Hidden by Emma Kavanagh

Out Now
Published by Cornerstone
Purchase from Amazon here

The Blurb:

A gripping psychological thriller by a former police psychologist. Perfect for fans of Nicci French, Tana French and S. J. Watson.


HE'S WATCHING

A gunman is stalking the wards of a local hospital. He's unidentified and dangerous, and has to be located. Urgently.

Police Firearms Officer Aden McCarthy is tasked with tracking him down. Still troubled by the shooting of a schoolboy, Aden is determined to make amends by finding the gunman - before it's too late.

SHE'S WAITING

To psychologist Imogen, hospital should be a place of healing and safety - both for her, and her young niece who's been recently admitted. She's heard about the gunman, but he has little to do with her. Or has he?

As time ticks down, no one knows who the gunman's next target will be. But he's there. Hiding in plain sight. Far closer than anyone thinks...


My Review:

The opening chapter of Hidden plunges us straight into action, with a gunman having just been on a shootout in the local hospital. There are a number of dead and injured. But who is the gunman and why has he gone on a rampage? Those are the magic questions that as a reader we spend the rest of the book trying to suss out.

I found the book really cleverly written and captivating. After the opening chapter we are cast back in time to five days before the shooting, and the rest of the book tells us the story from each characters perspective in the lead up to the event. The best bit is that we don't know who the shooter is, and as we get to know the characters I started to have suspicions about most of them and was desperate to know if I was right...which I wasn't!

In some ways this book reminds me of The Girl on the Train, in that it jumps between characters, we don't know who the gunman is, and there are secrets and subplots which all serve to build a gritty and compelling read, and had me donning my Detective hat.

This is the first book I have read by the author and I fell for her style of writing straight away. Her descriptions and ability to bring the key characters to life kept me up reading way past my bedtime.  I found it easy to get into character in each chapter and felt myself connecting and feeling empathy for some whilst not really liking some of the others, which I think is the authors intention.

What did I like? The fact that I didn't to put it down, and kept saying to myself 'just one more chapter'. I also found myself going 'ooh' out loud quite a lot as I thought I was piecing it all together, only to be thrown off in another direction by the end of the next chapter. There are twists and turns as we get to see each character more that definitely threw me off the scent.

I loved Charlie, the local reporter. Whilst seeming to me to be quite ballsy there is also something caring and moral about her, and she felt like one of life's good guys. I loved the way her character bought humanity and love into the storyline, and I am hoping to see her in another of Emma's books. I must also say that I loved seeing such a great thriller set in the UK rather than America. I found I really easy to visualise the scenes and it felt even spookier to think of it happening locally.

This book is definitely a gripping psychological thriller which had me on the edge of my seat and had me glued until the last page. I will definitely be hunting down more of Emma's books to read. Oh and sorry to my family who were driven mad as I went round trying to solve who dunnit!

Thank you to Cornerstone who kindly provided a copy in return for an honest review.