I thought this was a decent mystery thriller, and it had some great twists that definitely made the book worth reading. The characters, on the other hand, were a perfect mix of the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

Connie was a young mother, but I think it became pretty clear early on that she wasn’t going to win the award for mother of the year. She was less than thrilled with having her daughter Kathy around (whom she referred to as Maggot) and was more concerned with having a good time with her boyfriend and friends. While spending the afternoon at the pub, she left Kathy alone in the car (something that is widely frowned upon these days), but in an instant every mother’s worst nightmare came true for Connie when left the pub only to find that the car was empty.

I have to admit, I was really surprised by how upset Connie was to find that Kathy was missing. Was she really concerned for her daughter’s safety? Or was she more concerned about her reputation as a neglectful mother? The company Connie kept wasn’t anything to brag about either. Her boyfriend was nice enough, by Myra and Ian were blatantly nasty people.

I enjoyed the twist as far as where Kathy ended up, and how Ronald played into all of this. He had his own past demons, and while he was determined to keep Kathy safe and return her to her family, he feared his dark secret would come to light if the authorities got involved.

Overall, I thought it was a good book, but I just couldn’t get over the change in Connie. I know this is based on real-life true crime story, but the complete one-eighty Connie made seemed so disingenuous. Even Kathy vocalized her distaste for her mother and didn’t want to go home after arriving at Ronald’s farm. By the completion of the book, it seemed hard to believe that there could possibly be a happily ever after for any of these characters, and I think I felt that way because Connie tainted my opinion of so much of this story. That alone was really disappointing for me.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4561232750

The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths

Connie was always quick with harsh words and a slap to her little girl Kathy, but when Connie and her boyfriend Fred leave Kathy in the car while they go drinking at the pub and Kathy goes missing Connie can not regret enough what a bad mother she was to Kathy. Connie tries to tell her best friend Myra Hindley how she feels but all Myra cares about is her new boyfriend, Ian Brady.

I loved this book and all the characters. I loved the brothers who live on the farm, Thomas and Ronald and the history behind their story and how everything intertwines with Connie and Kathy.

This is the first book I have read by Rebecca Griffiths but I love how she gives us a glimpse unto the mind of a serial killer. I can not wait to get my hands on more of her books.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Bookouture for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Hidden Child is an interesting mix of fiction and true crime as it takes place during the time of the Moors murders by Myra Hindley and Ian Brady.

While it could be easy to focus on their horrific crimes, The Hidden Child uses a story adjacent to this and concentrates on the disappearance of a young girl, whose parents fear the worst.

The tricky part of having the Moors murders as part of the story means that it is always looming over the central narrative and often distracts.

As the story progresses as does Hindley and Brady's involvement and it almost becomes neck and neck with the missing girl narrative by the conclusion.

While The Hidden Child does have a promising opening, it suffers badly from a midway slump that it partially recovers from for a quite bizarre finale.

Kudos to Griffiths for going at this time period with a different narrative but The Hidden Child definitely has an identity crisis it never really fully recovers from.

I wasn't sure what I was going to think about The Hidden Child as it is based on the horrific events of Saddleworth Moor in the 1960s. This book was truly dark and disturbing and I did struggle with it at times. I can't say that I enjoyed it as in my opinion you aren't meant to enjoy something based on true life events like this but I am glad I read it and would still recommend it.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for my ARC.

Having loved The Girl At My Door, I knew that The Hidden Child was a must read for me. But I hadn’t realised that it would be EVEN BETTER and probably Rebecca Griffiths best book so far!

