This was a very suspenseful story were the isolated setting was perfect and the encased great.

I'm glad I didn't get turned off by the low overall rating of this. It was a really good mystery set between Christmas and New Year's Day. Appropriately enough, I listened to the audiobook from start to finish on New Year's Day. It has a great location in the northern California coast, a sense of isolation, very interesting characters with relatable issues, and a murderer who is easy to have quite a bit of sympathy for...even though you know circumstances are bound to develop to put him at odds

Let's start off with the very beginning, where our unknown killer shoots two kids for littering on the beach, one man for taunting seals with trash, and another man because he's cut down trees just to get a good view. Our unknown killer then pretty much disappears, except for a short chapter where he's driving around being semi-introspective, but confusing "really liking the environment" with "homicidal". He will be called the "Coastline Killer", but mostly is an afterthought. Meanwhile . . .ent...

Loved reading this book! Did not like the ending....but that's just me. I will read more books by this author and hope for better endings!

This weekend getaway to a friends summer home on the coastline is anything but what Jay Macklin expected for him and his wife Shelby. The weather stinks, the locals act hostile, neighbors are unfriendly, and the medical problem he intended to discuss with her intrudes unexpectedly.

The book is short, just 110 pages. I really liked the quickness of this book until it gets to the climax. I was getting so twisted in the description of where Shelby was running. It might be my misunderstanding of the west coast? Heavily entwined wooded coastline with swampy marshes and paved driveway and open spongy field that have fence enclosed estates and outbuildings, residential housing. I just found myself using energy trying to envision the gamut of hard to soft and undeveloped to develo...

PROTAGONIST: Jay and Shelby MacklinSETTING: California coastRATING: 2.75Shelby and Jay Macklin’s are experiencing marital problems, mostly because Jay is unable to share his inner self with his wife. His inability to communicate has led to a breakdown in their relationship. He experiences terrible nightmares that he won’t discuss with his wife, and he never lets her in to his private world. Although there has been no infidelity, Shelby has been fantasizing about another man. It is only a matter

It certainly started off interesting. It had all the right elements of suspense and it got me reading further into it. Then it stops. The plot suddenly focuses mainly on the deteriorating relationship between Jay and Shelby and the killer suddenly disappears from the story. Huh? why? and the suspense was just getting along fine! However! I actually liked the spotlight on the two of them. It did provide character development despite the lack of suspense. As the story progressed, I found myself lo...

Very quick read, the problem marriage at the center of the book was so believable, the charcters' struggle was just very stark and real UNTIL the reveal at the end about the husband's dream. It was unexpected and maybe unneeded to tie that end up so neatly, and I really didn't believe it would immediately change the way he dealt with life as a married person. But maybe that's not the author's intent, it seems like there will still be problems, but at least some hope for the marriage. I did of co...

Perhaps it was my mindset going into the story or perhaps I'm a bit desensitized, having read a bunch of suspenseful novels lately. But I had a hard time getting into this book.My impressions before reading the book was that the story would be highly suspenseful. The situation is a vacationing couple stuck in the middle of a storm with a killer on the loose in the area. However, it seemed to take a while for the suspense to really get going, with much of the first half of the story focusing on t...

What is hidden in The Hidden? What would seem to be a good idea for a getaway between Christmas and New Year's, turns ugly as the young married couple discovers problem after problem in the area chosen for their retreat. Bad timing abounds with the weather, Jay Macklin's heart, neighbors, and passers by. What doesn't kill them does makes them stronger, as Nietzsche's saying goes.

Well written with clean and effective prose. The story fell apart toward the end but I couldn't put it down as the main characters were engaging and the setting fully realized.

I enjoyed this one. It was fairly fast paced and had a decent amount of mystery. It was a little annoying how when the story was told from Jay’s perspective he called himself Macklin, but that’s a minor annoyance. It twisted a little bit at the end. I am choosing to believe that the main characters remain together in the end ♥️

I’m pretty sure I have read this book and just not marked it as read. It was very familiar, but not enough so that I could not enjoy it again. I have spent a stormy weekend on the Oregon Coast in a camper; so I could relate to the wind and torrents of rain Pronzini aptly describes. Thankfully I didn’t fear killer on the loose. Another great mystery written by a master.

Story was so-so but descriptions of environment were pretty good.

Good Start. Bad ending

Christmas story a la Hitchchock packs enough punch and suspense. The female protagonist is an EMT (my favorite character), and her husband is an out-of-work restaurant owner. Marriage on the rocks, they drive out to stay at a friend's seaside cottage in northern CA for some R&R. Of course things go awry. I remain a big fan of Mr. Pronzini's novels, the Nameless series and the stand alones. This title delivered another diverting read over a couple of cold Christmas week nights.

Another very good suspenseful story from Bill Pronzini . Good old fashion crime novel. Bravo

The action in this seemed more like a short story would be... and I'm not fond of short stories. I knew what was coming, but it took forever to get there, and then was over quickly. Too much repetition of feelings, etc. Needed tighter editing.

Read 2013