Told from several different points of view
This is a blend of fiction and what is true.
Based on the 'Moors Murders' from 1965
With added people and events, few will survive.

There are people and places I've heard of before
Along with others, adding so much more.
A harrowing story that is a chiller
A horrendous story of cold and calculating killers.

The mix of true crime and fiction are blended
So you're unsure where one starts and the other ended.
As secrets, danger and past events are shared
No wonder parents there at that time were scared!

Being honest, the some storylines left me unsure
Whether such perpetrators should endure
In fictionalised versions of their true crimes
Whilst the families of victims still grieve and have hard times.

Alternatively, perhaps the victims' families will be glad
That their memories live on, however their passing was sad.
Whichever your point of view,
This book is an intriguing read, that is so true!

Maybe you'll be intrigued to read it for yourself to see
Just which your opinion will be.
It is a gripping mystery and thriller
But with more than two who turn out to be a killer.

For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
It is a very different crime thriller and this is my honest review.

This was a captivating story. The writing is done so well you forget it’s based off a true crime.

I enjoyed this story and finished it quite quickly as I couldn’t put it down.

Rebecca Griffiths is an excellent author! Can’t wait for her next!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this book.

I felt the writing was done well in this book but there was just something missing for me and I couldn't get into it and enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

An interesting book. The plot is excellent. The characters, well written. More than plenty to keep the reader hooked. There is more than enough to keep the reader guessing where and how this will unravel.

That completely blew my mind. I’m fully attached to the characters right until the end. I loved it. Can’t even sum up all the good things about this book in one simple review.

Cheers indeed, Netgalley.

“A child is missing. A secret is waiting to be found”

..

I don’t think I have ever been so undecided, or trepidatious about how to rate and review a book, which underpins my assertion that the entire process can be very subjective, as storylines often mean different things to different people and have the power to evoke many conflicting reactions and draw diverse conclusions. I knew this fictional account was based on factual events, but I had no idea of the overwhelming and consuming emotions it would evoke whilst I was reading.

For any potential overseas readers, or anyone who isn’t familiar with UK news events of the mid 1960s, google ‘Moors Murders’ and I dare you not to be repulsed by the sheer depravity of what you discover.
I was only a small child when those events took place, however the fact that death by hanging had only recently been repealed, so both Myra Hindley and Ian Brady spent the rest of their lives luxuriating in prison at the taxpayer’s expense, showed no genuine remorse and were never ‘persuaded’ to reveal the final resting place of the remains of one of their victims, even on their death-beds, still had the power to disturb and rile me more than I anticipated.

I don’t think it would have been quite so traumatic if author Rebecca Griffiths hadn’t chosen to use Hindley and Brady’s real names and make them such an integral part of the story, as IMHO neither of them deserve to be shown as anything other than the sadistic tyrants they undoubtedly were and not included in a storyline where there are potential happy endings, whereas for their victims’ families, there was no hope.

Without giving away spoilers, it is quite a challenge to encapsulate this heart-breaking storyline in a mere few words…

…

The story opens in 1941, at the height of WWII, on Black Fell Farm, where Ronald Cappleman lives, carrying out critical war work, whilst his brother Thomas is away fighting on the front line. Their mother is in the final throes of cancer, their father is a drunken bully and Ronald is cheating on his brother, with his sweetheart, Pamela. When his mother passes away, Ronald can take no more from his abusive father, although his act of retribution is brutally final and has the potential for disastrous consequences. On hearing that a badly damaged Thomas has been discharged from active duty and is on his way home, Pamela leaves both men for another, although neither of them realise just how close by she stays, or what secret she has taken with her.

Fast forward to 1965 and Ronnie has no idea that a much changed, yet very astute Tommy, realises exactly what happened during his absence and has long ago forgiven his brother for all his sins. However, as the two of them seldom embark on deep and meaningful conversations, Tommy has no notion of the guilt which weighs Ronnie down and scares him, daily.

