Hide And Seek (Part 1)

A totally captivating and enthralling psychological thriller! I have read all of Amy Bird's books so far and I think this one is the best. It gripped me from the very first page and I read the first installment in record time. I can't wait to read the whole book to find out what happens. This book is very well written with really good well rounded characters and a very high level of suspense.

Thank you so much for this advanced copy and I look forward to reviewing the book as a whole!

I received this book via NetGalley to give an honest review.
So when I saw this and read the blurb I was like okay new author, book sounds right up my alley.
Now this is put into three parts which I think the author could have put all three parts together into one. There isn't much of a cliff hanger but the ending does make you want to get book two so you can find out what is going to happen.
So Will and Ellie are a young married couple who are expecting their first child. How awesome right? I liked Will and Ellie and the humor they had with each other, at times I was laughing at what they would say. 
With Hide and Seek you get to know the two main characters a lot. You can get a feel to the character descriptions. 
Will's mother is a bit weird and I say this because she is like the over bearing mother you hear about and are like 'whoa' thank goodness that is not my mother. But we find out there is a reason she is like this, and that reason is something I didn't even think about. 
So fast forward a bit. I liked Ellie and even though I did I found her to be a bit pushy in some areas I started to kind of wonder what was her real intention in the book. Was it to hurt Will, actually uncover the truth? Or was it to hurt Will's family?
Overall a really good read, and I plan on reading more from this author. The reason I am giving this book a 4 instead of a solid 5 is because of words that were used and I did not understand their meaning. Now I have contacted the author so I am waiting to hear back what the words meant.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1079583041

Barnes and Noble (Autumn2): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/hide-and-seek-amy-bird/1120222892?ean=9781474007597

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3R9PBFQD8H50S/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1XJAOQE8PJJR9/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

This sounded like a really interesting read for me. And i did enjoy it, but as it is only the start of the book (Park one) i'm going to do my full review for when I have read the full book, which after reading this, I really need to continue in the full book.
Its a great way when books are released in parts like this, to find out if it is going to be something you like before purchasing, either the other 2 parts or the full book.

Very intriguing story line and well developed characters.

I just love Amy Bird. Not only does she write fantastic, fast-paced, hold-your-breath style psychological thrillers but she herself is wonderfully down-to-earth, approachable and friendly. I was lucky enough to meet her at a Book Event when she was promoting her first novel – ‘Yours is Mine’ which reached No. 1 on the Amazon.com Women's Crime chart and which I loved - I have followed her career with interest ever since.

I think part of the reason that her novels make such an impact is because the characters are so completely normal, true to life, believable and to a certain extent, FUNNY! Amy Bird is so good at writing dialogue you just can’t help chuckling. Add to this the fact that her writing style is such that I feel she is talking directly to me and I am absolutely hooked.

Each of her novels explores the issue of identity in some way which in itself is fascinating. In this, her third novel, we meet Will and Ellie – a young couple expecting their first child.

What the blurb says:

My husband has a secret. He just doesn’t know it yet. It’s a secret that some would try to hide from him – and, until now, they’ve succeeded.

But I know Will. I know he would want to discover the truth. Fortunately, I’m here to discover it for him.

Soon there’ll be no more hiding. There’ll be no more lies. And there will be a new start…for us all.

**
The story switches between Ellie’s and Will’s perspective and this dual narrative is incredibly effective. From Ellie we learn that Will’s parents are suffocatingly involved in their lives, and in particular in Will’s. His mother: ‘Wants her son near her at all times’.

Very soon we realise that just below the idyllic-seeming surface of their lives there are plenty of secrets and Ellie is on a mission to reveal them. Lots of questions need answering: Why are there no baby pictures of Will? What happened to Ellie’s parents? Who is Max Reigate?

Ellie reminds me very much of Amy from Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. On the one hand she seems a loving wife and soon-to-be mother but on the other, she is so determined to unearth what she must know are going to be uncomfortable truths that you can’t help wondering whether she has an ulterior motive: ‘Better get him to accept the main fact, before I move on to the others’. That said, she is refreshingly ‘unfeminine’: ‘Anger is not an appropriate response to logic’. There is definitely more to her than meets the eye and Part 2 is now downloaded and waiting for me… ‘I need to slow Will down. Or we’ll lose Leo too. And I’ll just be Ellie again. Which isn’t really what I want. I suppose’.

**
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I knew nothing about this title and went in completely open-minded. Part One concentrates on introducing the two main characters, Will and Ellie, as they prepare for the arrival of their first born child. The twenty week scan is complete and all is well. Ellie is up to no good though. She thinks she has uncovered a secret in Will's family and is determined to uncover it, at any cost.

I had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I liked Will and the Ellie that he describes. A normal couple, excited about the pregnancy and getting the nursery ready. Then things take a turn as we read from Ellie's perspective. She is sneaky and underhanded and seems hell bent on causing trouble for Will and his family. It is a case of clever marketing, as I can't wait to read what happens next, and while I have access to parts two and three of this title, readers will have a little wait for theirs. Very affordable, and ideal for a read in one sitting, this should be bought by everyone with an e-reader.

This is a really good read which kept me eagerly turning the pages from the beginning to the end. It is such a pleasure to read a book with a totally different and innovative story line, and even better when it is written so well. I am seriously looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I adored this and i need to find out what happens!!!

I did enjoy it quite a bit. W@hat I regret is that it's only the part one of a trilogy. a young couple, she is pregnant, everything is great -or is it? As you go deeper into the book, you realize big secrets are waiting to be revealed. You want to read the following parts to know it all. In the way you slowly let go of the image of bliss, it reminds you of Gone Girl.
I just regret it was not published together. When the other tomes come, we will miss this one!

I loved this book. Told from the points of view of the two main characters, it really worked for me. The story is fast paced, and intriguing enough to make me want to read the next part.