I’m not much of a fan of folklore but something about the way Melanie Golding puts pen to paper is captivating. I read her debut Little Darlings and enjoyed it so when I saw her new novel available on NetGalley, I quickly hit Request! There are mentions of the mythological selkies (which TBH, I had to look up because I’ve never heard of it!) and the thriller/mystery aspect which made for a very entertaining read!

The Hidden is a spine-tingling suspense thriller blended with Celtic mythology.

The story beings with a little girl found abandoned in a small seaside town. Shortly after, the mother arrived, claiming that the child had runoff, and the authorities release them.

In the parallel, DS Joanna Harper and her team found a man badly injured and left to die in his apartment, and a bedroom is discovered containing children's toys. As the investigation proceeds, they begin to suspect the child at the seafront was not who her mother claimed.

But are these two incidents related to each other? Because everything is not as simple as it seems to be.

Woven with folklore and mysteries, the Hidden is an easy-to-read book full of twists and turns and shocking revelations. The story builds slowly with changing povs and time periods. There were a lot of things going on, but it all came together near the end, and I loved how cleverly the author did it.

The characters were detailed and well developed. Throughout the book, we get flashbacks from their past and personal life; we get to know who they are and the connection between them.

It took me a while to get into the story because of the slow start. But after a few chapters, it picks up the pace, and it was hard to put it down. I was especially intrigued by the mythological twist in it- the selkies (Mythological beings capable of changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin.)

The ending, however, was not as I expected it to be-it felt a little dull to me.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed reading this book. It was dark, mysterious, and gripping. Totally a page-turner!

TW: murder, violence, child abuse, mental illness

Thank you, NetGalley, for this ARC.

I absolutely loved the mix of mystery, folklore and horror in Melanie Golding’s debut novel LITTLE DARLINGS, so I was extremely excited to see what she would come up with in her new novel THE HIDDEN.

The book begins with a little toddler being found abandoned in a seaside town, only to be claimed a short while later by a flustered woman claiming to be her mother. In a parallel development, a man is found half dead in a bathtub in his apartment, drugged and with a serious head wound. How could these two events possibly be connected? This is a puzzle to solve for DS Joana Harper, the detective we first met in LITTLE DARLINGS, who will soon discover that she has a very personal connection to one of the people involved in her latest case.

I admit that the book was off to a bit of a slow start for me, and I was struggling to connect not only the different timelines and events, but also the cast of characters, who were all just a little bit odd. A man performing yoga in front of his window and the young depressed woman who watches him from a nearby apartment and falls in love with him. An old woman who claims that she heard a child playing in the flat upstairs, which belongs to a bachelor living with his elderly mother. Ever so slowly the threads and multiple POVs were woven together to form a more cohesive picture, and I became more invested in the mystery as it progressed.

It wasn’t until about halfway into the book that I realised how cleverly the author had woven multiple elements into her dark tale: some folklore passed down through generation of island folk, some urban myths, a serial killer mystery, a police procedural and some family drama. What had started innocent enough – with characters who all seemed more odd than sinister – soon took a more menacing tone and created an undercurrent of danger and darkness that ultimately completely sucked me in.

I love the way Golding uses mythology as the basis for her stories, exploring the possibility that there is an element of truth in the old tales that we choose to ignore or simply deny. And yet a lot is left to the interpretation of the reader, which makes for an intriguing and mysterious read. Like Ruby herself, I felt constantly torn between my brain trying to find logical explanations, whilst the purer, more primitive side of me just wanted to go with the magical elements. Like a child, I felt myself drawn to the folk tales Golding includes in the opening to her chapters, and it awakened the inner child in me, listening in fascination to an old person sharing a whispered fairy tale.

In summary, if you enjoy old folk tales that blend into reality, creating a much deeper and darker mystery than your average police procedural, then you can’t go wrong picking up THE HIDDEN. Be assured that the book picks up pace after the first 1/3 or so, and all the seemingly disjointed threads will weave together to form an intriguing tale. I have been intrigued by stories of selkies and island folk since childhood and loved the way my rational brain fought my more primitive emotional side the whole way – and I am still thinking about some aspects of the book long after reading it. Intriguing, mysterious and dark.

