Wow!! This storyline and plot are different and it was so well thought out and executed! Crazy mother?? Check? Kid that just wants love and acceptance? Check. Crazy mom that will do anything to reach her own means? Double check.

I really liked this author and this book did not disappoint, it was an appropriately paced, page turner that will have me hooked throughout the story.

What a suspenseful mystery novel, great job done by this author in weaving a storyline that hooks you from the very beginning.

In Hideways, Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment.

Great read and I highly recommend this novel.

Really good book about what appears to be a doting suburban mom. Unfortunately all is not what it seems. This could also be a bit of a trigger warning for some since it involves abuse and neglect of kids. Heartbreaking but d such a good book! Will definitely read more by this author!

Thanks and appreciation to NetGalley, publisher an author, for letting me read a free copy of this book for review. I wanted to like this book but I did not. I usually like a book that grabs my attention after reading the first sentence. I know I will either like the book or not like the book with the fist sentence. Sadly, this book did not grab my attention or interest.

Hideaway by Canadian writer Nicole Lundrigan follows a dysfunctional family living under a narcissistic matriarch. To no avail, the two children, Rowan and Maisy, try desperately to level their mother’s moods after their father moves out. When Rowan gets kicked out of the house, he meets a kind but very troubled drifter who takes him in. While word begins to spread about his “abduction”, Maisy must hold her family’s secrets closely or risk her mother’s wrath. This is certainly not an upbeat story, but it was suggested to me right at a time when I was looking for a change of pace. “Suburban noir” would be a good way to describe it.

I enjoyed this book. It was a bit tough for me to get into. But the different perspectives were good. Overall it was a good book, that kept me engaged to the end.

Thank you for the early copy!

I decided to not pick this one up because of the trigger warnings/subject.

This cover is gorgeous, but it’s nothing compared to the beautiful prose and flawless storytelling of the author. Such an intense book. I dare you to find a place where you’ll be able to put it down!

I think I’ve found my next go-to author in the thriller genre. Nicole Lundrigan spins a tale that is both engrossing and emotional. Some parts of this book are difficult to get through, simply because of the child abuse (mostly psychological). That Gloria character is one piece of work. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the ARC. It was great!

One thing this author is extremely skilled at is writing multi-faceted characters...characters that evoke real feelings for the reader...feelings of empathy, disgust, sadness, and rage (at least, in my experience).

This was not an easy book to read...it centers around a missing teenager and the circumstances that led to his disappearance...throughout the book the reader follows Rowan, the missing teenager, so they know where he is, which I found soothing as I sometimes become very anxious when reading stories where the missing person's whereabouts are completely unknown.

A slow burning mystery, I found myself sometimes struggling to pick it up because I really despised some of the characters. Normally, despicable characters don't bother me but I think I was in the mood for a "happier" book when I read this one...I'm going to go with the "it's not you, it's me" theory on this one.

Overall, this was a solid story with vivid descriptions and very real characters. I highly recommend it to fans of the gritty, dark genre of books.

I received an e-arc of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Trigger warning: ABUSE

Despite glowing reviews, this was not for me. It's well written and evokes all the right emotions. You feel sadness, anger, desperation, shock and even at points happiness. but I just could not connect with it. The plot and "twist" weren't subtle, and I think that took away from the strength.

Let me start by thanking the author, NetGalley, and the publishing house for allowing me an electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.

Actually a 4.5 I believe. This one was a good one! About a manipulative, narcissistic mother who uses her children to get what she wants. And for most of this story, she wants her husband back. He found another woman in town and has moved out. The mother is verbally abusive to both her son and daughter but in different ways. The daughter is younger and the mother has her believing that whatever the daughter "remembers" from whatever has happened is false and then feeds her a cover story as what actually happened.
I don't want to give too much away but this author did a GREAT job at building characters with serious mental illness. And also thank you to the author for making the possibly dangerous schizophrenic homeless man into an actual person. There are so many seriously mentally ill people in this country and so many of them aren't able to get that help and end up on the streets. They are still people.
And I loved the twist at the end. I recommend anyone who likes darker psychological suspense to read this book.

Hideaway is a book that takes you through secrets of a horrible troubled family and shows you anyone can a hero and a source of unexpected strength.
You follow Rowan, a thirteen year old boy and his 7 year old sister Maisy. Rowan goes missing after their mother makes him "disappear." He seek shelter with a friendly yet unstable man named Carl. All while his mom uses his disappearance as a way to bring her estranged husband back to the family. But all is not as it seems as the investigation goes on.
A thrilling, slightly disturbing novel. I would recommend it highly. My only peeve was I WANTED MORE!!! The ending had me begging for more. I wanted a deeper look into the after effects of this truly troubling novel.

Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment.

When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn.

Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. Her behaviour grows more erratic and her manipulation of Maisy begins to seem dedicated toward an outcome that only she can see. The two storylines drive relentlessly toward a climax that is both shocking and emotionally riveting.

This was a heartbreaking, difficult read about an abusive family. It was a good plot, just a lot to take in. It may not be for everyone.

#Hideaway #NetGalley
Pub Date: 09 Jul 2019

This is my second go-around with Nicole Lundrigan and I continue to be impressed. She has a unique approach to her subject matter. Hideaway kicks off with a “you can’t do that,” but quickly escalates to a “what the *@#* do you think you’re doing?!”