When a very young girl arrives at the farm, sick and dishevelled, much against Ronnie’s better judgement, he allows Tommy’s parenting instincts to take over and she is welcomed into their home. Ronnie knows that every attempt must be made to return her to her family, but Thomas’s obvious happiness colours his judgement.

Ronnie also has more pressing issues with a young, obviously ‘townie’ couple who keep coming to the moors and onto his land, where they have been acting suspiciously, have terrorised then shot two of his ewes and when he challenged them, then turned the gun on him, threatening to kill him if he didn’t leave them alone.

Running in parallel is the story of single mother Connie, who gave birth to her daughter when she was barely a teenager herself and has never been able to bear the constraints or responsibilities of motherhood. Living in a run-down flat, in a not so salubrious part of the City of Manchester, the child, Kathy, is neglected and often physically and verbally abused by a mother who drinks too much and can’t believe that she has found a man who is willing to love both her and Kathy for who they are and in the way they deserve.

She has shunned all help from her parents, who have moved to a nicer area, although still close by, and instead relies on the company of her best childhood friend from school, who is also not maternal, but in a much more overt way than Connie. Connie herself, is very wary of her friend’s boyfriend, a Scotsman who has a decidedly violent streak and a foul mouth to go with it. The couple are both devoid of any emotion or compassion, making them perfect for each other, although just how much in lockstep they are will only be revealed as time passes.

When Kathy goes missing, Connie can’t understand the maternal emotions which come flooding in and the sense of loss she feels, only hoping that it is not too late to make amends for her poor treatment of her daughter, should she be found alive. Connie’s father dies after losing his battle against cancer and surprisingly her mother immediately takes on a new lease of life and alongside traipsing the streets night and day in the vain hope of finding her granddaughter, she has every intention of rekindling an old flame, in the hope that she might have a second chance at the happiness she had walked away from.

Will there be at least one happy ending from this chilling storyline, the stuff of which nightmares are made?

…

I always enjoy brave, bold, multi-faceted, many layered storylines and I could only admire the blending of fact with fiction into a gripping story which was tense, dark, totally immersive, highly textured and nuanced.

With total authority and confidence author Rebecca Griffiths constructed an infinitely tangled web of lies, deceit, manipulation and coercive control, which made this desperately lugubrious, intense and relentless journey, like wading across a river of treacle and never quite making it to the other side.

With events spiralling further and further out of control, I became invested in the way in which the two complex parallel storylines each ran their independent courses, converging slowly towards the end, when all those long-held secrets were forced out into the open, to be confronted and dealt with, once and for all – That’s when I found myself turning the pages ever faster, as the danger was ratcheted up again and again and the twists kept on coming.

Set in the Yorkshire Moors, a part of the country I am largely unfamiliar with, the attention to detail and descriptive qualities with which Rebecca painted the physical location of the storyline, also meant that my appetite as an ‘armchair traveller’ was more than satisfied. I could picture the remote isolation of Ronald and Thomas’s farm and the high-rise tenement blocks and estate lifestyle of Connie and Fred, Myra and Ian, and Myra’s sister Maureen and Dave.

Rebecca has drawn and gathered a complex core set of characters, who whilst all were given a strong voice to direct and guide the storyline and were well cast into their individual roles, were nonetheless totally uninvestable and with whom I was completely unable to connect or show any sympathy, which I am certain is as she intended.

I might indeed have felt a smidgeon of sympathy for Connie, who when she thinks she might have lost her daughter for good, finally realised just how much she loved Kathy and how cruelly she had treated her for so much of her short life. But even that small touch of remorse couldn’t negate the overwhelming disgust I felt for her, both in her continued association with Myra and the help she shuns from her parents, who might have made her journey with Kathy a more fulfilling and enjoyable experience for them both.