As a kid, I loved the movie 'The Secret of Roan Inish' which is about selkies. When I saw that this book is a mystery novel that involves selkies, I was instantly interested. The book really lived up to my interest - I loved the way it played with the mythology and folklore while still being a somewhat straightforward mystery. I haven't read any other books by Melanie Golding, but I look forward to seeking out more.

Melanie Golding has been on my radar ever since I read her debut Little Darlings back in 2019, and I'm so happy that I was given the opportunity to read her second book The Hidden early. I always have a weak spot for mythology/folklore elements in my stories, and as soon as I saw mentioned that this newest story offered exactly that I knew I HAD to read it. My expectations were high, and I have to say that those expectations were definitely met. There are so many different layers to this story, and I had a fantastic time discovering every single one of them.

What makes this story stand out is most definitely its mythology/folklore element. I loved the quotes of selkie related texts at the beginning of some chapters, and the whole introduction and incorporation of the selkie myth was brilliantly done. This element gives The Hidden a hint of the supernatural, but somehow the story refuses to be put inside a neat little genre box that way. Instead, it mostly feels like a mix of a detective and psychological thriller, although neither comes close to giving a defining description of this story either. Instead, The Hidden feels like something a bit more unique, special, and I like it when a story makes you think outside well defined boundaries.

There are a lot of different storylines in play with multiple POVs as well as flashbacks to the past. The story switches a lot between the different POVs as well as between past and present, and this will definitely keep you on your toes. I know juggling multiple POVs and storylines can be a bother, but somehow in this story it really works and as well as adding layers and dept it also added a healthy dose of suspense and intrigue. The writing alone already helps you to keep engaged the whole time, and I simply couldn't put this story down until I had discovered how it would all end.

The many different elements in play in this story are extremely well balanced. We have the detective thriller angle with Joanna, which I always love in a story and it was interesting to see things unfold from her POV. There is also a lot of focus on family issues, addiction, abuse and mental health problems, and we have of course the whole situation with Constance and Ruby to think about too. Then there is the selkie angle, as well as the comatose man who was attacked in his home... Like I said, more layers than an onion, but it makes for the perfect ingredient for a complex, well written and simply fascinating story. Without doubt recommended!

Crooked Lane Books have been on a fine run of form, in recent months releasing a number of very convincing dark thrillers, including A Dark and Secret Place (Jen Williams), Sins of the Mother (August Norman), It Will Just Be Us (Jo Kaplan) and The Monsters We Make (Kali White), all of which have very favourably reviewed on Horror DNA. Melanie Golding adds another to the stack, with The Hidden, which is being released in the UK around the same time as The Replacement. Golding’s debut novel Little Darlings featured the same English detective, DS Joanne Harper, however, you can read this standalone story without having tackled its predecessor.

Both novels are dark thrillers rather than horror, however, are similar in that they have supernatural, or perhaps folklore theme is a better description, bubbling in the background. The otherworldly aspect does not dominate either novel and the investigations are presented as straight police procedurals, with a vague sense that there might be something darker going on. However, they are written in such a clever way, with fiendishly convoluted plots, that if the supernatural is an immediate black ball for some readers, the majority are almost certain to overlook it.

The Hidden has a multi-stranded plot with many characters and more than one timeline and I would recommend reading it very carefully as it is very easy to get confused and I found myself getting perplexed by how a few of the protagonists connected to each other. However, it is worth sticking with it, as has one of those scenarios where very little is what it seems. The action opens with two distinct police incidents in the present timeline, both of which have complex backstories in the flashback sequences. Like with the best crime fiction the plot takes its time laying all the cards on the table, throws numerous curveballs, whilst the reader has a lot of fun attempting to bring the strands together again.

