I have become a fan of Melanie Golding. This one didn’t disappoint. Will be recommending this to everyone!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

This is the first novel I have read by Golding and I enjoyed it. I loved the character development as each character got to know one another and how the story unraveled as they started to figure out who Gregor really was. I thought the whole family dynamic seemed off, but it made for a great story. I couldn't decide if I actually liked Ruby I think she needed more help than Constance did which is why Gregor probably picked her to begin with. I wish she would have dove more into the Celtic lore because it is fascinating. I'm glad it was added to the novel because it gave it something extra. I of course read up on it and found it fascinating. I love discovering new things and researching them. There are even a few movies that have been made about Selkies, and down the rabbit hole I go.

One dark December night, in a small seaside town, a little girl is found abandoned. When her mother finally arrives, authorities release the pair, believing it to be an innocent case of a toddler running off.

Gregor, a seemingly single man, is found bludgeoned and left for dead in his apartment, but the discovery of children’s toys raises more questions than answers.

Every night, Ruby gazes into Gregor’s apartment, leading to the discovery of his secret family: his unusually silent daughter and his mentally unstable wife, Constance, who insists that she is descended from the mythological Selkies. She begs Ruby to aid in finding the sealskin that Gregor has hidden from her, making it impossible to return to her people.

Fast-paced and well written; definitely one I will recommend to students and friends alike. Golding's writing just resonates with me.

I had the audiobook for this. I found myself captivated throughout.
I was trying to figure out just what was going on. Is this supernatural? Is it not?
The mix of mythical selkies woven into this story adding another layer to try and figure out.
I was on the end of my seat trying to work out where the story was going.

I really enjoyed this book, just like her previous one.
I got into it in no time and held my attention the whole time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy.

"The Hidden" is a mystery-crime-thriller with a touch of magical-realism. The thread of the selkie myth is interwoven with the story of a lost little girl and a man with a head injury. Our protagonist is Ruby who is a bit of a lost soul but finds purpose making a friend with her neighbor and his odd little family until she gets tangled too far up in their lives.

I loved reading about the Celtic mythology and all of the selkie elements. This reading was a little jarring at first but once I got used to the writing style it pulled me in. It was entertaining, dark and satisfying. While I wasn't fully blown away by it, I am fascinated enough to read Golding's debut novel.

This author rights the same way everysingle time....and she needs to get some other obsession instead of the folklore tale of Selkies, and (absolutely HORRIBLE person!) obsession with people stealing babies, and taking them to the river.....as her other book, "Little Darlings" was. I did not realize that this was that same author until she had brought up a storyline, and it made me think of 'Ihave read this before!' yes. In her book 'Little Darlings'.

Cannot recommend this to a HORROR fan......save the time. I finally finished this last night, after 2 days. Nothing original at all.
1.5 Snoozer....again.

Review published on Goodreads, 14 October 2021:

THE HIDDEN is one of those books that I wanted to love a lot more than I actually did. It has an intriguing premise, the kind that always draws me in. Unfortunately, its execution just didn't quite measure up. For one thing, the characters—even Ruby and Joanna—aren't super likable. I didn't feel really connected to any of them. The plot also seems far-fetched and the whole selkie thing felt unconvincing to me. That being said, THE HIDDEN did keep me engaged. I definitely wanted to know what was going to happen next. In the end, though, I found it a bit disappointing. As much as I wanted to, I just didn't love it.

I really loved the idea of this book, not enough books are based on celtic myth, however I was unable to finish the title as I just couldn't get pulled in. It's not my preferred genre even though it's touted as a thriller, it's not, or it just wasn't for me.

Thriller or not? When, Reading the summary of this book, at the beginning it sounds like a thriller. Maybe even a thriller with the same tropes used again and again. Even though it was not a thriller and more of a fantasy related story. It just wasn't a favorite of mine.

Ruby lives alone in her flat and sees a man across the way doing yoga and she is intrigued. She realizes that he can see her watching him and she meets him in the hallway. He invites her in where he introduces her to a woman, Constance, and a young child. Ruby doesn't understand why the woman and child live with the man, but she becomes friendly with Constance and begins to understand that things aren't as they seem. This was a creepy and fun book and I suggest that you don't read anything about the book and just dive in.

