A cold case reopened and a murderer who thinks they got away with it, I found this a good book to read

When DI Thomasine has to tell the mother that Karen’s body has been found she promise that her killer will be found .
Then Veronica Lightfoot goes dissapeared and then found it comes across that the killer is being busy.
Had the killer knows the same girls
I had an ARC from Bloodhound .

Thomasine is a police officer that sees and deals with many terrible crimes. Her past played a part in her present when her sister disappeared years ago with no hint of what happened until one day her body is found. When she is taken off the case because of her connection she starts to look into the crime herself and uncovers so many secrets and possibly more bodies. What will she do? Thank you for allowing me to read this book and to write about it.

What a way to start your writing career! This is the debut novel from CM Stephenson and another triumph for Bloodhound Books. A number of young women went missing years ago and, when a body is found, the search is on to find the others and those responsible for their disappearance. As the body is that of cop Thomasine, she is removed from the case and must do her own investigating. Fascinating and very well written.

Really enjoyed reading this book a lot. The story seemed to flow very naturally and the characters were believable.
The story itself had some gripping and tense moments and I was very happy I got the chance to read it.

DI Thomasine Albright’s sister went missing many years ago. Finally the family know what happened. Finding the killer of her sister is going to be difficult for Thomasine as she is not allowed anywhere near the case. New developments come to light and nothing will stop Thomasine finding the truth.

This is a story that has several subplots running through it as I was soon to discover. I found that there were a few characters that I had to get to know but I soon started to recognise as the story unfolded, and they became recognisable. Also their role in the grand scheme of things, making them even more memorable.

As the story evolved I did wonder what sort of route this book would take, it became darker and caught me out when I started to discover where it was heading as questions and threads were being pulled together. At this point my reading started to quicken as the pacing seemed to speed up as well.

This story has good descriptions for the setting, a bleak, cold, isolated farm that was once a family home added to the story line, and increasing the tense feeling as I read.

This did require a little more concentration in the early stages as I had to get a grasp on the seemingly unrelated threads. Once the characters had cemented themselves and the threads of the story started to be woven together I had a better understanding and could really enjoy the story.

This is a story that would appeal to crime, thriller and mystery readers and is one I would recommend.

She Lies Hidden by C.M. Stephenson

Difficult to get into at first but when all the threads finally started coming together I could not put this book down. My main problem, at first, was figuring out who each third person pronoun starting sections referred to since there were more than one or two characters. Her could be DCI Thomasine or her colleague Mel or any of the females unnamed in the book just as the males unnamed were hard to figure out until more of the book had been read.

This is a book about young women that went missing and were never found. The police assumed they were runaways and put little if any effort into finding them. Families suffered and so did many of the women.

When Thomasine is notified that her missing sister’s remains have been found the search begins to find out what happened to her and how she ended up in a grave over twenty years before. Thomasine is not on the investigative team but she finds clues and tidbits and shared what she finds with the team as she uncovers them.

This was a dark, twisted, disturbing story that did see justice eventually prevail before the end of the book. I would say that as a debut novel it was well done and will also say that I would read another book by this author. I am not sure if there will be a series to come or if the author will leave this as a single story and tackle something else but I am up for the read when her book is finished.

I will caution the reader not to give up in the first part of the book even if slightly confused because reading on through is definitely worth it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4 Stars

This debut novel from CM Stephenson kept me gripped right until the end. I have read a few 'paint by numbers' thrillers lately but this is an original and fresh take on the 'missing person' story.

I particularly enjoyed the haunting sense of atmosphere depicted at the farm which contrasted neatly against the hustle of a police investigation. The novel moves between 1973 (the time of the girls' disappearances) and 2010, so you need to stay focused to engage with the plot and various characters, but the payoff is well worth it and the characters work together perfectly in racing to a satisfying climax.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

A well written story with many twists to keep it interesting . Two girls go missing in 1973 , apparently unconnected at the time ., this follows the story after the body of one is found buried many years later and another missing person is discovered after an accident and has been living under a different name . . Flashbacks to the era when the girls went missing help set the atmosphere .

IN MY HONEST OPINION, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BOOK!!!
I am going to be perfectly honest and say, after reading the reviews on She Lies Hidden, I didn't hold out much hope for it. I think it is not gettng the recognition it deserves. Keep a clear head for the first five chapters and you will be hooked.
The story is from alot of different points of view, keep a clear head and it will flow so easily. A gem of a book by CM Stephenson.

I was hooked by the blurb for this one, it sounded excellent and I couldn’t wait to get started!! And that cover is to die for…

I really enjoyed the idea behind the story and the plot was clearly well planned out. I enjoyed the characters and thought that they worked well together.

There was a tad too much detail for me in places and I think that detracted from the main storyline at times and could confuse some readers but overall it was a well written story that ticked all the right boxes for me!

I enjoyed the different view points used to tell the story and how it went from past to the present to give the background more detail – an impressive debut – 4 stars from me and can’t wait to see what she releases next!

