After the gorefest of Follow You, I was advised this wasn't as gory and it certainly wasn't! This was one of those reads that has you gripped from page 1 and it would make a great film. So as I was reading it I was casting characters in my head!

This was a fast paced edgy dark thriller that kept me on my toes from start to finish. This is now in my long list of Top 17 Reads of 2017.

Richard Parker excels at taking the reader on one heck of a story journey. You need a lie down after reading his books.

I had read Scare Me (and promoted it with his previous publisher) so I knew I was in for a great read with this new one. I really like Richard's willingness to stretch my imagination. He's a great writer.

In this book a young boy is almost taken by a sinister stranger one day from his back garden. It's a plan that fails thanks to one gutsy mother who does everything to save her child. But that's really nowhere near the end of that story...in fact it's just the beginning and sometimes the past comes back to haunt you.

I'm not going to talk too much more about the plot except to say it's fast-paced from page one to the very end, is brilliantly written and has plenty of twisty turns you will just love! I enjoyed the storyline a lot.

There are characters to love and loathe in Hide and Seek. The bad guys I loved to despise and was willing their demise all the way through. I cheered on Connor's gutsy mother, the lioness that protects and fights for her cub no matter what. She is a formidable woman, I'd want her on my team.

A deranged, evil serial abductor and killer of children is at large and the overall story around him is fantastic. The ending of this book features high-octane thrills and heart-stopping moments. The very end was just brilliant, it couldn't have been wrapped up better. I was a satisfied reader.

If you want a book to turn the pages with that let's you escape totally into the plot look no further than Hide and Seek! 5 huge happy Reviewer stars from me.

Author Richard Parker made quite an impression with his previous offering Follow You. This one is a bit different and I was pleasantly surprised as it shows the author is not a one-trick-pony but able to diversify and still produce an excellent thriller. Think less gore an icky stuff, more deliciously creepy.

Nine months ago, someone tried to kidnap four year old Cooper from his garden. His mother, Lana, foiled the attempt but has been suffering from anxiety since that day. She's also rather obsessed with finding out who tried to take her son. So much so that she's often glued to an app on her phone that points out murder sites in her neighbourhood. I shudder at the thought. So when the family wins a trip to an adventure park, it is the break they desperately need. But things soon take a turn for the worse.

The relatively short chapters make for a quick and fast-paced read. The points of view switch effortlessly between Lana and Todd as they both set out to find their son. Hide and Seek is a brilliantly tense ride full of intrigue and I'm pretty sure my forehead now has added wrinkles from frowning so hard as I tried to figure out what was going on! This is a pretty intricate and complex plot and with twists, turns, a red herring or two and a satisfying conclusion, it all results in a truly enjoyable and gripping thriller. Bring on the next one, Mr. Parker!

If I could I would seriously give this book far more than five stars

When Lana and Todd win a trip to Blue Crest Adventure Park,their four year old son Cooper is ecstatic but while Lana is distracted by her phone,Todd is attacked and Cooper is abducted.

No one stopped the man carrying the sleeping boy,they both just vanished without a trace.Then Lana receives an anonymous message,telling her to visit a local school with a horrifying history.

What is the link between the school and her missing son? Can Lana uncover who is forcing her to play their twisted game and save Cooper before it's too late?

After the Gripping prologue the reader is given the chance to catch their breath while you follow the family's journey to Blue Crest Adventure Park and believe me you need that short reprieve because once Cooper is abducted,the action is non stop.This fast paced thriller has short,snappy chapters that alternate between Lana and Todd.You follow Lana as she follows the instructions of whoever has kidnapped Cooper.Meanwhile as well as trying to help Lana find their son,Todd has his own problems to deal with.He is being pursued by some rather nasty men,are they the same people who are behind Copper`s disappearance?.Throughout the story both characters find themselves in a number of nail biting,life threatening situations that had me frantically turning the pages,eager to find out what was going to happen next.

Likeable hero and heroine,evil twisted villains,loads of twists,breath taking,nail biting danger,sinister spooky settings manipulation,deception and loads and loads of action.This gripping roller coaster ride grips you from the very first page and squeezes you tighter and tighter until you get to the end and are finally able to breath again.