So many agendas in this latest in the Bishop SCU series. The focal for this book in a small town named Salem which seems to be harboring evil but that said evil is is doing all it can to mask what is really going on. 

SCU Agent Geneva Raynor has been uncover in the small town trying to get a feel for what's really happening in the town where 3 people have gone missing. Her psychic senses are only picking up static which in and of itself is very strange. Another SVU Agent, Grayson Sheridon is also sent to Salem to help Geneva but when he arrives she is missing. 

Running perpendicular to that – a stranger named Nellie Cavendish is holed up on the outskirts of town with her pit bull. She has powers she doesn't fully understand and after receiving a letter from her father ten years after his death telling her to go to Salem she goes in hopes of figuring out her heritage.  She can feel they evil in the town but has no idea how connected to it she really is. 

I don't think this was the strongest of the series but captivating nonetheless. Would love to get more face time with Noah and Miranda in future books.

Bishop has sent Geneva and Grayson to the small town of Salem, isolated and close to the Appalachian Trail. On the surface, the town seems idyllic...prosperous and peaceful, but there is a dark undercurrent. Nellie (descended from one of the original 5 families) has grown up away from the town, but is drawn back after receiving a letter delivered to her before her 30th birthday. With the help of Finn (also a descendant of an original family), they must stop her uncle from gaining more power and total control over the town. 
This is an intriguing addition to the Bishop SCU series, as Geneva and Grayson discover psychic powers unknown to them before. These abilities often come with a price; Grayson suffers migraines after using his abilities for too long. The uncle is the character we know the least about, but that fits with his hidden agenda and evil. The other characters, including crows and Nelllie’s dog, are well-rounded. The story quickly grabbed my interest and I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen!

It’s been many years since I’ve read anything by Kay Hooper.  Hidden Salem started off a little slow but quickly picked up the pace. Looking forward to more in what I hope is a trilogy!  Thank you to the publisher & NetGalley.

Small  mysterious town with friendly, happy residents that obscures an insidious dark evil. A spellbinding, fast paced read.  Interaction between characters was well written.  Would be interested to see another story line with Nellie, Finn, Robert, and Leo.  Appreciated the notes at the end describing the different abilities of the characters and explanation of the timeline of the various Bishop series.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Several people have disappeared from Salem, an isolated small town curiously closed to outsiders. Agents from the Special Crimes Unit--a paranormal branch of the FBI--can only investigate informally, because local law enforcement, and indeed the whole community, is oddly unconcerned. Meanwhile, Nellie Cavanaugh is drawn to Salem, sent by a letter from her ten-years-dead father. Something strange is going on in Salem. Something evil. And only psychics can stop it in time.

Unsettling and compelling as the rest of the series.