Hiding
Lies masterfully blends elements of crime, past horrors, and dark romance into a compelling and atmospheric story. As the investigation unfolds, the real tension comes from the unsettling past and the dangerous allure of forbidden love. The characters are deeply flawed yet captivating, and the plot carries just enough twists to keep you hooked without overdoing it. If you enjoy stories with a subtle mix of mystery, creeping dread, and emotional intensity, this one won't disappoint.

This was an excellent read!! Kept me wondering what was going to happen next.

Lydia is a photographer for the police department for crime scenes, and she’s good at what she does. That being said, they start to get her more involved with the cases that she’s photographing. She had a very traumatic past, which in a way led her to what she does now, taking pictures. Lydia connects with Adam at the bookstore, and things start looking up for her, and her life seems to be getting better. Until pieces come together. You never really know someone….

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Stephanie Rose for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Hiding Lies coming out October 29, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author. I love horror stories, so I was excited to check it out. It wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. I thought it was dark and I really enjoyed that. But I wasn’t a fan of the ending. I would check out other books by this author.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys horror novels!

The premise of this book sounded so good, and I was let down tremendously 🫠 Lydia aggravated me the whole time; she was acting like a pick-me girl through her morbid curiosity. I think if we slowly got to know her trauma and background, it would’ve been better. The premise is essentially she likes true crime, has a career in it, & is completely desensitized. She lusts for a serial killer. It’s like a parody of a Criminal Minds episode.

TW: Animal cruelty, r*pe, abuse

There can be quite a bit of triggers for some in this book. But if you have minimal to no triggers, then I definitely recommend this book!

This short horror crime book has a subplot of romance that somehow kind of makes you root for them. It mixes both my love for horror and romance together 🖤

It is in dual POVS between Lydia, a crime scene photographer in Portland, and Adam, a person you just have to read more about. I don't want to spoil the book by saying too much.

This is the perfect short read for this upcoming Halloween week 🎃

Enjoyable. Liked that the story was told from both POV! I think the characters maybe talked too much about their feelings but other than that it was a great book. Will there be a sequel!? Thank you.

i’m not sure what it was about this book, but it just didn’t do it for me. i didn’t hate it but i also didn’t love it. the storyline kinda fell flat.

I was so excited for this one, the premise and story seemed highly intriguing. It was definitely a fast paced read with some dark and gruesome themes which I enjoyed. Just something felt off for me and was missing, I felt like the ending just left me underwhelmed and there was a lack of character development and regarding the romance. Still a fun and super fast paced read.

Lydia is a forensic photographer called in to document a mysterious string of kills occuring around the Portland area in autumn. I live in Portland and found the setting to be very on brand. Even when the names of areas and establishments were modified or left out, I had a clear vision the whole time of exactly where in Portland each scene was set at.

The story switches perspectives back and forth between Lydia and our killer, which I love. I found the resolution to be satisfying, where I could see there being the possibility of continuation but it does wrap up in a way that is a solid finish if it truly ends there. The only sort of criticism I might have is that I would have loved more opportunity for emotional development between the characters, and behind the reason the killer be killin'. I will say though that I prefer a book to be more concise and fast paced as I feel this is as opposed to dragging on with too many unnecessary details, so it is a very small critique. Overall I would say 4.5 stars ⭐

I realise very early on that this didn’t work for me and unfortunately become a DNF. Yes, it is dark, which I expected, but I also found the writing to be incredibly flat and lacklustre. I only dabble in thrillers and horror and prefer ones that veer a bit more literary, which this one isn’t. If youre looking for a twisted tale with simple prose and little emotional investering, perhaps this might work for you.

This was an absolutely incredible thriller. Seeing the parallels between Adam and Lydia was so fascinating! This was an eerie, gory book, and I loved it!

In this novel, we follow a Forensic Photographer, Lydia, who is called out to a crime scene they haven't seen in Portland. She begins studying the case on her time off and becomes obsessed. The story takes off when the killer comes a bit close to home.

While I enjoyed Hiding Lies, I didn't get it. Not like I didn't get what was happening or what the gist was. I didn't get why this novel went in the direction it did. When I read the synopsis, I thought it would be a cat-and-mouse mystery/thriller about our forensic photographer and a serial killer terrorizing her town. Instead, I got a lukewarm discussion on how good and bad were malleable and the conclusion was beyond lackluster.

