HIDE AND SEEK

4 stars out of 5

This is the third book I've read in the author's series featuring Detective Inspector Helen Grace. Like the others, it's fast-paced and almost riveting - I'd have been quite content if I could have read the whole thing in one sitting. But truth is, I didn't actually "like" it much. Here's why: The only setting I hate more in books and motion pictures than an Afghanistan war zone is in a prison. And guess where most of the action takes place?

But that's a personal preference that shouldn't hamper other readers' enjoyment - especially long-time fans of the series - and when it's otherwise a very good book. The real focus is a question: How is it that the fiesty Helen is locked away? Well, it appears she's been disGraced - I'm assuming the details of her situation were laid out in a book I didn't read. She's now in jail awaiting trial for a murder she didn't commit; she was framed by her nephew Robert Stonehill (or so she claims). Her old department continues to run with someone else at the helm; some of her former colleagues think she's guilty and others - like her fiercely loyal friend Charlie - are working hard to gather evidence that proves Helen's innocence. 

None of them, though, can protect her from what she's dealing with now. Leah, a woman who occupied the cell next to Helen's, has been murdered in the night. The word on the block is that she was a snitch - clearly grounds for reprisal in the eyes of other innates. And a gruesome murder it was: Her eyes, mouth and other body parts were sewn shut and her ears stuffed with an unidentified substance - yet there were few signs of a struggle. The prison security chief is convinced that Helen somehow did the deed, so Helen tries to put her investigative skills to work on finding the real killer. In the process, she takes a real beating that lands her in the infirmary. Another murder happens in similar fashion, leading Helen to believe it may be the work of a prison employee rather than an inmate.

On the outside, still another force is working against Helen - Emilia, the reporter who broke Helen's pre-jail story. The woman left her old newspaper job, hoping to cash in on her scoop - and when she learned of the first murder, she became more determined than ever to keep dogging Helen and turn up more dirt to boost her own career.

While all this is happening, Charlie keeps trying to nail Stonehill, much to the dismay of her superiors, meaning she's jeopardizing her own career. Inside the prison, though, all hell is breaking loose, with Helen squarely in the middle of the action. Will Charlie be able to find Stonehill and prove Helen's innocence in time to save her friend? It's a race to the finish, taking readers on a wild ride.

As a final note, I'll say that this book certainly can be read as a standalone, although knowing what happened previously would have helped me get more out of the experience (I skipped one or two more recent books in the series including the one immediately preceding this one). That said, it's another excellent addition to the series and I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Hide and Seek by M.J. Arlidge (Berkley, October 2017); 409 pp.

HIDE AND SEEK

3 stars out of 5


This book would, I truly believe, make an excellent motion picture - one that would keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. As a book? Sorry, but it just didn't do it for me. 

It's not the plot, which is solid even though it's not terribly original. A child is kidnapped, his parents (one of whom has a deep dark secret) are distraught, police are not doing what parents think they should, parents set out on their own to find their child against all sensible advice and chaos ensues. Rather, my difficulties come from the writing; transition that is sadly lacking (or worse, nonexistent) and way too many unclear antecedents and misplaced modifiers. Consider, for instance, this gem:

"...woman chatting to a doctor in a pink smock."

Well, as it turns out, the doctor was a guy; so no, I rather think he wasn't the one wearing pink. 

The story begins as Lana Cross thwarts the would-be kidnapper of her 4-year-old son Cooper. Before he gets away, the mystery man - dubbed "Mr. Whisper" - has the last word: "Tomorrow."

Scared out of their wits, Lana and her husband Todd pick up Cooper and leave the home they love for a small apartment in the city. For months, the kidnapper's tomorrow never comes; but convinced that someday it will, Lana determines that she, and only she, must find Mr. Whisper before he makes good on his promise to return (why, exactly, she thinks that way remains a mystery to me). She taps into a crime-scene-finder iPhone app and does some mostly futile digging around, but that all but stops when she and Todd learn they've won a free two-week vacation to an adventure park. 

That's great, they say - we need to get away (my reaction would have been more like, "Are you kidding me? What kind of scam is this?" but then it's different strokes for different folks). And surprise, surprise - once they get to the park, the worst happens: Todd, who leaves Lana to take their son on a ride, is knocked unconscious and Cooper vanishes.

Getting a call to meet up from who she assumes is the kidnapper, Lana rushes off without telling anyone, even passing on heading to the hospital to visit her seriously injured husband. But wait, there's more: Apparently, Todd isn't as bad off as the doctors think; he, too, disappears from right under their noses. From that point on, the action really begins to heat up as Lana goes her way and Todd goes his - mostly for totally different reasons (remember that deep, dark secret)?

From that point on, it's impossible to explain what happens without giving away too much. I will emphasize, though, that the last half of the book was noticeably better and for the most part held my attention quite well. For that, I'm happy; when I'm given the opportunity to read an advance copy of a in exchange for an honest review (as with this one), I make it a rule to not give up till I at least pass that point. In this instance, that worked out for the best even though overall this book really isn't my cup of tea.

Hide and Seek by Richard Parker (Bookouture, August 2017); 393 pp.