The Hiding Place is a dual timeline thriller that I enjoyed. I didn’t realise there were other books with the same investigators in but I can’t say I felt like I’d missed anything by not reading previous books so it can definitely be read as a stand-alone.
The book is based at Beaconsfield, a high class boarding school the remains of a body have been found in the woods in an abandoned chapel crypt. The boy who is found is Ben Draper, missing since 1997 after a game of hide and seek goes wrong. We follow Bens life in the past from when he started at Beaconsfield to his death and the present is DI Robin Fleet and DS Nikki Collins who have been assigned cold cases due to Fleets boss not liking him as he prefers the pen pushing type not the get out there and get the job done sort.
As you read this book you are led onto a path to try and make you think it’s someone when deep down you know it’s not the right culprit. The book had a good pace and didn’t seem to let up, I did prefer the past chapters as a lot more seemed to happen and I looked forward to these chapters getting to grips with who Ben was.
I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin General UK, Viking for this ARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Just a game of hide and seek .... That is until Ben goes missing and isn't found until over,20 years later an annoymous too is left with the police to look in the crypt at school and they will find a body. The problem is its a cold case and with so many potential suspects Fleet and Nicky have their work cut out trying to find out who is telling the truth and who is lying.... Then more people turn up.murdered also connected with the case and potential suspects. Will they be able to find the murderer before they commit another one and why are they doing it anyway?
Couldn't put this down, read well into the night. Many thanks Net galley for letting me read this book and to Simon Lelic for writing it can't wait for the next one....

Wow, what a rollercoaster of a book. Utterly thrilling.
I lost sleep over this as I was turning the pages late into the night.
Simon Lelic is at the top of his game with stories this high quality.
Thank you to NetGalley, to the publisher and author for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful novel from Simon Lelia. DI Fleet in working on cold cases when a top off leads him to discovering Ben who disappeared 22 years ago from school. Many believed he ran away but he was murdered.
Great characters and storyline in this novel. Why a tip off now and what happens next? Read and find out.

Absolutely fantastic read! This story gripped me from the start and had me turning pages late into the night. Well done! Thank you publisher and netgalley for this arc in exchange of an honest review.

FOUR FRIENDS. ONE MURDER. A GAME THEY CAN'T ESCAPE
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'It was only a game'... Until a boy went missing.
'No one was meant to get hurt'... But a body has been found.
'Just some innocent fun'... Except one of them is a killer.
Ready or not, here I come.
It's time to play hide and seek again.
THE WHISPER MAN meets THE GUEST LIST in this gripping story; DI Fleet is up against some of the most powerful people in the country as he attempts to discover the truth about what happened on the day of the game...

This is a brilliant read.
Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.
Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable.
Great suspense and found myself second guessing every thought I had continuously.
Can't wait to read what the author brings out next.
Recommend reading.

I was provided an ARC from NetGalley and the publisher. This is my own hone\st voluntary review.

Simon Lelic can always be relied on to supply a great read. If you haven't read his previous books I would really recommend them.

The body of a boy, who died twenty years ago, is discovered in the crypt of a ruined church in the grounds of a very prestigious boarding school. There was a cursory search for him at the time but given his troubled background, it was assumed that he had run away. DI Robin Fleet is in charge of the present day investigation and soon realises this is a case of murder and a lot of individuals from that time have a great deal to hide.

The plot is extremely well executed and it explores some intense themes: belonging; loneliness; power; wealth and entitlement. The characterisation is excellent with troubled, arrogant and manipulative individuals. The background of the exclusive school lends itself well to the creation of a creepy and tense atmosphere. The pace of the action is completely on point.

Another great thriller from a great author.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Chilling and claustrophobic detective fiction unfolds following an anonymous tip-off that leads to discovering a boy's remains within the grounds of the school he attended over twenty years ago. DI Fleet and DS Collins investigate the cold case, increasingly hampered by powerful forces as the number of suspects grows.

The sense of place is vivid, and the school and what it stands for are integral to the story. Complex characters, often unlikeable and evil, populate this murder mystery. I like the twisty plot, the atmospheric setting and the relentless investigators determined to find the truth despite the considerable obstacles.