This was my first time reading this author, but definitely not my last. The story moved at an incredible pace, and I was fascinated by the contrasting perspectives of a forensic photographer and a serial killer. With its narration from two deeply troubled and eerie minds, the book gripped me from the opening line to the final page. I can easily imagine this being developed into a series!

This book was incredibly dark. The love the concept of such dark people finding each other, but I found Adam’s reasons for killing liars to completely lack depth. I need much more than the rationale that I was given. On top of that, the book ended really abruptly, and not in the way that left me dying for more. I ended up feeling more frustrated than anything.

This book is a dark, cat and mouse, psychological thriller that has twists and turns and really keeps you in its grips the whole time. I don't think I was expecting a love story when I started it (and I'm not super big on dark romance😶), but the dual pov added that much needed edge to the story and the twisted insight into both characters' mindsets. ***Check the trigger warnings before reading!

Thank you to NetGalley and Max Axe Media for the chance to read this early in exchange for an honest review!

What a great dark love story! We read this from the POV’s of Lydia and Adam. They both have the same favourite book, Silence of the Lambs. It’s not necessarily to have read that one to understand the attraction Lydia and Adam feel for each other.
It’s a rather short book but it is very well written and crammed full of everything we need to know: Lydia and Adam both suffered during their childhood and both have found a nice, interesting job that fits with their character.
One day Lydia gets a call regarding a rather gruesome murder at a campsite. Lydia is a forensic photographer but she’s more – she’s very observant and besides taking pictures she really thinks about what could have happened. And luckily her boss listens to her and asks her to become part of the team that’s tasked with finding the killer.
Adam is a rare book dealer and works parttime in a bookstore (o, I’m jealous) and when he and Lydia meet their fate is sealed…
The end is a bit abrupt but thinking about it I don’t think it could have ended any other satisfying way.

Thanks to Mad Axe Media and Netgalley for this review copy.

Upon finding that this was this author's debut novel, I'm impressed. It was a bit of a slow burn for the first half, but then things picked up and the pace never slowed down. All of the way to the last page. If I had to describe this psychological thriller, I'd call it the strangest love story I've read in ages.

Thank you to Netgalley and Mad Axe Media. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

A serial killer romance with a weirdly uplifting ending. While I obviously don't condone their actions or agree with them whatsoever, the characters' philosophies and arguments were interesting to read and consider. This is why I much prefer fictional stories about crime to true crime -- it feels much less gross to participate in thought experiments about fictional folks than about real life victims.

I must say that while this book has some small issues, I genuinely enjoyed it and had a hard time putting it down.

Lydia is a forensic photographer with a bad childhood and is slightly more obsessed with graphic images than maybe she should be.
Adam is a newbie serial killer, seeking to rid the world of liars and cheats.
Can Lydia find the new murder in her area, and if she does, will she stop him....or help him?

This book definitely has elements that are interesting me. I do enjoy serial killer novels, especially with the POV of the killer, and I am certainly not opposed to morally gray characters. However, I do think this book doesn't hit it quite right. There is one scene (avoid the next bit if you want to avoid minor spoilers) but there is a scene with a cheating wife that did not feel authentic to me. I also feel Lydia's reaction towards the end of the book is not very realistic based off her character.

There is also some continuity errors, like at one point it is revealed that Lydia talks to her nephew almost weekly, and then later it's mentioned they talk occasionally. There are also some typos that are fairly obvious.

However, like I mentioned above I did enjoy the book and think for horror fans it is worth reading. 3/5 stars. You can hear my review on episode 38 of my podcast "The Books and the Bees" https://open.spotify.com/show/45zRPXII2T1and6WSHHuwq?si=46f5aa785e0744b8

We're following two POV's, Lydia & Adam, who both have a bit of a troubling past. Lydia is a forensic photographer who has been called in to photograph gruesome crime scenes that have happened at remote campsites. There is a serial killer who is targeting not so good people. Lydia is enamored by the killings and is possibly seeing justified motives for the murders. She's enjoying her job and feeling more alive than ever and kind of hoping the killer doesn't get caught. Adam works at a bookstore and is obsessed with collecting books and reading true crime. The two meet and are immediately drawn to each other's darkness and have hope that they may have found the person who can accept them for who they are. This gives off Dexter vibes- a serial killer who has urges to kill but only takes out bad people. The writing is decent, but I did feel like the end was a bit rushed. Overall, I had an ok time reading this.

Thank you NetGalley & author for an ARC of this book. #netgalley #hidinglies