This book would, I truly believe, make an excellent motion picture - one that would keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. As a book? Sorry, but it just didn't do it for me.

It's not the plot, which is solid even though it's not terribly original. A child is kidnapped, his parents (one of whom has a deep dark secret) are distraught, police are not doing what parents think they should, parents set out on their own to find their child against all sensible advice and chaos ensues. Rather, my difficulties come from the writing; transition that is sadly lacking (or worse, nonexistent) and way too many unclear antecedents and misplaced modifiers. Consider, for instance, this gem:

"...<i>woman chatting to a doctor in a pink smock</i>."

Well, as it turns out, the doctor was a guy; so no, I rather think he wasn't the one wearing pink.

The story begins as Lana Cross thwarts the would-be kidnapper of her 4-year-old son Cooper. Before he gets away, the mystery man - dubbed "Mr. Whisper" - has the last word: "<i>Tomorrow</i>."

Scared out of their wits, Lana and her husband Todd pick up Cooper and leave the home they love for a small apartment in the city. For months, the kidnapper's tomorrow never comes; but convinced that someday it will, Lana determines that she, and only she, must find Mr. Whisper before he makes good on his promise to return (why, exactly, she thinks that way remains a mystery to me). She taps into a crime-scene-finder iPhone app and does some mostly futile digging around, but that all but stops when she and Todd learn they've won a free two-week vacation to an adventure park.

That's great, they say - we need to get away (my reaction would have been more like, "</i>Are you kidding me? What kind of scam is this</i>?" but then it's different strokes for different folks). And surprise, surprise - once they get to the park, the worst happens: Todd, who leaves Lana to take their son on a ride, is knocked unconscious and Cooper vanishes.

Getting a call to meet up from who she assumes is the kidnapper, Lana rushes off without telling anyone, even passing on heading to the hospital to visit her seriously injured husband. But wait, there's more: Apparently, Todd isn't as bad off as the doctors think; he, too, disappears from right under their noses. From that point on, the action really begins to heat up as Lana goes her way and Todd goes his - mostly for totally different reasons (remember that deep, dark secret)?

From that point on, it's impossible to explain what happens without giving away too much. I will emphasize, though, that the last half of the book was noticeably better and for the most part held my attention quite well. For that, I'm happy; when I'm given the opportunity to read an advance copy of a in exchange for an honest review (as with this one), I make it a rule to not give up till I at least pass that point. In this instance, that worked out for the best even though overall this book really isn't my cup of tea.

It is my absolute pleasure to be taking part in the blog tour for Hide and Seek by Richard Parker. I think I hid it quite well, but I was somewhat of a fan of his last offering, Follow You, and so I was delighted when asked by Noelle from Bookouture if I’d take part in the tour.

Okay. So I may have lied a little earlier. I was absolutely useless when it came to hiding my feelings on Follow You. I loved it and shouted about it as often as I could to anyone daft enough to listen. It ticked all my boxes, a delicious blend of gore and sickly dark humour which had me chuckling into the small hours. So my expectations were quite high when it came to reading Hide and Seek. I am absolutely delighted to say that every one of them was met.

More a creepily unnerving story than a full on gore fest like his previous offering, Hide and Seek is the story of a young family thrown into turmoil by the attempted abduction of the young son, Cooper. Although the first attempt is thwarted by his mother, Lana, his whispered promise that he will return has them all on edge, none more so than Lana who makes it her mission to find the man repsonsible for their terror. When Cooper goes missing, could it be that the same man, a person Cooper knew as Mr Whisper, has returned?

From the very outset of this book I was hooked. It seemed innocuous enough a start. A woman grappling with her laundry as her son plays outside. It takes only a small fraction of time for everything to change and from this point on you get the ultimate sense of pace and jeopardy which will prevail throughout the whole book. As Lana fights with the man in the mask to keep Cooper with her, you get the feeling that her whole world is shifting and what follows is somewhat inevitable and yet no less unnerving and heart thumping.

