Cover Image: What We Hide

What We Hide

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Member Reviews

Big Colleen Coble fan. So I was excited to check this book out.
Great mystery/thriller book. I enjoyed the storyline and most of the characters. Not sure how I feel about the ending..... So can't wait for the next book.

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I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
Another great book by this author! Savannah and Hez have been separated since their little girl drowned and Hez fell into alcohol. He would love a second chance and tells her he has changed but can she trust him? But when Savannah is suspected of murder she calls him for help
Someone is selling the artifacts. Who? As the hunt for answers continues things become dangerous. Who can you trust?

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A heart pounding new series by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker. Savannah has returned to teach at the small university her father was once president of, but all is not as it seems.

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Coble and Acker combine their talents to weave a romantic suspense filled with intrigue and questions.
Estranged married couple, Hezekiah and Savannah, find themselves face to face with one another and the pain of their past. Now embroiled in a murder investigation that centers around historic Tupelo Grove University, the deep roots of ill-gotten treasure, and a past that continues to haunt their every day lives; will their marriage be able to heal or are the breaks too deep?
I found the first half to be a little slower than a usual suspense, but the second half was filled with excitement and twists that made it hard to out the book down.
Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinions. All opinions are my own.
Book published on July 2, 2024

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What We Hide by Colleen Coble; Rick Acker. The writing styles of the two authors merge seamlessly to create a spine-tingling legal suspense thriller. Hez and Savannah have experienced hardships and loss throughout their lives. Their recollections of Ella were painful. A read that is emotionally exhilarating and full of secrets and twists and turns.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

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This was an amazing book. I highly recommend it to everyone. Great characters and a great plot. I will be looking for more books by this author. The book is superbly written. Lots of twists, turns and shocking turns of events. Quickly becoming a go to author for me!!!! If you love to read a book and be shocked by the ending then check out this author for sure. You will love this book and this author

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It doesn’t take Tupelo Grove University history professor, Savannah Webster, long to realize that she may have been hasty in turning down her estranged husband and former District Attorney, Hezekiah’s request for a second chance. In one moment her life is turned upside down and she realizes she needs his help; the president of the university has been murdered and forged papers associated with the university’s precious artifacts are discovered. With their relationship hanging together by a thread despite sharing the loss of their daughter, can these two manage to work together to save each other? Despite his drinking problem?

As a general rule, I read anything Coble writes but will admit to being hesitant when I noticed it was coauthored. I needn't have worried. This duo crafted a pacey, unpredictable, heart-pounding suspenseful second-chance redemption novel with a fantastic cliffhanger ending. The addition of a coauthor didn’t affect Coble’s classic faith thread and readers will be watching for Savannah’s reliance on a seemingly silent God.

The choice of three distinct POVs gives readers insight into Savannah and Hez’s relationship and provides an opportunity for Coble’s characteristic emotional pull to shine. The unnamed third person’s POV added to the mystery and kept me invested in the story.

This series is off to a great start!

I was gifted this copy by Thomas Nelson Fiction and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

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Savannah works at Tupelo Grove University and finds herself in a situation that has her leaning on her estranged husband - Hez. I found this one to be a bit immature at times but not unreadable. I’d recommend to those who enjoy a quick read. Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC - all opinions are my own.

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Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. You should read it!

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Colleen Coble has done it again in her new book, What We Hide. Lots of mystery, intrigue, suspense, and many twists and turns to explore. Savannah and her estranged husband, Hez, are thrown together when she is suspected of killing a colleague. The more they dig, the more danger they are in. I was engrossed with this book, the first in her new series, Tupelo Grove. I can’t wait for the next book of the series to come out!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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I’m not really sure how I feel About this book. It is unlike most of Coleen's stories. A little bit romance, a lot of murder and mystery tossed in. Strange ending which seems to be a plot twist. I did like the main characters.