I loved this twist on the true crime thriller with a fictional storyline woven around real life criminals-this time the evil pairing of the Moors Murderers. As someone who gets goosebumps every time I saw those infamous mugshots of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, I knew this would be a tough read so be warned that it can be uncomfortable reading at times but Rebecca Griffith has handled the scenes they appear in sensitively. Their crimes are as shocking now as they were nearly 60 ago and this book doesn’t pull its punches in its description of the vile twosome. But it’s the authors vividly drawn characters that made The Hidden Child such an unputdownable journey for me plus her perfectly pitched and evocative settings. The wild, lonely setting of the moors that surround Ronald’s farm and the pub culture of the 1960s (who else remembers not being allowed in the pub as a child and being brought coke and crisps to the car?!) had been meticulously researched which showed in the attention to detail throughout. Just little things like Kathy having a Tiny Tears doll and reading Bunty brought back childhood memories I hadn’t thought about for a very long time!

The Hidden Child is a brilliant book showing both sides of humanity from the vilest of crimes to the kindness of strangers. Rebecca Griffith has cleverly blended her cast of fictional and real life characters to create a compelling storyline that will stay with me for a very long time. Highly recommended!

★★★★ 4.5 stars

I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Rebecca Griffith's new crime thriller THE HIDDEN CHILD (formerly titled "The Body on the Moor" ).

After reading and thoroughly enjoying Rebecca Griffiths' previous thriller "The Girl at my Door" , I was excited to discover her next offering also cleverly blends fact and fiction to create yet another chilling tale. >b>The Moors Murders are well known just as the names Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are in infamy. Their crimes live on long after they both have gone as does the pain and suffering they left in their wake. In THE HIDDEN CHILD, Griffiths builds a fictionalised world around Brady and Hindley, even weaving them into the story as they play an integral part in the both the real and the fictional tales that are cleverly told and woven together.

Black Fell Farm, Saddleworth Moor, 1965: Although the story opens with a prologue in 1941, it's not until we meet Ronald Cappleman twenty four years later as a middle-aged man now running the farm upon which he and his younger brother Thomas grew up on, that the story really begins to take hold. Ronnie and his brother know the Moors. They grew up here. So when a young couple begin acting somewhat strangely inside the confines of his farm, Ronnie knows something isn't right. There is something off about this couple - a fashionably dressed woman with bottle blonde hair and an irate Scot enjoying picnics and taking photos at the same place on a regular basis. Ronnie knows and loves the moors but these two? What is it that draws them to this part of Saddleworth Moor so often?

When the couple notice him in the shadows, they begin calling out obscenities and making threats. But it's when Ronnie sees the irate Scot he's nicknamed "Sporran" (on account of his obvious accent) with a gun shooting haphazardly at bottles he has "Platinum" (on account of her hair) line up for him, Ronnie informs them that they are on private property and to clear off. But who's going to make them? Ronnie has no idea who he is up against as Ian Brady is not one to back down and now he has Ronnie in his sights, he has earmarked him as a challenge.

Manchester, 1965:Connie Openshaw got herself pregnant at fifteen to a married man who was never going to leave his wife and was then left literally holding the baby. Her daughter Kathy, now seven, has never felt loved or wanted by her mother who complained on a regular basis that she missed her freedom that having "Maggot" (which she called the child) had stolen from her. Little Kathy, who thought her name was Maggot since she was called that more often than her actual name, barely uttered a word probably because she was never really heard anyway. Her mam's friend, Myra (who she was made to call Aunty Myra), was a regular fixture at their new council flat, popping in for a cup of tea and a gossip. But Kathy missed living at her gran's. She missed her gran and grandad. They were kind to her and gave her cuddles. They noticed her.

When Connie and her boyfriend Fred go to the Waggon and Horse pub for a couple of drinks, Connie instructs Kathy to stay in the car and play with her dolly while they are gone. Fred, who is always nice to her, promised to bring out a lemonade and a packet of crisps. But whilst in the pub, Connie and Fred draw the unwanted attention of Ian and Myra and, not wanting to be rude, decide to join them. But Ian's self-inflated arrogance boasting his well-versed knowledge grates on the young couple although Myra appears to bask in his self-importance. He spares no one's feelings in his outright insults and, completely under his spell, Myra just laughs along with him agreeing with him wholeheartedly.

