If you are looking for a tense and entertainingly dark story for your autumn tbr, this is one to watch out for.

At just over 200 pages, I did find myself constantly wondering how they were going to fit the whole story in. But the pacing is quick, and this just adds to the excitement!

Told in a dual POV format, we have forensic photographer Lydia Walker who is brought on to a potential serial case. Lydia is hiding a traumatic and slightly dark past and cannot help but resonate with the killer as more bodies are found.

And then we have Adam, who Lydia meets and connects with almost instantly. Who unfortunately also had a horrible upbringing.

As the cases escalate, Lydia finds herself torn between doing the right thing and giving in to her dark thoughts.

Now, the way this ended blew me away. I’ve never read a book end the way it did, and it made me feel 10 different emotions all at once 🤯

I can’t wait to see what comes next from Stephanie!✨

I felt really deflated by this book.
Parts felt like the beginning of a good thriller, others like a love story without the spice. It was predictable from early on in the book. Disappointed overall.

Thank you so much to the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this arc!
I will say, the book was not what I expected it to be. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it. I enjoyed the read, it kept me interested. I just found it to be a little unrealistic **POSSIBLE SPOILER** and there was more romance involved than what I was expecting. I didn’t expect it to have any romance.
**END OF SPOILER**
All in all, it was okay and I don’t regret reading it!

I admire the author's ability to, so thoroughly describe violent events, it actually turned my stomach, which is impressive. A reader has to be in the correct mindset to enjoy it and I did enjoy it. I could see where the story was going but I did like the twists. All in all a successful thriller.

Lydia is a forensic photographer with a tragic past, she also has a secret, she's obsessed with crime and duplicates her photographs to study the crimes committed in her own time.
A gruesome find at a local but remote camping site has Lydia called upon for her services and expertise.
Adam works part time in a book store, he's also fascinated by crime.
I found this a really enticing read, although the book was gruesome in places( there are plenty of trigger warnings at the beginning)
I liked reading the point of view from the killer, and the procedural side of police work. Reading the case notes made it seem like a true crime novel
It's a very strong debut novel

This was a fairly fast-paced thriller, following Lydia, a forensic photographer, as she takes on her biggest case yet. A couple have been found brutally murdered at their campsite, photographed, and staged for the police to find. The killer has also left a message that Lydia seems to connect with.
I found the story, the characters, and their backstories interesting, and it certainly helped understand their thought processes and their actions. There were moments where I hoped I was wrong about what was going to happen, but it did. Because of that, I was incredibly angry at the way this book ended. More angry than I can put into words, which is why I marked it down.

Check the TWs for this one.

This was a quick read, and I was absolutely hooked throughout the whole book….until the last chapter. This wasn’t even a fade to black ending. It just felt like an unfinished book. Regardless, I will definitely read more from this author. I really enjoyed the writing style and the flow of everything.

This is a great read with twists readers won't see coming. Lydia is complex and intriguing. The story is often dark and a bit disturbing and a complete page-turner! This is an author I will absolutely read again.

If you are looking for a psychological thriller with dual POVs including a serial killer one, this is for you. It is creepy and make you afraid to turn off the lights. Perfect quick thriller read.

This is an easy read, but lacked depth for me, and felt unrealistic. Overall it felt rather unnatural and the plot and character development just didn't seem real.

Prepare for a wild, twisty ride with Hiding Lies. It's like the perfect blend of Criminal Minds and Dexter in novel form. Forensic photographer Lydia Walker is about to tackle the biggest case of her career, and her sheer excitement is just a tad unsettling. And then she meets Adam in a bookstore – a connection so strong that it makes her giddy. But things take a dark turn as bodies start piling up, and the danger hits closer to home. With multiple points of view, this fast-paced horror novel had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish. This one made me never want to go camping ever again.

What a twisty and murderous thriller!
Lydia a forensic photographer with a complicated past. She begins working on a case of a gruesome murder, which leads to similar murders, and a serial killer is on the loose. While spending time at her favourite book store, Lydia meets Adam, an employee, who has an equally complicated past. As Lydia's professional and personal lives entwine, she must face the demons of her past with demons of the present.
This is a fast read! I loved how it was written from the perspective of the forensic photographer. It did take me a couple of chapters to get into the two first person POVs. I was hoping for a bit more depth in our characters, but it was a very enjoyable read. This book reminded me a lot of You, and I think it will find a lot of fans.
3.5 stars
Thank you to Mad Axe Media for an ARC in exchange for review.

