Hide Away

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, 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 show more 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 "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 show more 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.
thriller 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 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. show more 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

What an excellent book. Features a strong cast of characters, believable characters, that carry on in spite of their pasts. Pinter is always an enjoyable read and his characters live and breathe off the page. I liked that it showed the flaws in each of these characters but also the love they held for those close to them. Rachel is a brave strong woman who doesn't always get it right but loves her children. My one criticism is at times Rachel is portrayed as a little bit to perfect of a sleuth without any law enforcement background or training. Looking forward to more of these thrillers.
Highly recommend....unputdownable!

Cleverly plotted story about Rachel Marin, a widow with two young children who suffered unknown trauma in her past and is living under an alias in a new town. Rachel hears of the death of a previous mayor she'd met and is immediately suspicious her death isn't the suicide it appears and finds herself crossing swords at every turn with the local police investigating the crime. The plot twist is quite clever at the end and there are some interesting characters along the way.

The death of her husband and subsequent release of his killer prompts Rachel Marin to start a new life both figuratively and literally. By day, Rachel seems a "normal" single mother, but at night she trains herself in vigilante tactics.

Rachel finds it very hard to trust authority figures such as the police. She'd rather mete out her own justice to make sure that the bad things in life don't touch her, or her children, again.

In this book, John Serrano starts to break down that barrier and Rachel's children find out more about what their mother is doing when she disappears downstairs every night.

One of the best thrillers I have read in a while. Certainly ranks at the top of other writers! Anxious to get into the next one.