Lana’s obsession with finding the man who tried to take Cooper dominates the early part of the book, her quest even taking her to former murder sites, every killer, at least in her minds eye, a potential match for the man she is looking for. So it is somewhat of a surprise that both she and her husband Todd overlook what, to even the most oblivious reader, is obviously setting them on fast track to impending doom. They say you should never look a gift horse in the mouth, but when the horse comes fully dressed in a Snip the Squirrel mask, it should at least set some alarm bells ringing. Read the book and believe me that will make a lot more sense.

Although completely different in tone, I still really enjoyed this book. There were less of the shock, bam in your face moments, it really wasn’t that kind of story, but there was a growing sense of unnease with every passing moment, and a slow build of the tension to a highly dramatic conclusion. In some scenes I was almost holding my breath, poised on the edge of my seat, desperate to see what would happen. While I anticipated that some of Lana’s so called friends probably couldn’t be trusted, I definitely didn’t call the who, the why or the how. And as Lana was led on a wild goose chase in search of her son, Todd was dealing with a problem of an entirely different nature. His ‘situation’ led to some of the more, how should I put it, wince inducing moments of the story, showing that Mr Parker’s thirst for blood isn’t entirely sated just yet. Not on the same level as its predecessor, but still able to make the skin crawl.

I love the style of Richard Parker’s writing and the way he can make me invested in the characters, even if I don’t always entirely like them. Not that I particularly disliked any of the characters in this book, with the exception of the obvious Mr Whisper. I admired Lana’s tenacity, even if I did question the sanity of her actions. Even Todd had his moments, his actions, while misguided, all done for the sake of his wife. They both took mad risks in order to save Cooper, ones which almost beggared belief. But let’s face it. It wouldn’t have been such an interesting story if they’d just sat back and left everything to the police now, would it?

I was suckered in from the off and sense of duty (and self preservation) were the only things that could stop me from racing through to the end. Fast paced, short chapters had me turning the pasges well into the night and if I hadn’t had to pretend to sleep before I had to go back to work, I would have finished it in the same evening.

Chilling, thrilling and proof positive that it is absolutely right to have a natural suspicion and perhaps even hatred of American squirrels, I loved it. Cant wait to see what Mr Parker offers up next.

I found myself hooked right from the very first page. Richard Parker has a way of crime thriller writing that draws you right in and doesn't let you go once he has your attention. Hide And Seek starts with a bang and stays that way until the very end, and was just the fast-paced, entertaining, somewhat dark and disturbing thriller I was looking for. The plot is both interesting, slightly twisted and quite intense... The use of the Right Where You're Standing (RWYS) app as part of the plot and plot twists is an interesting and original touch; cybercrime is something we are becoming more and more aware of these days and I liked how this element was incorporated into the story. The many plot twists kept you on the edge of your seat wondering about the who, what and why... And the journey itself was something to look forward to. The only thing that slightly bothered me were the characters. Lana seems a bit hysterical and paranoid (even though I admit she isn't in an easy situation to begin with) and I didn't always agree with Todd's actions and the way everyone handled the situation in general. Sometimes I wondered about the credibility of the parents really being this involved in an active investigation? This doesn't take away the fact that I was still able to thoroughly enjoy this serial killer/kidnapping rollercoaster ride and fans of the genre will be in for a treat.

I received a copy of Hide and Seek from NetGalley for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture Publishing, and Richard Parker for the opportunity. This book will be published August 31, 2017.

I really liked this book! It was fast paced and once I got started, I didn't want to put it down! It had great developed characters, especially Lana. I could really feel her fear and desperation to save her son. My only real issue was the strange side story with the father. I don't feel like it added anything to the story and it was a distraction for me. The twists and turns in the story kept me guessing until the end and the reveal was one I definitely didn't see coming. I will definitely be checking out Richard Parker's other books!

A good book, dragged a little in places but I enjoyed it overall.

