Hidden

Bone Secrets #1

by Kendra Elliot

Eleven years ago, the Co-ed Slayer murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus. Lacey Campbell barely escaped his attack, but lost her best friend whose remains were never found. As the sole surviving victim, Lacey helped send the sadistic serial killer to prison for life.

Now a forensic odontologist examining teeth and bones for the state Medical Examiner, Lacey is devastated when she arrives at a crime scene and identifies the skeletal remains as her college friend’s.

The remains are discovered on the land of ex-cop Jack Harper. Sparks fly between him and Lacey, even as they realize that the prosecution’s witnesses from a decade ago are now being murdered one by one. All the evidence points to the Co-ed Slayer as the culprit—only, he’s long since dead. So who’s the new killer? And is Lacey next in line to die?

Golden Heart finalist Kendra Elliot combines chilling suspense and steamy romance in a gripping tale, uniting in-depth forensic knowledge with a passion for thrillers. Set in the snowy winter of Oregon, Hidden creates spine-tingling chills.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, Suspense, Crime, Audiobook

373 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2012

About the author

An Amazon #1 selling author, Kendra Elliot has sold over 14 Million books and been on the WSJ best seller more than a dozen times.

She grew up in the lush Pacific Northwest and still lives, but spends most of the time in the high desert in flip flops.

Reviews

[Rich Stoehr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kendra Elliot's Hidden is billed as a romantic thriller. I just finished the book last night, and I'm still trying to figure out where the "thriller" part comes in.

Is it perhaps in the thrill Lacey feels when she first sees Jack Harper's steel blue eyes or catches a whiff of his "clean male" scent or intuits his "cut abs"? Is it in Jack's appreciation of Lacey's curves "in all the right places," even when he first notices her at a murder scene?

Because, certainly, it's not in the heavy repetition of those descriptions, thrown at us over and over again. It's definitely not in the obvious signals of who's going to end up with who, starting from page 12 and never letting up. I didn't see it in Lacey's profession as a forensic odontologist (teeth expert, basically), which is important in the first chapter and then never comes up again. And I sure didn't see it in the impending serial killer investigation, which takes place mostly in the background of Lacey and Jack's budding and tempestuous romance.

I could have at least respected all of this if the story had held any surprises or unexpected turns at all - but alas, it was not to be. I give Elliot credit for at least being consistent and telling a story that played out. The problem(s) being that the conclusion was predictable, the writing ham-handed, the villain bland, and the romance was locked into a track more steadily than a freight train, and about as interesting.

To put it simply, don't go into this expecting a thriller on the level of Jackson, Reichs, Jance or Cornwell. There's none of that here. I tend to like my thrillers dark, twisty, and unpredictable, and Hidden hits none of those marks.

It's a book without a bite.

[Miki’s⚠️ Safety Reviews & Rants⚠️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

‼️ I have read most the of THIS authors series and this book is the best mystery Romance I’ve read in a WHILE AND DEFINITELY FROM THIS AUTHOR.
I like romance in my suspense.
I wish THIS author had kept to this formula instead of changing it. Now her new books have no sex and barely any romance. Suspense/Romance is suppose to have freaking romance! I hate when I see reviews that say they don’t want it… then don’t freaking pick this genre!

🔪I love these suspense romance reads and have been reading more and more. So I’m gonna break them down differently from my other reviews.
I don’t want to give any spoilers away so you can go into it it blind and enjoy all the twists and turns❤️.

Ratings 0-5 Star Scale

😮Mystery/Suspense-
4stars/ we don’t know who is doing it until the end.
I liked getting POV from the detective Mason (he has his own series Callahan and Mclane series which is my second fav series from this author) and the murder. It added to the suspense and enjoyment of the mystery.

❤️‍🔥Romance/Chemistry-
5 STARS ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for this genre is was perfect.
I love romance so if I pick mystery romance I want freaking romance. lol
Lots of chemistry, we get a good sex scene. Great intimacy and growth of the relationship. It’s med burn.

🚹Hero-
5 stars Hes possessive and gets jelly ❤️ but he also sweet and doesn’t over step. Ugh his scene at the end❤️‍🔥 he will do anything to save her.
He was a playboy before her.

🚺Heroine-
4 stars she was a bit headstrong at times and it wasn’t logical for her situation. But other than that she was caring and smart. She had been married and had serious relationships in the past.

⚠️Safety-
Mild OM drama- it was highly entertaining 🤭
She had an Ex husband
Murder
Rape
A child due to rape

🎧Audiobook Narration-
4stars/ she did a good job of changing voices and was easy to listen to.
3rd person multiple POV

🥰Overall Enjoyment-
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was so refreshing for this genre and I hope to find the rest of the series will have the same amount of enjoyment. I laughed and was sad and fell in love with these to characters and their love. I wish we got more of them.