Rebecca’s writing, if looked on dispassionately as a fictional story, is a study rich in human behaviour, with many social and moral issues touched upon to varying degrees and displayed so candidly in the emotional psyche and mental well-being of the characters; from the darker side of love, coercion and obsession emanating from minds bent and twisted beyond recognition; to the emotional angst and devastating desolation of families whose loved ones are missing and for whom there can be no closure until they know the truth, no matter how bad; and the naïve acceptance of the young, who only long to be unconditionally loved and nurtured.

Totally deserving of the full 5* I finally decided upon, which is an honest reflection of the quality and thrill ride of my edge-of-the-seat reading experience. I shall, without doubt, also be adding more of Rebecca’s books to my ‘wish list’.

Thank you for such a roller coaster journey of emotions, Rebecca!

Great plot to get yourself lost in. This book has everything. A real fast paced thriller. Will get your heart racing on more than one occasion. Very well written. Highly recommend this book

I absolutely positively love this book. I did not want it to end. The storyline sucks you in and you don’t want the chapters to stop because you know once you hit the last chapter the book is done. I highly recommend this to friends and family for a good read.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for access to this ARC. I didn't go in with much expectation, but once I finally got around to reading this one ,I was completely enthralled. I loved the way the true crime was entangled with thriller. This was my first by this author but I would be interested in reading more!

This book was very dark and contrasts with the Myra Hindley and Ian Brady murders. It was interesting that she chose to do this and it worked very well in her favour.

I liked the story well enough, but didn’t love the book. The timeline jumped around a bit too much for me, and the ending was lacking. I did like the tie-in to a real-life case, which gave it a true crime vibe. If you like true crime tie-ins, you might like this one!

Oh wow. A true fact and a story built around it. well written.
Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really excited about this book but it fell a little flat for me. I had a hard time staying engaged and I was disappointed with the title change, I loved the original title.

An absolutely riveting ride, from start to finish.

With its ominous pacing, vivid characterization, and alarmingly-charged plot, the author achieves an intensity of menace and foreboding that never lets up.

Dealing with infamous events that took place, for the most part, in the year 1965, situated on and around the creepily atmospheric Saddleworth Moor and neighboring town of Gorton, Manchester, (and of which, this reader was not already overly familiar with), this story, as experienced raw and unprompted, was almost suffocating in the emotional immediacy of its draw.

Featuring a composite of characters so evil that if they weren’t drawn from real-life you would scarcely believe them, the author skillfully provides welcome counter-balance in the form of our poignant and tender pinch-hitter characters Ronald Cappleman, and his (dare I say “cuddly”) brother Thomas, who are trying desperately to eke out a living on their remote acreage and sheep farm adjacent to the story’s pivotal moor. Kind-hearted and heroic, this somewhat-misguided-but-still-lovely-duo provide the closest thing to solace and succor you will encounter in this gut-wrenching and sordid story.

When eight young people mysteriously disappear, (four of them children), deep in the bowels of North-East Cheshire, (a community, in this time-period, struggling with all the familiar plights of poverty, unemployment, teenage motherhood, and the improbably-assumed panacea of binge-drinking), the police and community are understandably reeling.

As yet another young child is added to the Missing Persons List, a young mother and her boyfriend, (pitiable even in their abhorrently narcissistic parental neglect), frantically face the unimaginable terror accompanying the loss of a loved one, with no closure as to her fate.

Every parent’s worst nightmare, this book held me pinned - spellbound and hostage - unable to stop reading until the tension was ultimately resolved.

Without giving the plot away (for those readers not already familiar with this horrific tale), this is a story that will have you leaving the lights on, as you lock the doors, turn on the security alarm, and consider, once again, your life of tepid normality a supreme and blissful blessing.

A great big thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

The Hidden Child is incredibly hard to put down, the author, Rebecca Griffiths, has somehow managed to capture the true dark essence of the moors murders blending fact and fiction throughout the entire book.

Hessy and Neddy are pure evil, they frightened me and I was just a reader looking for an adventure. The great thing about reading a book like The Hidden Child, it allows the imagination to run riot and with every turn of the page you wonder how those living at the height of the panic caused by the murders truly felt. Although mostly a work of fiction, Brady and Hindley’s presence is hard to deny.

