**The Hiding Place was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random Things Tours & Mantle Books/Pan Macmillan Publishing for having me on this book tour.**

Summary

Abandoned as a baby in the hallway of a shared house in London, Marina has never known her parents, and the circumstances of her birth still remain a mystery.

Now an adult, Marina has returned to the house where it all started, determined to find out who she really is. But the walls of this household more than memories, and Marina’s reappearance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the other tenants.
Someone is watching Marina. Someone who knows the truth . . .

Review

The Hiding Place highlights one woman’s desperate search for the truth about where she came from, and another’s tragic past.

This story jumps between three different points of view, Connie, Marina, and Eva, and two different time periods, 1964 and 1992. I actually really enjoyed all three perspectives of the same story. It ensured that all questions about Marina’s search for the truth were answered.

Seventeen-year-old Connie is a character I felt especially sorry for. In more ways than one, her story is tragic and I had this urge to protect her. Being so young and wrapped up in her own emotions, it often felt as though she was so lost even though she knew what she wanted. But everything she wanted in life seemed like short-term goals based on a love that may never have been there to start with. There was always something, or someone working against her and she deserved better. I truly felt like her life wasn’t really hers as she was always looking after someone else.

Marina was a strong character with steely determination. I found it fascinating to read as she tracked down all the people that were a part of her mother’s and hers path. There was no stone left unturned. I could feel how desperately she wanted to know who her birth mother was and why she gave her up. She soon realised there was far more to the story than she could have ever imagined. Eva is a character I’ll let you learn about on your own, as I feel she is the real key to this story and I’d hate to spoil it!

If you’ve read any of my previous reviews, you may be aware that slow-burners aren’t my usual choices for books. Whilst this book was a slow-burner, I didn’t feel it hindered the reading experience too much. It took a few chapters before I was reeled in and wanting to know more. I appreciated that this was necessary to build the full picture of the characters and their surroundings, but it did feel a little sluggish at times. As an additional note, I’m going to put a trigger warning on this book for the mention of abortion. It was heartbreaking to read about how abortion was carried out during a time when it was illegal, and some may find this element distressing. However, I will add that it wasn’t spoken about in graphic detail so I’d make this a light warning more to be wary than completely put-off from reading it.

I loved the way this mystery built and being a part of Marina’s quest for the truth. I rate The Hiding Place 4/5 stars. It wasn’t gripping initially and I’m not the biggest fan of slow-burners. That being said, as the pace picked up and the story became clearer, I felt deeper connections with the characters and really enjoyed reading it. In my opinion, this is definitely a mystery rather than a thriller mystery. There are very few instances where your heart is pounding from fear so I don’t feel calling it a thriller would be accurate. It was very well-written and I highly recommend reading it if you’re a fan of mysteries with an edge of suspense.