“The Hiding Place is terrific in every way.”—Lee Child From the acclaimed author of The Chalk Man comes an unputdownable psychological thriller about a man who returns home to settle old scores—and uncovers a secret darker than he could have imagined. Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang—the betrayal, the suicide—and what happened when his sister … betrayal, the suicide—and what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn’t have a choice, not after a chilling email surfaces in his inbox: I know what happened to your sister. It’s happening again . . .
Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with onetime friends who aren’t too happy to have him back in town—while avoiding the enemies he’s made in the years since—is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to the abandoned mine where his life changed forever, and finally confronting the horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn’t the day his sister went missing.
It was the day she came back.
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Apparently I missed the description mentioning this was horror. I started reading it expecting a tale of banal human evil, but found so much more…
This was a creepy tale that, even if not wholly original in premise, was very entertaining nevertheless, largely because I enjoyed the characterizations. Not the characters, mind you – many of them were odious. But the characterizations were brilliant and spot-on for the tale. From the first grim pages, the characters came alive (as it were) for me and really made this tale eerie and page-turningly enjoyable. It may be a concept that’s been done before, but if you’re going to borrow/adapt an idea, you can’t do much better than doing so from The Master.
If you’re looking for a creepy tale that you can devour in one sitting, pick this one up. Tudor has an engaging style that sucks you in, despite your desire to stay out of the dark corners…
My review copy was provided by NetGalley.
The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor, fast becoming one of my favorite authors! Story is unique, creepy, terrifying, and just like Chalk Man, filled with great twists and turns that in-the-end, all fit and make sense. Initially I was bummed that Euan Morton wasn’t the narrator, but Narration by Richard Armitage is excellent. I added him to my list of favorites. Start to finish, I loved The Hiding Place! Highly Recommended!
Joe Thorne never wanted to return to Arnhill. He’s back because he wants to settle a few scores at a school he once attended … the same school he’s just been hired to teach. He really had no choice in coming back … the letter he received made it very clear. I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR SISTER … AND IT’S HAPPENING AGAIN.
After the way things ended with his old gang–the betrayal, the suicide, the murder–and after what happened when his sister went missing … well, he had no choice. And there have been more recent murders … murders that don’t make sense.
He will learn that the worst moment of his life wasn’t the day his sister went missing …. it was the day she came back.
This was a blend of mystery, horror, and paranormal … full of twists and turns. It starts with a murder/suicide and proceeds from there. The story premise was good, although I detected strands of Stephen King’s IT and maybe just a tad of Pet Semetary. It was an entertaining read.
Many thanks to the author / Crown Publishing / Netgalley for the digital copy of THE HIDING PLACE. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
With The Hiding Place, CJ Tudor has proven that she is a true master at creating perfectly dark, highly propulsive, and tightly coiled mysteries that are utterly impossible to put down. From page one, the reader is pulled in with a gathering sense of dread, and taken on an addictive, thrilling ride to the very last page.