But what he says before departing chills Connie to the bone: "What if you were to go back to the car and find the little 'un wasn't there?"

So when Connie and Fred finally do leave over an hour later, they are shocked to discover that Kathy is indeed missing. What was Ian saying? Did he take her little girl? Connie is frantic as she searches and calls for Kathy to no avail. When they call the police, their attention is more on Fred's previous form than they are about finding her young daughter. But with the news of several children having gone missing from the area over the past couple of years, Connie is afraid that her Kathy may be one of them.

While it may be a mystery to Connie where her daughter has disappeared to, it's not to the reader as we discover early on she finds herself up on the moors, by way of a misadventure involving lambs, before escaping some shouting and arriving in the drenching rain on the doorstep of Black Fell Farm. She is cold, wet and exhausted from her travels so Ronnie and Thomas immediately take the girl in, warming her up by the fire and feeding her though it soon becomes clear the girl is ill. Ronnie wants to call a doctor but Thomas wants to keep her. He calls her Gracie after their late mother.

Set within the last months before the Moors Murders gains notoriety worldwide, THE HIDDEN CHILD blends fact with fiction to create a chilling tale intersecting with real-life murderers, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, who are chillingly portrayed. The disappearances of children in the area, as well as Hindley and Brady's morbid attraction to the moors where they buried their victims, is the perfect backdrop for this missing child thriller. Has Kathy fallen to a similar fate as that of the other missing children in the past couple of years? Or is it just a massive coincidence? Brady loved to stir up trouble and he wasted no time in doing so with Connie, leaving her to believe that Kathy could well have suffered the same fate. He was sinister and evil and I hated his character with a vengeance. But then again, that is exactly how Brady was. He was remorseless and arrogance and quite obviously was a psychopath, before the trait had even been discovered. Myra was a little more ambiguous. Was she an innocent who had fallen completely under Brady's spell? Or was she just as guilty and just as culpable?

And what of Connie? Who didn't care much for her daughter until she went missing? Only then did she realise what she had and her anguish could be palpably felt. The author did a good job of making the reader sympathise with her despite her obvious neglect...but she was still very young herself having had Kathy at 15. I quite liked Fred who was Connie's rock throughout it all, despite her treatment of him at times and harsh accusations. Connie needed stability in her life and Fred offered her that...she just didn't want to know it at the time and sought to punish herself for leaving her child alone. There are several other supporting characters throughout, both real and fictionalised also, which add credence to a thrilling and chilling story.

Although we know how Hindley and Brady's end plays out, readers are left to wonder how the story involving Kathy's disappearance will pan out. Surely it couldn't end well when it comes to light that she's been living up on the moors for the best part of two months without a word? And what of the secret Ronnie has tried to keep buried for twenty four years? What will happen when the police search of the moors lead them onto his land? I did however like how the ending ultimately played out.

THE HIDDEN CHILD is well researched and skillfully plotted as Griffiths weaves fact with fiction. I love how she uses true crime not only as a backdrop to her recent thrillers but also involves them in the story that they become part of the fictionalised tale as well. She did it with John Christie in "The Girl at my Door" and she does it again with this cleverly crafted tale.

I have to wonder which infamous true crime case she will pull from the archives to weave her next story? The Yorkshire Ripper? The Beast of Birkenshaw? Dennis Neilsen? They are the only UK serial killers I can think of off the top of my head just now. But whatever it is, I look forward to delving into that one also...

I would like to thank #RebeccaGriffiths, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheHiddenChild in exchange for an honest review.

