I think I'd have preferred this in physical form than audiobook. Sometimes I get sucked into audiobooks and love it, other times I just seem to zone out and I don't know why. It's not that the book is bad, it just doesn't connect with me and I forget what's happened and feel lost. It does make it hard to judge it properly but I guess that is what it is. It just wasn't an engaging enough audiobook for me

I really liked the premise for this book, particularly as a wintery read!

The story takes place at a deserted nature reserve where 7 birdwatching friends are meeting on Boxing Day to watch a starling murmuration. Closed to visitors, they expect to be alone on there, but when one of the group gets hurt they have to question whether they are actually alone, or was it someone in their group?

The story unfolds by giving each members perspective and we find out that this group are barely friends and there is a fair amount of tension going on between them all. We are also told a few flashbacks that reveal what has gone on between the characters in past meetings, revealing why these tensions have come about.

For a story that is set predominantly outside, the claustrophobic tension in this book is done very well.
Sadly I didn't warm to any of the characters with a few of them coming across quite childish with their behaviour. I also think it was a little too drawn out and repetitive through the middle of the book.
I listened to the audiobook which had great narration, but cut off the last few chapters. Luckily I also had the ARC so could catch up on the ending!

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon for an audio arc of this book. I was really excited for this one having receiving all of Nell Pattison’s earlier books on Netgalley too and loving them. I was delighted that the style was very much the same as her other books. I must say this one took me a bit longer to get into as there was a bigger cast of characters with similar sounding names ‘Ben & Dan’ mainly and I kept getting people mixed up. I enjoyed the initial storyline of all of the characters having secrets, it made each characters chapter interesting and kept the reader intrigued as to what was happening. I did guess a few of the plot twists, I won’t say which ones as to keep this spoiler free but overall this was a well thought out wintery thriller, I would definitely recommend if you liked books like One by One by Ruth Ware or The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley.

Excellent, Especially the Characters

💛 Psychological thrillers often sacrifice characterisation in the name of plot. Not Hide. The cast of characters brought together in this nature club are multi-dimensional, interesting and have in-depth back stories to match.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 An absolutely gripping listen, as well as an easy one. With six excellent narrators, it’s easy to tell when one character stops and another begins.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO...

If you enjoy this, try The Secrets of Strangers by Charity Norman. This is the thriller that comes to mind that really focuses on the characters. Lucy Dawson’s books also have a similar feel.
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Big thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for providing me with an ALC in return for an honest review.

The narrators worked perfectly for the overall tone of this story. It's gripping in a way that keeps you sucked in till the very end.

I would recommend this very easy read to someone looking for a wintery/isolated thriller with morally grey characters. It doesn't require you to work very hard to solve the mystery, but it also throws quite a few red herrings your way.

Also, that ending threw me for a loop. I absolutely did NOT see that coming!

this was an enjoyable read which reading on the cold winter nights added to. The story is taken from many points of view and this got a little muddling. however once i got my head around it the story weaved together nicely.it was a good murder mystery with some good twists and turns.

I did enjoy this book, I persevered with some of the slower parts but the plot was really good and I couldn’t guess what was going to happen. Although I didn’t enjoy the ending, it was so abrupt, I think if this is written with a sequel in mind then it’s of course going to make you want the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this ARC

Hide was the perfect title for this novel. Its was quickly evident that it wasn’t just about everyone was hiding something. But also the place this mystery suspense takes place. How brilliant and every person was mysterious.
This was in my opinion well thought out. Lots of lurking around every corner, wondering what the heck was going on.
This was a new author to me and I’ve really enjoyed this. I recommend it and I chose to listen to this book on audio. To many narrators to mention but the were awesome. 7, yes seven narrators and it was 9 hours and 56 minutes long.
Thanks Avon via Netgalley.

I was really enjoying this book although the story did feel a little far-fetched, just how big is the reserve that not one of them had a phone reception to call 999? However I feel I can't give a full review as I never did get to the ending! The audiobook abruptly finished at chapter 37 leaving me in the lurch. Did they make it out? Who was responsible? I'll never know! I reported the fault to Netgalley so maybe they can get it fixed for future reviewers. I still did enjoy it so I'll give it a solid 3 stars anyway.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review this book in exchange for my honest review.

