Hide and Seek: The unmissable new crime thriller from the top ten Sunday Times bestselling author of All Her Fault

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So Andrea Mara had a lot to live up to and I’m pleased to say she absolutely did-Hide and Seek is bloody brilliant! Joanna Stedman, her husband Mark and their three children, Emily, Ben and Sophie move into what they hope is their forever home in the suburbs of Dublin. Set over two timelines, 2018 and 1985, blow-in Joanna sets out to investigate the disappearance of Lily Murphy, the little girl who lived in her newly acquired house more than 30 years before. Joanna is determined to find out more about Lily and the circumstances of her disappearance, not least because Joanna is harbouring secrets of her own that may have some bearing on the unsolved case.

You won’t be at all disappointed and just want to read more and more from this wildly talented author. There were a lot of characters in the book, and I did have difficulty remembering who was who at the start, particularly as each had to be remembered in their past and present situation, but I soon got to grips with them and I think the one-sitting read helped too.But the whole community needs to look within and Joanna may be the catalyst needed to solve the mystery once and for all. She questions the neighbours and she suspects the disappearance is connected to an event from her own past.

Lee ChildCLOSE YOUR EYESThe game of hide and seek is over, everyone has gone home, but little Lily Murphy hasn't been found. Just when you think Andrea Mara couldn’t possibly top her last book she goes and does it with this new story Hide and Seek. When the answers come it is so not what you had in mind but it’s so well thought out in a cleverly executed executed plot? Shortly after Joanna, her husband and three children move into a new house in a mature, middle class estate in Dublin, Joanna discovers that the house was the former home of Lily Murphy. I never saw the ending coming and her ability to make me as a parent think about what it would be like to lose my child was truly terrifying.

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AND WHEN YOU OPEN THEM, YOUR CHILD IS GONEAs Joanna unravels the secrets at the heart of this close-knit community, her own dark past begins to resurface. A relentless, twisting page-turner, Hide and Seek delves deeply into every parent's worst nightmare. Usually the children look after their own so it was surprising when things started to come out that maybe that wasn’t the case here!With mystery, suspense, short chapters (always a winner), a plot brimming with twists and turns, and an array of suspicious characters, this was one of those 'just one more chapter' reads that had me utterly engrossed in the pages. This wealthy suburb of Dublin has umpteen secrets plastered over with plausible lies, it’s a mission to uncover those and and the truth when it comes makes absolute sense. Joanna is taken aback when she learns that this is the house that 3 year old Lily Murphy disappeared from 30 years ago.

This was a slow burn twisty domestic thriller with plenty of drama and a well thought out intriguing plot. All Her Fault was one of my favourite books of 2021 and I’d even lent it to my daughter who took it on holiday with her and also said it was one of the best books she’d ever read!The memories of some either contradict or support the recollections of others and its interesting to see the changing of attitudes, or lack thereof, over the 30 years that have gone by. Joanna becomes obsessed with Lily’s disappearance and talks to anyone in the area who knew the family. Yes there are lots of red herrings dropped in and your opinion as to what did happen to Jenny on that fateful day will change umpteen times. The two timelines also flowed seamlessly and worked well together to build up the tension and reveal what happened to the child.