An absorbing, addictive read immerses the reader in the setting and the story.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I am always happy to read a book published by Penguin, I can be sure that it will be good.
This one was no exception, very well written and atmospheric. The school with a brooding evil intent, students determined to wreak havoc and a poor unloved boy at the centre of it all.
Great story, with some nasty characters, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Fleet and Nicky are required to look into the death of a young boy at a boarding school. Fellow pupils and staff are all suspected to have been involved or helped in the cover up.
This switches between the months leading up to the death and the current investigation, and also focusses on the lives of some of the pupils and the reasons why they have been sent to a boarding school in the first place.

An interesting storyline and characters

I absolutely loved this book words cannot describe how good it is.

The storyline is gripping and the police officer characters are likeable. The ending was totally different from what I expected but made absolute sense.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review

Parallel Stories.

DI Robin Fleet in ‘missing persons’ receives an anonymous email giving a clue to the location of the body of a teenager, Ben, who went missing from a posh public school some 20 years previously, apparently whilst playing a game of Hide and Seek with three others.

It becomes apparent that Ben has been murdered and the plot follows the investigation by Fleet and his sidekick, DS Nicky Collins, which has to locate all the witnesses from the original investigation - one of whom is politically sensitive now, which provides further complications.

Interweaved with the story of the investigation is the story of the events of the last few months of Ben’s life. So we have an interesting double perspective which rather than clarifies matters only seems to add further mystery.

I have reviewed a couple of Simon Lilic’s books previously, which I have enjoyed, and this one is no exception. Twists and turns abound and there is considerable jeopardy to the investigators towards the end.

I read this book from a pre-publication copy kindly supplied by the publisher, but this is an honest review with no concession to their generosity.

This was a well developed and very sad story. The main characters are four emotionally deprived teenagers, at an upper class boarding school. One of the three has an unhealthy influence on the others and has a plan to bring about the closure of the school. The police investigation into the story is very intense with some interesting characters. The conclusion builds to a grand finale. Great read!

From both a Lelic novel and mystery genre perspective, I was left a little disappointed by this one. It took me a while to get into and I didn't feel as if I connected with any of the characters (even though I've read, and loved, the previous DI Fleet novel). Whilst I enjoyed the flashbacks with Ben's perspectives, the plotline felt slow and dragged out the rest of the time, and so whilst it was readable, there was no drive or momentum making it into a thrilling page turner. That being said, at the final climax, everything seemed to come together and it was truly difficult to put the book down - it's just a shame I wasn't so taken with the rest of the book.

Having thoroughly enjoyed three other books by this author I was delighted to receive an advance copy of The Hiding Place.
Ben Draper is hurt and in hiding. He prays to God to keep him hidden, keep him safe.
Please let me never be found.
Twenty-two years later a skeleton is found and the mystery of what happened is played out over the two time lines of 1997 and 2019. The story centres round a boarding school and children who are there because their families do not want them living at home. They feel unloved, unwanted and abandoned.
I felt drawn into the story from the first page and the tense atmosphere and mystery was maintained throughout the book.
DI Fleet and DS Nicola Collins have a good working relationship but their work is hampered by their superiors. They are anxious to find the person responsible for Ben Draper's death regardless of who they upset. Their enquiries become a race against time.
Many thanks to Netgalley/Simon Lelic/Penguin General UK for a digital copy of this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

Another winner from Mr Lelic. Murderous goings on in a boarding school and politics mixing with policing aren't new themes in detective stories but the author manages to find a fresh take. He also cleverly weaves in the personal lives of the main characters. Looking forward to the next one!
Thank you to netgalley and Penguin Books for an advance copy of this book

This is a cleverly constructed story that is well written and keeps the reader guessing the ending throughout.

Ben, is discovered twenty years after he went missing. Turns out he was murdered. Teachers and pupils alike are all viable suspects. So Fleet and his assistant, Nicky, are challenged with discovering what happened. This leads to shrewd observations of the nature of boarding schools and how they affect students. The detectives investigate te contacts Ben had, but as a bullied and disliked pupil, there's few of them. Soon, it emerges that a group planned to cause enough damage to then school to ensure closure, presenting the question of how far were they actually willing to go. Would murder be within their means?
The ending is dramatic and surprising and had me hooked throughout.

