Salem, a very rural, remote small town that was started by five families, where generations of the same families still reside. On the outside, the townspeople are friendly and polite, but underneath lurks evil.

Bishop at someone's request sends in two agents, Geneva Raynor & Grayson Sheridan, to investigate three disappearances. Geneva is sent in undercover as a photographer. She knows, she's being watched and someone has gone through her things. While waiting for her partner to show up, she lets herself get distracted and ends up missing herself. Grayson arrives as an experienced hiker, but after Geneva does a no show, Grayson starts to think like Geneva, and finds a message in the newspaper. He ignores the direct command to go in search of Geneva.

Nellie Cavendish is about to turn 30, and she is compelled to go to Salem. She knows nothing about her mother, and her father was distant, but has been dead for ten years, when she receives a letter from him telling her to trust one family member. She's supposed to do something, but has no idea what. She sets out with her dog, Leo, who comforts her when her emotions get out of control.

Strange things are going on, the townspeople seem oblivious even towards one of their own, and wherever one looks there are crows, who seem to be keeping watch for good intentions or evil intentions, no one is quite sure until Grayson develops a new ability. Time is running out, and the evil is growing and needs to be stopped. Nellie will have to embrace everything she's kept bottled up, but she'll have to trust her instincts.

I'm a long time reader of the Special Crimes Unit series. This last book presents Nellie, who has an unusual talent among other abilities. I love how several others were able to connect with Leo, and what they picked up from him.

I received an ARC from NetGalley via Berkley Publishing Group and I voluntarily have reviewed this book.

I was shocked when I realized this was the 19th "Bishop" book, but each one gets better, it really does.
While most of the menace and gore is kept off the pages, this is still a thriller of a book.

Geneva and Grayson, emissaries of Bishops' FBI team, are sent to Salem, a little, spooky town off the Appalachean trail. As usual, they are not told what the end game of their assignment is. Suffice it to say the entire town reeks with psychic energy - dark and menacing energy.

Nellie Cavandish will be 30 in just a few days and has been called to Salem, her family birthplace, to stop evil from spreading. Her special gifts and talents have always been a chore for her. But she's made to realize the gift they are, esp. in stopping the impending doom to come.

As always, this was a character driven book in more ways than a plot driven one - but make no mistake, the story line is excellent.

4 stars for another great read.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me a sneak peek.

So many agendas in this latest in the Bishop SCU series. The focal for this book in a small town named Salem which seems to be harboring evil but that said evil is is doing all it can to mask what is really going on.

SCU Agent Geneva Raynor has been uncover in the small town trying to get a feel for what's really happening in the town where 3 people have gone missing. Her psychic senses are only picking up static which in and of itself is very strange. Another SVU Agent, Grayson Sheridon is also sent to Salem to help Geneva but when he arrives she is missing.

Running perpendicular to that – a stranger named Nellie Cavendish is holed up on the outskirts of town with her pit bull. She has powers she doesn't fully understand and after receiving a letter from her father ten years after his death telling her to go to Salem she goes in hopes of figuring out her heritage. She can feel they evil in the town but has no idea how connected to it she really is.

I don't think this was the strongest of the series but captivating nonetheless. Would love to get more face time with Noah and Miranda in future books.

It’s been many years since I’ve read anything by Kay Hooper. Hidden Salem started off a little slow but quickly picked up the pace. Looking forward to more in what I hope is a trilogy! Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley.

Small mysterious town with friendly, happy residents that obscures an insidious dark evil. A spellbinding, fast paced read. Interaction between characters was well written. Would be interested to see another story line with Nellie, Finn, Robert, and Leo. Appreciated the notes at the end describing the different abilities of the characters and explanation of the timeline of the various Bishop series.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Several people have disappeared from Salem, an isolated small town curiously closed to outsiders. Agents from the Special Crimes Unit--a paranormal branch of the FBI--can only investigate informally, because local law enforcement, and indeed the whole community, is oddly unconcerned. Meanwhile, Nellie Cavanaugh is drawn to Salem, sent by a letter from her ten-years-dead father. Something strange is going on in Salem. Something evil. And only psychics can stop it in time.

Unsettling and compelling as the rest of the series.