[Jonetta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lacey Campbell, a forensic odontologist (dental specialist), is called to a crime scene and determines that the skeletal remains belong to a close friend who was abducted years ago. The remains are found on former cop Jack Harper's property, also placing him in the crossfire of the investigation. Lacey and Jack both feel an instant connection but it's eclipsed by the gruesome murders that are related to a serial killer who's been dead for almost two years. When it appears she's a target, Lacey struggles with the demons of her past, her need to maintain her independence and her growing feelings for Jack.

I found this an interesting and puzzling story but not without issues. Lacey was a contradiction, one moment strong for surviving a horrendous experience and persevering and at others, inexplicably weak-kneed and needy. It brought out the alpha in Jack, understandably but even he left her vulnerable too many times to make sense. I liked the detectives investigating the case but they didn't really seem to be a factor in the resolution.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but the pacing was off with too much culminating at the end of the book (which was extremely exciting). I prefer pulling together well developed clues and having a shot at deduction but that wasn't possible here. There's a really strange twist, too, that seemed unresolved, at least to my satisfaction. I'm going to continue the series as the next book sounds fascinating.

[María Ángeles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Era un cuatro estrellas indiscutible. Por un comienzo emocionante, con una buena historia y personajes fuertes. Por un encuentro entre los protagonistas fantástico.
Pero el último tercio del libro... Se me ha caído. Por cosas a las que no encuentro sentido y porque en muchos momentos pensaba que se me escapaban demasiados detalles.
A lo mejor estoy tan cabreada con el final que sólo puedo darle tres estrellas.

Reseña en el BLOG: http://unablogueraeventual.com/oculta...

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm sorry I didn't like this one too much. There was too much emphasis on the romance, or should I say hormonal attraction/instant connection, between the MCs for this book to be credibly thrilling or suspenseful. The focus on the positive physical attributes of the MCs detracted from the seriousness of presence of a serial killer. Personally, I couldn't care less about how hot the MCs were. People were being tortured and murdered. Maybe if there was less focus on feelings and lust and more focus on the crime solving I could have enjoyed this one more. I've liked enough of Ms. Kendra Elliot's other works to give up on this series. I will read the next one and hope for the best. :)

[Georgia ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Serial Killer Stars

What is even better than mystery and suspense?



I had a great time with this book!
Decent storyline, interesting characters, creepy killers, what's not to enjoy? It reminded me of the days I used to devour books by Linda Howard, Beverly Barton and Karen Rose.

Yeah, the outcome was predictable, the romance was nothing to write songs about and too many POVs had my head spinning a little but it was a perfect companion for a day on the beach.
Moving on to Alex' story and Chilled.

[Linda Strong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lacey Campbell is a forensic odontologist who gets called to a crime scene where some bones have been discovered. Along with the bones, they find a cop's badge ... and a necklace.... an item that Lacey knows very well. It belonged to a college roommate who had been kidnapped 11 years before but her body had never been found .. until now.

Lacey was a witness to the abduction and her information had led the police to the man responsible. He was tried, convicted, and died in prison.

Other people start to die.. and not naturally. They were all a part of the kidnapper's trial ... prosecutor and witnesses. Lacey testified against him in court .. making her the next probable victim.

Jack Harper, an ex-cop and now a businessman, is called in when he's informed that the bones were found on property belonging to his company. Jack was also involved with one of the girls that were killed previously.

I liked the whole premise, even though it wasn't all that hard to figure out why bodies are showing up, murdered in the same way as the others had been found years earlier. Lacey and Jack are extremely likeable. Secondary characters are Michael, a reporter who is a friend to Lacey .. but wishes there was more. Add two funny homicide detectives who act more like an old married couple rather than partners.

There is also Alex, friend of Jack's.. tall, dark, handsome and broodingly quiet. I mention him because he has his own story in CHILLED .... the 2nd book of the series.

I gave it 5 stars. It's a nice easy read, but has a lot of action. I like the back-stories so that you understand why they are the way they are. A bit of explicit sex but not overdone. It added rather than detracted from the storyline.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over a decade ago, Lacey Campbell escaped from a serial killer. Her best friend, Suzanne, wasn't so lucky. Her body was never found. Now Lacey is working in forensic dentistry and has been called in to help identify a murder victim. She is shocked when she realizes that the skeleton that was found in a crawl space is Suzanne. Her body was found in a building owned by ex-cop Jack Harper. He believes someone planted the body there to make him look guilty. As the killer sends messages to Lacey telling her that he is coming for her, Jack appoints himself her bodyguard. He isn't about to let anything happen to Lacey.

