in prison.
I live to read books like this. I love the suspense and getting into the mind of the killer and watching the quest to hunt the killer down from every person from the Hero to the police.
Lacey Campbell, a forensic dental specialist is sent to a crime scene to determine the remains of a bones left in an apartment building. Little does she know until later that the bones belonged to her best friend from her gymnastic squad. Also enters ex cop Jack Harper who is put into the equation due to the fact that the building in question is owned by his family. Sparks fly between Lacey and Jack and an instant connection begins along with a string of murders that are related a serial killer who’s been dead for almost two years. Lacy becomes a target and she has Jack and a friend reporter fighting to keep her safe from harm.
As I listened to this story, I found it hard to turn off until I was finished. I became enthralled in what was going to happen next. Although I am not big on suspense romance, this was one that had me wanting more. I did like the detectives investigating the case but they didn’t really seem to be a factor in the resolution…although it introduced Callahan in subsequent novels by this author.
Overall, I really enjoyed the story which was exciting and adventurous. I have put the next book in this series on the list to be read and hope I get the same reaction as I did with this story.
Hidden is a thriller, not a mystery. The difference for me is the characters are okay but not deeply portrayed, there is a hot guy, hot babe in distress, people being killed, hot babe is marked for death and yes, there will be hot sex….although not till closer to middle of book…and yes, a happily after ending. And I get it, some people like cozy tea shop murders and some prefer ascary who did it with hot people and just let me enjoy this with maybe a piece of dark chocolate.
So you have a dental forensic lady, Lacey, who has survived a horrific event in her past. Add the ex-cop Jack dealing with an ex-girlfriends death from same event as Lacey plus a new dead body at one of his properties.
Also, a reporter, Michael, loved Lacey, and is now out to find a killer before the killer gets Lacey.
The interesting part is the convicted killer is dead, yet a body from the old crimes has just turned up. The detectives Mason and Roy are good at the job and investigate Jack, Lacey, relatives of the dead victims, and relatives of the original killer…did he have a partner, was he innocent, or copycat??
The plotting is best when the 2 detectives are in charge. The hotness is best when Jack and Lacey interact. Add Kelly, Bobby, Suzanne and the questions come up…who is the killer and why now??
Probably deserves a 4star but Lacey kind of irritated me with her trying to stay alone as help is offered….I mean, really!! Her best friend is dead, she survived an attack years ago….and now the past is back to scare her….so have her freaked out so I can get freaked out and care enough to stay up reading it….I didn’t.
First in a series and a good start but best if you care more about hotness than scariness.
I recently discovered this author and have really fallen in love with her work. I’ve bounced around the different series trying to put the interconnected books in chronological order as I hate even the most minor spoilers.
In this book forensic odontologist Dr. Lacey Campbell (who I met in a Mercy Kilpatrick book that takes place much later than this one) is called to the scene of a skeletal remains discovery and discovers a shocking truth. There, she meets Jack Harper a former cop who owns the building where the remains were discovered. As the suspense story progresses so does the relationship between Jack and Lacey.
The suspense story is intense but there are several points where the detectives involved (another cop that I met earlier in a different series) do not come off as investigative geniuses. The facts of the current crimes point to a past serial killer and the motive seems pretty obvious which also makes a likely suspect pretty obvious. It’s annoying the detectives don’t get there more quickly. Likewise, there are a couple of blatantly TSTL moments which are used to propel the storyline and I despise that.
Were it not for those few flaws this would definitely have been a five star read. I guess it bothers me more because I didn’t find these story flaws in the first series I started on. I haven’t compared copyright dates so perhaps the series I read is more recent and the story plotting has been sharpened over the years. Don’t get me wrong. This is still a very enjoyable read. It just pushes one of my pet peeve buttons so it gets a bit dinged in the review. Others may not be bothered by what bothered me. And I still definitely recommend the book and the author and I’ll be reading the next book in this series.
Hidden was a fantastic start to the Bone Secrets romantic suspense series.
Lacey Campbell barely survived an attack from the Co-Ed Slayer eleven years ago but her best friend, Suzanne, wasn’t so lucky. Now working as a forensic odontologist, Lacey analyzes teeth and bones for the state medical examiner. When she is called to a crime scene, Lacey is devastated to identify Suzanne’s remains. But Suzanne’s remains were just the beginning of Lacey’s nightmare as someone is killing witnesses who testified against the Co-Ed Slayer resulting in his death. Working with ex-cop Jack Harper, Lacey begins the search for a killer who is circling closer and closer.