Hideaway is told from two points of view: Rowan and his little sister, Maisy; the two unfortunate children of Gloria and Telly Janes. Lundrigan catapulted me directly into their dysfunctional family dynamic. All at once, I was disgusted, appalled, and repulsed by the behavior of these two parents. Great job bringing these feelings out so quickly.

What I have learned about Nicole Lundrigan as an author is that she is skilled and fearless, two essential qualities in creating fantastic fiction. She attacks taboo subjects that are realities of life which we all need to pay attention to. In addition, she develops twists that have all the subtlety of a Mack truck when they are finally revealed.

Hideaway contains an incredible cast of characters. Each one brings something special to the book, revealing the evil lurking within the Janes family. I couldn’t get over the selfishness of these parents and the lengths they went to for their own desires.

An author who can make you feel and think, is one well worth reading.

*4.5 Stars

We all want the same thing -- "to be out in the open. To be regarded. To be seen."

Gloria and her two children live together alone in the house on Pinchkiss Circle ever since Telly, husband and father, took off to live with another woman. Rowan is nearly 13 and is big brother to seven-year-old Maisy when events in their home and lives turn from bad to worse. Gloria Janes likes to keep things up for appearance sake, and goes to great lengths to make sure that her children understand that she is in control -- of them, of their daily existence, and of the truth they tell. Manipulative and narcissistic, Gloria uses praise and punishment to create an atmosphere of total subjugation in her children. Or else. When Rowan vanishes after being locked out of the house one night, the repercussions of his time away with the mentally ill Carl have far-reaching detrimental effects that no one could have foreseen for the family. NO SPOILERS.

I had a very hard time writing this review. Did I enjoy this book? No, not really. It was a difficult read because of the subject matter (abuse of children) and also because of the severity of Gloria's psychiatric issues. The relentless despair was palpable and frustrating. The tone was depressing and only partially relieved by the somewhat hopeful conclusion. I think readers will need to be in a certain frame of mind to read this and I hope the novel doesn't haunt my dreams. I realize that there is a significant issue socially in our world with how mental illness is recognized and addressed. I have no answers but don't feel confident at all that we are headed in the right direction for protection and treatment. I was tempted a time or two to mark this as DNF, but I kept going and I'm glad I finished. The imagination and quality of the writing in the book was excellent and rang true as the voices of Rowan and Maisy alternately narrated their story. I did read it in one sitting and am now taking a deep cleansing breath.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this e-book ARC to read and review.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book. From the haunting cover to the last page I enjoyed it. Hideaway was sometimes hard to read but even harder to put down.

Hideaway is a story about a brother and sister who come from a dysfunctional family. The mother, Gloria, made me feel sicker the further along I got in the book, while the father, Telly, seemed to be checked out. My heart broke for the kids and what kept me going was looking for a happy ending at the end of the book. It's hard to think that this happens in real life. This story will stay with me.

I would recommend this book.

Want to read about family dysfunction? Then get Hideaway by Nicole Lundrigan. Told from the perspectives of the kids, this story is disturbing, your heart will break for the children. I hate to think people like the characters in the book actually exist.

Synopsis:

Gloria Janes appears to be a doting suburban mother and loving wife. But beyond her canary-yellow door, Gloria controls her husband, Telly, as well as seven-year-old Maisy and her older brother Rowan, through a disorienting cycle of adoration and banishment.

When Telly leaves, Gloria turns on Rowan. He runs away, finding unlikely refuge with a homeless man named Carl, with whom he forms the kind of bond he has never found with his parents. After they are menaced by strangers, Rowan follows Carl to an isolated cottage, where he accidentally sets off a burst of heightened paranoia in Carl, and their adventure takes a dark turn.

Gloria is publicly desperate for the safe return of her son while privately plotting ever wilder ways to lure Telly home for good. Her behaviour grows more erratic and her manipulation of Maisy begins to seem dedicated toward an outcome that only she can see. The two storylines drive relentlessly toward a climax that is both shocking and emotionally riveting.

Suspenseful, unsettling, and masterful, Hideaway explores the secrets of a troubled family and illuminates an unlikely hero and a source of unexpected strength.



I will be looking for more books from this author, she is a great writer and this is a well-paced novel that will have you hooked until the end.

Such a good book! Get it now.

An unsettling book about a dysfunctional and abusive family, Lundrigan’s most recent novel, Hideaway, is both attention-grabbing and heart-wrenching. It is told from two perspectives: that of thirteen-year-old Rowan, and his seven-year-old sister, Maisy. On the surface, their mother Gloria is devoted parent, however, behind closed doors, she is controlling and manipulative, especially after Telly (her husband and the children’s father) moves out. Gloria is desperate and will stop at nothing, even at the risk of her children, to win Telly back.

I enjoyed Lundrigan’s decision to write the novel from the children’s perspectives, as it allowed me to see what the narrators could not due to their naivety. However, the overlapping narratives and writing style were a bit confusing at times and there were several paragraphs that I had to re-read in order to make sure that I understood what was happening (but this could have just been a personal problem, not an issue with the book). Overall, this book was suspenseful and dark, and I enjoyed it (even though using the word “enjoy” to describe a book like this feels wrong).

I finished reading this book prior to the publication date (July 9, 2019), but I did not have a chance to review it. Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Viking for providing me with an eARC of Hideaway in exchange for an honest review.