It’s not easy to write a book featuring serial killer and not making them a sort of anti-hero, it’s not easy to write a book featuring terrible crimes and keeping the descriptions light and respectful of the victims.
Rebecca Griffiths wrote a book respectful of the victims and represented the killers without idealizing them.
I didn’t know about the Moors Murders before reading this book and read about them on Wikipedia.
Robert Ressler, one of the most important FBI profilers, talks about the fascination serial killers hold for us but Rachel Griffiths was able to describe them and make them as shallow and dangerous as they should have been in real life.
The fictional characters, Robert above all, are well developed and you can feel their feeling and hope for the best.
The plot is fast paced and kept my attention as turned pages as fast as I could.
It’s well written and riveting book that delivers a tragic story without being sensationalist or morbid.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths is a novel inspired by a real-life true crime story, it’s an unforgettable and totally gripping mystery thriller you will not want to put down!

This book is not for the faint-hearted. Inspired by the Moors Murders the author intertwines fact with fiction of these horrific murders. It’s really well written. You might not like some of the characters, but you love the intensity of the plot. The setting of the moors and countryside is beautiful and mysterious. Very highly recommended!

Trigger warning – topics included: child neglect and abuse, abduction and murder.

I always love it when authors mix fact and fiction together and this book is a beauty!!

It follows the case of Kathy, a little girl who was born to a teenage mother, Connie. Connie is as far away from a decent mother as you can imagine. However, when Kathy disappears one day, her life is shattered.......

Ronald is an older fellow who is living a quiet life with his brother, Tom. The two of them share a cottage, both bachelors, both haunted by their pasts. Tom came back from WWII changed and Ronald never forgot the beautiful Pamela. Ronald spends his days with his sheep in the wild landscape of the Yorkshire moors and he thinks that is pretty much how the rest of his life is going to play out but he couldn't be more wrong.

Unfortunately for Ronald, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are also quite fond of spending time on the Yorkshire moors. And what they do, has repercussions for everyone around them.

5 stars from me.

A tautly written thriller which took me longer to read than I wanted to because I had to read it during daylight hours! lol

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture.

Great story based on true events!🤗

Loved the story that evolved in 1965 around a neglected young girl's disappearance and some very off, unsympathetic adults in the north of England. Then there's the good guys like farmer Ronald and his super domestic brother Thomas who get drawn into a criminal's sphere just by freak accident. Lots of suspense and the girl's mother is herself a lost soul, but one I could not find sympathy for.

Though the plot and execution were really top-notch, and I particularly liked the thread that linked the girl's family to Ronald's, I feel the title is a bit of a spoiler that dampens some of the suspense. Still, Myra and Ian's strange antics and Ronald's constant fear of discovery kept the tension going. I found the end satisfying though a bit unrealistic in how missing child Kathy's mom reacts to things, though it is a continuation three years after the bulk of the action.

I believe that this is my first time reading anything by Rebecca Griffiths and I was impressed. I would definitely read more of her work. In fact, after finishing The Hidden Child I went out and purchased her The Girl at My Door. I don't want to be done with this author!

Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Any book based around the location and perpetrators of the infamous Moors Murders in the ‘60s will undoubtedly be controversial, and Rebecca Griffiths states upfront in her author’s note that while her story does feature controversial events and the people involved, it is a work of fiction. So that is the basis on which we should judge it.
Against the backdrop of cases of missing children, Connie’s daughter Kathy vanishes on the Moors near Manchester, England in 1965. One of the Moors’ inhabitants, Ronald, is desperate to keep his crimes, evidence of which is hidden on the Moors, (a location that becomes far too busy for his liking), secret forever. And what is Connie’s friend Myra and her boyfriend Ian doing on the Moors?
Myra and Ian are, of course, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, the real-life perpetrators of the Moors Murders. No favours are done or apologies given for Myra Hindley and Ian Brady character-wise; they are as appalling in print as they were in real life, and they bring an awkward, even uncomfortable, frisson to the story.
The troubled Ronald is a well-realised tragic character, and there is an interesting contrast between Roland’s pre-war upbringing and reclusive life on the Moors, and the more up to date ‘60s world of Connie and Myra. This is, in a way, Ronald’s story, but we feel for Connie as a mother facing her worst nightmare.
Rebecca Griffiths’ previous book, “The Girl At My Door”, featured the real-life serial killer John Christie in an entirely fictional story, and to thrilling effect. Continuing the “true-crime fiction” genre, her latest is another powerful and visceral page-turner. Griffiths excels at hammering home every parent’s worst nightmare, and there are also very evocative and vivid descriptions of the Moors and the surrounding areas. The ‘60s period detail is also spot-on as usual.
Rebecca Griffiths doesn’t use real-life events and people gratuitously or in a slapdash way as a lesser writer would. That said, this book should be approached with caution as the subject matter is disturbing and the story very harrowing in parts, and evokes events that still resonate negatively in Britain today. “The Hidden Child” is a stunning book that will scare, thrill and anger you. It is testament to Rebecca Griffiths’ skill as a writer just how much you will both love and hate this book.

