Hide and Secrets is an exciting coming-of-age/YA mystery thriller which boasts lovely profound characters, great character development, a good dose of intrigue and twists and brilliant pacing. The smooth and immersive prose, along with the original and inventive plot kept me hooked throughout. Highly recommended to everyone.

Cat (14) and her little sister Bess live with their mother who is an astrologist. Their father disappeared and has been pronounced dead. Bess has not spoken since then. Both girls are lonely and mostly ignored by their mum.
Her mum announces that a man and his son are coming to stay in the house in their garden. The same day they arrive Cat receives a mysterious phone call from an ex colleague of her father who says he is not dead but has gone into hiding.
Tyler, the son soon becomes friends with Cat and embarks on a quest with her to find out what happened to her dad.
Good story for teenagers, lots of twists and turns and a good ending.
Overall 4 Stars ⭐️
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

A brilliant teen mystery thriller.
Fast paced with an up-to-date setting which hooked me in and kept me reading late into the night.
Brilliant book full of twists and turns and the characters were as so relatable too! Cat and Tyler's relationship was my favourite but it was also heart warming to see how Tyler made Bess feel and the relationship between them, even though Bess wasn't able to speak. Some of the characters surprised me, like their dad and Rik was another surprise too, but I think that just added layers to the plot.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with an arc of Hide and Secrets by Sophie McKenzie in exchange for an honest review.

This book was so fast paced! It made it such an easy ready, I could not put it down!
I haven't read any other books by this author yet but I definitely want to.
There was no shortage of twists and turns.
The writing itself wasn't super mindblowing but the story was really good.
You cannot help but to get attached to the characters.

Although a little far fetched at times. This one really kept me gripped and guessing along the whole journey! A great suspenseful YA mystery/thriller/adventure story

Exciting and fast-moving teen mystery/thriller.

McKenzie does write these well, great teenage characters in modern settings that feel real (lots of tech, for example), and plots that really do hook the reader in.

Teenaged Cat is still grieving her father, missing presumed dead nearly two years ago, her young sister hasn't talked since, her astrologist mother has thrown herself into readings and client consultations. Cat wants to spend her summer making dresses, as she doesn't have any friends anyway. But the phone call from her Dad's business associate changes all that, when it turns out her dad might not be dead after all but in hiding...

Excellent premise for a good old-fashioned 'road trip' of clues and cross-country races, of bad guys and wiles and adolescent realisations and growth.

Loved Cat, even came to appreciate her mother through the story, would have liked more of little Bess as she came across well in the few moments she was given.

Lots of predictability in general if you're familiar as an adult with the genre, but teenagers will get a taste for the excitement and staples of the thriller/chase.

Great, fast read for ages 12+. Nothing unsuitable or graphic.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample reading copy.

I did enjoy this book, however I did feel that, despite being warned that the book was going adult, that the book felt a little bit too young for me
That said. I enjoyed it, but probably not as much as a younger reader
It was very easy reading for me. I think this book would be perfect to get anyone out of a slump. It has everything that a novel should have
There are some triggers in this book, but the author deals with them perfect
You cannot fault this authors writing style and her ability to engross the reader
A great book. Just reminded me of my age

This is a super mystery that will be perfect for young teens. Really enjoyable and one that I will definitely be stocking in the school library.

Having read and enjoyed a lot of Sophie McKenzie’s teen books, I jumped at the chance to read an ARC of this one. I was immediately sucked into the story and found myself trying to figure out what was going to happen.

Cat is faced with lonely summer spent with her mum and sister, and never expects that she’s about to find out news that will completely change her life. Cat’s father died eighteen months ago, and since then her little sister hasn’t uttered a word. But the day a boy and his father move into their summer house to fix up the mosaic, Cat receives a call from her father’s old friend stating that her father is alive, and he needs her help to find him. Tyler, the boy now living so close to her home, joins Cat in her search and as they spend more time together, they grow a lot closer.

‘My life isn’t decided by the planets, and their positions. I choose who I am. Every day.’

I am a sucker for romance, so I really liked that there was also a little romance subplot in this book between Cat and Tyler. I thought their relationship was quite sweet and it was approached in a realistic way for their age. The relationship between Cat and Bess, her sister, was written really well, and I understood how Cat felt at times when their relationship seemed a little strained. The relationship between Cat and her mother felt like a typical teen relationship, where the mother doesn’t understand that her daughter is growing up, but she also doesn’t pay enough attention to Cat and what is actually going on.

I loved the mystery of this book, and although at first, I thought it was a little unrealistic, this soon changed as I read further into the book. If you are a fan of teen mystery thrillers,, then I recommend this one!

Really enjoyed this book, loved the characters, lots of twists in the story. Loved it to the point that i had to keep reading then when i got the end i wanted it to carry on.

Cat is barely coping since the death of her father 18 months ago when she is faced with a summer where her Mum has taken away her only sanctuary in the ‘Barn’. Her sister stopped talking when their Dad died and all her Mum seems to care about is her clients & making money.
It there comes as a bolt from the blue when an old friend, & workmate, of her Dad’s contacts her & tells her that not only did her Dad fake his drowning but mow he is in real danger & she is the only one who can find him & warn him.
This sets Cat off on a trail, with the help of Tyler, to find her Dad and save him from the FFG (Fran Farmer Gang).
A page turning read which will keep young teens wanting to know what is going to happen next and make them realise that not endings are picture perfect.

An easy-to-get-lost-in book that takes us on a journey across the country, searching for all the answers a young family needs. With twists and turns - some you see coming, some you don't - this was an easy but enjoyable read. I did think that maybe it should be counted more as middle grade than as young adult, but that didn't take away from the enjoyment of it.

