Hide (Hardcover)

by Lisa Gardner (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In bestseller Gardner's first-rate follow-up to Alone (2005), Bobby Dodge, once a sniper for the Massachusetts State Police and now a police detective, gets called to a horrific crime scene in the middle of the night by fellow detective and ex-lover D.D. Warren. An underground chamber has been discovered on the property of a former Boston mental hospital containing six small naked mummified female bodies in clear garbage bags. A silver locket with one of the corpses, which may be decades old, bears the name Annabelle Granger. Later, a woman shows up at the Boston Homicide offices claiming to be Annabelle Granger. Her resemblance to Catherine Gagnon (whose life Bobby saved in Alone) helps stoke a romance between her and Bobby both subtle and sizzling. The suspense builds as the police uncover links between patients at the hospital and long-ago criminal activities. Through expert use of red herrings, Gardner takes the reader on a nail-biting ride to the thrilling climax. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* Gardner fans look out: this one will take your breath away. Near the grounds of an abandoned mental hospital, a buried chamber is discovered. Inside are six bodies, one of which may be that of a girl who has been missing for two decades--the best friend of a woman, Annabelle, who has spent her childhood moving from city to city, from identity to identity, hiding from someone or something totally unknown to her. She's been safe for several years now, but a single act of bravery plunges her right back into a life of fear. This is a rich, complex tale that juggles a handful of mysteries at once. Who is the killer, and could it be someone connected with a notorious child murderer? Who or what was Annabelle's family running from? How did her father, a mathematician, know how to set up foolproof new identities? And why does an old sketch of a murder suspect look unsettlingly like Annabelle's father? Head and shoulders above anything else Gardner's written, this riveting novel represents the author at the height of her powers. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553804324
• ISBN-13: 978-0553804324
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #328,000 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and quick read!, February 6, 2007

By	Amy Y. "Tell me, what is it you plan to do wi... (FREMONT, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "My name is Annabelle Mary Granger.", January 31, 2007

By	Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously creepy, February 8, 2007

By	Bookreporter.com (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

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