Although there were other characters, the present-tense story is dominated by the detective Joanne Harper, who also has a complex family and personal life which also play a key part in the story. She is called to a block of flats where a man, barely alive, has been found in a bath with his skull smashed. Thinking they have uncovered his identity, whilst they search for the culprit, they dig into the life of Gregor a seemingly single man, but soon other questions have the detective twitching. Such as why does he have child toys in his flat, but records show he is childless? At various times, the story also drifts into the head of the man in the coma and the mystery thickens.

Part of the fun of crime novels is figuring out how they piece together and the second main strand takes in another police investigation after a little girl is found abandoned in a shop in a small seaside town. The social work and police are called and soon the mother appears and after a brief investigation the authorities release the pair, believing it to be an innocent case of a toddler running off. However, things are never that simple and the mother of the little girl leads the story into another fascinating direction. I could say a lot more about the plot, but it would take the review into spoiler territory and there is much, more going on that what I have implied. Actually, other reviews of The Hidden give much to much away, so watch out for spoilers, particularly in regard to the potentially supernatural story.

The Hidden had many high points, including the backstory of the villain and the development of tension as things moved on and the various pieces of the puzzle fall into place. However, Ruby, one of the other main characters was naive beyond the point of stupidity and her relationships with the other main characters were not particularly convincing.

Perhaps your opinion of this book will hinge on how successfully The Hidden modernises an old folktale. Some readers will not buy it for a second, but for the majority it will be taken as a grounded, lyrical, atmospheric, and believable exploration of an old legend. And on another level, for more than one character, a deeper look for what it means to be a mother.

“Forgiveness wasn’t about the other person…It was about drawing a line under something and moving on.”

A toddler is found wondering around the seaside in a quaint little village with no parent in site. Social services are called and the police arrive just as a frantic mother swoops up the little girl calling her Momma Bee. Explaining that her little one dashed off and being so thankful for them finding her baby girl, mother and child are released from custody…no further questions asked…

It's Christmas Eve, and DS Joanna Harper is called to the scene of a body found in a bathtub full of water. Thinking this is an accident, most of the officers on call dismiss foul play. But when DS Harper looks closely at the body, the head wound proves not to be an accident…and this is no dead body…the man is still alive…

As DS Harper starts fitting the pieces together of the man found left for dead, she discovers that her estranged daughter may be connected to the crime scene…as well as to the mysterious abandonment of a child found along the seaside village…

WOW! There is a lot, and I mean a lot, going on in this story! Melanie Golding has weaved several points of view around the love between mother and child and how far one is willing to go to protect each other. Toss in the injured man, the folklore of the Selkies, and you’re in for a page turner of an adventure! Enjoyed and would recommend!




**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

I really enjoyed the writing style in this book. The twists and turns kept my attention throughout. I will definitely be checking out other books by this author and I would recommend this book to friends and family.

Gripping, Fast and A Page- Turner..............................

The Hidden by Melanie Golding turned out to be a real page turner and a gripping book. Two women struggling for freedom turns out to be an amazing story of emotions and strength. I was amazed how both the women handles everything on their own to oust a threat. The plot is awesome and has excellently created an atmosphere of fear. I almost felt myself on an edge while reading it, the ups and downs of the plot are equally marvelous.

The climax was good but the cover of the book would not correspond to the story. So, Don't judge the book by its cover. Indeed a 5 star read.

(3.5 out of 5) This thriller starts strong and carries its suspense well until the final quarter or so. By the time things were actively happening in present day (the novel jumps around in time every couple chapters), I was starting to tire of the story. There's a unique twist to the novel, but it feels a little out of place as the manhunt continues. I think the problem there is that the hinted twist comes and goes lightly from the story, never quite leaving the impact I desired from its teasing. But as it turns out, the author wrote the The Hidden with her folklore influence at the forefront, not as an afterthought. Unfortunately, I felt that it was inadequately used; it should have played heavier in the story, or not at all. Of course, this is just the opinion of someone who struggles with fantasy elements in crime fiction. Though I was intrigued at first by its implications, I was less interested by the end. In general, the finale left me wanting something... different. Nevertheless, I was hooked for most of this story. The suspense was present and strong enough for most of the ride, even if things felt a tad rushed and uneven around the conclusion.  I also enjoyed the villain's backstory and vicious nature in hiding. If anything from this novel, I learned the Golding has the natural ability to write dark fiction in the category of crime and suspense. And that's enough to leave me interested in reading more of what she has to offer.