I was excited to read this story as the premise sounded really interesting. For me it fell a little flat although parts were interesting and the murders were gruesome, the story overall just didn’t do work for me.

An unusual book to review. Understanding what motivated the two protagonists rather than liking them is how I approached this.
It is certainly an interesting novel and well written. It is also disturbing on a variety of levels.
I certainly reccomend it as a read and also as a book club candidate as it would most definitely divide opinions.
Thank you to Netgalley and the Publishers for this advance review copy.

This was just okay. I enjoyed the dual timelines between the protagonists: a serial killer and the forensic photographer to his crimes. The murders were gruesome making it an interesting read, and I got through this very quickly. I'm being generous with my rating on this, as there were quite a few things that put me off. Charming rare book collector / book store employee turned serial killer... Sound familiar? The characters aren't very original (think Joe Goldberg meets Dexter Morgan) and the relationships seemed paper thin. In addition, the world they live in lacked depth, and the ending felt like it was cut short (and not in a cliffhanger way), I almost felt like the last chapter was completely missing! I also enjoy a book with mixed media, but this included it only once, which seemed like a cop out. There were also a few plot holes and mistakes throughout, including changing tenses, which I hope are all worked on before final publication.

A nice easy read for those who are big fans of the crime detective genre, but make sure you read those trigger warnings first.

The story is a fast-paced, dark, and twisted tale that I couldn't put down. I finished the book in just over a day. Being inside the mind of a serial killer and empathizing with them was interesting. This would be perfect for fans of Dexter. Lydia and Adam have sad beginnings, and it was easy to understand their way of thinking even if you don't agree with all of it. I enjoyed the added romance between these two.

I did have a few concerns about the plausibility of certain plot details, which at times seemed too easy and unrealistic, but this did not take away from my enjoyment. This gripping story ends on a cliffhanger which left me wanting more! I look forward to seeing more from this author.

Thank you, NetGalley, Mad Axe Media, and Stephanie Rose for this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

A special thanks to NetGalley for this free electronic ARC. As twisted as this book is, I really enjoyed it. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into when I started this book, but the cover and the occupation of the main character, forensic photographer, really drew me in without knowing much else about the story.

This book was extremely enthralling and kept me unable to put it down. Finished it in about 4.5 hours. It really boils down to a romance between a forensic photographer and the serial killer she is helping to hunt down. I liked the alternating perspectives throughout and enjoyed what it added to the story. I think it would have been boring without Adam’s perspective as well. I would 100% recommend this to other thriller/crime lovers.

I am hoping there is more to come for Lydia and Adam’s story because I would definitely read that!

Thank you Netgalley, Mad Axe Media, and Stephanie Rose for an ARC eBook of Hiding Lies in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Ok, so ...

I just recently watched the movie Longlegs and I definitely felt similar vibes in the first half of the book ... minus all the satanic devil-doll stuff.

After reading Hiding Lies, I don't think I'll be camping anytime soon.

Really great pacing. Loved the visceral writing style, and really enjoyed where the book ended up. This is a fun, fast read. Stephanie Rose has written a great debut here.

The way the protagonist and the antagonist, both very traumatized individuals, view things and how they choose to channel their trauma, makes for a fascinating character study on how our painful experiences can leave behind ... stains; how those stains manifest differently for us ... Also how trauma bonding can go south real quick. The two main POV's are very interesting.

With flavorings of 'The Silence of the Lambs', mixed with 'You' and a hint of 'Maeve Fly' vibes, I found this to be a very entertaining read.

Will be recommending!
4 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ 's

Thanks to Mad Axe Media and NetGalley for an advanced copy. This was a crazy story! Just when you thought it couldn’t get any more twisted… It’s dark, gripping and gruesome and I couldn’t put it down. I’d recommend checking the trigger warnings for this one if you do decide to pick it up.

Thank you NetGalley, for the opportunity to read this upcoming debut novel, Hiding Lies by Stephanie Rose. Hiding Lies follows a forensic photographer with a dark past as she works on a big new case. Some chapters are told from her perspective, and some are told from the killer's perspective. It is clear that the author has drawn inspiration from Caroline Kepnes's You and Jeff Lindsay's Dexter series, and while I typically love these types of stories, it doesn't work as well for me here. The writing is easy to read and draws you in, but something about the plot lacked depth for me, and felt unrealistic. I have no problem suspending disbelief (I read a lot of horror and don't necessarily think ghosts or demons or other monsters are real) but sometimes it takes me out of a story if the human characters or dialogue/thought patterns don't feel genuine, some of this is in regards to the romantic subplot. I do think this is a pretty solid debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.