The Hidden
A Novel
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Following her acclaimed debut, Little
Darlings, Melanie Golding’s newest folkloric suspense is a
spine-tingling twist on Celtic mythology. For readers of Sophia Hannah, Tana
French and Sabine Durrant.
It’s December in a
small seaside town, and Ruby Harper spends her nights looking into her
neighbour’s apartment. Unable to sleep due to insomnia and the heartache of a
family she has run away from, she fantasizes that the mystery man she watches could
be the answer to her loneliness. But one night Ruby sees something unexpected: the
man is not alone; a woman and a child are sharing the apartment—and they never go
outside. Why are they kept hidden?
Then the man is found
half-drowned in the bathtub, a pile of women’s clothes is left on the beach,
and a little girl is discovered, abandoned. Detective Sergeant Joanna Harper is
assigned to the case, which grows more complicated by the minute. Soon, a
shocking revelation and a desperate bid for freedom put Ruby at the centre of a
crime—and hot on her trail is DS Harper, who knows
her better than anyone and is ready to anticipate her every move.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Early in British author Golding's intriguing paranormal mystery set in an unnamed English seaside town, Det. Sgt. Joanna Harper, last seen in Little Darlings, and a police constable break into the flat of Gregor Franks, where they find Gregor floating in his bathtub, barely alive and with a traumatic head injury. Flashback: after discovering a disturbing family secret, emotionally vulnerable Ruby winds up in a government sponsored flat, from which she watches her handsome neighbor, Gregor, who lives with mentally unstable Constance and their two-year-old daughter, Leonie. After befriending the charming Gregor, Ruby begins to look after Leonie while Constance spends her days barely conscious, mumbling stories of her homeland across the sea and its mythical community of seals. Constance longs to return to her clan, but she can't without her magical coat, which Gregor has kept hidden. When Ruby realizes Gregor has a dark side and Constance may not be as crazy as she seems, she helps Constance plot her and Leonie's escape from Gregor. Golding smoothly mixes folklore with an insightful exploration of motherhood. This offbeat tale should win her new fans.
