This novel takes a psychological thriller and mixes it up with a bit of Selkie lore and magical realism to create a great read.

I enjoyed this book but did find it a bit of a slow burn at times and think I’d have preferred a more exciting read if I’m being honest.

I think you would enjoy this book if you like slow burn mysteries and really enjoy the build-up rather than dramatic events and page-turning twists. It's a solid story but doesn't do anything amazing and is kind of just another run-of-the-mill mystery,

The Hidden is a mystery thriller with a supernatural twist. Ruby is intrigued by her neighbor, Gregor, and becomes intricately involved in his personal life. Will she receive more than she ever bargained for?

A little girl is found, alone and cold, until a woman who claims to be her mother runs up with a story to tell. Did the little girl simply slip away or is something suspicious afoot?

DS Joanna Harper is the primary on a case of a man, found near death in his bathtub. As she searches for the truth, will CCTV footage lead Harper to a surprising suspect?

The biggest problem that I have with The Hidden is the fact that there is too much going on at one time. Not only is it a mystery thriller, but there is also the dysfunctional family drama and Selkie lore to contend with. As the author unpacks all of the drama, readers have to drag themselves through a sluggish wave of endless pages until the ultimate reveal.

I finished the novel only to find out if my suspicions were correct, which is not a ringing endorsement for the book. The personal stories of both Ruby and Joanna are not necessary to the plot and the novel would have been better had the author focused solely on Constance and her truth. The Selkie lore is interesting and would have been a better focus for the book. Penelope Rawlins, the narrator of the audio version, at least gives the characters some life. If I were to recommend this book at all, the narration that would be the reason for it. For these reasons, I am hesitant to recommend The Hidden wholeheartedly.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Audio Copy of The Hidden, by NetGalley and the publisher, Dreamscape Media. The decision to listen to and review this book was entirely my own.

I received this as an audio galley to listen to for free in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for giving me access.

While most thrillers take place in the 'modern' world, this one had either a touch of fantasy or insanity and I am still unsure as to which. There were a lot of twists and turns of intertwining POVs and also some predictable aspects that you could see a mile away. Overall The Hidden was very intriguing and I look forward to reading Golding's other book, Little Darlings.

This was a great mystery. I really enjoyed this, and the narration made it easy to listen to. I would definitely suggest this book to people who love to guess where the story is going, but get shocked when they are wrong.

I really enjoyed this thriller with a (maybe) fantasy twist woven into it. I really felt drawn into these character's lives in a way that I don't typically find in a thriller. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

This was kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked how the different points of view wove in nicely. In the beginning, it was a little hard to keep track because I was listening to the audiobook and couldn't flip back but I quickly got in the rhythm of the story. Great characters!

Wow is all i can really say about this book. Was really unique. I like it a lot. Never read anything like it before.

Full of enchanting mystery, The Hidden follows the story of Ruby as she becomes enmeshed in the lives of her neighbors, Gregor, Constance, and their young daughter Leony. Months later, the discovery of a injured man, a missing woman, and an abandoned child leads to a police investigation and Ruby’s relative, Johanna, finds herself working to uncover the secrets behind these strange events. I love how Melanie Golding weaves together the stories of each of the main characters. She developed each of their personalities in such an brilliant way that left me questioning who to trust. By the second half of the book, I was fully entranced and desperate to figure out what happened. The narrator made the audiobook especially fascinating!! She captured each character so perfectly that I felt like I was listening to the story unfold in real time. It is somewhat slow-paced compared to a thriller so I think it fits better in the category of domestic mystery (with some mythical elements interspersed within). I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of Melanie Golding’s works!

This was another very enjoyable listen from Melanie Golding. I love her inclusion of folklore in her books. While I wasn’t super familiar with selkies and the legends around them, it was really interesting to learn more. I like how the legend is mixed with modern day policing. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of the audiobook, which had great narration.

The Hidden was a book that I raced through, wanting to know what happened and if Leonie would be safe and happy. This story takes Celtic lore and weaves it into a psychological thriller/police procedural. Ruby is a single woman who watches the man in the apartment across the way. When she gets to know him, she finds out that he married and has a toddler. Constance, his wife is mentally unstable, thinking she is a Selkie and is being held hostage, because Gregor won't give her back her sealskin coat. As Ruby begins to stay with Constance and her daughter, Leonie, when Gregor is at work, she gets to know her and believe her stories. They hatch a plan to allow them to escape and Ruby is going to help. Things do not go according to plan, the police get involved with an abandoned child and someone tries to kill Gregor. Ruby is on the run and things unfold quickly.

I enjoyed this story with its thriller, fantasy and family storylines. The Hidden is told from various points of view with different characters as well as different times, so it is important to pay attention. The mythology was woven into the story well, and it had me believing it at various times in this story. I loved both Ruby and DS Joanna Harper, who are actually related. When Joanna is removed from the case, her skills really shine. She is able to figure things out and is a step ahead of the department. Ruby just wants to protect Leonie and Constance, but it also becomes a race to keep herself safe as well. I found the story flowed well as it changed between characters and also as it flashed back to show the reader how we ended up with the two crimes that are being investigated in the present. everything came to be that day. The story was definitely a compelling one as I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to see how the investigation and the fantasy side would turn out. I read this book whenever I was able to sit down, and listened to the audiobook when I was cooking, doing dishes etc. Both formats were highly entertaining. Penelope Rawlins was the narrator and did a fine job with this story. She gave unique voices to the characters using tone, expression and accents. I have listened to another book voiced by this talented narrator and loved her performance. I will not hesitate to listen to her work in the future.