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What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker is a legal drama with family drama thrown in to carry the plot along. The story is categorized as Christian Mystery and Suspense Romance, but I do not agree with this assessment. The story features Savannah and Hez, who used to be married. Tragedy happened and their marriage fell apart. Now they are back in each other’s lives, they are trying to figure out if they can make this work or not. It reads more like a women’s fiction novel than a suspense novel. Yes, there were missing artifacts, and readers will see the person who is taking them and their point of view, but it does not seem to be a main suspense factor. Yes, the story features a dead body after a couple of chapters, but it really does not have that suspense atmosphere that mystery readers want when reading this type of story. Most of the story features Hez and Savannah arguing and thinking of the tragedy moment that happened three years ago. I was actually bored reading the story. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

I received a complimentary copy of What We Hide by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions are all my own.

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Delighted that this is just the beginning of a series by co-authors Colleen Coble and Rick Acker!

Savannah Webster and her sister Jess are both employed by Tupelo Grove University in Alabama. The university has ties to their family which makes them both committed to its success. When crimes surface and the sisters are accused, Savannah turns to her soon to be ex-husband Hez for legal assistance.

I love a good second chance story. Hez has been sober for two years and wants Savannah to see he is a changed man.

The cover is perfect for the story inside.

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What We Hide is an intriguing and complex mystery. It’s also very intense and emotional. Savannah and Hez, an estranged couple, are both living with the intense pain of losing a child, while Hez also deals with overcoming alcoholism and guilt. They are brought back together when first Savannah, then her sister, are accused of murder and are drawn into a mystery surrounding missing artifacts. There were a lot of twists, several surprises, and many misunderstandings, hard feelings, and misgivings to overcome as they try to uncover the truth. I was fascinated and hooked from the beginning. As a fan of Colleen Coble’s books, I also enjoyed this return to Pelican Harbor and “reuniting” with police chief Jane Hardy.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Colleen Coble and Rick Acker seamlessly craft a suspense/mystery novel in What We Hide. Tupelo Grove University history professor Savannah Webster is surprised to find her estranged husband and recovering addict Hezekiah (Hez) at her door asking for a second chance after the death of their daughter. She declines his offer until she finds herself in a jam with the law after discovering forged papers for artifacts sales and the university's president murdered. As one of the best attorneys around, she asks Hez to represent her and help figure out what is going on at the university. While investigating, their relationship starts to mend. But is everything really as it seems or is something more going on?

As far as writing, this is a quick, entertaining read. It's fast-paced and fairly well-developed. The struggles between Savannah and Hez are heartbreaking, yet realistic. This novel is written from three points-of-view: Savannah, Hez, and an unnamed first person POV. I really, truly thought I had the first person POV pegged until the Epilogue! Now I'm questioning everything! What a cliffhanger. Ready for the next book in the Tupelo Grove series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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"What We Hide" is a Christian mystery/suspense novel. Hez is a very good attorney who's used to doing some of the investigative work himself. However, he's always gotten so focused on his work that he doesn't pay enough attention to his wife and child. When his child died due to his inattention, his guilt drove him to alcohol, which destroyed his marriage. He's spent two years getting free of his alcoholism and hopes to win Savannah back. She still loves him, but she doesn't believe he's truly changed and so is determined to reject him. When they work together to prove whodunit, she's more comfortable wallowing in her doubts than asking him questions that would clear things up about the past and their present relationship.

Frankly, I'm not sure either of them changed that much by the end: he's still a workaholic and she resisted telling him how she feels even when God prompted her to do so. But at least they started toward trying to make things work.

The main characters didn't always make sensible choices, but a real person might act that way. Hez was likable. He made mistakes, but he took responsibility for his actions and truly wanted to change for the better. There were some courtroom scenes and some suspense from a killer taking out anyone who might expose the extent of the crime going on. We get some scenes from the boss criminal's viewpoint, so the reader can guess some of who and what's involved before Hez and Savannah. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting suspense even if Savannah's behavior frustrated me.