"It was nice, but not the strongest book of its type." - My words upon finishing the book. And, honestly, after reflecting for several days, I have very little to add. Nice just about sums it up. That is, there's a plot and characterisation and world-building and a writing style, and they're all... nice. It was an enjoyable read, and I think it's certainly well-placed to be enjoyed by YA and MG readers alike (especially those progressing from one to the other), but at the same time, there's nothing remarkable about the book - it's just, well, nice.

Sophie McKenzie is a perennial favourite with our Key Stage 3 & 4 students because of her ability to intertwine mystery and adventure with family drama. Her latest book, Hide and Secrets, is a page-turner with plot twists, danger, lots of teenage angst and an interesting astrological aspect. Recommended!

✨“Sometimes life just doesn't allow for a totally happy ending.”✨
― Sophie Mckenzie, Missing Me

REVIEW: Hide and Secrets, by Sophie McKenzie.

🌷With her father missing, thought to be dead, fourteen-year-old Cat is left to meander through a boring and lonely summer with her sister, who refuses to speak, and her challenging mother.

But when new comers, Tyler and his father, come to stay with them for the holidays, things start to get interesting. Especially when Cat uncovers some information about her father. Teaming up together, Cat and Tyler go on a mission for the truth.

Dangerous gangs.

Stolen priceless jewels.

Secrets.

🌸This is my first Sophie McKenzie book, and I’m actually so proud of myself for reading it. This author has been on my TBR since I was a teenager!

Overall it was a fun mystery to read, and I enjoyed the tone of McKenzie’s writing. Even though we had a younger protagonist, it didn’t come across as overly teen. Then the plot line, yes it was a little cliche in places, but the good kind of mystery cliche. Such as, a diamond heist and thugs chasing after you. You know you love it.

I would recommend this book!

Thank you @netgallery and @Simon&SchusterChildren'sUK for a copy of this book.

Read. Be happy. Stay safe.

I was looking forward to this new book from Sophie McKenzie - it's been a while! But while this is a decent mystery/thriller, I felt that it was something of a rehash of her earlier novels, just recombining elements of earlier books.. I'll still be buying this for my school library - the students will want to read it and it's an entertaining enough read - but it was a little disappointing.

I feel like it is important to preface this by saying that I went into the book knowing that I was not necessarily the audience for this book. However, I was able to enjoy it regardless. Cat is 14 years old and McKenzie does an incredible job of writing realistic children who feel like they’re at that stroppy teenage phase, feeling like everything is against them and like they are not being heard. As well as this, you have the added layer of depth to her character as she mourns the loss of her father and feels the weight of having to look after her sister when their mother is too busy. It deals with some quite dark and hard-hitting scenes as well as being a kind of thriller and mystery story. I think a lot of younger teenagers are going to be able to relate to Cat and her struggles – not necessarily in the bigger things but, the fact that she feels alone and neglected by her friends. It just felt very real despite the high stakes nature of the other elements of the plot. Even me, who is almost six years older than Cat, felt myself rolling my eyes with her at the somewhat ridiculous behaviour of her mother.

Another aspect of this book which I really enjoyed was the journey our characters went on. Obviously, there is the literal journey as Cat teams up with Tyler to find her father but, as well as that, there was a much more emotional side of the journey too. Cat almost grows up on the page as she learns some home truths. It is natural as a child to be not as aware of other things that are going on – partly because our parents hide them from us as not to hurt us and also because we choose not to – and Cat really had that transition to understanding. It was great character development in that regard.

I also enjoyed the relationship aspect of this book. I was rooting for the two of them to get together and think it was a nice, sweet representation of first romances. This was a feature of Sophie McKenzie’s books that I loved when I was younger and probably the main reason that I reread The Medusa Project over and over again. However, I found Cat to be a little annoying in the way that she was constantly questioning how she felt about the love interest and whether he liked her when, quite frankly she had bigger and more dangerous fish to fry. On the one hand, this had me rolling my eyes but on the other hand, I feel like it is also quite realistic for a young teenager to be so conscious of her interactions with a boy, especially one she fancies. It is mainly for this reason that I think this book should be marketed more to the younger side of young adult – as a first foray into the young adult fiction world. It makes sense that children more around Cat’s age would be able to relate to her character the most.

You also have the thriller/mystery aspect to this book and I have to say that the atmosphere and intrigue were well done. Sophie McKenzie is no stranger to this genre and you could feel the worry and anticipation of the characters so well. I enjoyed the Devon setting – seeing familiar places on the page is always nice. However, I did find the ending rather predictable. Again, is this down to my age? It is hard to say. Even though I guessed what was going to happen pretty early on (in fact I think a similar reveal occurs in The Medusa Project), I didn’t mind it so much and was just happy to go along for the ride with this characters.

This book was nothing ground breaking for me but, it was such a fun read. Younger me would have absolutely loved this story and thought it was incredibly tense. Older me, less so but still an enjoyable experience and I’m glad that I read it. I think a lot of younger teens – and those of any age who enjoy more middle grade fiction – will really like this one

Hide and Secrets will be an outstanding addition to the collection of those who love YA thrillers. Cat's father is missing - presumed dead. But everything changes when Cat receives word that her father might have faked his own death. She'll do anything to find him. Setting off on the search for her father with Tyler who just came around for the holidays with his dad. The story is filled with plenty of adventure, mystery, and strong characters. Highly recommended to fans of One of Us is Lying.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. It was a different genre to what I normally read but I am very glad that I read it, it was well written and very believable, the characters were great and there were enough twists to keep me guessing.

Loved this YA thriller. It was really entertaining with a good pace, well-built characters, good writing and an exciting plot. I'd read from the author again. Recommended if you like the genre.