Joe's not who he says he is, and his credentials for the teaching job are fabricated, but he has a bigger plan. One that requires him to come home to the last place he wants to be: Arnhill, the village where it all began. Soon he will discover that the mysterious, malevolent forces that destroyed his family years ago are still very much alive and not ready to surrender yet. As he investigates the real reasons behind his father and sister's untimely deaths, Joe realizes he must take matters into his own hands and end the terror once and for all.

The second novel by Tudor is totally absorbing and filled with suspense. Absolutely recommended!!!

This book should have been more creepy and sooner, so if you are not into the paranormal, you would know already at the beginning that this was not the book for you. Or the summary should have been more clear before a reader picks up the book. I was confused part way through whether the theme was bullying vs inclusion or was horror, but I think it was a well done version of both.
This author followed the usual Stephen King technique of making things seem bland and normal, with touches of weirdness at the beginning, then blasting you with bizarre action towards the end.
As it was, I kept waiting for something more bizarre and creepy to happen through most of the book - the narrative was good and I would still recommend this book and I was going to rate this 3 stars, but the ending tied up things really well and left me thinking "Oh, so that's what all those extra characters were doing through most of the book.", So my rating went to 4 stars.
CJ Tudor is a great writer, love her dialogues - I also really liked her previous book, Chalk Man.
Looking forward to her next work - I think she should try something less Stephen King and more CJ Tudor.

Wow! This book wastes no time and opens with a horribly disturbing murder scene!

Joe Thorne returns to Arnhill after being gone for 25 years. He is an English teacher and there is an opening at the local high school. Arnhill holds many dark secrets that he isn’t too keen on unearthing, but after receiving a mysterious email he has no other option but to return to his hometown and face them head-on.

Joe is an interesting character. He is quite mysterious and hard to figure out. One minute I liked him and saw his heart, then in a blink of an eye he is giving me the creeps and I wondered what his endgame was.

This book is very slow to reveal its secrets. I tried to figure out what was going on and where in the world the story could be headed, but the further into the story I got the more perplexed I became. There were many pieces to the puzzle and I could not wait to see how they all fit together!

The story may be dark, but it also sheds some light on bullying issues that are unfortunately being ignored. It has a supernatural twist that some may be put off by, but I found it different and intriguing.

This is another winner and I look forward to seeing what C.J. Tudor writes next!

"But that's all life ever is. A promise. Not a guarantee. We like to believe we have our place all set out in the future, but we only have a reservation. Life can be canceled at any moment, with no warning, no refund, no matter how far along you are in the journey. Even if you've barely had time to take in the scenery."

Who said you can never go home again? Well, Joe Thorne does! Home sweet home….errr...I mean, dreary, sad, dark, depressing, full of painful memories. Home. Joe thought he would never go back. Not after what happened in Arnhill during his teenage years. He has never gotten over what happened to his sister, Annie, all those years ago. She went missing. She came back. And according to Stephen King (and I think Joe would agree) “Sometimes dead is better." But Joe has received an email letting him know that apparently things are happening again...what things? Strange things, dark things, unspeakable things.

So, Joe returns. He needs to right a wrong. Get some revenge while escaping from his current problems. Joe is quite the mess, you see. He lies to get a job at the local school, has an alcohol problem, has an even bigger gambling problem and there is no welcome committee lined up to greet him. In fact, his old friends are not at all happy to see him return.

After the first part of the book I wasn't sure what to think. I really did not know where the Author was going with this. I was really hoping she would bring the creep factor on. She did to some degree but honestly, I wanted more - a lot more. She had some interesting characters, most were unlikable and were up to no good. Geez Louise, no wonder he left town. Forget the pit. The people were not too warm and fuzzy in this town.

The Second part of the book reminded me of two books by Stephen King. I get it, the Author is a big fan....but, I really want her to NOT remind me of Stephen King. When I read her books, I only want to think of HER books. Aside from that, the reader or shall I say the "constant reader" (Hey, even I can make nods to Stephen King!) will finally learn what happened to Annie, why Joe and his high school friends are friends no more, and learn the towns deep, dark secret.

The ending had a little bit of a shock to it that I did not see coming. That was a nice touch. Overall, this was an enjoyable book, but I wanted it to be even darker, creepier and with more dread and suspense. Again, enjoyable with interesting characters. I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own

I was really excited about this book and appreciate the ARC from Netgalley and Crown Publishing.