Unfortunately this story was not for me. Conceptually, I enjoyed the theme and the different perspectives. However the execution was a bit drawn out and not woven well.

The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths

Published: February 24, 2022
Bookouture
Pages: 361
Genre: Crime Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 4/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Rebecca Griffiths grew up in west-Wales and went on to gain a first-class honours degree in English literature. After a successful business career in London, Dublin, and Scotland, she returned to rural west-Wales where she now lives with her husband, a prolific artist, their four black cats, and two pet sheep the size of sofas and writes full-time.

“No rest for the wicked.”

Ronald has a lifetime of secrets, regrets, and doubts. He has spent his life on the moor, tending his sheep, and minding his business. When his peaceful existence is interrupted terrifyingly, the last thing he expected was to reconnect with his long-lost love.

This was an interesting read. I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the alternating narrations and perspectives. I think the most interesting aspect of this book is that so much is revealed to the reader, so we are going along as things are happening.

I enjoyed the characters in this book. I found them realistic and well-developed. I appreciated that Rebecca did not shy away from having flawed characters. No one is perfect, and that was well represented here.

The buildup was slow but well done. A slow burn that is well written and engaging is an actual work of art. This novel captured the difference in time without being glaringly obvious.

The location descriptions were beautifully done, and I loved that the moor was a character, just as prominently as Ron or Connie.

A beautiful story about protecting yourself, forgiveness, love, and second chances, everything about this book was a win for me.

Based on an actual true crime, The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths is an historic fiction crime novel. Starting with a prologue, we see the murder of a father by his adult son in 1941. With a narrative leap to 1965 Manchester, we come across a Police Statement on the disappearance on the moor of eight people, including four children over three years. Then the disappearance of a child playing in a pub car park occurs and the lives of a number of families are impacted with far reaching ramifications. Ignorance of the Moor Murders was probably helpful for the enjoyment of this story. Fictionalising history to add characters to develop an imagined world can be a tricky balance to obtain. The rosy ending seemed innocuous given the horror of the original murders and an unnecessary narrative linkage, making for a three-star rating. With thanks to Bookouture and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given, without persuasion.

Misery, Malice, and Saddleworth Moor

One murderer is bad enough, the idea of a murdering couple is appalling. The Hidden Child is based on true crimes that occurred in the early 1960s. Though I'd never heard of the pair, it's easy to see a clear pattern of codependent and psychopathic behavior in Myra Hindley and Ian Brady, similar to spree killers Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo.

Rebecca Griffiths has crafted her book to show how the proclivities of these two may have evolved and escalated within an imagined group of ordinary young working class friends. The true parts are horrifying, earning their own gruesome pages on many dark true crime fan sites, but the fictitious ones are also disturbing.

There's child neglect and child abuse. The author has presented the story's violence as tastefully as possible, but the crimes and the behavior of other characters may be triggers for some. The killers' influence on the others in their group adds deeper, darker dimensions to events pulled from the headlines.

However, the book's not without sweet moments to give hope within the growing despair. The evolving story of how bad mother Connie reacts to the loss of her daughter, Kathy, when she goes missing is the meat of the book. Along with the complicated parallel account of bachelor brothers, Ronald and Thomas, the fictional characters provide an excellent counterpoint and balance to each others' parts of the whole. (Thank goodness!)