I found.this to be quite a slow burner. There were lots of different threads and viewpoints which means you need to concentrate! The storyline.was interesting but I would have liked the characters to.be a.bit more developed so that i could get more of.a.feel for them

My review is written with thanks to Bloodhound Books for inviting me on the tour and for my copy of the book via Netgalley.
Detective Inspector (DI) Thomasine Albright has her world rocked to its core when she arrives at work to discover that the remains of her sister, Karen, who disappeared aged fifteen in 1973, have been found. Although she is officially removed from the case, she is determined to find out what happened to her sister, and she realises that Karen may not have been the only victim. Can she find her sister's killer?
She Lies Hidden is written from several different perspectives and this means the reader is able to track the progress of the official investigation, Thomasine's investigation and hear from someone called Lily. In the beginning, it did take me some time to get to grips with who was who, but once I did, the narrative techniques worked really well as they created intrigue for me. I wanted to know how each part of the novel connected and each chapter posed another question, which kept me reading until I had found the answers.
The novel is set on Thomasine's mother's farm in a remote location. This, alongside the heavy snowfall, creates an eerie atmosphere. I would not like to be left alone in the farmhouse and I felt a sense of unease all the way through.
She Lies Hidden is very fast paced. The leads come in thick and fast, and whilst at first they may not lead anywhere, I was fascinated each time a small piece of the puzzle was revealed and I tried to work out what was happening. I did guess some of the clues, but this did not detract from a thoroughly gripping novel.

A very good debut novel from C.M. Stephenson. I found it hard to get into the storyline as the book flicked between past and present and several different characters. A missing body turns up after 27 years and Thomasine hunts for the killer of her sister. Lots of twists, plenty action and a bit confusing. I liked the references to psychology and the fact that I had to concentrate on reading. A good read for a winter evening. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy.

Two girls, unconnected to each other, went missing in 1973. The remains of one has just been found. Where is the other one? What happened? Who did this?
Thomasine Albright's sister went missing and has just been found. She's been living with this unknown for 37 years and it has destroyed her family. She's a DI with the Family Liason Office and I believe her sister's disappearance caused her to follow this career path.
The discovery of Karen's remains sets in motion a series of events. Various characters see the news in the newspapers and/or on television and the story develops from there. Lily, her narrator, the artist, Jimmy - where do they fit in? What is their influence?
The story is told from various characters narrative and this adds to the mystery of the story. Through the words of the characters you start to place things in order and the whole story is laid open leading up to the impact-laded ending.
I really enjoyed this book, in fact, once I started it I could not put it down.

Some nice plot twists....

I liked this booked and really liked the main character - DI Thomasine Albright. For me the plot was slower paced in some places but I did like it.

Such a striking read! No chance of falling asleep with this one - there's too much going on!

DI Thomasine Albright was only a child when her sister went missing in 1973; her mother has always maintained that Karen would turn up one of these days, even though it's now 2010. When Karen's body is found, Thom has the unenviable job of telling her mother - and quickly, fearing the press may reach her first. Isolated from the official investigation, DI Albright decides to carry out a little snooping of her own. Karen wasn't the only teenage girl to disappear at that time - so where are the others?

This is a scintillating novel, and one you must give your full attention. At first, there seems to be various disconnected threads but, believe me, when they are all stitched together your jaw will drop. I'm astonished that this is a debut novel! This reads like the work of a much more experienced author; the story itself is so skilfully crafted and beautifully written. The suspense is palpable and the overall effect is an astounding read which keeps your attention to the very last. I'll definitely be watching out for the author's next novel! Without a doubt, worthy of a full five shiny, sparkling stars!

My thanks to publisher Bloodhound Books not only for my copy via NetGalley but also for inviting me to take part in this blog tour. This is my honest, original and unbiased review.

Well done to the author on her debut novel. What a great start. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.

Thomasines sisters body has turned up twenty seven years after she went missing. Thomasine needs to find out what happened her sister Karen. As to be expected Karen’s disappearance affected her whole family and Thomasine carried the guilt.

This story is told through the past and the present and through several different points of view.
I found this pretty hard to get into but once I read more I didn’t want to put it down, I needed to read more to find out what was gonna happen.

Although the story confuses me at the start and I’d have liked the characters developed more I really liked the storyline. I’m looking forward to reading more from this author.

4.5 stars
Stunning debut! This was a 5 star until the last 20%. I felt the ending was a little rushed and motivation wasn't clearly spelled out. However, I did love Thom and all her bad asseryness.

'She Lies Hidden' is C. M. Stephenson's debut novel, and although the synopsis sounded exciting, i'm afraid it didn't quite hit the mark for me. There were too many issues for it to be an enjoyable read. For starters the story was quite boring, not to mention repetitive. The classic rookie mistake of making the story as action-packed as possible backfires here as it makes it impossible to keep up with all the different threads of the story. There were also far too many characters meaning they lacked depth and development and were not at all memorable. The writing style made it difficult to get invested in the story and there were no twists as such just the slow discovery of information adding to the boredom. The ending was totally odd and much of it felt as though it had been thrown together and a bit of an afterthought.

However, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion of psychology at certain points in the book, and as I have a deep interest in psychological conditions this kept me reading. The authors use of multiple perspectives to add to the story worked really well, and I felt that Stephenson wove them together seamlessly. Unfortunately, there are many times that the reader could end up very confused because of the amount that is happening, and coupled with the slow pace it felt as though the story was literally not going anywhere. Overall, it was far too much like hard work getting through it all. I found that I could guess the outcome from very early on which was extremely disappointing.

Many thanks to Bloodhound Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.