This book was really chilling and fantastic! I was worried when I saw that the character had been introduced in a previous book, but it really didn't matter at all. This book stood on its own fantastically! The story was super creepy and mysterious and I couldn't stop reading!

What I love about The Hidden is how grounded the mythical elements are, so that they feel completely natural. Selkies are part of the Celtic and Norse mythology, yet I've read stories about similar beings in Southeast Asian mythology so it was great being able to read about it here. The book tackles issues like motherhood, abuse, and unconventional family in an empathetic way. I liked that the characters are not demonised for their choices, though not everything works out as they expected. The relationships between the characters are complicated and I thought they were the strongest part of the book.

The police procedural side, however, was quite weak and dragged down the story. I also thought the reveal about the villain doesn't really work - instead of showing who they are, it turns them into a caricature. It didn't have to go that far because they were already disturbingly scary enough. But the writing is beautiful and the ending is perfectly fitting. I ended up thinking about the story long after I was done with the book.

This book was kind of predictable, and I struggled to get fully through it. I somehow managed to get past it. I selected this book because of the cover. A good cover is always good for me

I think this is a 2.5 stars rounded up.

This book had such an interesting premise but it just kind of fizzled for me. It felt longer than it had to be, especially given how little really seems to happen. There were also some moments that I just didn't understand. For instance, towards the end a character uses a phone even though she knows she's being tracked by it and she literally doesn't have to use it - she has no reason to. She should've ditched that thing the moment she found out she was being tracked.

It felt a bit like this book was just trying to do too much. I couldn't get attached to any of the characters, even the little girl Leonie. I had issues with all of them and I didn't really like any of them at all. Joanna makes several stupid decisions, and manages to get away with them despite the fact that even she admits that she could be fired for them.

There's some unnecessary drama between Joanna and Ruby that made me roll my eyes. It also just added to the unnecessary length of the book in my opinion. Honestly, I feel like this book probably would have made a decent hour and a half thriller movie, but as a book it felt very long.

Quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. Genre-bending storyline with fast paced writing. Love every second!

The book was certainly different from my other reads and had me really concentrating as I had to remember all the scenes that occurred within its pages. Slower pace and intense scenes with a darker atmosphere, the book unfurled its secrets only at the end, linking everything up. A good read.

It starts with a little girl being abandoned in a seaside town. The cops come, but moments later her mother shows up, or someone claiming to be her mother. A man named Gregor is discovered almost dead in his bathtub. The curious man isn’t known well by his neighbors, but the toys in his home raise questions, as everyone thought he lived alone. Ruby watches her neighbor through the window and gradually forms a friendship with him and the mother of his child, but the woman claims to be a selkie, a mythological creature able to turn into a seal with the help of a coat. How does it all connect? DS Joanna Harper is about to find out, and she might be more connected than she thinks.

This book was mythology meets murder and it was filled with interesting twists. From the moment we meet Constance and discover that she believes she’s a selkie, the psychological game begins. Is Constance really a selkie? Or is it all in her head? It seems like no one is who they seem to be in this fast paced mystery.

Ruby’s connection to Joanna adds an edge to this mystery. As the police search for Ruby, it becomes apparent that Joanna is related to her and cannot be a part of the case anymore, but for Joanna this makes it more imperative to find Ruby and the little girl she seems to have taken.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read with interesting characters and plot points. I do think some aspects were rushed through or not elaborated on as much as I would have liked. Some twists made the book feel like it was taking on too many elements. In the end, I gave this book 3 stars. I would love to read more by Melanie Golding and see what she comes up with next!

Thanks to NetGalley and Crooked Lane Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love when books / authors blend police procedural vibes with more supernatural elements; it's a theme we see commonly in movies, but I've noticed not so much in books, and I don't know why that is because I always end up having so much fun. The combination of real / not real is so well done in this one - it's sort of a thriller/mystery, but also got those detective feelings, with a dash of magic with the selkie business. I wasn't sure what to expect going into this 'cause I avoided the other reviews beforehand, and WOW - stunning, love it! Gonna check out the other book by this author, too!

Creepy is the watch word for this story. It’s filled with intrigue, a sealskin that hold the key to a mystery decade's in the making. A man with a secret life. A mother and daughter kept in silence. J Harper investigates the assault on a man everyone assumed was single only to find a maze of secrets that will force Harper to change her life in unimaginable ways.