This is a fast paced well plotted police procedural. Written in two timelines, the present and 22 years earlier. Ben Draper had gone missing from the elite boarding school he attended, one minute he was there and then he vanished until 22 years later is remains were found buried. Who had killed Ben?

Told from two different points of view, three months before and up to the day he died is Ben’s POV, the other is in the current time and the investigation being carried out by DI Robin Fleet and DS Nicky Collins. Fleet’s boss doesn’t like him after something that happened in a previous case, so he was assigned to cold cases, when this body was found it became Fleets case, and he cruelly likes working these cases. Except this time the killer kills again, why would someone who killed 22 years earlier suddenly kill again?

This is a very well plotted story with lots of red herrings in it to keep you guessing. I really felt for Ben, he has no one, not at school or at home, his mum had passed away, his father had remarried but the wife can’t stand Ben and didn’t seem to care less that they had found his remains.

How had Ben got mixed up with Lance, Melissa and Callum at the school. Because he was warned that those 3 were trouble. But they gave him attention and he thought they were helping him by being his friend, but what did they want in return. Years laterCallum is now a bit of a celebrity and a political figure.

The headmaster of the school is more worried of the damage finding the body could do for the schools reputation than he is about finding the killer.

A well plotted, engrossing rollercoaster read, can you guess who the killer is? There are plenty of suspects.

I would like to thank #netgalley and #PenguinGeneralUK for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

Simon Lelic has a particular talent for writing about teenagers, heralded in his first novel ‘Rupture’. He’s revisited this age group successfully in a number of his stories, not least in ‘The Hiding Place’ which focuses on a small group of disaffected teens within the larger confines of Beaconsfield, a minor public school. Lelic’s story begins 22 years in the past – a boy is involved in a bizarre game of hide-and-seek. He’s desperate to be found at one level but is willing to endure considerable pain at another. Those who are looking for him are even more unbearable than his physical suffering.
The connection between the past and the present day is made when DI Fleet and DS Collins are tasked to visit Beaconsfield: a skeleton has been found in the chapel crypt. The Head, Adrian Harris, is long serving and becomes a reluctant source of information as the police look back at a missing pupil case. Ben Draper disappeared from the school without trace in April 1997 and nobody seemed to care.
Fleet and Collins must find and interview the few ‘friends’ that Ben made during his short time at the school. Callum Richardson, leader of the tight-knit group, is an aspiring politician and it’s clear that he is keen to disassociate himself with the event. Lelic’s characterisation of unpleasant people never strays into caricature and they are all the more memorable because of this. However, he doesn’t just give us the worst of human nature. In Fleet, his ex-wife Holly and Collins, we see that courage, kindness and consideration, perseverance and sensitivity are all alive and well.
This is another good read with a very satisfying ending. Having first met Fleet and Collins in ‘The Search Party’, I’m hoping that Lelic will develop their characters further still.
My thanks to NetGalley and Penguin General UK for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

We start with the discovery of a body. That of a teenage boy, missing a good while. I say body but it has been there some 20 odd years so... It's found in a disused crypt in the grounds of a prestigious boarding school.
The timeline then splits to follow the deceased, Ben Draper, as he arrives at the school. A misfit, loner, and soon to be social pariah. But he is taken in by a trio of older children. Meanwhile, back in the present and we follow DI Fleet and DS Collins, Robin and Nikki, as they try and get to the bottom of what happened. Their investigation is a bit strained as the boarding school is prestigious and has produced several notable alumni. Including one of the aforementioned "friends" of Ben. They are told to tread lightly, but the death of a child is important...
I do love a dual timeline when done properly, as it is here. Where the past is injected at the right times and divulges just enough information to progress the investigation in the present, without giving away too much too early. Here, this book excels, and it really worked as, to be honest, I really had no idea where we were going half the time!
Characters were well defined and all acted as they should. Some were easier to connect to than others but that could have just been me as I was a bit overly suspicious of several who turned out to be innocent and missed quite a few "clues" along the way!
Pacing was good and consistent with the narrative all the way through. Ramping up to the finale which I really wasn't expecting but which made perfect sense at the end of the day and had me kicking myself for not realising .
All in all, a good solid read that I have no hesitation in recommending to fans of the genre. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.