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Lisa Gardner's work is most easily classified within the thriller genre. But in her new novel, she infuses a solid, complex mystery into the plotline, nicely balancing excitement --- make that terror --- with whodunit elements to create a work easily accessible to fans of any genre. HIDE is much more than a nominal sequel to ALONE; it is a deliciously creepy tale that begins with a crime scene so startling and horrific that it resonates throughout the book.
HIDE marks the return of Massachusetts State Police Detective Bobby Dodge and his former partner, Boston Police Detective D.D. Warren. Despite Dodge's newly minted position, Warren brings him into a Boston investigation. The crime scene --- a vision of nightmares that will shut you down --- is reminiscent of the Richard Umbrio case that figured so prominently in ALONE. As the result of evidence found at the current scene, one of the victims is tentatively identified as Annabelle Granger.
Thus, Dodge and Warren are baffled when a woman shows up in their office and identifies herself as Granger. She relates the story of a life lived on the run, with her family changing residences and identities on an annual basis, crisscrossing the country as if being pursued by an omnipresent, unknown tracker.
Dodge and Warren's investigation is further complicated by the fact that Granger bears an uncanny, startling resemblance to Catherine Gagnon, who as a child was one of Umbrio's kidnapping victims. Gagnon grew up into an exotic, enigmatic lady who may have manipulated Dodge into shooting her husband.
Another issue is the slowly blossoming, if reluctant, attraction between Dodge and Granger. Dodge struggles with the impropriety of a relationship with a subject he is charged with protecting, and possibly investigating. Granger finds that she is experiencing emotions long gone cold, if ever felt at all.
Gardner keeps the plot wheels slowly but steadily moving toward a cataclysmic conclusion that ties up the apparently irresolvable plotlines with a plausible and unpredictable explanation.
While built upon the foundation of ALONE, HIDE stands firmly on its own. Primarily character driven --- the crime scene at the beginning is over two decades old, and most of the violence in the book is confined to one scene --- HIDE is part puzzle, part romance and all good. Don't miss this one.
--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
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