You start off with a sister that went missing and and the problem was.... she came back. With a creep and unsettling atmosphere, I was hooked from the start. However, as the pace slowed and every character was unlikeable, I found my self no longer attached to the characters or the story and just wanted to know the ending. I feel that there are too many unanswered questions and too little logic. It reads like a weird nightmare the author decided to write about. Something got lost in the translation and it fell flat. However, the bugs really creeped me out.

"You didn't own this place. It might let you think so. Might even want you to think so. But that was how it got you. That was how it drew you down here. That was how it owned you."

Get ready to be unnerved and on edge. The Hiding Place is coming for you!

Oh my GAWWWDDD C.J Tudor does it again folks! With having loved her first book The Chalk Men... I had my doubts about loving this book too. But, I loved this just as much as her first book.

C.J reminds me in so many ways of Stephen King.... I love it! The story reminded me of a previous story that I had read by Stephen King but oh no my friends..... Tudor takes this spin in such a creepy and clever way of her own.

C.J is such a master storyteller that wavers between horror and thriller. The Hiding Place makes you check under your bed before you lay your precious head down to sleep. The story is dark, creepy, and leaves you breathless with wanting more.

The supernatural aspects make this story come alive at the seams and it leaves you feeling that much more satisfied with the ending.

Oh my goodness.... what a story!!! I devoured this book over a day and a half! I have become such a huge fan of C.J Tudor and this book once again will be one of my favorites for 2019.

I highly highly recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

5 stunning stars!!

Expected publication date: 2/5/19
Published to Goodreads: 1/14/19

Is it happening again? What is going on with the children in the small town of Arnhill? Something is not quite right there and everyone knows it. Joe Thorne returns to his home town to accept a teaching job and to settle a score. The reader is not sure of the motives behind his move or his intense hate for the members of his old school gang. We know his sister Annie was somehow involved in the mysterious activities surrounding some of the children, but how exactly? Annie is no longer alive to clarify that.

This personally is not my type of my book. That being said, I do not want to take away from how well written this book is. I literally felt like I was reading a Stephen King book, now that is a definite compliment to Tudor as King is a well loved and very popular author. Except for me personally, I do not care for his books. I loved the first half of the book but then it got a little too weird for me in the second half.

The book was very creative, the details were amazing and made you feel like you were right there. For me her previous novel The Chalkman could be classified as a suspense/thriller book and it appealed to me more. Although with this book, Tudor stepped her game up and moved into the horror category in my opinion. So this is a case of it really is me and not you. If you love creepy, horror, dark and a fan of King you are sure to love this book!

The Hiding Place is a tense and original read that blew my mind! I got the chills, felt the tension, and wanted to scream in delight! I enjoyed reading the authors debut - The Chalk Man, but I LOVED this one. I actually devoured it in one sitting because I couldn't stop reading. If you are looking for a book the defies the genres, one that will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, and one with a brilliant and twisty ending, this is a must have for you! I have seen a lot of mixed reviews for this one, but this in itself should make you want to read it yourself to form your own opinion.

First and foremost, this book was very unexpected for me. I didn't go into it blind (although I think readers should) so I had some ideas floating around in my head as to what was going to happen. Boy was I wrong! This book is like a Stephen King book only shorter and a bit more character driven.

As for characters, I'll be the first to admit that the protagonist isn't the most likable or easy to connect with. He has a murky past, has gotten himself into some troubles, and doesn't seem to want to make his life any better. He's more set on revenge and bringing down people he feels wronged him. He's obviously also an important piece to the puzzle of the story, and not being able to fully like him will put some readers off, but for me, it's what sets the tone of the story.

Finally, the authors use of supernatural elements within the story is what MAKES the story. There are not many authors that can pull this off in a believable way but guess what? C.J. Tudor DOES IT. And quite frankly, does it well (superbly even).

All in all, I really liked this book. If it's getting a 5 star rating from me that means that it had me spellbound. It also holds a ton of originality (even though some may disagree with me), epic twists and turns, and a whole lot of chilling moments. I really am looking forward to seeing what others think of the novel once it is officially releases in February.