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I reviewed this book because, although I am not familiar at all with Rick Acker, I have enjoyed reading Colleen Coble. I had rather high expectations for this new series, but unfortunately it fell rather flat for me.
The first half of the book dragged and had too many characters to keep straight. It bounced around trying to lay all the groundwork, and it almost made me want to quit. I am glad I hung on though, because the second half was faster paced and more focused on getting justice for one particular character. I stayed up late to finish because I just wanted to get it done, and the epilogue was the best part of the entire book. It gave a fun twist and answered a rather large plot hole. I did go back and read several chapters again and they made much more sense after the revelation in the epilogue. If I had enjoyed the book more I would have read the entire thing again because some parts are still a bit fuzzy to me.
I felt that the characters were often not believable. The constant indecisiveness on staying together or not. Someone is trying to kill you and you go there alone, more than once, without a weapon? These types of things left me asking what these characters could possibly be thinking. For college professors, they sometimes were not very smart. Even if the purpose was to advance the story, it could have been done better. There was also a character that I thought would end up being a larger part of the story, but he appeared for a minute and was never seen again.
While the story wrapped up well, there is an opening for a sequel, but I have not yet decided if I will want to read it. I might give it a chance to be better than its predecessor. I do give the authors credit for remaining clean and readable in the midst of romance and violence, as well as for its Christian themes. If you are unsure about this one, I suggest reading it and coming to your own conclusions. It may be just the type of book you really love.
*I received a complimentary copy of this e-book from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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What we hide is a masterfully written story that's balanced quite nicely between mystery/thriller and romantic suspense.

Our main characters, Savannah and Hez, were both likable and believable. Savannah finds herself face to face with being wrongfully accused of murder. And who better to represent her than her almost divorced husband, Hezekiah. After a roller-coaster relationship between the two and an unfortunate loss, they were drawn apart. Hezekiah threw himself into alcohol, pills, and his work as a lawyer. Needless to say that their marriage was ripped apart. A year later, He cleans up nicely and decides to try and win Savannah over when they're thrown into proving Savannah's innocence.

With regards to their relationship, I wish it was a little more intense. I wish Hez wasn't passive and pliable... seeing as he did decide to win her over. However, I felt he didn't actively do much. Savannah, on the other hand, I didn't love that she put this massive hedge between them. She didn't try as hard, and that was way too much slow burn for me. However, overall, it was enjoyable.

Let's get to the suspense. This book will keep you guessing. It was interesting enough that I read it in one sitting. It will make you say, "Just one more chapter."
The suspense was on the level of Lynette Easons books, so you know you're in for a wild ride with this one!

I really enjoyed this story, the characters, and the suspense and will definitely be waiting for book 2 in the series to be released.

ARC provided by Netgalley.
All opinions expressed are my own.
Rating : 4 stars

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Savannah Webster has been separated from her husband Hezekiah Webster for several years and only recently filed for a divorce. After the unexpected death of their young daughter, Hez was out of control; drank heavily, popped pills, immerged himself in his work as an attorney and pretty much checked out of life. Now, after rehab he feels he has his life back together and he hopes to also save his marriage.
As Savannah is heading to her classroom at Tupelo Grove University, where she is a professor, she finds Hez is waiting for her. He is hoping to reconcile, telling her he’s been clean for nearly a year. He wants to start a law clinic at the school where she teaches, however, after he realizes, she doesn’t seem to have any interest in him, he takes a job at a law practice, a few hours away.
When some mysteries activities begin to take place on the campus, including a murder that implicate Savannah, she begs Hez to come back to represent her as her attorney. She cancels the divorce petition because she knows he is the best defense attorney. He gets a temporary job in the school of law and together he and Savannah get wrapped up in some unusual, sketchy activities on campus, including another murder.
This book takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster. Many unexplained irregular financial records are discovered and shockingly, a completely innocent person is set up and charged with them all and ends up in jail. A ten-year secret comes to light, the innocent remains in jail, while the perpetrators continue their wrongful, illicit activities.
I can always count on Colleen Coble’s books to keep me on the edge of my seat, turning the pages as quickly as possible. This fast-paced book was no exception. Coleen’s books are always clean romantic suspense at its best.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

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Well written story, but I almost feel like I need to go back and read it again to fully understand what happened. Some of the aspects of the plot were predictable, but I was so engrossed into the story, I didn’t mind. I absolutely loved the religious nuance and thought the references to scripture and faith were well written into the story in a fluid way. The shifting perspectives were hard to grasp at times, but it became clearer throughout the book who was narrating. I binged this book in less than 48 hours, but I do wish the ending was a bit more clear. Maybe there will be a continuation of the story with these characters!

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