Sooooo does this book have everything you'd want from a thriller? Yes! But does it also have some insane book logic and massive plot holes that you need to jist ignore in order to further the plot? Also yes. The writing style is decent, tension is built, everyone's got eh heebie jeebies, it's easy to get caught up in and be desperate to know what's going to happen next but it is a struggle to believe these chain of event or the behaviours of the characters. It's not logical, it's not realistic, the MC is quite frankly annoying and I can't even get into the kids. I personally am on the fence about whether I liked this or not but my dislike for the MC may be clouding my judgement lol. It is well written and poured out, it has all the key elements of a good domestic noir and certainly kept me distracted for a few hrs

This was a twisty, suspenseful thriller, but the writing didn’t work for me. It felt clunky and repetitive, especially with the main character constantly reminding us how bad she feels about everything. The self-reflection became more grating than insightful, and the story could have benefited from some serious editing. The twists didn’t land, and the other characters’ motivations didn’t make sense. It tackles heavy themes of domestic abuse, but it doesn’t add much authenticity. It leaned more into gore and violence than meaningful exploration. I didn’t like it, and I don’t recommend it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for access to this book.

This was my first book by Shannon Hollinger and for the most part, I enjoyed this book.

Her Hiding Place is a unique take on a locked-room mystery which I found quite relatable, as I could understand Charlotte’s deep, unwavering instinct to protect sweet little Alice. I liked that this story had an element of an actual “locked room” where Alice hid throughout the book, but also that the cast of character was “locked” on an island by a hurricane, leaving them unable to escape one another.

I’ll take this opportunity to give a trigger warning for any potential readers who may be sensitive to reading about a difficult topic….


•Child abuse•



I thought I understood the background as the story flashed back to Charlotte’s past, but despite getting the overarching theme, I was surprised by the twist that it took. I was even more surprised by the characters responsible for the carnage in the end. I knew poor Harvey had to be a red herring, and Leo was too creepily interested to be legitimately into Charlotte.

I was generally satisfied with the ending of the book, but also found it to be really far fetched. I did not like that we had to have an epilogue to actually get the final “end” of the story. I felt that should have been accomplished in the book proper, as opposed to a snippet that is typically reserved for “updates” in the characters’ futures.

I do think this book was far too long in that the buildup wasn’t entirely necessary and dragged on for a long time. I also was quite irked at the level of maturity given to a 3 year old in this book. I have twin 3 year olds, and in no world would I ever leave them alone to their own devices all day expecting them to fend for themselves. Alice’s language also felt too advanced for me. These are minor critiques, but as a parent of children the same age, it really drove me nuts every time there was a conversation with Alice.

Thank you to Bookoture and NetGalley for the advanced review copy!

Big thanks to Bookouture for a copy on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Her Hiding Place is just enough of a pleasant read to want to decipher to the final sentence.
A locked room mystery with thriller tendencies.
Charlotte arrives at an island resort to start a new job.
Included in her work as a housekeeper she is given accomodation in the attic.
With her, is her three year old daughter Alice who she needs to keep hidden.
Why, we don’t know as yet….
Then a hurricane is imminent and a body is found.
A netting of lies, secrets and murder is thrown in and someone is about to be unmasked……
I mostly enjoyed this but found one thing that continuously annoyed me.
If you can overcome this flaw, overall, it was a pretty good read.
The multiple twists, some I figured out and others were out of the blue.
Across the board or should I say book, I was entertained.

An unpredictable thriller with an atmospheric setting. A remote resort in an isolated island and then the storm makes it intense with mysterious murders. Charlotte, with her little daughter Alice, is hiding from someone dangerous. She takes a job as a maid in the secluded resort, where she hides her daughter from everyone, but she is so wrong. Twisted secrets, murders, shocking plot twists, and fast-paced mystery throughout make this book a gripping edge of your seat thriller. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, and that jaw-dropping revelation at the end is superb. I loved the author's previous books, and this one is equally good.
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the eARC.

I’m going – unusually – to get straight to one of my key points about Shannon Hollinger’s latest novel, Her Hiding Place. I felt that there were several key components to not like about it.

It’s not the best book to read if you enjoy a tight plot, that’s for sure. This one relies on holes that are big enough to drive a truck through. I’m guessing for a start that Shannon doesn’t have a three-year-old child, because if she did or ever had had, she’d know that the idea of trusting one to remain silent if left alone in an attic for such a few minutes, never mind whole days is nothing short of laughable. And I couldn’t believe the solution to the plot either: unless I’ve missed something, it needed someone else to know that the main character, Charlotte, was going to take a job before she herself did, and that’s impossible with the way that the storyline is written.