This book would be perfect for

➜ Anyone who enjoys psychological horror novels- heavy on the thrills and supernatural aspects.
➜ Fans of Sarah Pinborough- the one book that comes to mind when I think of doing a bit of a comparison between books is Behind Her Eyes
➜ Fans of Stephen Kings earlier works; Pet Semetary, The Shining, etc. (not everyone will agree with this and that's fine, but this is what I think).
➜ Those who enjoyed the authors debut novel, The Chalk Man

Joe Nichols has nothing left. He's lost his job and owes some very nasty people a lot of money. People who don't like to be kept waiting, but Joe has a plan for paying them back; a plan that takes him back to Arnhill Academy where he finds that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Having left his previous job under a cloud of suspicion for something he thought about doing but didn't do, Joe has accepted a position as an English teacher. On the first day, Joe has an unpleasant run-in with the son of his former friend, Stephen Hurst and Jeremy Hurst is a chip off the old block evidenced by his penchant for bullying and lying. The moment Joe steps in and tries to stop Jeremy's reign of terror, Stephen steps in and makes it clear that Joe is no longer welcome in his hometown.

Joe has no intention of leaving until he gets what he came for: answers. And perhaps a bit of revenge. He rents a cottage with a grisly past that he suspects might have some connection to his sister's mysterious disappearance and even more mysterious reappearance. While trying to survive attacks both by Hurst's hired goons and by a vicious female collection agent who works for "The Fatman", Joe works to unravel a decades-old mystery that threatens to continue to ruin lives.

This book is a true page-turner, a thriller to its core. It's impossible to put down and the real truth of Joe's story is impossible to suss out. With an unexpected twist that turns the entire book on its ear, "The Hiding Place" is the perfect mystery.

Tudor is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Last year, The Chalk Man was one of my favorite reads. With her sophomore novel, The Taking of Annie Thorne (previously The Hiding Place? Which is the title I personally prefer, however, neither title really fits for the story within the pages) she proves that she isn't afraid to blend a bit more horror in with her quick-paced mystery thriller style.
This novel was every bit as engaging and fun and twisty as The Chalk Man.
I hope to see lots and lots more from Tudor in the coming years!

I didn't care for this book. It was slow getting started, and I almost gave up. I will admit that it did pickup in the middle of the story and was really very good. Now the ending, I felt like I was reading a thriller that turned into a horror novel complete with ghosts and zombies, blood all over the place. Joe did not deserve his ending.

Joe. a high school teaching, gambling addict. with a drinking problem, has just returned to his hometown, a place he never wanted to see again. He's in big trouble, owing money to someone who has already had Joe's knee bashed in and who will kill him soon, if he doesn't pay up. Joe has a plan that involves going home and getting money from a former schoolmate whose reputation he can ruin, if he doesn't get the money he needs.. Joe lies his way onto the staff of his old high school and trouble starts up quickly because the rich schoolmate doesn't want him in town.

The whole money thing is one part of the story but then there is the mystery of Joe's little sister, who went missing, when she was eight. When she showed up again, 48 hours later, it was obvious to Joe that there was something wrong with his sister. Not long afterwards his dad and sister were killed in a car wreck. In the present time there was also a boy that died at his mother's hand, just before she committed suicide. This is the same mother, who taught at the high school where Joe is teaching. In fact, Joe was hired to replace this woman and now is living in the cottage where the boy and his mom died.

The cottage is creepy and other worldly and Joe sees it and feels it. The deaths are connected with the children visiting a pit at the nearby unused mine. As Joe investigates, he finds strange things have been going on in this town for a very long time and the pit plays a big part in what is happening. The book is part mystery about how Joe is going to save himself from his debtor and part horror story.

I could follow the gambling debt part of the story just fine but the horror story part of the book lost me. I have too many questions about almost every part of the mystery about the pit and what happens there. I won't say any more because it would be all questions. I think so much more could have been shared about what was happening and why it was happening and what is going to happen to Joe in the future.

Thank you to Crown Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

After reading C.J. Tudor’s debut novel, The Chalk Man, I was quite excited to read her follow up, The Hiding Place. Tudor has a narrative style that is both chilling and mesmerizing. The Chalk Man was a wild ride, and I was anticipating great things from her newest novel.

