Book Review: You Can't Hide by Emily Shiner

 

Book: You Can't Hide

Author: Emily Shiner 

Pages: 255

Read on: Kindle 

Read in: 2.5 hours 

Plot Summary: 

Beth thought she’d escaped her past. She was wrong.

Beth and Ian are desperate to have a child. So much so that they decide to sell his family cabin in upstate New York to pay for IVF.

When they arrive at the cabin, they meet Ryan, the caretaker. But Ryan is not who he says he is… He’s here because he knows Beth has a dark secret. And now he intends to use it against her.

He threatens to tell Ian everything about Beth's past unless she does exactly what he says.

Beth finds herself caught in a nightmarish trap. If Ian discovers what she’s been hiding from him, she’s sure he’ll leave her. She’ll lose everything she cares about, including the chance to have a child of her own.

On the other hand, what Ryan wants her to do is so dark and twisted it’s beyond horrifying.

Either way, Beth is sure her life is over, she can see no way out. Unless… Unless she digs deep and finds a part of herself that is willing to do something so awful it doesn’t even bear thinking about. 

Things I Liked: 

1. The book's premise was interesting- a woman with a dark past and a mysterious man, who wants to use those secrets from her past to get her to do something bad. Nice, right? I was curious to see how this story pans out because threatening desperate people doesn't usually work out very well for the one doing the threatening, you know. 

2. This is a very fast-paced, taut thriller and there is never a dull moment in this book. The writing is good and there is a sense of palpable tension unfolding as you go down the chapters and Beth's story unfolds. The book is very atmospheric and that adds to the tension and stress as events in the story unfold. 

3. The story unfolds via a split-time narrative. We see Lizzy's story in the past and Beth's story in the present. Lizzy is married to a local doctor in small town Alabama and everyone in town seems to think that she is the luckiest girl alive to have married a wealthy, successful and good looking man. Except, Lizzy's husband is not all of that. Lizzy's story is full of tension and even though you know where it is headed, you feel anxious and worried about her. Beth's story also has an underlying thread of dread as we know Ryan is not the sweet caretaker hired online by Beth's husband- something Beth realises but her husband is oblivious to it. So, both stories have a lot of tension and the book keeps you hooked throughout. 

4. There are a couple of twists in the tale- you may be able to guess most of them- but they are nicely done nevertheless. 

5. The ending is satisfying and all loose ends are tied up well. 

Rating: 4/5 

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