Customer Reviews

Hide, Large Print

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(61)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I found this book to be an easy, enjoyable read. It pulled me in right from the beginning. It alternates between first and third person narratives which I normally find somewhat annoying but I think really added to the character development in this story.

Annabelle is at the center of the mystery. Her family has been on the run as long as she can remember but from what? When her father, obsessed with keeping his family safe, dies, Annabelle is left with only questions about her past and the unknown threat from which she has spent her life running.

Bobby Dodge is the detective brought into consult on gruesome discovery on the grounds of the long-defunct state mental hospital. A piece of evidence at the scene ties Annabelle to what remains of a horrible crime. Discovering Annabelle's identity and how she is related to this crime is what drew me in.

The plot, while somewhat complicated, never gets terribly convoluted and things are tied up neatly in the end. I felt like the conclusion, though satisfactory, was a little rushed and a little too neat. However, the characters were enjoyable and it was a light, quick read. I'd recommend it as a great vacation/beach read. It was never slow and there is some light handed romantic interest that never goes over the top. Just enough of everything, I'd say to be an all-around good read.

You can run, but you can't hide - at least not forever. That's what decorator Annabelle Granger learns when, after 25 years of changing homes and changing names, she returns to Massachusetts where all the madness began. It's obvious to Annabelle that her parents were protecting their family from something or someone, but never once did they reveal the reason why, and now both have died. Shortly after establishing herself in Boston, Annabelle reluctantly becomes involved in helping the police with a 20 year old serial killer case. The deeper they delve, the more danger she's in.

Author Gardner manages to spring a few surprises in this thriller. Ultimately, the resolution owes more to luck (bad luck) than to solid evidence, but the ending is fairly satisfactory. Read this and you'll never view an abandoned mental institution in the same light again!

Lisa Gardner's work is most easily classified within the thriller genre. But in her new novel, she infuses a solid, complex mystery into the plotline, nicely balancing excitement --- make that terror --- with whodunit elements to create a work easily accessible to fans of any genre. HIDE is much more than a nominal sequel to ALONE; it is a deliciously creepy tale that begins with a crime scene so startling and horrific that it resonates throughout the book.

HIDE marks the return of Massachusetts State Police Detective Bobby Dodge and his former partner, Boston Police Detective D.D. Warren. Despite Dodge's newly minted position, Warren brings him into a Boston investigation. The crime scene --- a vision of nightmares that will shut you down --- is reminiscent of the Richard Umbrio case that figured so prominently in ALONE. As the result of evidence found at the current scene, one of the victims is tentatively identified as Annabelle Granger.

Thus, Dodge and Warren are baffled when a woman shows up in their office and identifies herself as Granger. She relates the story of a life lived on the run, with her family changing residences and identities on an annual basis, crisscrossing the country as if being pursued by an omnipresent, unknown tracker.

Dodge and Warren's investigation is further complicated by the fact that Granger bears an uncanny, startling resemblance to Catherine Gagnon, who as a child was one of Umbrio's kidnapping victims. Gagnon grew up into an exotic, enigmatic lady who may have manipulated Dodge into shooting her husband.

Another issue is the slowly blossoming, if reluctant, attraction between Dodge and Granger. Dodge struggles with the impropriety of a relationship with a subject he is charged with protecting, and possibly investigating. Granger finds that she is experiencing emotions long gone cold, if ever felt at all.

Gardner keeps the plot wheels slowly but steadily moving toward a cataclysmic conclusion that ties up the apparently irresolvable plotlines with a plausible and unpredictable explanation.

While built upon the foundation of ALONE, HIDE stands firmly on its own. Primarily character driven --- the crime scene at the beginning is over two decades old, and most of the violence in the book is confined to one scene --- HIDE is part puzzle, part romance and all good. Don't miss this one.

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Bobby Doyle is a Mass. State Police Detective. He's called out to the scene of a gruesome mass murder that took place in the grounds of the old State Mental Hospital. Six bodies of children are found in an underground chamber. It is estimated that the crime took place over twenty five years ago.

One of the bodies is identified by a chain around her neck wih the name Annabelle Granger. However, a woman who read about the crime told police that she was Annabelle and that she had given the locket to her friend, Dori Petracelli, when she was seven years old.

Annabelle also bears a striking resemlblance to Catherine Gagnon who Bobby met at a hostage scene. When she was younger, she had been captive in an underground chamber but was rescued by hunters who heard her cries. Later, in the hostage scene, events occurred that saved Catherine but Bobby questioned if the entire scene had been staged and that he may have been set up.

The reader learns the background of why Annibelle had been targeted by a preditor and what happened next.

Bobby Doyle is a well described character. He is brave but has a conscience and worries if his actions are always the most appropriate. He is easy to sympathize with and enjoy.

Lisa Gardner creates suspense as if she were a chef, putting the ingredients together for a feast. The momentum increases as we near the conclusion of this well crafted plot. In addition, the author gives her readers a surprise toward the end which pulls everything together in a professional manner.

Highly recommended.