With an effortless storytelling voice, Rebecca has succeeded in delivering a touching and thoughtful 1960’s novel despite the gruesome subject matter cover in The Hidden Child. Full of wonderful characterisation she has delivered a real page turner.

I tried to read this, but it was archived too soon. I really would love to read it if there is an option.

I am typically a nonfiction reader but I am a fan of this book! I love when I'm reading prose and it can capture the essence of a location. This is especially impressive with a location such as the moors; windblown, wet, beautiful, pastoral, wide, bleak and nightmarish at the same time.Griffiths is a skilled writer.

I also enjoyed the atmospheric nature of the book, the "whodunnit" and ominous tones when certain characters appeared. The only critique I have is that I preferred the original title of the book, "The Body on the Moor." I thought this was a more interesting and catching title.

It is 1965. There have been children who have gone missing without a trace. Connie became a single mum when she was far too young. Her mother was keen to help but Connie wanted to have her own place. She ignores her daughter Kathy(who is not sure that is her name as her mother calls her 'Maggot') She would rather be out with her friend Myra Hindley but is not so keen on her boyfriend Ian Brady. When Connie & her boyfriend drive off to a pub to meet Myra the leave Kathy in the car. When they return to the car after a coupe of hours Kathy is nowhere to be seen.

Ronald & his brother Thomas live in a remote farm on Saddleworth Moor. Ronald has had a run in with Hindley & Brady, backing off when Brady brandished a gun, He doesn't report him because he has his own reasons for keeping the police away from the moor. When a little girl turns up, scared & hungry, at the farm Thomas wants to look after her the way he does injured creatures. Ronald knows they should really tell someone but the longer she stays the harder it gets.

This was an engrossing book mingling the true nightmare of the Moors Murder with interesting fictional back stories. It was handled well, revealing the true evil of Hindley & Brady along with some troubled but engaging characters. Thanks to Netgalley & the publishers for letting me read & review this book

The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths Narrated by Richard Burnip and Sarah Durham was set in Manchester, England, 1965: This book is based on the Moors Murderers real life killers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, and weaves fact with fiction.

When Connie life all changed in an instant! A mothers worst nightmare when their child goes missing! Connie only her daughter Kathy for a moment.......this is all it took for Kathy to disappear without a trace. Connie looks everywhere for Kathy and there's no sign of her.

Will Kathy be found?

or

is it too late and something has happened to her?

So many children disappeared around this time and some was not found till this day! Secrets and so many secrets that have not been spoken or told and gone to their graves.........

This book is full of great twists and turns throughout which made it addictive audiobook. The narrators were excellent and have you hooked from the beginning.

I highly recommend this audiobook! Excellent!

Big Thank you to Bookouture, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

September 1965. Seven year old Kathy goes missing. Her devastated mother Connie is comforted by her best friend Myra Hindley...
The Hidden Child is a fictional novel based on the infamous Moors Murders in the 1960s.
Connie is not a great mum to poor Kathy. However, her love for her daughter is brought into sharp focus when she goes missing. She is both comforted and ridiculed by childhood best friend Myra and her creepy boyfriend Ian. Knowing about the Moors Murders gives us the benefit of hindsight and ramps up the tension.
A second plotline of farmers Ronald and Tommy was also completely enthralling. Ronnie has secrets in his past and has lived in fear of discovery. Now Ronnie faces a more immediate danger as he is threatened by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley in a sinister way as well as overtly.
The connections between the two plots become apparent a third of the way through the book. I was gripped by this plot, waiting anxiously for the truth about Myra and Ian to come out whilst fearing for the safety of the other characters.
The writing doesn't pull any punches and seamlessly moves between fact and fiction. I felt that the 1960s were brought to life and the author has done great research into the era, the location and the killers.
The Hidden Child is a brilliant read for fans of true and fictional crime novels. Loved it!