Member Reviews
Great book deep into the mind of a psychopath. Love crime books definitely a good one to read. Good story and characters. a chill running down your back !!
Somebody is killing young women in the Irish Midlands and nobody can see the connections. I really enjoyed the plot and the characters and I want to read more of Eoghan Egan.
Thank you Netgalley for this nice book.
I found the writing style to be distracting. It was difficult to keep track of characters or to really know them. The idea of the story was great, but not developed fully. The various scenes did not flow well or transition fluidly. I managed to get to the end...
The first chapter is very good, and the plot is intricate and a little different. The problem is the storytelling, with loads of boring dialogue and no structure in jumping around between characters. You need to be very patient to enjoy this book; I'm not.
There is a sadistic serial killer at large. So savage and cunning is he that so far, his presence has not yet been detected within the close-knit community within which he operates. It is just that occasionally, young women tend to disappear without trace.
Against the backdrop of all this, most of the young women we get to know in this story have other concerns: their flailing relationships, who is having an affair with whom, how the men folk are surviving post 2008.
This is the Midlands, not of the UK but of Ireland, where the appearance of growth is only illusory and for most of the menfolk, the dole beckons. Some of the males seem rather clueless as a bunch, trying to buy their way out of difficulties by accepting the 'help' of loan sharks. But there is still the moneyed middle-class community too, where the rich are still seeking out authentic and expensive artwork. The killer takes his pick from both sides of the track.
The writer makes sure that certain characters are introduced early enough for the reader to be invested in their stories and what happens to them. So when one of them receives a friend request from an interesting young man from the art world....
At the same time, a woman from this art world happens upon a scam in which authentic original artworks are being stolen to be replaced by fakes. Suspicion falls upon a Polish immigrant and her boyfriend.....
When the art scam is blown, however, the attention the heroine receives makes her extremely vulnerable to those watching.......
This novel, if nothing else, serves as a reminder on what not to disclose to first dates in order to save safe, on what not to show on Facebook pages in order not to get tracked down by a determined psychopath.
For many at the end, lives will never be the same again, while some of the menfolk discover their own capacity for heroism..
This 'slice of life' approach does lend more depth to the story, bringing in a deeper level of involvement, though the size of the 'cast' does at first make it hard to follow who is who, especially with the interrupted and broken conversation.
I look forward to seeing how this writer develops all this in future novels.
I enjoyed this explosive novel which has an opening sure to hook most readers.
I felt the introduction of so many characters in such a short space of time gave a clunky (is that even a word?) beginning to the book however I am glad I persevered with the story which certainly had me turning page after page.
The characters themselves are well rounded and the author hints at secrets and mystery throughout the story. I found the book to be extremely well-written, especially for a debut novel, and the story moved with a faster pace the more I read. By the time I was halfway through I knew there was no chance of me moving from the couch until I reached the end and discovered the mystery within.
I especially liked the way the author has left us with some loose ends which I am sure will be fleshed out in the next book - this is the first of three and I am very much looking forward to reading the next one as soon as I can get my hands on a copy!
The story starts off with readers followings several different story lines which can get a little confusing for readers but others will love all the story lines wonder who is who and if they have guessed correctly the killer.
The author pulls you into his world that will take hold and not let go until readers will know who what where when and why. Readers will watch as people wonder what will happen next.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of Eoghan Ean Hiding in Plain Site.
An unusual thriller with some surprising characters. Hardly a detective in sight to catch a psychopath. Lots of layers and some loose threads not quite tied up.
This book has a good idea behind it and the overall plot is sound. The descriptions of violence are egregious in my view but "chacun a son gout" as some might say. The story rolls along although the fusing of the main sub-plots is a bit overwritten and confusing. This is particularly noticeable towards the end where rather too much time is spent trying to resolve these; eventually tailing off. My main concern with the Kindle version that I read is that the formatting is not perfect. On average there is an accidental, mid-sentence paragraph break every few pages; sometimes more than one. I have tried to ignore the annoyance this causes.
I'm going to come back and update this post once I am done reading this, but I am finding this book fascinating, heart stopping, and a thorough crime filled thriller. It starts out with a murder and goes onto other drama. A perfect mix of Dateline and 20/20. I'm a sucker for crime mysteries and have always imagined of being an FBI agent or CIA and investigate and find the truth in hard, uncrackable cases. Enjoying the conversational type of writing from Eoghan Egan. Super excited to dive in more.