This was my first Lisa Gardner book, and I read it quickly. It was fast paced, interesting--a real page turner. However, the ending made absolutely no sense. Another reviewer termed it perfectly: "contrived." It was as if the author had run out of steam and needed to finish the book, so she threw something out there. *SPOILER ALERT*--What frustrated me the most was how Annabelle's highly "intelligent" father, was unable to track down his brother after he shot him in the head. Also, it would seem that someone shot in the head would probably suffer brain damage, so why would "Russell" think that his brother was still a threat, and instead of running from "Tommy," why not search for him?! But the most illogical "surprise," was how "Ben" coincidentally found Annabelle and "knew" it was her. Non-sensical, I say! Other than the disappointing ending, this was a good read.

Here's a suspense novel that lives up to the word. Bobby Dodge and D.D. Warren, the two main cops in Gardner's series, are called to the grounds of a mental hospital where a grim discovery has been made--the secret underground lair of a long-ago serial killer of little girls. The hospital was closed years ago, and the killer was never caught. The gruesome evidence in the bunker includes an old locket on the remains of one victim. The name on the locket is Annabelle Mary Granger. Imagine their surprise when a grown woman arrives at their police station, claiming to be the owner of the locket! That's just the beginning of this gripping mystery, and believe me, things are going to get even more exciting. (Did I mention that the killer was never caught?)

This is the first book I've read by Lisa Gardner, and she has a new fan. If you love thrills and chills as much as I do, lock the door and bolt the windows and settle in for a fascinating read. But remember--there's nowhere to HIDE.

I enjoyed the book but found it implausible that instead of unfolding the truth with all the facts in place, new information was added when convenient to make the action plausible. That was the biggest let down. The new info wasn't added in a creative way that added to the storyline. New info was just thrown in toward the end - like an unstable uncle that we never heard of before.

The author maintains her high level of twists and turns in her latest novel. Annabelle Granger remembers leaving home at age seven and moving to Florida with her parents using assumed names. She remembers similar escapes to Arizona, St. Louis, Virginia, and other places. Once her mother dies, Annabelle chooses their next place, Boston. Her father is dead within 18 months. 10 years later, still in Boston, Annabelle is single, lives with her dog; too paranoid to have other friends besides the UPS man. State Detective Bobby Dodge gets called on a gruesome case, the discovery of six dead girls on the grounds of what used to be the Boston Mental hospital. Many story threads tie into one as the task force tries to locate the killer. Overall this novel has all the right elements for a terrific novel to recommend. The one minor fault was the ending, which felt weaker than the rest of the story.

The opening chapter of Lisa Gardner's "Hide" grabs the reader's attention immediately. A first person narrator named Annabelle Granger recalls the horrifying day when her father, a professor of mathematics, tells her to pack her two favorite possessions, since she and her parents must leave town. They flee to Florida, and subsequently the Grangers keep relocating, always assuming new identities and making new acquaintances. The little girl grows up in fear; her increasingly paranoid father insists that Annabelle learn self-defense, and he teaches her to constantly look over her shoulder. After the death of both her parents, Annabelle decides to settle in Boston, where she lives a reclusive life with her dog, Bella. However, Annabelle is not destined to enjoy a peaceful existence for very long.

Someone makes a grisly discovery on the grounds of a former mental hospital in Mattapan: the mummified and bound remains of six little girls, who have been underground for decades. Former police sniper turned Massachusetts state detective Bobby Dodge and tough Boston Detective D. D. Warren are members of the task force investigating the crimes. The murder scene is reminiscent of an old case that Bobby remembers all too well--that of Catherine Gagnon, who at the age of twelve was abducted and abused for a month before she was miraculously rescued.

Gardner frequently switches back and forth between Annabelle's voice and the third person; the change in perspective is often jarring. By far the most effective chapters are the ones that Annabelle narrates. She is a fiercely independent and courageous woman who remains loyal to her father, although she admits that she bitterly resented him for uprooting the family so often. Annabelle is soon involved with the Mattapan case, since there seems to be a connection between her, the dead girls, and Catherine Gagnon. In the midst of all this angst, a bit of romance may be in store for Bobby Dodge. The hunky detective, who was once involved with Catherine and D. D., now finds himself attracted to the lovely Annabelle.

"Hide" has an intriguing premise and Annabelle is a sympathetic character who has suffered more than her share of anguish. Gardner builds suspense by raising a number of questions that are not answered until the very end: Why did Annabelle's father uproot his family so often? Was he right to be frightened or did he have a hidden and more sinister agenda? What is the link between the victims found in the pit at the mental hospital and Catherine Gagnon? Unfortunately, the answers to these and other questions turn out to be extremely far-fetched, and as the book draws to its disappointing conclusion, the plot becomes more and more contrived. Gardner tried to do too much in this book and the various elements of her overheated plot ultimately fail to converge in a satisfying and cohesive way.

Lisa Gardner set up a great premise and wheezed the book to an improbable end. There is enormous promise in the primary story: what would keep a family on the run for more than a decade? Yet I found the end contrived. Given that this is a suspense novel, I don't want to say much, but I will say I have enjoyed Gardner's other books more.