The Hidden
Melanie Golding
Publication Date: November 9, 2021
★★★☆☆
A small child is found roaming around an English coastal town, cold and scared. When her mother comes to collect her, claiming she wandered off, the authorities happily reunite the pair and send them on their way.
This small action sparks a ripple effect across the lives of others. Secrets come to light and sinister plans unfold. What's real?
One detective seeks to find answers, but reveals more questions - and some are personal.
The Hidden is a story told from multiple perspectives that focus not just on the direct events of the book, but also on the past lives of the individuals involved. Pieces of reality-like-modernism, it presents as your typical police thriller, but provides ample twists and turns as the reader pieces together information supplied by the different views.
The reader is first introduced to Joanna Harper, a detective with the local police department. She is tasked with finding answers shortly after a man is found floating in a tub, his own blood seeping into the tepid water. As bits of the mystery is unraveled, she realizes that she's not only on the hunt for his attackers, but also on a hunt for a missing woman and child. As the police drama unfolds, it is also impacted with nods to folklore, mental health crises, interpersonal revelations.
The story cycles through the view points of Joanna, Ruby (a musician), Constance (the mother with a mysterious past), Leonie (her child) and more. Similar to books I have read in the past, each viewpoint provides snippets of the truth, but are decoyed with unreliable mental states, bias and instinct.
I usually enjoy mysteries that are presented this way, due to the fact that it starts to become a puzzle for me to solve throughout; however, I do find that too many perspectives can get distracting. There are times when too much information is revealed in one POV, which lessened the thrill that I usually seek. That being said, I think it was delivered well enough, as I was taken by surprise in some of the twists I stumbled over.
I think the biggest criticism I can think of for this novel is that the time is fluid. The reader is bounced around between memories and real-time that incites figurative whiplash. It caused some points of confusion where I had to go back and read sections to ensure I understood what was happening.
Another piece that didn't quite fit for me was the revelation surrounding Constance's behaviour. Initially introduced as a mental health disorder, Constance seems despondent and unhinged. She is convinced she was born as a seal, lending to the popular myths of Selkies and their longing to return to the sea. I read a bit on the selkie folklore, and much of Constance's actions and reactions is a mirror of the mythical people, including her hysteria surrounding the loss of her "seal coat" and the accompanied agoraphobia she exhibited. The inclusion of this folk tale (and the resolution of her seeming madness) felt a bit misplaced and much like a separate, more interesting direction more fitting for a fantasy novel versus a real-world thriller.
Aside from these issues, I did find Melanie's writing very easy to read. As she described the various settings - English countryside, Scottish highlands and rocky crags - I felt immersed in the world she portrayed. Much of the family elements and dynamics were well done, and some of the desperation from a broken family felt similar to my own experiences.
This book would be perfect for individuals who enjoy police dramas. I will note that it deals with tense scenes of domestic violence, child abandonment, family conflict and mild gore.
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