A murdered body has been found and the investigating police detective has been attacked and is lying in a coma in the hospital. Another detective has been brought in to lead Karen’s team but will
he find the murderer? It has been awhile since I have read this series but certainly not disappointed
in Sally Spencer’s latest book.

It takes a lot of courage to sideline the lead character of a successful mystery series.  Sally Spencer has done just that in The Hidden, placing DCI Monika Paniatowski in a coma after being attacked by a teen’s killer.  Monika knows who the killer is but is unable to share that knowledge with her team.  Monika’s attack and the ritualized murder of a teen found nearby is given to DCI Rhino Dixon’s team, pushing Monika’s team to the side.  Dixon is more interested in fast results rather than in finding the truth, so Crane, Meadows and Beresford decide to risk their careers by mounting their own investigation.  The behavior of the families associated with the young girl are strange, leading to the discovery of a peculiar cult and a killer who may try to ensure Monika never wakes up.

The Hidden really allows the supporting cast to shine, placing additional stress on the team as they attempt to support Monika’s children and solve the case.  It is a stressful time and a turning point for the entire team who are uncertain of whether they could or should continue without Monika’s leadership.  The novel also puts Monika’s daughter Louisa in a more central role.  The Hidden is an excellent novel.  I’m eager to see what Sally Spencer has planned for the series.

5 / 5

I received a copy of The Hidden from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

Chief Constable Ronald Pickering was going to the Backend Woods area. He was only acting as the Chief Constable until George Baxter let go of the position. He was perpetually auditioning for the job he was already doing. So every new crisis was a test and it was more than possible losing one of his Senior Officers might be regarded as careless. A roadblock had been set up about a half a mile from the gate leading in. Beyond the roadblock there was evidence of a serious criminal investigation already underway. There were patrol cars, an ambulance, and a Land Rover which belonged to Dr. Shastri - the police surgeon already there. So it was probable that Monika Paniatowski was still there- Pickering’s Senior Officer. What had Monika been doing there and where were her kids? But the kids were accounted for. Monika was still breathing but was in a coma so she couldn’t say anything as she had brutally attacked. Pickering asked if all the people leaving had been questioned Beresford said they were taking names and addresses as they didn’t have the manpower to question everyone leaving. Pickering said when DCI Dixon got there Beresford and the other officers there were to leave and Beresford felt it would be better if he stayed but he was told that that the decision had already been made but then Beresford said he and two others would resign and do their own investigation so Pickering decided to reassign three of the officers to DCI Dixon’s team.. Beresford and the other officers said Monika had been their boss. DCI Dixon was known for getting results. Monika could hear everything and knew who her attacker was and that her daughter was in the killer’s sights but being in a coma she couldn’t say a word or do anything about the knowledge she had. Beresford, Meadows, and Crane didn’t agree with Dixon and his team. There seems to be a sinister cult operating in Whitebridge but the police need to uncover this cult. Nearby where Monika had been found the body of a teenage female was also found. Monika wonders what her team and family would do as they always came to her for advice.
This was a well written story that definitely kept my my attention. I really liked this and it had a good plot and pace. This cult was definitely evil. I liked that the officers under Monika were willing to do whatever they had to do as long as they found the person/people who attacked their boss even resign and ruin their career if that’s what it took. It was frustrating that all the information Monika had and could not give. All and all a good read and I recommend.

DCI Paniatowski has been attacked and is in a coma. While searching for evidence the police team find a body of a young female. DCI ‘Rhino’ Dixon is brought in to lead the investigation which include the members of Paniatowski's team.
Set in a Lancashire town in 1977 it tells an interesting mystery, with some good characters.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

DCI Monika Paniarowski lies in a coma after an attack in the woods. Nearby, the body of a young woman is found.

Her team, DI Beresford, DS Meadows and DC Crane are grudgingly allowed to investigate the case by a thoroughly unlikeable DCI Rhino Dixon. But they are mostly kept on the outside of the case, while Rhino’s team is trying to take all the glory. They quickly identify a suspect, but it can’t – simply can’t – be him.