I was lucky to get a free advanced reviewer copy of The Hidden Child from NetGalley. As always, I'm unencumbered by their expectations and this is my own freely-given, honest opinion and endorsement. It's an engrossing, electrifying read and I recommend it to anyone who likes suspense thrillers and true crime.

A dark and deeply disturbing story which includes some of the terrifying events on the Saddleworth Moor in the 1960s. Absolutely chilling.

There is a lot going on in this book - as I listened to the audio, I struggled to remember the placement of the storyline. Rebecca does an amazing job creating a vast network of subplots and pulling the strings together.
Connie became a mom at the young ago of 15 - for years, she has struggled with balancing her life while caring for her daughter. Raised by a man who used his hands and negative words to parent, Connie falls back on this parenting. She moves out of her parents' home a few months before the story starts, placing Connie and her daughter on a downward spiral.
Connie and her boyfriend leave Kathy in the car while going into the pub for a drink.
On a farm nearby, Ronald encounters friends of Connie - Myra and Ian. Both dark with a strong thirst for endangering animals and Ronald while they camp on the Moor. Shooting guns in the night, careless and intending to harm.
Chilling read.

I found this story to be a bit different from what I expected. Yes, it does have the quirky characters, and the bad boys and girls, together with the good guys keeping the village together, and it took me awhile to get into the flow, not knowing where the story was heading. Once I got into the flow I was hooked.

The story of the little girl gone missing is a bit different, since she liked her new, very temporary, life. Her mother, who many feels do not deserve her child starts rethinking about some things. The grandmother is missing her grandchild terribly, and she has not an easy position in this case. I found this to be an interesting combo in the book.

I wonder how realistic this story is, but then again, fiction does not always have to be realistic. All in all a good book I can recommend.

I enjoyed the true crime aspect to this book but a lot of it. fell short for me. Granted, a large part of my dislike came from having a very hard time reading and understanding the accents. It got frustrating after a. while trying to interpret what Ian was saying. I also didn't find many of the characters likable and had a hard time rooting for anyone other than poor little Kathy. Definitely an interesting ready, but not sure it was totally up my alley.

The Hidden Child by Rebecca Griffiths is a strong 4 star read, but it is the audio delivery that raises it to a 5 star read for me! Read by Sarah Durham and Richard Burnip, they expertly capture the many different intonations of the English language, especially as portrayed in the rougher classes. This added immeasurably to my enjoyment of this story.

The author has skillfully set her own fictional story to play out alongside the true story of a well know pair of British killers responsible for what are known as the "Moor Murders", Myra Hindley and Ian Brady. When Connie's young daughter Kathy disappears from a parked car while she and her partner are in a bar, she has to come to a reckoning that she has been a bad mother. It's in all the papers that children have been disappearing, and she left Kathy unattended while meeting with her good friend Myna, and her new and unlikable boyfriend, Ian.

Meanwhile, over on the moors, quiet and unsociable farmer Ronald has his own problems to contend with. A young couple has been coming on his land uninvited, and frankly, the pair of them frighten him. Then two of his ewes are found shot and left to die. Ronald knows he should call the police, but he has secrets of his own he wants to keep buried. Ronald tends to the farm while his brother Thomas keeps the house and cooks. It is a quiet arrangement that has suited them both, but something happens that totally upends their lives and gives them what could be happiness, if they can just figure it all out.

Eventually these two lives will intersect: Ronald and Connie will find they have something in common. I really enjoyed listening to this story. The writing is very good and captures the personalities of the characters. I really felt I was back in Manchester in 1965. The narrators also helped with this. It was interesting to see this fictional mystery play out against the inevitable conclusion of the real-life mystery, a pair of murderers still infamous fifty years after their crimes were committed.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Bookouture for allowing me to listen to this audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.