I do want to thank Netgalley, Nell Pattison and Avon Audio for giving me a copy of this audiobook to provide a fair and honest review. The premises of this book really interested me. I love a good thriller and/or slasher type set up in a vein of Even if We Break, I Know What You Did Last Summer or Until Dawn. Following a mixture of media from books to films to even videogames I find that generally the stories have a brilliant basis for a great story assuming they do not fall into the certain tropes and pitfalls of the genre.
Our story follows seven people, friends is a push of their relationship together and pits them against one killer. The setting? The boxing day hike that is meant to bring their nature group together. Our cast includes Emily, the sister who never lets her hearing loss hold her back, Lauren, the sister who always feels a step behind, Morna, who doesn’t get along with Lauren, Ben, whose feelings for Emily border on obsession, Dan, the quiet newcomer to the group, Kai, who isn’t just on the hike to enjoy the wildlife and Alec, the one who knows all their secrets. As the sun sets a gunshot rings out. One of the group is dead and one of the others has to be the killer.

As you can see the premise is great. A nature reserve, winter months, no one else around. Perfection. Unfortunately I felt that after this it started to go a little downhill. For a start not one of the characters were likeable, believable yes but not likable. For me in a situation where a group are fighting to survive and have a constant threat around them I need to be invested in their characters to keep interested. Otherwise I find myself not really interested if they live or die. I am not sure if this was deliberate on Pattison’s part but it just made it extremely difficult to either justify their actions or care about their predicament.

One thing I did like was the different point of views within the book, again this offers some fantastic opportunities if executed properly. On the plus side we do get deeper understanding of the characters, not that it really aided in liking them apart from Dan and Emily. We also get to know their secrets, the trigger for most of the action. What we don’t really get is a way to connect to the characters. Perhaps it was just me but I certainly didn’t. The narrators did do a good job, although I did find Emily’s one a bit too apathetic – her tone never seemed to change no matter what Emily was saying, doing or feeling and while I don’t believe this was intentional it made the character seem flat which is annoying since she was probably one of the more fleshed out characters in the novel.

The red-herring as well of whodunit was a bit of a put off, it seemed highly unlikely the accused would actually be the murderer. I also wasn’t sure why the actual murderer was never considered? It seemed a bit obvious they should be the main one to stick out. Again, this may be since I have consumed a lot of media related to the set up. On top of this the abrupt ending was equally surprising and disappointing.

On the plus side the description of the reserve scenery was fantastic and the pace of the story was good. The Narrators did brilliant jobs on the most part too, particularly Kai and Ben (who managed to pull off creepy and sweet rather well).

All in all it was a good book, just not for me personally.

Hide - Nell Pattison

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Avon Books and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Seven friends. One killer. You can run, but you can’t hide…

The winter hike is meant to bring their nature group together.
Emily, the sister who never lets her hearing loss hold her back.
Lauren, the sister who always feels a step behind.
Morna, who doesn’t get on with Lauren.
Ben, whose feelings for Emily border on obsession.
Dan, the quiet newcomer to the group.
Kai, who isn’t just on the hike to enjoy the wildlife.
And Alec, the one who knows all their secrets.

I enjoyed this book - I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book but I was drawn in by the cover. Each of the characters is hiding something and it could lead to any of them being the murderer. As the reader, I felt as in the dark as the characters I was reading about, as they were running around the reserve in the dark.

I listened to the majority of the book in one sitting and even when I wasn't listening I was trying to work out who the killer was. This book is told from the perspective of each of the different characters - with each character getting their own chapters.

Rating: 4/5

The story line is around 7 very odd people who like bird-watching, who go out to a reserve as a group when one of them is murdered. The plot moves along from there, if you want to lose yourself in a book then just read and don't over think it. Not very believable and i found the writing quite basic, would suit young adults for definite. Not really my sort of thing.and i didn't really understand any of the characters at all. Thank you #NetGalley for the book to review.

Interesting premise of a murder in the woods. A group of ‘friends’ spend Boxing Day in the woods on a nature reserve. Most of them don’t like each other, and to be honest, I couldn’t see why they would spend time together. Other narrators were good but the story was slow and did not draw me in.

Everything is there for a good thriller: a deserted nature reserve at winter, seven people, one of them is a real pain in the neck, and it's getting dark. The characters are interesting, and I usually find multiple POV books exciting.

But this novel is just so bloody slow and there are chapters when nothing really happens. I got really annoyed with the characters for arguing about every little detail: shall we go right or left, should we stay or should we go, let's rest for five minutes or get off right now...

I listened to the audio version and I liked the narration of Emily and Alec in particular.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for an ARC.

The multiple narrators are great for people like me who get lost with too many names and all narrators did a good job.
The tale is dark and jumpy and you doubt everyone at one point or another. Sadly the audiobook ended before the end of the story. I don’t know if I had a faulty copy. That was a complete let down as I will now never know if anyone gets out alive or why Emily is a target

We follow a group of 7 people who have met up on a closed nature reserve for a birdwatching trip on Boxing Day. Lauren works at the nature reserve and arranged the group meet up, she invited her sister Emily along who is deaf but has cochlear implant’s to hear, they aren’t particularly close sisters but this is seen as an opportunity to bond,

One of the members is found shot dead in one of the hides and here begins the search, the reserve is closed and they’re the only ones out there… aren’t they…why would someone have shot this person…is anyone next?