This was an interesting story. Very well written. There’s a lot of intrique especially as I like reading about folklores and it’s mysterious fascination of magic. I loved that I couldn’t figure out who the bad guy is. I like the idea of being swayed gently in the story, wanting to find out and discover the fates of the characters. This is not a story of fast paced, non stop reading. Rather, the reader is drawn inevitably into the web of deceit and hope. Not understanding the reaction of Constance in the beginning, but gradually being on her side and hoping that she’ll find what she’s looking for to set her free. This, albeit the fact that it’s quite improbable that a mother, who’s been nursing her child would just abandon her on a street, on a cold and shortest day of the year.
I’m not so sure about the relationship between Joanna and her daughter. I couldn’t find the explanation for Ruby’s reaction to wanting to be free. But despite these little bumps, I’ve truly enjoyed reading “The Hidden” . 4 stars for this book.
Thank you very much to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for letting me read this book in advance.
My reviews will be on Amazon.fr once I’m able to published it.

I love how folklore was used in the story. Very original. It was hard to guess what would happen next. The unexpected plot kept me hooked. I'd love to read more by this author.

The author did such a great job of modernizing the old folktale about the fisherman who hides his mermaid wife's seal skin so she can't return to the sea. Folklore and modern technology aren't two subjects that normally go together but the author weaves both seamlessly. An enjoyable read.

I first read Golding’s Little Darlings in a horror fiction course in grad school. I had mixed emotions about it, but recognized her name and wanted to check out her newest work. Mixed emotions here, too. So so.

The Hidden, by Melanie Golding was a much anticipated read. This is the second book that I have read by Golding and I am yet to be disappointed.

The Hidden is narrated by multiple points of view and different time periods. We are taken on a journey of what happened then to lead us to what is happening now. The pace flows and the writing is fluid.

A man is nearly murdered, but is he who you think he is?

A little girl is found abandoned, her mother shows up minutes later but what really happened?

Be prepared for a wild ride with multiple twists and turns. The conclusion will have you speechless!

I thought it was okay honestly I had a really hard time getting into this book and it drug out a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for a chance to read and give feedback.

Another tale interwoven with folklore and reality. This time the author borrows from a Scottish story of a mermaid coming on land and unable to return to her home. Constance, Ruby and Leonie are under the grip of a psychopath who will go to all lengths to keep his true persona from being exposed. Loved how the story is unraveled through all the characters.

I love the premise but the pacing feels a bit off. A rather, long-winded tale to tell the story of a Selkie who meets a psychopath.

Fun to read, - I totally enjoyed reading and trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Emily was raised by her alcoholic grandmother and left home. She has a social list of one. From her apartment she watches a neighbor in the late hours doing yoga and then by chance meets him. Emily becomes involved in his life and his ‘captives’; Constance and her baby, Leona. Gregor tells her Constance is disturbed and he needs her help to watch her and the baby. As the plot thickens there are many warning signs that things are not right. They escape and Constance leaves Emily to protect the baby. But Gregor is in hot persuit

Folklore meets thriller in this page turning new novel from Little Darlings author Melanie Golding.

A child is abandoned on the seashore and is later claimed by her frantic mother who lost her. Only, it isn’t her mother.

So begins the story of a loner, Ruby, who becomes entangled in the lives of her neighbours- Gregor, the charismatic charming man, Leonie - his adorable daughter and Constance - his mysterious, aloof and seemingly unhinged ex partner. But all is not as it seems ….. (da da da!!)

While this wasn’t the most shocking thriller I’ve read, and sometimes the characters’ choices made me want to throw the book across the room, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.