The death of her husband and subsequent release of his killer prompts Rachel Marin to start a new life both figuratively and literally. By day, Rachel seems a "normal" single mother, but at night she trains herself in vigilante tactics.

Rachel finds it very hard to trust authority figures such as the police. She'd rather mete out her own justice to make sure that the bad things in life don't touch her, or her children, again.

In this book, John Serrano starts to break down that barrier and Rachel's children find out more about what their mother is doing when she disappears downstairs every night. ( )

If you're in the mood for an "I wanna finish this in one day cos I have to know what happens" thriller, with a mom-turned-vigilante-after-a-trauma as the heroine, working with or sometimes around a pair of talented detectives (a divorced older white male with a tragic past and an addiction to "Lord Of The Rings" and a younger black female with a new wife and her children from a previous marriage), who are hunting down the people who killed the former mayor of a small American city, then "Hide Away" will give you everything you need.

I consumed "Hide Away" in a few sittings in one day and was always keen to get back to it. It's an entertaining read, with a plot that I enjoyed seeing unravelled, enough action to keep it interesting, and a clever use of flashbacks and past secrets that kept the tension high and the pace fast. There is violence but none of it is gratuitous. The emotional punches in the book aren't subtle but they work. The dialogue is well done and the prose never gets in the way.

I was cheering for the heroine by the end and I liked the way the whole thing worked out. It gave me some surprised but it didn't cheat and it seemed mostly plausible. If this was TV, the show would be an instant hit.

This is the first in a new series. It was published in March 2020, so I guess it will be awhile before the next book comes out but when it does, I'll be waiting for it.
thriller ( )

One of the best thrillers I have read in a while. Certainly ranks at the top of other writers! Anxious to get into the next one. ( )

Cleverly plotted story about Rachel Marin, a widow with two young children who suffered unknown trauma in her past and is living under an alias in a new town. Rachel hears of the death of a previous mayor she'd met and is immediately suspicious her death isn't the suicide it appears and finds herself crossing swords at every turn with the local police investigating the crime. The plot twist is quite clever at the end and there are some interesting characters along the way. ( )

The only thing Rachel Marin was missing was a SuperWoman costume. This is one extraordinary woman, but as smart as she is stupidity shares her space. Why would any sane woman who has been traumatized beyond reason repeatedly put herself and her children in harm’s way?! Because she can and she does, over and over again. Dogged determination to right a wrong beyond what any reasonable person would do. And that my friends was the tipping point into unbelievable and unrealistic for me.

My hope is that in the future installments of the Rachel Marin character she is drawn with a more overall intelligent perspective and allowed a modicum of normalcy. The mystery was well thought out while the details were overwhelming but informative. Sometimes contradictions work well and I think this was the case.

I enjoyed the book and thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for a copy ( )