While doing some light research on our October book (The Chalk Man) and its author C.J. Tudor I read that she has a second book coming out this winter. So I took a chance and asked for an early copy to review along with The Chalk Man. THANK YOU to Crown Publishing for sending along the advance copy of Tudor’s next thriller The Hiding Place! It did not disappoint.

Not all four of us read it, just me, Katherine C. Although you can bet I’ll be recommending it to all of our Bookly Katherines as soon as it’s released.

SYNOPSIS

Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang–the betrayal, the suicide, the murder–and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn’t have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe’s sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault.

But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever, and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn’t the day his sister went missing. It was the day she came back.

With the same virtuosic command of character and pacing she displayed in The Chalk Man, C. J. Tudor has once again crafted an extraordinary novel that brilliantly blends harrowing psychological suspense, a devilishly puzzling mystery, and enough shocks and thrills to satisfy even the most seasoned reader.

In the beginning I was a bit turned off by all the similarities to The Chalk Man: a male protagonist with a failing career in education and a closeted drinking problem rehashing the sins of childhood friendships in his hometown. But in reading these two back to back I was bound to recognize each and every overlap. It didn’t take long before I was totally wrapt in the evil mysteries of The Hiding Place.

This book made The Chalk Man feel like a dress rehearsal. And the main show is not to be missed! Tudor’s writing felt more confident, it accelerated at just the right pace, the town—a character all its own—haunted you from every page, the characters were full and flawed, and yet again Tudor delivered some excellent twists and turns. I felt like I could see the town, I could feel the “creeping cold” that stalked Joe around every corner, and in the end it was truly scary. Although a bit more predictable than The Chalk Man, I liked this second book even more. It had everything I want in a spooky thriller; like an insidious Goonies meets the best of Tana French suspense mixed with that rare Stephen King surrealism, and of course twists and turns that keep you guessing like only Tudor can create.

So, if that sounds good to you order your copy of The Hiding Place as soon as you can (coming out February 2019)!