Hide

What an engrossing police procedural thriller/mystery which is well written and delightfully complex, both in plot and in the characters portrayed within. It's a little dark and morbid in parts, but that's unfortunately the reality for a homicide detective in the Windy City.

The character work really stands out in this novel. Just like the real world, if you've lived long enough, particularly in the type of job Foster, our main protagonist, is in you'll bring a significant amount of baggage wherever you go; which in turn makes you who you are today. The author does an excellent job of allowing you to see the different facets of both Foster and the other characters within, allowing you to really get a sense and understanding of what motivates them, for better or for worse. The quality of writing here is to be commended. It cannot be understated how impressed I was with how deep the author was able to convey many characters' motivations, backstories and personalities in a relatively short novel. There was very little wasted literary real estate here, and everyone has their issues to contend with.

With that said, I certainly feel there's room for a little more when it comes to certain characters which I will presume will continue to be a fixture in future books of this series. One character in particular came across as quite one dimensional and played into a certain stereotype, to the point of almost unbelievably in some scenarios. It was particularly stark given that most other characters were a lot more complex. I'm interested to see further character development maybe later in the series and to get more of an insight into their backgrounds, which I'm almost certain will come given the author's attention to detail when it comes to her characters.

The setting and how the author portrayed it is also a strength of this book. At the beginning I was feeling like things were a little sterile and folks a little apathetic, but then it hit me: that's the point. That's how it is in big cities like Chicago, and Clark does a really good job of imbuing that atmosphere into the proceedings and environment which I felt through her words.

The story contains some excellent twists and turns which will keep you guessing and attempting to piece together evidence or motivations in your head. Even if you're particularly sharp and can get an idea of who may be responsible early on, the satisfaction in seeing how the detectives work through the case and piece things together is the real meat of the story which I found to be thoroughly well written and enjoyable.

You certainly have to keep your wits sharp when reading Hide. This isn't a book you can casually skim read, given the number of characters you encounter and the different points of view you'll experience the story from. I definitely had to maintain a degree of focus when reading, which wasn't difficult given the captivating nature of the story.

I found the ending to be satisfying, although there were a few minor inconsistencies with how I may have expected some characters to act in order to set up the scene for the finale which I feel were a little out of character, perhaps.

I'm thoroughly excited for the next book in the series! I will certainly be continuing to keep up with the adventures of Detective Harrier Foster in the second book: Fall, when it is released.