In The Hiding Place, Joe has returned to the town where he grew up. He is grappling with personal issues while at the same time trying to come to grips with what happened to his sister many years ago, and connecting it to current events that appear to be repeating themselves in the town. You see, Joe’s sister Annie disappeared when she was a young child, but then returned a changed girl before dying in a car accident. The novel is told in alternating perspectives from current Joe and young Joe around the time of Annie’s disappearance, so that the reader does not have all of the information until the very end when it comes to climax.

With all of the elements of a story I enjoy reading, I unfortunately have to say that The Hiding Place did not jive well with me. The writing style was still so engaging and engrossing, I couldn’t put it down. The problem I had revolved around the actual story, execution of the plot, and resolution. The book opens with a gruesome murder suicide with descriptions that made my stomach turn. I was hooked. But as readers, we are never provided an answer that is satisfactory. In fact, the whole reasoning behind all of these strange events in the town is quite hand wavy. I for one, am not a fan of books that are set in reality but then throw in a supernatural element simply for explaining a major plot point. I personally felt cheated out of a mystery I was promised.

I also felt The Hiding Place didn’t distinguish itself enough from The Chalk Man. There were too many parallels between the two books. For example, the premise of the story in both books is that a group of friends with one girl who doesn’t quite fit in run into trouble as kids in a secluded region of town and it comes back to haunt them as adults, while told from the perspective of the one who became a teacher. I did enjoy one snarky line that alluded directly to The Chalk Man’s shocking ending, but the rest of the architecture of the story could have distinguished itself a little more.

*I would like to thank the publisher, author, and NetGalley for providing an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

The Hiding Place
by C.J Tudor
Rating 3
Description
The thrilling second novel from the author of The Chalk Man, about a teacher with a hidden agenda who returns to settle scores at a school he once attended, only to uncover a darker secret than he could have imagined.
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.
Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town--while avoiding the enemies he's made in the years since--is tougher. 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.

The Novel was more super-natural thank mystery. It held my interest and was a good read. Hard to connect with the characters and so many. I would recommend The Hiding Place for the supernatural lover. I am not a fan of it.

Thank you Crown Publishing and Netgalley for a copy of The Hiding Place by C.J. Tudor for review. Publishing February 5, 2019.

I will be honest and say this was a well written book that just did not suit my particular tastes. The paranormal horror element to the book was not my cup of tea and felt a little too much like something I had read before which allowed me to guess the “mystery” quite early in the book. Another reason it didn’t work for me was the main character was highly unlikable so there was really no motivation for me to get invested in the story.
But, the rest of the book was good. I liked the sense that the town was a whole other character in the novel. It had really good pacing too, which kept me reading despite not entirely loving it. I really liked the creepy vibe even when there was none of the horror element in the scene.
Overall, I think this was just not the book for me. But, I loved Chalk Man so I’ll be on the lookout for her next book!

I didn't love this story, and had trouble staying motivated to finish it. This is the first book I've read from the author, and I hesitate to say that I would read something else by her. Unfortunately this one missed the mark for me, which is sad because of the promising premise.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I enjoyed The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor, but was disappointed in this one. Didn't love it or hate it. Thanks for the opportunity.

Thanks to C.J. Tudor, Netgalley, and Crown Publishing for providing me with a digital advance copy of this novel.

C.J. Tudor follows up her exceptional first novel, The Chalk Man, with this layered and somewhat genre-bending mystery. The Chalk Man was one of my favorite books last year, so I had sky-high expectations for this novel. I’m happy to say that it exceeded those expectations – I actually liked it a good bit more than The Chalk Man.

In The Hiding Place, down-on-his-luck and desperate teacher Joe returns to his hometown to start a job at his old school. Joe is haunted not only by current problems of his own making but also by sinister secrets from his past, all of which crash together with devastating consequences. I don’t want to describe the plot in any more detail so as not to give anything away, but there are elements here that are evocative of Stephen King. This book seemed more akin to the horror/supernatural genre than strictly to mystery/thriller – and I loved that! Tudor has written another creepy, complicated, and clever novel. Highly recommend!

i was really excited to read The Hiding Place after I had enjoyed The Chalk Man so much. But I must say, I was disappointed with this one. It just couldn't hold my interest, and I never really did get all that invested in the story.

Wow!

What an atmospheric yarn this turned out to be! From the very beginning, I knew I was in capable hands!
Here’s my review from goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2654789907