This book begins with Lacey arriving at an apartment complex where a skeleton has been recently dumped under the building. Due to something left behind at the scene, Lacey identifies the remains as those of her best friend from college. From there, several people connected to the Co-Ed Slayer case begin turning up dead in increasingly disturbing crime scenes. Initially a lot of evidence points to Jack as a potential suspect to the point it becomes clear that someone is trying to set him up. One thing that did annoy me was that Lacey’s friend Michael, a reporter, would not lay off of Jack even after it was obvious it wasn’t him. Throughout the book we get chapters from the killer’s point of view which is something I enjoy in thrillers as it provides some great insight into their motives. The ending of this book was very fast paced with a lot happening in the last quarter of the book. I found the ending suspenseful and overall very well done.
Lacey and Jack’s relationship starts off as an immediate attraction on both sides although initially Lacey finds Jack to be a bit arrogant. As the killer begins picking people off, Lacey and Jack grow closer as Jack appoints himself her bodyguard due to his experience as a former cop. Jack definitely has alpha male tendencies, particularly when it comes to his need to protect Lacey. I personally don’t mind alpha male heroes as long as they don’t become overbearing, so I didn’t mind this aspect of his personality. I thought the buildup in the pair’s relationship was well done and I liked its’ progression throughout the book.
Overall Hidden was a great read and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Chilled, soon.
THIS REVIEW IS FOR BOTH THE AUDIOBOOK AND EBOOK VERSIONS
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was very intense and had wonderful action scenes. Some emotional scenes as well as a bit of humor, I would say it was perfectly balanced. There a parts that could possibly be a trigger for some people. The narrator done an amazing job with all the characters. I recommend this book.
I discovered this authors more recent books and read her newer series and now am going back and picking up on the older series. YAY me! This one starts with Lacey Campbell, a forensic odontologist who when she was in college was an elite gymnist who barely escaped an abduction though her friend didn’t and is still missing. She is called out to a site when bones are discovered and also unearth with those bones are a police badge and a necklace. The necklace she recognizes as the one her friend was wearing. This story has so many twists and turns and back story that develops throughout. What I found intriguing was characters introduced in this book are prominent in later series so hang on they do recur. Lots of questions, twists, misdirections, and even a little romance added in to keep this one moving. Definitely going to keep going on this series.
Borrowed via KU. Liked it enough to buy on Audible. This is one of those books that’s less expensive to buy the ebook & add-on the audio ($6.98 for both at the time of this review). This showed in my “recommended” because I enjoyed Robert Dugoni’s Tracy Crosswhite series. This has a bit more romance, but leans more toward Suspense/Mystery end of the spectrum.
I liked the fact that despite feeling several times I’d figured out “whodunnit” ~ it wasn’t until quite close to the end that it was revealed. The narrator was good, though a few times her speech was a little choppy. It got better as the book progressed. After she found her stride, she did a good job with all the voices & emotions that I’m willing to try another book she narrates.
This book is told from multiple POV’s and for the most part that was fine. I enjoyed getting know each character and the author did a good job of making them all unique. Sometimes I felt like maybe we could have heard from the killer a little less ~ but overall his “input” helped the suspense/plot.
I’m looking forward to more of the series. Especially Jack & Lacy’s novella.
5 Stars
Hidden is the first book in the Bone Secrets Series by Kendra Elliot. It is a fantastic romantic suspense/thriller. The story pulled me in right from word go, spinning a gripping tale full of danger, murder, serial killers, intrigue, mystery, drama, obsession, twists, discoveries, revenge, and second chances. The story is told from several points of view, so the reader gets a really immersive experience, seeing the developments from many perspectives, as well as entering the twisted mind of a serial killer.
The story has quite a psychological aspect to it, keeping me guessing the whole way through. I was suspicious of everyone and everything- anxiously reading along to try to figure it all out before the revelation/s. Ms. Elliot built the tension incredibly well, sprinkling some twists and turns, as well as quite a few disturbing and gruesome details, that had me on the edge of my seat. The intensity is high throughout the story, but there is also some emotion and humour to help give a little balance.
I am definitely hooked with this first instalment, and am set to explore the rest of the series- and then move on to Ms. Elliot’s other work/s.
Fantastic!
Thank you, Ms. Elliot!
I love all of Kendra Elliot’s books. I couldn’t put this one down. I think I drove my family crazy because I listened to it on my phone. They got tired of waiting for me to pause the book or repeating their questions whenever they asked me something.
If you like thrills, chills and twisted you will enjoy this book. Kendra delivers on books about serial killers. A must read!!