I am a big fan of Dreamscape Media productions. They deliver on the quality, and enhance the book in all the positive ways. Penelope Rawlins' narration of The Hidden was emotional, intense and kept the suspense throughout the book. I do believe that she honoured Melanie Golding's narrative by bring the characters, their relationship and the tension the book evokes to life.

The Hidden is a beautiful story with intricate and authentic family relationships, imperfect multidimensional characters and a narrative choice I adored, but can't comment on to avoid spoilers. Highly reccomend this book!

Another great book by Melanie Golding! Little Darlings I found to be creepy and fast paced but The Hidden takes on a slower pace with the layers of this mystery being peeled back slowly. I love how the author combines folklore and mystery together. Four stars for The Hidden! The narrator of the audiobook does a fantastic job!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed "Little Darlings" by Melanie Golding, published 2 years ago, and was very excited to receive an audiobook ARC of "The Hidden." Penelope Rawlins does an excellent job narrating, and I think her narration really added an extra element of excitement to the story. There is a bit of a character overlap from Little Darlings- I love seeing authors do this lately (like Alex Michealides with "The Maidens" and "The Silent Patient"). You don't have to read Little Darlings to read this; there is not enough of an overlap of stories- it's just kind of fun knowing that the stories are in the same universe.
The thing with Little Darlings and The Hidden though is that the setting is realistic.... with magical elements. It's hard to classify the genre- not thriller, not quite suspense, not gen fiction, not fantasy... the closest I can think is modern maybe-magical urban mystery.

Personally, I don't really like thinking "Is the magic real? Or is it not real?" throughout the story. I think the answer is pretty definitive by the end, but it didn't satisfy my need for specific answers.
As much as I liked the main detective of the story (Joanna Harper), the story felt too disjointed at times as the POV shifted between her, her daughter, and "the injured man." It also shifts between past and present.

Overall, I enjoyed aspects of "The Hidden" (hello selkies!), but it is not something that I think I would re-read or think about once this review is written. I would happily read another Melanie Golding story though, and I hope that she continues to add more characters and life to this world.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an audio ARC of this book.

I’m not gonna lie when i first started this book i was so confused. Mainly because this book is in different perspectives, well multiple ones. I normally don’t mind that so i felt pretty dumb when i wasn’t getting some of the characters. So i don’t blame it on the book but more me. After about 30% of the way through i was keeping up and understanding what was going on. Although i would have liked less characters because honestly it was hard to keep track of at times. I enjoyed how the different perspectives came together though ( as they normally do). I loved the writing style. This was my first book by this author and i would definitely check more out from her. She writes in a way that just draws you in and doesn’t let go. I was thinking about this book when i would take a break from it and just had to read more. Great story, would recommend!


I received a audio arc of this from NetGalley on a read and review basis, all opinions are my own.

Thank you Dreamscapes Media / CrookedLane books via Netgalley for the listening copy.

I’m not sure in which genre I should place this book in — magical realism? fantasy? police procedural? mystery? The Hidden is all in one, a mystery with a mythical touch. The truths behind an abandoned little girl, hidden family secrets and existence of supernatural shapeshifting people are all stitched together with a flowing literature that is impeccable.

The story started off a little slow with a mystery and the police investigation, but the narration made the story quite interesting and it literally dragged me into the plot. Tales of Celtic mythology and folklore are carefully folded into the storytelling in different timelines without confusing us readers. This might feel strange and a lot to contemplate, but its a unique story with several elements complementing each other. Highly recommend the audio version.

Also if you haven’t read Little Darlings, please do it. Melanie Golding has a way of describing motherhood that is not so easy to explain in words.

Absolutely gripping! The narration of this audio book was fantastic and top notch. There are parts that break into song and it was so beautifully done! I found myself very enthralled with this book and didn’t want to have to stop listening. Lots of layers keep you on your toes and wondering what will happen next.

I really enjoyed the other audio book by Melanie Golding, Little Darlings. Definitely an author to follow!

Special thanks to #DreamscapeMedia #TheHidden #NetGalley for early access to this audiobook.

The Hidden by Melanie Golding is the second novel I have read by the author. The author used her signature writing style, point of view, mystery story with supernatural elements. However, I would say that I am more immersed with listening to the audiobook of Golding's first novel Little Darlings narrated by Stephanie Racine. Not so much with this one.

According to the book description, the story has a Celtic mythology with a twist in the end. When I was reading through it, I thought it has a touch of Irish or Scottish elements to it. I'm not well-versed on that field but enjoyed learning about their mythology nevertheless. On the longest night of the year, a little girl was found abandoned in a seaside store. A woman named Ruby, claimed to be the mother of the little girl and told the police that the little just ran off and that it's no big deal.

My favorite part of the book is how the author was able to build on the story from the beginning slowly while maintaining my interest. It is told in a past and present fashion with multiple points of view. The author was able to hold my interest, without confusing the reader with the timeline. The flow of the story makes sense to me.

As for the narration, the narrator I listened to is with Penelope Rawlins. While the Little Darlings was narrated by Stephanie Racine. Rawlins is able to perform unique voices for the characters. I think narrating an audiobook is not an easy feat. It takes skill and talent to narrate a book especially something needing distinct voices and accents.

Thank you Dreamscape Media, NetGalley, and author Melanie Golding for giving me advanced access to the audiobook that allowed to write this review. All opinions are voluntary and my own.

What a strange book. Never thought I would get through it and then I really wanted to know how it would end. Part mystery, part folk tale, this was a really odd combination for me. Selkies... Seal Folk. I thought this was well done if not a little long. I enjoyed the characters and how they evolved in and as the plot. The voice acting was great for the women, the men all sounded the same to me though. I liked how the story was laid out and when the end came, it was just how I expected it. I appreciated the way the author worked the past and future plot lines of the tale. It was not over done.

I received this review copy for my unbiased opinion.