Then there are the characters, which don’t really make up for the plot weaknesses. Perhaps if I had known a bit more of Charlotte’s background earlier, and realised just what she was running from, I could have related to her earlier than I did. We are told, gradually, as the book progresses but for me, the real truth came too late. It meant that I initially couldn’t understand her well enough to make any sort of connection, and that’s a problem in a psychological thriller. Meanwhile, all of the secondary characters are portrayed so simply as to be one-dimensional: the impossibly good-looking xxx, the shifty Harvey, the tyrannical boss Evelyn and the bitchy co-worker Brooke.

So why, given the above seemingly major gripes, have I still given the book four stars (and no, it’s not a misprint)? And why am I sharing this review as part of a promotional tour?

Well, I’ve thought long and hard about the various minor reasons but the main one is really very simple. Once I’d picked the book up, I couldn’t put the damn thing down again.

It’s the tension, and the atmosphere, that make it. In the beginning, we might rationally struggle to believe that Charlotte is smuggling a little girl into the isolated Florida Keys resort where she’s taken a job as a maid, but look past that and see someone who is desperate enough to try to do it and the story immediately becomes fearful and tense. These emotions only heighten when we hear that a hurricane is heading straight for the resort. And when the hurricane hits earlier than expected, and the resort is left cut off from the mainland, we’re left not only with a classic locked-room mystery, but the added fear of wondering who, if anyone, will survive. It’s wonderful.

The added dimension of Charlotte’s own personal fears is also fantastic. Her not knowing which, if any of her colleagues she could trust but needing, desperately to trust someone leapt off the pages so powerfully that I could feel my head aching for her.

The result is a book that it’s best not to pick up and read a few chapters of before going to sleep. Or before starting work. Because the chances are you’ll still be turning the pages a good two hours later, and gasp out loud when you finally look at your watch. And wonder what excuse you can possibly make for arriving at work late and in an almost zombie-like state.

I’d stopped caring about any of the book’s obvious faults long before reaching the end. I just knew that I loved it. And that’s fine, because love doesn’t have to be rational. Which is wonderful, because if it did, there’s no way that I, or indeed almost all other men alive, could still be married.

My thanks to Bookouture for including me on the blog tour for Her Hiding Place, which was published on 31 January 2025. Thanks also to Netgalley for the digital ARC. I have reviewed the book voluntarily and honestly, and will publish my review on Goodreads, Amazon and my social media pages.

Her hiding place by Shannon Hollinger grabs ahold of you right from the start with a thrilling, heart pounding scene and then doesn't let go. The story follows Charlotte who is feeling from some sort of abusive relationship and ends up working as a housekeeper on a resort on a remote island. The story switched back and forth between present day where Charlotte is taking refuge at this resort and recalling the past where the abuse and an incident took place. The past glimpses count down every time you get a glimpse back, getting you closer and closer to the event as you read. All this would be hard enough, but the resort isn't all it seems to be and Charlotte is hiding secrets of her own, one of them being a little girl named Charlotte who the rest of the staff don't and can't know about. But when a hurricane threatens the island, chaos ensues and you don't know what will happen next.

Special thanks to Shannon Hollinger and Bookouture for patterning with NetGalley. I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

I absolutely love reviewing books for @bookouture, theyve introduced me so to many fantastic psychological thriller authors. Her Hiding Place is the third book I've read from Hollinger and my favourite to date. Everything about is was perfect and had everything I look for in a great thriller.

The pace is fast and doesn't let up; if anything it just accelerated. The settings immediately gave off locked room vibe, with the hurricane adding to the sense of imminent isolation and being trapped.

An engrossing and addictive read with a fantastic plot and unpredictable characters

Charlotte arrives on an island looking for work. She is clearly running from someone. She gets a job that includes housing, which works for her. She smuggles Alice in with her. When a hurricane is set to strike the island, she needs to find a way to get her and Alice to safety, without her coworkers finding out.

This book really surprised me. There were so many twists and right when I thought I had it all figured out, I was proven wrong.

Thank you Bookouture for my ARC of this book.

I was hooked on this book from the very beginning It takes place on island and a major hurricane is about to hit. It goes back and forth from the present to the past and is clearly titled on the pages to let you know.
Charlotte is on the run with her 3 year old daughter , Alice. She gets a job at a resort but keeps her daughter a secret so she can keep her job. They are given a room in the attic , where Alice has to play quietly while Charlotte is working.
We know they are from an abusive relationship but from who exactly we aren't sure.
Charlotte becomes friends with 2 of her co workers and finally confides in one of them.
I enjoyed the story and getting to know the characters. I didn't trust one of them and I was right on that one. Was a couple of twists towards the end which I didn't see.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the book to review.

