Thank you, Avon, and NetGalley for a copy of Hide by Nell Pattison. I was excited when I saw the author had a new book out and I jumped at the chanced to request it.
It is Boxing day; seven friends decide to go birdwatching at a local nature reserve when one of them ends up dead. There is no telephone signal to call the Police and each of them don’t know whether to trust each other and when the weather closes in, they all try and fight to get back to the visitor’s centre, they struggle. But they are also scared. There is a killer on the loose and it must be one of them but whom?
The story is told in each character’s point of view which I liked, telling us of their circumstances and how it led to this day. This is a tense, gripping. High octane thriller that I enjoyed except for the ending which I found to be a little flat. 4 stars from me.

This is the first standalone fro: author Nell Pattison. I thoroughly enjoyed this story and I couldn’t see where the story was going.
Seven people go out on Boxing Day to watch the starling murmurations on the nature reserve and one of them is then murdered. The other six have to fins a way to get off the reserve and call the police.
The story unfolds with each chapter having a different characters POV and not all the characters are very likeable.
Great read.
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Loved this, loved the characters, loved the setting. Suspenseful and captivating, I finished it in one sitting!

Thank you for letting me read Hide in advance of the published date.

I found this book rather slow and hard to get into it I’m being honest. I like that it was told from different perspectives, however, at times I couldn’t clearly tell who’s perspective I was in all the time. The links between the characters seemed rather unlikely and far fetched but I did like the twist at the end.

I have read all of Nell Pattison's books and this is my favourite. I loved the winter setting and the idea of seven friends going out together. Every single one has something to hide but one of them has murder on their mind. This book was very tense and I loved how we got to know each characters point of view...some I loved, some I loved to hate. This is very much a character driven story and I really liked that. The writing is typical Nell Pattison with a deaf (like me) character represented. Ms. Pattison knows how to keep her readers riveted to the pages. I am so glad she finally did a stand alone novel this time around...the ending to this one just blew me away.

This book had me gripped from the off. I loved the change in pov, it worked really well and created more suspense as the book went along. I found the ending a little disappointing, but overall a great read!

This was a really great book, I ended up finishing this in just one sitting! It was a really interesting and engaging story, that I could not put down! I would definitely recommend this book in the coming winter months, it would be a perfect addition to a cosy winters night in, you won't regret it!

2/5 stars ⭐️⭐️

Many thanks to the author, the editor, and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Sorry to say that, but I was not crazy about this one. The premise was intriguing and reminded me very much of an Agatha Christie-type of mystery. For some reason, though, it just didn’t work.

I found this novel incredibly unlikely. There were just too many coincidences for the book to sound believable, and I lost interest very soon and very fast. I also had a few issues with the narrative structure: this book has multiple points of view, but they all sounded kind of the same, and I struggled to recognise who was talking at a given time.

The only thing I would save about this book? I kind of enjoyed the ending. Reading the reviews on Goodreads, I am probably the only one, but I think it was fine.

The seven members of the nature group are excited for their Boxing Day hike, when they will have exclusive access to the nature resort. But not everyone is planning to walk and watch birds... some may have other ideas in mind. When one of the group is shot dead, the rest are forced to try to get help or find out what happened... and why...

Another brilliant book by Nell Pattison. This is a thrilling and tense story where we are kept guessing until the end - is someone else in the reserve with the group, or is one of the group members responsible? Could anyone else be in danger? An exciting and well-written plot with shocking twists and turns, and a varied set of characters for us to get to know. Very much recommended!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.

A group of bird-watchers Lauren,Emily,Morna,Alec,Dan,Kai and Ben decide to spend their boxing day watching a murmuration of starlings. Each one is carrying a secret that they don't want the rest of the group to find out. Then one of them ends up dead in the middle of a snowstorm and it's a fight for survival and figuring out 'whodunnit?'

I love a good 'everything happens in one day' thriller but this definitely would've been better if there wasn't so many different perspectives. I have nothing against multiple POVs but this got to be a bit harder to follow the further you go into the story.

The mystery aspect is done well I didn't guess who the killer was until about 3 quarters of the way through. Some of the characters were irritating and I found that hard to read. The only ones I really liked were Emily and Kai. I didn't guess the secrets either which I liked.

The ending was a big let down. I felt like it was needed and could've ended without it.

Overall this was an enjoyable story if you're looking for something fast paced and a bit far fetched.