OMG! Richard Parker certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention, with a “heart thumping” opening chapter I found myself well and truly hooked. Imagine one minute your child's having the time of their life and the next minute their gone, taken by a stranger, it's got to be every parents biggest nightmare, the author expertly builds on this fear making Hide And Seek a highly unnerving read.

Lana is very protective of her son Cooper and rightly so, when Todd is snatched and her husband Todd’s left unconscious Lana’s worse nightmares become reality. As if this wasn't enough to capture the reader's attention Lana receives messages telling her to visit a school which was once a murder site and so begins a twisted game, what follows is a tense and riveting read. As I started each chapter I found myself becoming more apprehensive as the author reveals more details of why Cooper was taken.

The author never gives to much away in Hide And Seek, almost up until the final thrilling chapter your waiting for the big reveal. I love it when an author does this as I find myself constantly trying to second guess where the plot is leading, and I'm even more impressed when I get it WRONG or I have “I never seen that coming”moment which happened a few times whilst reading this book so well done to the author.

If you read Richard Parkers previous book Follow You I'm sure you will be expecting some gruesome scenes, but Hide Is Seek is very different to his previous book this one very much builds on the fear of loosing a child and the threat from an unknown person, personally I enjoyed this book more, it's well written with an intriguing plot that's guaranteed to keep the heart racing. Told in short thrilling chapters, each one leaves you wanting to read “just one more”. Would I recommend this book? It's definitely a big loud “yes” from me.

Review maybe altered slightly and edited prior to publication on my blog

After finishing Richard Parker's Follow You I couldn't wait to read his next book Hide and Seek once I had my hands on an ARC. When I started reading I became gripped by the story that started to unfold. I love those stories where a catastrophic event happens to somebody and we then follow in their footsteps as they attempt to get back what has been taken from them. I first read stories like this from Simon Kernick and Dean Koontz and I was reminded of both of those authors numerous times as I read.

The story in this case mainly follows married couple Lana and Todd who have been living in fear since the failed abduction of their son Cooper. When they win a holiday to Blue Crest adventure park they hope (for a short while at least) that they can put their fears that another abduction will happen behind them and enjoy their time at the park. It would obviously be a boring book if that happened and soon Cooper is taken. Who has abducted him and why?

One of my favourite things about Follow You was how Richard used the setting to really add to the terror felt by the reader themselves as they read and that was the case here in Hide and Seek. Not so much terror but the setting of the park was fantastic for the events that unfolded, and then once the action left the park once Cooper had been abducted the tension, fear and at times excitement was ramped up because of the settings used throughout. There's so many heart stopping moments that made this a truly gripping read. This is also the case in terms of the multimedia element, whereby Lana uses an app to seek out potential kidnappers and we see her visiting various murder sites across the country in her attempt to seek out the kidnapper. Her fear is palpable, and any parent will immediately want to hug their children tighter after reading this book. There's some inventive scenes throughout the book and Richard is a very exciting author to watch for some of the original content that he manages to come up with.

The middle of the road rating is mainly because the ending was poor which was a real shame because the book was incredibly strong throughout. There's so many different scenarios that could potentially have happened to result in Cooper's abduction and at times even the parents themselves raise questions to the reader. Unfortunately where things fell flat to me was with the big reveal and the closing chapters of the book. I felt it was a bit of a weak ending, and after all of the fear and tension throughout I was kind of disappointed with who the abductor was and why they did what they did and just felt that things were tied up too neatly. Follow You had many elements of horror in it but Hide and Seek is just a bog standard thriller and the lack of an exciting or thrilling ending just makes the book yet another thriller with little originality to it because of that ending. I can still recommend the book as Richard is a fantastic author and there are some fantastic scenes throughout however I was left disappointed when I finished the story and that was a real shame because up until that point I was gripped.

After the gorefest of Follow You, I was advised this wasn't as gory and it certainly wasn't! This was one of those reads that has you gripped from page 1 and it would make a great film. So as I was reading it I was casting characters in my head!

