Hide Away

Hide Away is the first book I've read from Jason Pinter. I recently bought the first two books in this series for my Kindle after it received kudos from a fellow book blogger. Big thanks to my bookish bestie Margaret from Just One More Chapter for always keeping my Kindle well fed! 

Going in, I wasn't sure what to expect but within the first few pages I was swept into this story about a woman with a horrific past who later inserts herself into a murder investigation. It is a solid police procedural with well-drawn secondary characters, (I particularly liked the two detectives and Rachel's relationship with her kids). Pinter gives his readers a few culprits to chew on and while this avid suspense reader figured out whodunnit, I enjoyed this extremely engaging and twisty read. 

The strength in this book is Rachel Marin - a main character that stands out from the rest. I love that she's tough and smart but also shows her vulnerability as a mother and a survivor of a violent past. Pinter creates wonderful tension about Rachel's past by slowly revealing it through flashbacks and honestly, I found the mystery surrounding her past slightly more riveting than the actual murder of a former city mayor. 

Hide Away blew me away. This is a complex, tense and oh-so-impressive suspense read that reminds me of Robert Dugoni's Tracy Crosswhite series (big praise indeed). I am thrilled to have found this author and his a tough, take no guff, 'I'll save my own self, thank you very much' main character in Rachel Marin. I cannot wait to jump into the next book in this series.

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Jason Pinter

Genre: Suspense

Series: #1 in the Rachel Marin series

Type and Source: ebook - personal copy

Publisher: Thomas and Mercer

First Published in Print: March 2020

Opening Line: The night her family was ripped apart, 

the woman stood by her oven, watching the 

chicken cook through the glass, thinking to herself there 

was nothing on earth more terrible than a burnt casserole.

Book Description from GoodReads: From the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets—and bring a killer to justice.

On the surface, Rachel Marin is an ordinary single mother; on the inside, she’s a fierce, brilliant vigilante. After an unspeakable crime shatters her life, she changes her identity and moves to a small town in Illinois, hoping to spare her children from further trauma…or worse. But crime follows her everywhere.

When the former mayor winds up dead, Rachel can’t help but get involved. Where local detectives see suicide, she sees murder. They resent her for butting in—especially since she’s always one step ahead. But her investigative genius may be her undoing: the deeper she digs, the harder it is to keep her own secrets buried.

Her persistence makes her the target of both the cops and a killer. Meanwhile, the terrifying truth about her past threatens to come to light, and Rachel learns the hard way that she can’t trust anyone. Surrounded by danger, she must keep her steely resolve, protect her family, and stay one step ahead, or else she may become the next victim.