Creepy, well told story with a smattering of paranormal. Lovely narration by Richard Armitage.

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

I didn't like this one nearly as much as I had hoped I would but I did like it. I absolutely loved C.J. Tudor's first book, The Chalk Man, so I was really eager to read her newest book. This was not a bad book by any means but for me, it was missing that essential spark that I had hoped to find.

This is really Joe's story. Joe goes back to teach at his hometown high school. This town doesn't hold the best memories for him but he needs a job and there is one available at his old high school so he does what he needs to do. It is obvious right from the start that Joe knows how to work a situation and can fake it when needed. Joe has a few, okay more than a few, gambling debts so he is in desperate need of a job.

As a reader, you know that Joe has some history in this town, including whatever happened to his sister, Annie, but it takes a long time to find out exactly what happened. This book is told both in the present day and the past. I felt like a lot more of the book was set in the present day but I liked the story from the past a lot more. As the story came together and things were revealed, I just never felt all that surprised. I wanted something in this story to really shake things up but it seemed somewhat predictable for me.

I had a hard time connecting to Joe and really all of the characters in this book. I never felt like Joe could be trusted and he really just felt like a mess to me. I really have no problem liking flawed characters and often feel that they feel more realistic but Joe just seemed to be missing that redeeming quality that I needed to see. All of the characters in this book felt rather flat to me.

I think that a lot of readers will like this one a lot more than I did. I was looking forward to a dark story which I got but unfortunately, I couldn't connect with the characters and felt that the story was somewhat predictable. I did like the book and plan to read more from C.J. Tudor just as soon as it is available.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Crown Publishing Group via NetGalley.

Initial Thoughts
This was okay. I never felt like the story completely grabbed me and found the book pretty easy to set aside. I was actually more interested in the parts of the book that were set in the past. I did not like Joe or any of the characters but I didn't hate them either. Unfortunately, this book really didn't make me feel much of anything. I was mildly interested in how things would work out but the big reveal at the end didn't do much for me.

Can you call it an Inspector Lynley novel when he is barely in it? I think he has three lines. Maybe four. Following Deborah and Simon was painful. Also Deborah is just the worst. I got nothing anymore on her. I swear George must take pleasure of having her being okay in the first couple of books to turning her into a selfish brat. I don't get why anyone wants to deal with her.

"A Place of Hiding" follows Deborah who is reeling for a less than fantastic photography exhibit. She rails on Simon cause of course. Then a knock at the door brings an old friend from her time in California, Cherokee River. Cherokee has come to ask for help since his sister, China, River has been accused of murdering a wealthy elderly man, Guy Brouard. Cherokee came into contact with Guy when he was asked to deliver a package with the request that two people bring it. Cherokee cannot understand why anyone thinks that his sister did the murder since she has no reason to since she just met Guy a few weeks back.

Deborah being the worst, wants to go and investigate even though the local Guernsey police are dealing with it. Simon goes along to help and the two of them are doing their own unofficial investigation. Deborah doesn't listen and wants to show Simon she's not a child (really girl? really?) and then goes off and makes matters worse it seems as the book goes on. Deborah starts to see how China and even Cherokee view her and starts to wonder about her friendships with the two of them.

Simon is Simon, focusing on the evidence and being logically and also rightfully angry at Deborah because of some of the actions she took.

There is a cast of thousands in this book. It was hard to track everyone. Let's just say everyone had a motive to kill Guy and he sucked. I won't reveal who the killer was and why, but I have to say it was an awesome reveal and I loved what it meant. 

The writing is just jumbled in this one. So was the flow. I gave up trying to keep certain people straight and started skimming in some parts. 

That said, the ending once again seemed a bit flat. I wish it had ended on Simon and Deborah and not a secondary character who I forgot was in the book at that point. 

I'm not gonna lie, my initial interest in this book was due to the fact that Richard Armitage narrates the audiobook. If you've followed me for any length of time, you'll know that I absolutely adore him, not only as an audiobook narrator, but first as an actor.

That being said, I also thought the synopsis sounded interesting:

"Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang - the betrayal, the suicide, the murder - and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn't have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe's sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault.

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town - while avoiding the enemies he's made in the years since - is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing.

It was the day she came back."

So, I preordered it.

I kind of wish now that I'd saved it for Halloween Bingo, because it would definitely fit a whole host of squares.

It did take awhile to get going, which I really didn't notice until thinking back on it after I'd finished. I think the excellent narration masked it somewhat. However, once it got to about the 50% mark, it was pretty much impossible to put down. It was creepy, if not outright scary, and it had a few nice twists here and there that managed to surprise me when I thought I'd figured out how things were going to go.

The story behind the events that led up to Joe's sister, Annie's disappearance, and subsequent reappearance is told via flashbacks that are interspersed among the present day story.

This is the author's second book. I have already bought her first, The Chalk Man, on audio, and am going to try to save it for Halloween Bingo. (It's not narrated by Richard Armitage.)

This was really good. I may try to write a review tomorrow. (I'll be so glad when I can stop taking the drowsy-making allergy medicine.)

Also, I wish I was rich enough to be able to hire Richard Armitage to read every book ever to me.