The story follows one woman, hiding a secret, as she starts work as a housekeeper at a key west estate. From the start, you get breadcrumbs about her past that lead you to the answers she’s withholding. I felt her dialogue a little predictable and expected. To believe the storyline, you have to accept that this is just a book and not based on reality. Lots of important aspects we skipped over while small irrelevant details were over described. I also did not like the audio narrator- her tone, cadence, etc did not match what the character was saying.

I love books like this where I think the story line is going to go one way and then it completely veers off in another direction.
A hurricane is coming but Charlotte can’t leave the island because of Alice.
I assumed a lot about Charlotte and I was only correct about a few things.
I felt sorry for Harvey. Molly seems like a good person if not a little misguided.
I would have hightailed it off the island at first warning but I don’t have an anchor like Charlotte did.

This was such an intense read, right away I found myself hooked and unable to put it down, great twists too.

Love this amazing author. She never disappoints. This book was wonderful. I just could not put it down. If you haven't read this author's books yet, start with this one.

This book was fantastic. I really like the way Shannon writes. I love a book that keeps you guessing and this was the case with this one. Another plus for me is that I love short chapters. Highly recommend.

Charlotte has just accepted a job as a housekeeper in a luxury hotel on a remote island in the Florida Keys but, hidden in her room, away from all the other staff, is three year old Alice. Charlotte will do whatever she can to keep her safe, because they are on the run and if anyone finds out everything will be taken away from her, including Alice, and all that she's done in her past will have been for nothing. When one of the other staff members is found dead, Charlotte fears it's a warning to her and, going back to check on Alice she discovers she's gone, desperate to find her but with a storm raging outside, she wonders if they'll escape before her secret is revealed.

Her Hiding Place is a fast paced thriller where Hollinger gives us an in-depth backstory to Charlotte's past and, peeling back the layers of this story, we discover why she is on the run and desperate to protect Alice, whatever the cost. This is a nailbiting tale with plenty of twists and Charlotte soon begins to realise who she can and can't trust and she soon lets her guard down, but is she putting her faith in the right people? Hollinger kept me on the edge of my seat throughout with a story that was full of intrigue and tension filled drama. It's the first I've read by this author but it certainly won't be the last.

I'd like to thank Bookouture and Netgalley for the auto approval, I will post my review on Amazon and Goodreads.

Trust no one!

This is a cleverly written story that builds as it goes. Assume nothing.

Charlotte is on the run, looking for a safe haven for herself and 3-year-old Alice and she thinks she has found it in a job at a resort in the Florida Keys that provides accommodation and food, but things don't seem quite right on the island and as they prepare for an upcoming hurricane, she finds herself second guessing her instincts when it comes to the people she has let get close to her.

This book will have you questioning everyone, are they friend or foe, and who will actually live to get off the island.

Her Hiding Place by Shannon Hollinger is my seventh book by Hollinger and each title has is own way of keeping me hooked and eager to turn the pages.
This was a great thrilling read that had me until its surprising ending.
The author really knows how to draw you in. The characters are realistic. The plot had twists and turns coming out of nowhere. It was all I could do to turn the pages as fast as I was reading them. This was one heck of a book.

Her Hiding Place by Shannon Hollinger

Dark, twisted, compelling, and immersive story that looks at what one woman is willing to do to keep a child safe.

What I liked:
* That even though I read ahead I was still in the dark and had surprises aplenty
* Charlotte: survivor, strong, resilient, protective, hopeful, willing to do what ti takes to keep Alice and herself safe
* Molly: friendly, outgoing, positive, supportive, runaway
* The closed-door murder mystery played out on a pseudo-island during a hurricane
* The flashbacks – although I was not clued in till much later who they really referred to
* The twists, turns, and not knowing who if anyone was someone Charlotte could or should trust
* That I became invested in the outcome
* The plot, pacing, setting, and writing
* The way all the puzzle pieces finally came together as I wasn’t quite sure of everything till the very end
* Hopefully thinking about what happens after the last page of the story…

What I didn’t like:
* Who and what I was meant not to like
* Thinking about what makes parets, siblings or anyone a twisted abusive person who takes pleasure in harming another person
* Thinking about what ti would take to make a break for it if in an abusive situation

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC – this is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

I really enioyed this locked room physcological thriller. Its told in a dual timeline the past is telling us about why Charlotte and Alice is on the run and in hiding. This book was a bit of a slowburn until it got to about 60% and that was when it really started. There were quite a few twists that i didnt expect.
Thank you for giving me an ARC.