This is Kendra Elliot's debut novel and the first book in her Bone Secrets series. The story took a few chapters to capture my interest. There were a handful of characters that had a point-of-view in the story. It took me a little while to get used to the head-hopping. The suspense story was interesting, even though there were some instances of TSTL behavior by both the heroine and the cops. I heard the next book in the series is better and I look forward to it. My rating: 3.5 Stars.

[Pat Marín · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ha sido una historia que empezó muy bien con su intriga, las cábalas por saber quién podría ser el asesino pero que a medida que ibas leyendo la trama perdía fuerza para mi gusto. La química entre los personajes era más bien una atracción y el desenlace no fue nada sorprendente. Una novela normalita, no es para tirar cohetes. En algunos momentos creía estar metida en un capítulo de "Mentes criminales" y eso me gustó pero el final fue todo demasiado previsible para mi gusto. Y es de las cosas que más valoro en una de suspense. Reseña completa en http://www.lanarradora.com/2016/10/re...

[Sonja Rosa Lisa ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Vor elf Jahren gab es eine Mordserie an Studentinnen der Oregon State University. Eines der Opfer von damals war die beste Freundin von Lacey Campbell, die heute als forensische Odontologin für das gerichtsmedizinische Institut arbeitet. Der damalige Täter wurde gefasst und ist inzwischen verstorben. Nun, elf Jahre später, gibt es eine erneute Mordserie, die erschreckende Ähnlichkeiten aufweist zu den damaligen Ereignissen. Wer steckt dahinter?

Mein Leseeindruck:

Die Geschichte fing stark an und konnte mich gleich packen. Wenn alte Begebenheiten nach Jahren wieder eine Rolle spielen bzw. man aufdecken will, was die Vergangenheit mit der Gegenwart zu tun hat, finde ich das meistens sehr spannend. Die Thematik reizt mich. So hat mich auch gleich dieses Buch sehr angesprochen.

Doch leider driftete die Geschichte dann immer mehr ab. Die Mordserie rückte für meinen Geschmack viel zu sehr in den Hintergrund, dafür wurde der Fokus gelegt auf die enorme Anziehungskraft zwischen Lacey, der forensischen Odontologin und Jack Harper, einem ehemaligen Polizisten.

Ich habe absolut nichts gegen ein bisschen Anziehungskraft oder Liebesgeplänkel in Krimis oder Thrillern, aber hier war es viel zu übertrieben. Das hat mir das Buch leider verdorben. Ich habe immer mehr gemerkt, dass ich beim Lesen abschweifte und mich auf die Geschichte nicht mehr konzentrieren konnte, weil mich diese ganze Liebesgeschichte einfach nicht interessiert hat. Sehr schade!

[KAS · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a romantic suspense and came upon this book I had on my Kindle for years. I read "Vanished" a while back and enjoyed it, so I thought I would give this first book in the "Bone Secrets" series a try.

Well .... the romance part of this story is almost non-existent, although I did like the H and h. The suspense was okay, but not what I would consider riveting. My thoughts while reading, kept waffling between "okay, finally this book is kicking into gear," and then "hmmmm, I am starting to drift off here."

This is the first book of the series and I can only assume the author wanted to introduce many characters for upcoming books. These characters were not developed enough for me to really get invested in the story, which takes an 'okay' book and bumps it up to 'good' or better yet, 'great'.

Hopefully the rest of the books in this series continue to improve.

Dr. Lacey Campbell, a forensic specialist, uses her skills to solve mysterious deaths. While attending college, Lacey narrowly escaped her own death. She was brutally beaten and left in the street to die while she helplessly watched her roommate and best friend, Suzanne, being abducted and driven away by a serial killer named the "Co-Ed Slayer". Although her friend's body was never found, Lacey was able to identify the man, testify at his trial and put him away in prison.

Ten years later, Lacey is summoned to the scene of a crime where bones have been found of a young woman buried in the crawl space of an apartment building. After examining the bones, the forensic evidence reveals they are the remains of her friend Suzanne.

Jack Harper, of Harper Developing, and former cop, owns the apartment building where the body was found. A police badge was also amongst the remains of Suzanne's body, belonging to retired officer, Cal Trenton, who was Jack's former partner on the police force. When authorities arrive to question Cal, his body is laying in his bed, severely beaten and tortured to death. Jack doesn't believe it is a coincidence Suzanne's body and his former partners badge are found on the property he owns. Someone is playing a sick game and making sure he is in the middle of it. He also knows there is going to be a media frenzy and he and his business will be a target.

Desperate to find answers, Jack seeks out the help of Lacey, the lone survivor of the serial murders.

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

An extremely weak book. At 70% I skimmed to the end. As a thriller it was everything but gripping. As a romance it was totally lacking.

The story was so deja-heard it was a shame (serial killer, again?!?), the instalust-love didn't help, nor did the superficial characterization.

