Jason Pinter

Hide Away by Jason Pinter is a very highly recommended procedural thriller and a wonderful start to a new series.

Rachel Marin is a mom to two kids who became a vigilante after an unspeakable crime shatters their lives. The novel opens seven years in the past on the day Rachel's life changed and then jumps to the present day when a mugger jumps Rachel on her way home. She expertly incapacitates him and hurries home to her children, Eric, 13, and Megan, 7. The family is now living in Ashby, show more Illinois, a small town where Rachel is hoping her kids can be safe and they can live a quiet incognito life.

When Rachel sees a news story that a former mayor of her town is found dead, most people are thinking suicide, but Rachel is one intelligent woman and she immediately figures out from the news account who the victim was, the former mayor of Ashby, Constance Wright, and that it was murder. She calls the detectives anonymously and tells them what she thinks and why. Detectives John Serrano and Leslie Tally are on the case and they track Rachel down to question her. The detectives resent her involvement in the case, but Rachel wants justice for Constance and can't leave it alone.

I'm just going to admit that once I started this thriller I stayed up way-too-late reading "just one more chapter" to finish it. I really like the character of Rachel and I liked the flashbacks that explained how she made herself into the woman she is today. Yes, she is a vigilante, but she ultimately is trying to seek justice to protect others from harm. We also won't learn exactly what the trauma was that changed her life until the very end. This means there are two cases being followed in the narrative - the present day murder mystery and the mystery about Rachel's past.

The writing and plot development is exceptional. All the characters are well-developed and have backstories and an emotional depth to them. The plot is fast paced, the suspense is relentless, and chapters set in both the present and past are equally compelling. I like the complexity of the plot and had no trouble following what was happening in both timelines. Hide Away is an extraordinary start to a new series and I can't wait until the next book is released. (Normally I read and review closer to publication dates, but my ARC initially had an earlier publication date.)

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Thomas & Mercer.
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If you're in the mood for an "I wanna finish this in one day cos I have to know what happens" thriller, with a mom-turned-vigilante-after-a-trauma as the heroine, working with or sometimes around a pair of talented detectives (a divorced older white male with a tragic past and an addiction to "Lord Of The Rings" and a younger black female with a new wife and her children from a previous marriage), who are hunting down the people who killed the former mayor of a small American city, then show more "Hide Away" will give you everything you need.

I consumed "Hide Away" in a few sittings in one day and was always keen to get back to it. It's an entertaining read, with a plot that I enjoyed seeing unravelled, enough action to keep it interesting, and a clever use of flashbacks and past secrets that kept the tension high and the pace fast. There is violence but none of it is gratuitous. The emotional punches in the book aren't subtle but they work. The dialogue is well done and the prose never gets in the way.

I was cheering for the heroine by the end and I liked the way the whole thing worked out. It gave me some surprised but it didn't cheat and it seemed mostly plausible. If this was TV, the show would be an instant hit.

This is the first in a new series. It was published in March 2020, so I guess it will be awhile before the next book comes out but when it does, I'll be waiting for it.
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This book can be read on two levels.

1) on a fictional level, this book takes you on a journey through murder, fire, con men, video games, and the future of true crime. I found myself shocked multiple times throughout as the story unraveled and I found out what was hiding behind every door (or tunnel). It’s dystopian, it’s haunting, it’s culty, it’s just SO GOOD. I read it in less than 24 hours, staying up late and sneaking in a few pages here and there on my bathroom breaks at show more work!!

2) on a social commentary level, this book is truly about a reckoning for true crime “fans.” As technology continues to advance, will podcasts, books, and tv shows be enough? Why study them in 2D when you could live them in 3D? True crime is largely no longer about honoring victims and studying psychopaths so we have more knowledge of the future, it’s about reverence for serial killers and trampling over victims and their families. Now I know (I KNOW) there are people saying “oh that’s not me, never me!” Then I invite you to really examine your viewing and listening habits. Is the content you’re consuming informing or is it really just vouyerism and entertainment at the cost of people’s lives? After reading this book, I know I’m going to be more critical of what I consume related to true crime.

Thank you to Pinter for manifesting such an addicting and deeply disturbing world for me to dive into. I will be coming back to this book again and again. show less

The only thing Rachel Marin was missing was a SuperWoman costume. This is one extraordinary woman, but as smart as she is stupidity shares her space. Why would any sane woman who has been traumatized beyond reason repeatedly put herself and her children in harm’s way?! Because she can and she does, over and over again. Dogged determination to right a wrong beyond what any reasonable person would do. And that my friends was the tipping point into unbelievable and unrealistic for me.

My hope show more is that in the future installments of the Rachel Marin character she is drawn with a more overall intelligent perspective and allowed a modicum of normalcy. The mystery was well thought out while the details were overwhelming but informative. Sometimes contradictions work well and I think this was the case.

I enjoyed the book and thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy show less