Meanwhile Monika’s team is going another route. Quickly gathering a list of suspicious characters, they set about discussing their doubts and forming a plan. They believe they are on to something, but they are not sure what.

It appears that perhaps a cult may be involved. The denouement comes as somewhat of a surprise, but is very satisfying nonetheless.

This is a very well written book that moves along nicely. It is both suspenseful and well plotted. I’ve read other Sally Spencer books, and this one is as good as the others. I look forward to the next in the series.

I want to thank Netgalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book to read.

Hi Karen,

My next review is:-
"The Hidden: A British Police Procedural Set In 1970's England", written by Sally Spencer and published in hardback by Severn House Publishers on 31 Mar. 2017. 192 pages. ISBN-13: 978-0727887078

Detective Chief Inspector Paniatowski's team are increasingly convinced that the girl found dead in the woods is the victim of a ritual killing, carried out by a secret society which has been established in the very heart of Whitebridge. Their problem is that without Paniatowski there to back them up, they find it impossible to persuade the ambitious Detective Chief Inspector 'Rhino' Dixon that treating it as a mere domestic murder will get them nowhere. And so Meadows, Crane and Beresford find themselves out on a limb - cutting corners, ignoring procedure, and running the very real risk that their careers could be brought to an abrupt and dramatic end.

Meanwhile, Monika herself knows not only who the killer is, but also that he is stalking Louisa, her beloved daughter. But as she is one of the killer's victims too, and is lying in a coma - hearing everything, but unable to move or speak - there is nothing she can do about it!

The twelfth or is it thirteenth Sally Spencer novel featuring DCI Monika Paniatowski has very little of her in it as she remains comatose, so her team have be seconded to Detective Chief Inspector 'Rhino' Dixon, but they investigate leads of their own on the case until we reach the very exciting conclusion.

There are several well plotted strands to the story and I have read enough of the author's books to know that when she writes her police procedurals the story will be very well plotted, original and told with some wry humour.

Sally Spencer writes the book with her usual panache; I was a little confused at first in that there are several plot lines happening simultaneously: Monika is in a coma, whilst her old team are investigating the murder and trying to cope without her, but instead with her replacement. As an author of some forty or more titles under her belt nothing phases her and you end up with a really gripping police procedural of the most exciting kind which I could not put down.

The plot, which has some dramatic twists and turns, the vivid, well researched and knowledgeable background, and the widely diverse scenes kept me transfixed until the last page.

Sally Spencer is a pen name, first adopted when the author (actually called Alan Rustage) was writing sagas and it was almost obligatory that a woman's name appeared on the cover (other authors like Emma Blair and Mary Jane Staples are also men). Before becoming a full-time writer, he was a teacher. In 1978-79 he was working in Iran and witnessed the fall of the Shah. He lived in Madrid for over twenty years, and still considers it the most interesting and exciting city he has ever visited, but for the last few years he has opted for a quieter life in the seaside town of Calpe, on the Costa Blanca. He has written twenty books featuring DCI Woodend (a character based partly on a furniture dealer he used to play dominoes with) and twelve(so far!) about Woodend's protegé Monika Paniatowski. His D.I. Blackstone books are set in Victorian/Edwardian London, New York and Russia, and the D.I. Ruiz books have as their backdrop the Spanish Civil War. Strongly recommended.

Best wishes,

Terry (To be published on eurocrime.co.uk in due course)

Monika Paniatowski is in a coma only hears what is said in her hospital room. How will her family and officers operate without her? They all depend upon her for advice. How will her officers cope with the hostile and strong personalities of the other police team who was put in charge of finding Moniks’s failed assassin and the killer of a teen? With all this aggression among Monica’s team and the other team members and leader, will strategy and cunning enable Monica’s team attain the results that they need and want? Book started with a heart-stopping moment and ends with a tear.