Title: Hide and Seek
Author: Andrea Mara
ISBN: 9781787634527
Publisher: Bantam Press
Pages: 352
Source: ARC from NetGalley
Close your eyes.
The game of hide and seek is over, everyone has gone home, but little Lily Murphy hasn’t been found. Her parents search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn’t happened – but deep down they know this peaceful Dublin suburb will never be the same again.
Count to ten.
Years later, Joanna moves into a new house. It seems perfect in every way until she learns that this was once Lily Murphy’s home. From that moment onwards, a sense of dread seems to follow her from room to room.
And when you open them, your child is gone.
As Joanna unravels the secrets at the heart of this close-knit community, her own dark past begins to resurface. Because she thinks she knows what really happened to Lily – and if the truth gets out, it might be her undoing…
Official Summary
05 August 2022
I added this book to my NetGalley TBR a while ago. I have read another book by the author and enjoyed that, and this one did not disappoint. When Joanna discovers that their new house was home to a little girl who went missing thirty-three years ago, she is obsessed with finding out what happened to little Lily.
This story shows how entwined this community was back in the eighties, where everyone knew everyone, how rumours spread and ruined lives while the truth remains well hidden.
I enjoy Andrea Mara’s writing, her story is detailed, she entwines the lives of her characters remarkably well and delivers a shock of an ending when she ties all the pieces together. I find the book starts slow but as you turn the pages the pace picks up and before you have a moment to catch your breath you are engrossed in a gripping reveal.
Moving into your forever home should be a happy time. Unfortunately, that is not the case for Joanna. Before she has finished unpacking all the boxes she finds out that her new home was once the home of three-year-old Lily Murphy. A beautiful, blonde little girl who went missing thirty-three years ago. A little girl who was never found. While Joanna digs into what happened to Lily, her past returns to haunt her and she is convinced that she knows more about Lily than she cares to admit. The little girl she believes she killed all those years ago looked so much like Lily, her name was Lila. Are Lila and Lily the same child? Did Joanna kill Lily? She must find the truth, she has to know.
Reading this book you are dropped into the tangled lives of the people in this community. You join Joanna on her hunt for the truth and see how rumours destroyed lives. Everyone claims to know their neighbours, but the truth is buried somewhere among the rumours and suspicion. You often wonder if the truth will ever surface.
I found myself on the edge of my seat with Joanna’s anxiety and her fear about being responsible for Lily’s death. She appears to be a good person, but as her lies surface, I found myself curious about what she was hiding. This poor woman had such a bad start in life I understand why she chose to rather lie about her past – I might have done the same. She gained my respect when she decided not to destroy lives with a truth best left unknown.
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.
Also by Andrea Mara
All Her Fault
ONE MISSING BOY.
Marissa Irvine arrives at 14 Tudor Grove, expecting to pick up her young son Milo from his first playdate with a boy at his new school. But the woman who answers the door isn’t a mother she recognises. She isn’t the nanny. She doesn’t have Milo. And so begins every parent’s worst nightmare.
FOUR GUILTY WOMEN.
As news of the disappearance filters through the quiet Dublin suburb and an unexpected suspect is named, whispers start to spread about the women most closely connected to the shocking event. Because only one of them may have taken Milo – but they could all be blamed . . .
IN A COMMUNITY FULL OF SECRETS, WHO IS REALLY AT FAULT?
About The Author
Author bio from the author’s site
Andrea Mara is a crime novelist from Dublin, Ireland, where she lives with her husband and three young children. Her newest book, All Her Fault, will be published by Transworld | Penguin Random House in July 2021. Her first book, The Other Side of the Wall, was shortlisted for the Kate O’Brien Award 2018 and was recently an Amazon number one bestseller in Irish Crime. Her second book, One Click, was shortlisted for Irish Crime Novel of the Year at the 2018 An Post Irish Book Awards, and a recent number one on Amazon in Irish Crime and Northern Irish Crime. Her third novel, The Sleeper Lies, published in February 2020, was an Irish Times Top Ten Bestseller. Andrea also runs a multi-award-winning parent and lifestyle blog, OfficeMum.ie.
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