Having read all of Nell Pattison's previous books I was very much looking forward to a new standalone book from her. And it did not disappoint.
Even though there were many characters, this was handled well as you could differentiate who was who and were rooting for certain characters to keep going.
The pacing was great and because of this and the storyline, it kept me on the edge of my seat.
I liked the suspense that was created and the fact that it could have been any of them.
I'm always a fan of the chapters alternating the character's POVs and that was done well in this.
The way the setting was built up also made it feel like you were really there.
I will definitely be reading more from Nell Pattison and she has easily become one of those authors that I would pick up any of her books going forward, as I'm such a fan.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Nell Pattison is one of those authors that has managed to shock me a couple times, as my expectations were much lower than what I got! I love this type of story, although it’s not for everyone. Well written, intense, and lots of fun thrills, chills, and twists! Highly recommend!

A Boxing Day hike is supposed to be a joyful experience for the 7 people in the birdwatching group but will this be the enjoyable hike they planned?
Not all of them will come out of the woods. The characters are a mixture of nice and unlikable but they all have lies and secrets. As always Nell’s books are enjoyable and this was no different. Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

"We all have those moments we wish we could relive and do differently."

This is a story of seven friends who enjoy birdwatching together. On Boxing Day, they all decide to meet up at a nature reserve. But one of them has more than birdwatching on his/her mind. With tensions mounting and inclement weather coming in, they'll find themselves trapped in an isolated forest with no one around to help or hear them scream. All of them have secrets and regrets, but only one of them has secrets worth killing for.

This a character-driven novel. We get the POV of each of the seven characters throughout the book. The personalities of the characters as well as their relationships with each other are well fleshed out, which made for rich characterization and personal dynamics.

I'm more of a plot-driven fan, but I did enjoy the character introspection and the frisson of tension amongst the group. Some parts of the story did lag for me and could do with an edit, however, by the end of the book I had so many intense feelings for these characters. How can you feel so much outrage/sympathy/hope/despair/anger for fictional people? Somehow, Nell Pattison was able to give me all the feels.

The ending of the book was a choice, and I don't know if I love it or hate it. I haven't had this intense of an emotional reaction to a character since reading 'What the Dead Know' back in 2007.
I kept going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars but, because of the amount of hate I have for this character, I had to up it to 4 stars. After all, it has been almost fifteen years since I got this riled up over a character.

Additional things I enjoyed:
~I feel like nature lovers (like myself) will love the setting and the birdwatching element.
~The inclusion of a deaf character was interesting and insightful. Emily's hearing impairment upped the intensity of the situation while also serving to be inspirational due to her strength and determination.

If your a fan of character-driven novels and/or locked-room style mysteries, I recommend this book.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another book with a focus on a set of people, who are not really friends on this occasion, in a closed situation. One gets killed and then 90% of a rather long winded tale of lost and found takes up the rest of the story. It annoyed me that the only way this worked was to 'pretend' that not one person had a phone signal at any point on the nature reserve, not even from the education centre. We all know that 999 is accessible from virtually anywhere so this was just to make the situation of 'no help available' work!
The book drags and the twists don't really work or fit the characters, especially the final one.

Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book. I found it was confusing, too long-winded and too many changes of characters. I kept going to find out if the book had any conclusion (and I don't like to leave a book unfinished.) The twist explained some of what had happened but not enough to give anymore than 3 stars.

2.5 stars.

Way too much happening, and yet, nothing happened at all. There were too many characters and they all sounded the same. I definitely didn't need six suspects when it's pretty obvious from the start who the villain was. I was bored the whole way through, and would have given this only two stars but for the ending. I was grateful for one last twist I didn't see coming. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. I also learned way too much about bird watching I never wanted to know.

Publishing 9 Dec 2021.

**Thanks to Avon Books UK and Netgalley for my advance copy.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon Books UK, Avon for the arc of this book. I am a huge fan of this author's "silent" series. This book had an interesting premise, and if you liked "locked room" thrillers, you will like this one. I didn't love any of the characters, and kept confusing the men because they were so similar. The story was creepy and so much was going on, though some of the "lost in the woods" went on too long. The end was a surprise, and the VERY end was even more of a surprise, but maybe a bit over the top.

A killer is on the loose hunting the nature lovers on Boxing Day at the bird hide. The victim said he knew their secrets. A final twist at the end but, for me, I didn't really understand the motive of the perp in the final twist. There was no real reason for the hatred and this is why I couldn't fully engage with the story. The characters were, for me, a bit antagonistic with no real reason for their actions. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the chance to read and review this one. The last 25% gave my rating a little boost. By 50% I honestly didn’t know if I would abandon this book. The setting has all the creepy, snowy winter vibes. Most of the characters are unlikeable to the point of cringe. But I persevered in order to see how it turned out. I’m glad I did for the most part.