The Hiding Place by David Bell

**I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way affects what I have to say about the book**

Goodreads Summary:

Twenty-five-years ago, the disappearance of four-year-old Justin Manning rocked the small town of Dove Point, Ohio. After his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods two months later, the repercussions were felt for years.… Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her brother in the park. Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions. Could the man convicted of the murder—who spent more than two decades in prison—really be innocent? Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth. Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

My Thoughts: **SPOILER ALERT**

I am not a huge fan of the mystery genre, but that being said I liked this book. I felt the character development was top notch. I never once questioned why a character was doing what they were doing. I find that kind of character development as a dying art form so Kudos to David Bell. My only complaint about this book is Janet never gets a break. Janet has hope for a second in this book that her brother isn't really dead, he is. Then on top of that, Michael, Janet's best friend and life long crush is the one who actually killed her little brother. While this book was well written it was incredibly sad and Janet never got even a moment of happiness, I have a hard time reading a book without even one happy moment for the main character. I did have a hard time putting this book down every night while reading it. I was captured by the word usage and the picture that David Bell painted.

This has made me pick up David Bell's other book Cemetery Girl from the library. I just hope there is at least a hint of happy in that book.

I recommend this book to mystery lovers and those who are lukewarm on mysteries. This is a genuinely good read, just be prepared there is not a happy ending.

While writing this review I was listening to Ciara.