The blurb on the front of this book says ‘seven friends’ however from reading the book it does not seem that they are friends at all, just a group of people with

6 of the 7 have secrets that one of the group members knows about, but who’s keeping secrets and who in the group knows them, are their secrets the reason why this is happening? We find out their secrets gradually throughout the story,

I listened to the audiobook of this and it was fun to listen to I particularly enjoyed that each chapter was from the POV of the characters. I did find the story a little slow to start but it did quickly build up and then it was action packed.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review.

ven people, who take part in a regular Meetup Birdwatching group, meet for a special Boxing Day Birdwatching walk on a reserve to watch the murmuration of starlings. The reserve is supposed to be closed to visitors that day, but are they alone in the woods? Are there hunters in the woods as well?

The story is told from each member of the groups point of view, and it’s clear that there’s not much love lost between many of them. They aren’t really friends and there are underlying tensions and secrets between them all.

One of the group is shot dead in a hide and they all have to navigate their way out of the reserve to raise the alarm. With the weather turning and snow and night falling - it makes for a claustrophobic and paranoid journey through the woods and marshes and out of the reserve.

This is my first Nell Pattison book and it won’t be my last!

I was really intrigued by the plot of Hide which sounded like perfect winter reading.
It’s just after Christmas and a group of bird lovers gathers to watch a special murmuration. The group includes staff from the nature reserve, keen bird watchers and family and friends. There’s a lot of tension in the group and secrets…Someone seems to have been on site before they arrive…there are poachers and then they find a body.
There was a lot about this that I enjoyed.- all the wonderful details about birds and the setting on the nature reserves in areas of the country I am familiar with. I loved the feeling of being in that strange period between Christmas and New Year; the scenery of the reserve was really well described and a highly original setting for a locked in drama. I enjoyed the dynamic between the two sisters; abandoned by their Mother at a very young age; living their lives in foster homes; struggling to work out their relationship post care system. It was great to see a character portrayed with deafness; the book insightfully explores how this has affected Emily’s life, her relationships and when things start to go wrong on the day out we get a clear sense of how this is so much more frightening for her.
I listened to this on audiobook. The multiple points of views of the narrative are voiced by different narrators. This was an effective device however I struggled with this as I didn’t manage to match the voice to the character - I think that in this case I might have found the hard copy easier to read.
I am sure that this will have lots of fans. It is a locked in drama with lots of tension, snow, Christmas and characters wandering around in the dark…There is someone out there with a gun and there are clearly lots of secrets which the book keeps hinting at but not quite revealing. Unfortunately I just didn’t really connect with this one and I really didn’t understand the ending!
With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK Audio for a digital copy of this audiobook.

This was a read I was looking forward to, the setting itself, a nature reserve on Christmas Eve, a snowy rural area and a mystery to boot.

Unfortunately for me I couldn't relate or warm to most of the characters, each of them had something to hide and we find out along the way their secrets one by one.

Towards the end the audio book cut out at chapter 37 so I never got to listen to the ending. I did enjoy the read but found it hard to care about the characters or their motives. The writing style was good and I would happily read another book by the same author.

Thanks for the opportunity to review the book and I hope it does well.

It’s Boxing Day when a group of seven is people gather on a closed nature reserve to hike and see a murmuration of birds. What’s meant to be a chilled day out after all the Christmas hype descends into chaos and danger. The last time they were all together, one member of the group announced they knew everyone’s secrets and another person is determined to ensure that their secret will never get out.

If you ever need evidence that Boxing Day is meant for polishing off leftovers and eating your weight in Quality Street in your jimjams, then just read “Hide” by Nell Pattison. Seven people skip the classic film reruns to head into nature and it ends in murder.
I liked the setting and the claustrophobic nature of a unknown killer loose in the dark and the snow. I did feel like the novel was longer than it needed to be, as after a while, the stumbling around in the dark became a little repetitive and because of that some of the tension was lost. I didn’t really warm to many of the characters as many of them are a bit officious and the squabbles between them were petty. The motive for murder is believable but the ease in which they found the culprit was a bit too easy for my liking. The book does raise valid and insightful points about how people without hearing are treated. The last chapter is one that will make you pause for thought.

The highlight of the audiobook for me was the narrators - as a listener, I really appreciated having a different narrator for each character which helped me get into the book really quickly. In particular, the narrator for Alec did a fabulous job bringing to life what an officious prick the character is!

In summary, it’s a book that will keep you entertained over the Christmas period if you like a good thriller, but it might not stay with you long into 2022.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.