The Hidden begins with almost 2-year-old Leonie found alone on a cold December night by shops in a seaside town crying for her mother. At the same time, a man is discovered near death in his apartment. When DS Joanna Harper discovers a personal connection to both cases, she risks her career to save the one she loves the most.

Harper is investigating what appears to be an attempted homicide. As she digs deeper, this case could also involve a missing mother and her toddler. Harper goes from career driven cop mode to protective mother who will do anything to protect her child mode when she sees CCTV footage of her estranged daughter carrying the toddler.

We do have several mysteries here - what happened to Constance, why did she leave her baby, where's Ruby, and what happened to this man who was injured. Even more mysteries come up, and I found some of them compelling, though I don't think everything was necessarily as fully explored as I might have liked.

This book is told with multiple timelines and points of view. I did get confused a few times with the timelines, but this mostly worked alright for telling the story.

Melanie Golding is an expert a mixing genre so that the story surprises you almost with every chapter. DS Joan Harper returns from the book LITTLE DARLINGS which was itself a mind bending experience. DS Harper has two active cases at once in THE HIDDEN. While this is not unusual in and of itself, she recognizes her daughter as one of the parties involved. When evidence points to the two cases being linked, the story takes on another element or two. The investigation will weave a paranormal feel through the story as DS Harper tries to protect the three year old little girl in the middle of the story, but her own daughter as well.

Melanie Golding is a gem. I immediately downloaded several of her other books as soon as I finished this one. She is easily one of my favorite thriller authors of all time

Engaging and atmospheric. A recommended purchase for collections where genrebent thrillers are popular.

A Selkie, a mysterious man, and an abandoned child are connected in an enchanting yet disturbing mystery revolving around mythical beings and motherhood.

This is the 2nd time Melanie Golding has wowed me. This audiobook is TWELVE HOURS LONG, and I read it in one sitting. I got so lost in this. It's one of those where the characters and the story has so much depth that you get lost in it and forget that you're reading. Golding is an auto-read author for me. The audiobook narrator, Penelope Rawlins, did a superb job here.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for a copy of this ARC.

A gripping psychological thriller that mixes crime with elements of the supernatural folklore of selkies. There are various interlinked plotlines to keep you reading but these don't confuse at all and are written well. Such an interesting book that I'll be thinking about long after.
Full review on YouTube

Thank you so much to Netgalley for my review copy and to the author for my new fascination with seal people!

This was such a fun mystery novel. I usually don't tend to enjoy detective mysteries but this one hit differently. I loved the cold seaside setting that this delivered. The mystery was engrossing and I enjoyed all of the characters and their backstories. The ending really wrapped everything up nicely and although it was a bit over the top it worked.

3 stars

In my quest to read my Netgalley backlog, this latest by Melanie Golding was next up on my list.

I have yet to read a book by this author, but was intrigued by the description!

"When a small child is found wandering alone, the local shopkeepers call the authorities immediately. Twenty minutes later, the girl’s mother turns up, panicked and distraught. It doesn't take long to clear things up, and mother and daughter are soon reunited and sent on their way.

Miles away, the body of a man is discovered, floating in a bathtub, but the most surprising discovery of all is that he isn't dead. Despite his injuries, he is very much alive."

Ok, I can get down with this mystery!!

"Two seemingly unrelated events. But as DS Harper begins to investigate, disturbing truths start to come to light that connect the man to the mother and child, and suddenly it’s not clear where the danger truly lies..."

I'm still with you.

"Weaving together the trademark folklore inspiration that readers loved in Little Darlings, with the procedural narrative force of a brilliant mystery, this is the excellent and unnerving new novel from Melanie Golding."

Well, shit. Folklore is not really my jam, so when one of the main characters turned out to be a seal, I started to get Darryl Hannah vibes (yes, I do realize she was a mermaid), and things got a little too out there for this me. 🤷🤷🤷 This was not my favorite.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC.

⭐⭐💫 rounded up.

Available now.

“𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒂𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏.”

This was my first Melanie Golding book and definitely won’t be my last! This story was told in 3rd person from various POVs! It also takes place over several months flashing between now and then.

I absolutely loved the way this book was told and the way it unfolded. I really loved the characters. This book was mysterious and was definitely a page turner because I wanted to figure out wtf was going on. While I loved the book, it was definitely different with the folklore aspect which I’m not used to in thrillers, hence the one less star rating. However, I do think the folklore was done really well within the story, I personally just could have done without it. Definitely recommend giving this one a go!

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The story is about a child who was abandoned in a small seaside town. There are some funny characters in this book, it was hard for me to stay focused with the multiple bouncing narrow times but overall the book was good.

I didn't make it very far into this before turning to something else. I couldn't handle the narrator's interpretation of a child's voice. And once I turned away I realized I had no desire to try again. DNF

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy and the opportunity to read this early. Review has been posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I downloaded this one prior to it's release and just couldn't get into it. I have subsequently read other books by this author and like her, so I gave this one another go via the Audible app, since I have much more time to listen than I do to read a physical book. The audio book was definitely an easier listen and I was able to get through the whole thing. I still think it moves much more slowly than one would expect given the description, but ultimately I liked Joanna Harper and her backstory and how it interacts with the case.

Melanie is really good at writing a disturbing and twisted story. I really enjoyed this one and I can't wait to read more from her.

I quite enjoyed this book. It's a thriller with fantasy elements, something I really like. I found this to be an original story, and I am hoping for it to be translated into Norwegian, so that I can tips patrons about it.

Multiple POV and timelines kept this one moving pretty quickly. Mystery and folklore combined made for a cool story. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this copy for review

A fabulous book that will suck you in and hold your attention to the final page.

It is a brilliant mix of mystery, intrigue, fantasy and drama.

Characters are believable and realistically complex.

Everyone needs to read this book.

THE HIDDEN – by Melanie Golding

Oh My! I LOVE stories based or centered around Folklore, and THE HIDDEN ticks off all the boxes for this reader. I laughed, cried, and cringed—Yes, that is a compliment!

As a mother, my heart breaks for these characters: Constance, Leonie, Ruby, and Joanna, as I bear witness to the unraveling thread that binds mother to child and the strength it takes to hold on for dear life even when the only option may be to let go.

The novel opens on a cold day in December; on the stoop of a shop, a young girl makes star hand prints on the frosted window. She turns to her Mother with a smile on her face…only to discover the eighteen-month-old is all alone.

In another part of town, a downstairs neighbor who is about to have tea is suddenly startled by a dripping from the above apartment. Visually impaired, she doesn’t see the blood-tinted water, but she can smell it…

How do these lives intertwine?

You will have to read THE HIDDEN and find out for yourself. ;)

Thank you, NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books, for providing me with an eBook of THE HIDDEN at the request of an honest review.