This was a fast paced edgy dark thriller that kept me on my toes from start to finish. This is now in my long list of Top 17 Reads of 2017.

Richard Parker excels at taking the reader on one heck of a story journey. You need a lie down after reading his books.

I had read Scare Me (and promoted it with his previous publisher) so I knew I was in for a great read with this new one. I really like Richard's willingness to stretch my imagination. He's a great writer.

In this book a young boy is almost taken by a sinister stranger one day from his back garden. It's a plan that fails thanks to one gutsy mother who does everything to save her child. But that's really nowhere near the end of that story...in fact it's just the beginning and sometimes the past comes back to haunt you.

I'm not going to talk too much more about the plot except to say it's fast-paced from page one to the very end, is brilliantly written and has plenty of twisty turns you will just love! I enjoyed the storyline a lot.

There are characters to love and loathe in Hide and Seek. The bad guys I loved to despise and was willing their demise all the way through. I cheered on Connor's gutsy mother, the lioness that protects and fights for her cub no matter what. She is a formidable woman, I'd want her on my team.

A deranged, evil serial abductor and killer of children is at large and the overall story around him is fantastic. The ending of this book features high-octane thrills and heart-stopping moments. The very end was just brilliant, it couldn't have been wrapped up better. I was a satisfied reader.

If you want a book to turn the pages with that let's you escape totally into the plot look no further than Hide and Seek! 5 huge happy Reviewer stars from me.

Author Richard Parker made quite an impression with his previous offering Follow You. This one is a bit different and I was pleasantly surprised as it shows the author is not a one-trick-pony but able to diversify and still produce an excellent thriller. Think less gore an icky stuff, more deliciously creepy.

Nine months ago, someone tried to kidnap four year old Cooper from his garden. His mother, Lana, foiled the attempt but has been suffering from anxiety since that day. She's also rather obsessed with finding out who tried to take her son. So much so that she's often glued to an app on her phone that points out murder sites in her neighbourhood. I shudder at the thought. So when the family wins a trip to an adventure park, it is the break they desperately need. But things soon take a turn for the worse.

The relatively short chapters make for a quick and fast-paced read. The points of view switch effortlessly between Lana and Todd as they both set out to find their son. Hide and Seek is a brilliantly tense ride full of intrigue and I'm pretty sure my forehead now has added wrinkles from frowning so hard as I tried to figure out what was going on! This is a pretty intricate and complex plot and with twists, turns, a red herring or two and a satisfying conclusion, it all results in a truly enjoyable and gripping thriller. Bring on the next one, Mr. Parker!

If I could I would seriously give this book far more than five stars

When Lana and Todd win a trip to Blue Crest Adventure Park,their four year old son Cooper is ecstatic but while Lana is distracted by her phone,Todd is attacked and Cooper is abducted.

No one stopped the man carrying the sleeping boy,they both just vanished without a trace.Then Lana receives an anonymous message,telling her to visit a local school with a horrifying history.

What is the link between the school and her missing son? Can Lana uncover who is forcing her to play their twisted game and save Cooper before it's too late?

After the Gripping prologue the reader is given the chance to catch their breath while you follow the family's journey to Blue Crest Adventure Park and believe me you need that short reprieve because once Cooper is abducted,the action is non stop.This fast paced thriller has short,snappy chapters that alternate between Lana and Todd.You follow Lana as she follows the instructions of whoever has kidnapped Cooper.Meanwhile as well as trying to help Lana find their son,Todd has his own problems to deal with.He is being pursued by some rather nasty men,are they the same people who are behind Copper`s disappearance?.Throughout the story both characters find themselves in a number of nail biting,life threatening situations that had me frantically turning the pages,eager to find out what was going to happen next.

Likeable hero and heroine,evil twisted villains,loads of twists,breath taking,nail biting danger,sinister spooky settings manipulation,deception and loads and loads of action.This gripping roller coaster ride grips you from the very first page and squeezes you tighter and tighter until you get to the end and are finally able to breath again.