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Next-level domestic suspense - even the twists have twists. I loved it - Andrea Mara is a star." - Lee Child Jumping between time periods, Mara seamlessly ties the various timelines of the story together perfectly. She isn’t afraid to delve into some very dark topics in her books and Hide and Seek is no exception.
Shortly after Joanna, her husband and three children move into a new house in a mature, middle class estate in Dublin, Joanna discovers that the house was the former home of Lily Murphy. Lily disappeared when she was three years old during a neighbourhood game of Hide and Seek and was never found. I love a dual timeline; the 80’s irish suburb along with the attitudes of the time felt very familiar to me, but equally the modern day setting felt realistic too. When Joanna and her family move into their new house, she's sure they've found their forever home. Until she learns about its dark past: thirty years ago, it was home to three-year-old Lily Murphy, who disappeared during a game of hide-and-seek and was never seen again. Another confession is that Andrea's books sometimes give me the creeps. I'm easily disturbed and the most annoying part about a great thriller like this that you don't want to stop reading is that I have to when night falls. I admit it. If this was on the telly I'd be behind the sofa with my eyes shut. Fast forward to 2018 and Joanna Stedman and her family move into their forever home. It seems perfect - until Joanna discovers that it was once the home of Lily Murphy. As Joanna delves further into the child’s disappearance, revelations and secrets emerge - including Joanna’s own. Does she play a part in this long forgotten mystery?Andrea Mara's tight plotting and convincing characterisation make her books both compelling and intriguing.' Liz Nugent Hence why despite recieving my advanced reading copy at 9am after an 11 hour night shift, I sat in bed and got through about 50% of the book in one sitting. I woke with my kindle slapped on my face wondering what just happened and where the hell was Lily. Because Joanna thinks she knows what really happened to Lily - and if the truth gets out, it might be her undoing...
Wow, I absolutely bloody loved this extremely well-written, cleverly plotted mystery/thriller that had me hooked in and captivated from the spine-chilling opening sentence right through to the satisfying concluding dash of poetic justice.' ? ? ? ? ? Andrea Mara is an amazing storyteller and weaves a thoroughly enjoyable tale where you think you know what’s happening and then BAM! a plot twist throws everything you thought you knew out of the window! The characters in Hide and Seek are hiding so many secrets from each other that I learned to trust no one. And Joanna also has a past she doesn’t want to reveal, not even to her family, and is much closer to the truth about what happened to Lily than she wants to admit! But the whole community needs to look within and Joanna may be the catalyst needed to solve the mystery once and for all. Joanna is curious, has some time on her hands, and draws somewhat tenuous links to her own childhood. So unfolds the tale of two timelines, interweaving the past, the present and the secrets of the residents of Rowanbrook. The only problem now is I’ll have to wait for Mara’s next release but the good news is she’s signed a deal with Transworld for two more books!
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The story revolves around the disappearance of 3 year old Lily Murphy and the connection it has to Joanna Stedman who now lives in her house. Lily was never found and Joanna believes she knows more about this case than most because Joanna has a whole closet full of secrets herself. Your two little girls jump on the train ahead of you. As you try to join them, the doors slide shut and the train moves away, leaving you behind. Right now I’m busy editing next year’s book, No One Saw A Thing. It’s about a family on holidays in London, rushing through a Tube station one Monday morning. Two children, age six and two, get on the Tube but the doors close before their mother can get on. When she arrives at the next station, only one of her children is there. (This book is also based on a real experience, about a time when I was a child on holidays in London and my sister and I got on the Tube without our parents!) Has your other daughter got lost? Been taken by a passing stranger? Or perhaps the culprit is closer to home than you think? Joanna has just moved into a beautiful home in the Dublin suburbs with her husband and kids. All is well until she finds out from her next door neighbour that her new house was also the former home of Lily Murphy; a three year old who disappeared following a game of hide and seek nearby in 1985.
This is very hard to put down, it’s very smart and keeps you guessing to the end, the characterisation is masterful although there are a bunch of them to get your head around. Overall, an unpredictable, riveting read from start to finish. Alongside the tension you could cut with a knife and those whiplash inducing plot twists the book is full of characters that are relatable. Some you will see in yourself, others are that annoying neighbour a few doors over that never smiles, remember that family down the road that seem to have it all or even that cluster of snotty Mummies at the school gates. We all know these characters, whether we love or hate them, it becomes ridiculously hard not to become invested in them. This was a great way to escape reality and I found myself devouring this book a lot faster than I thought I would. If you are keen on a twisty psychological thriller that slowly untangles a web of half-truths then this is the book for you. A children’s game of hide and seek ends but little Lily Murphy hasn't been found. Her parents and neighbours search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn't happened. But Lily’s whereabouts remain a mystery.
It’s true. Sometimes, when you’re starting out, it’s tempting to look at the full bookshelves in the shops and think there’s no point, there’s no chance. But they do need new books. Bookshops need them, publishers need them, readers need them. So if you feel you’d like to write a book, go for it. I loved this book! As I mentioned on my stories, I started reading it on the plane home from Tenerife. As it was an evening flight I had a little doze and had a dream involving ALL of the characters in the book! Completely invested in the storyline, and I had only just started it! Joanna is determined to find out all she can about the little girl's disappearance, and the inhabitants of this close-knit neighbourhood are all too eager to speculate. But the more she learns, the closer she's drawn towards her own dark family secrets - secrets she's spent years trying to hide. Joanna soon realises her own memories are key to uncovering the truth about what happened to Lily Murphy. But someone will go to any lengths to stop her from remembering . . . Wow, I absolutely bloody loved this extremely well-written, cleverly plotted mystery/thriller that had me hooked in and captivated from the spine-chilling opening sentence right through to the satisfying concluding dash of poetic justice.' Andrea's latest book, Hide and Seek, was published by Bantam Press in August 2022. You can find Hide and Seek and all Andrea's books on our catalogue.
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! A fast-paced thriller with twists that you never see coming!' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Close your eyes. Count to ten. And when you open them, your child is gone... A top ten bestselling, twisty and compelling thriller about a little girl who goes missing during a game of hide and seek. I couldn’t work out the solution to the mystery for most of the book, even at that I only deduced part of it! I’m not slipping, it’s just a particularly good mystery! 😅 Next-level domestic suspense - even the twists have twists. I loved it - Andrea Mara is a star.' Lee ChildJoanna is determined to find out more about Lily and the circumstances of her disappearance, not least because Joanna is harbouring secrets of her own that may have some bearing on the unsolved case. Andrea Mara has done it again! Hide and Seek, her fifth novel, is her best yet! Mara is one of the undisputed champions of twisty, gripping thrillers that will leave your heart racing and your nerves shot! This sharply observed novel manages to be at once an intricate puzzle and an involving race against time' The Sunday Times
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