Probably ok if you really love RS, otherwise I can't recommend it. But this month the price is at 2$. You can risk it :)

[Sandra Hoover · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading one of the spin-off series books, I backed up to start in the beginning in the
Bones Secrets series. Mason Callahan intrigued me and I wanted to get to know him from his first appearance. And this one is a great intro to his character. Having read a later book, it's obvious how this author grows as a writer and that's as it should be. I enjoyed Hidden and look forward to following Callahan throughout the series.
3.5 Stars

[Vero Rinconin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Estoy entre *3-3'5*
Empezó bien, con un ritmo rápido y todo provocaba intriga pero se fue desinflando, el desenlace final lo expresaría con un "pues vale/mmmñe"

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read many of Kendra Elliott's books and particularly like the Mercy Kilpatrick series. Hidden is her first novel, the first in the "Bone Secrets" series. I think Elliott has matured as a writer since this novel and certainly her more recent books are more mystery and thriller and less romance. Nevertheless, Hidden was very entertaining and sometimes I just want to be entertained.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una lectura que empezó muy bien, una historia que te atrapa en la que vas haciendo suposiciones en todo momento pero que llegados a un punto pierde fuerza, han habido cosas que no me han convencido, me han dejado fría.

[Mónica · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5/5

[jazmin ✿ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If I’m going to make a mistake, I like to make it a big one.”

This was a decent read, although a few times along the way I thought of putting this one down. Essentially, this book was written in third person omniscient, which unfortunately didn’t work that well. The problem with having lots of perspectives that aren’t in the first person is that it's often a lot harder to connect to all of the characters. That happened with this book; reading about both main characters as well as the police and the murderer made it hard to sympathize with any one character. It was nice seeing the case from different views though, so this method could have worked for me if only the writing had gone more in-depth with the character’s thoughts and emotions.

I also just didn’t like some aspects of the writing in general. There were some things that seemed almost problematic to me, and for a thriller, there was a lack of action and suspense. I never felt scared or excited, even near the end when the murderer was being discovered.

My least favourite aspect was definitely the romance. Honestly, I might have even been happier with none at all. There were very few cute scenes… it was more thoughts and quick overviews.

As Jack had kissed her, she’d heard that click that occurs when the right people come together. It was plainly audible. And she knew Jack had heard it too.

Lacey was actually a pretty good character though, and I wasn’t surprised by that because I usually end up liking the female survivors in books like these. I liked her passion for her job and how passionate she was about the case.

Jake on the other hand… I wasn’t as big a fan. Maybe it was because he was an ex-cop but I couldn’t stop imagining him as being super old even though he wasn’t. He also didn’t have a ton of personality and I didn’t like the way he was around Lacey. He tried too hard to solve her problems instead of letting her find her own path.

Despite my dislike of certain elements, overall I was pretty invested in the case, and that made me increase the book’s overall rating. I was surprised by how everything ended, and it was a satisfying conclusion.

MY BLOG <3

MY SPOTIFY <3

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, solid first book for an author I have read and loved. I've had this series for a few years, but never got around to reading it until it was proposed as a Buddy Read. I'm glad that I can read this series with friends because there is a lot here to discuss. The book has some great parts and some not so great parts. I loved the hero, Jack Harper. Not so much the heroine, Lacey Campbell. It was great to see Oregon State Police Detective Mason Callahan. Since part of the plot is about gymnasts, I'll use an analogy from that world: the author didn't stick the landing.

Lacey Campbell is a survivor. She is the one who fought back eleven years ago and escaped being a victim of a serial killer, the Co-Ed Slayer. Her best friend and gymnastic teammate was taken instead. Lacey survived the depression and survivor's guilt and went on to help put the killer in prison. But she is still haunted because Suzanne was never found.

When Lacey, as a forensic odontologist, is called to the site of discovered bones in the foundation of an apartment building, she is shocked to realize the remains are her long lost friend. Equally shocking is her reaction to meeting the owner of the building, hot and handsome Jack Harper.

Jack Harper is now a millionaire developer. The building where the bones were discovered was one of the first his father bought. As an ex-cop he knows all about the Co-Ed Slayer and when the bones turn out to be his last victim, the one they never found, he is all about the why. Why now? Why his building? Why does the beautiful Dr. Lacey Campbell affect him so deeply?

With the original killer dead for over two years, the hunt is on for someone else. Right on the heels of the discovery of the bones, people involved in the original case are being killed in a gruesome fashion. Since Lacey's testimony was instrumental in the original convection, she is an obvious target, but the strong willed Dr. won't be bullied and is determined to aid in finding the new killer. Jack is just as determined that she isn't the next to die.

[CD {Boulder Blvd} · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can generally read a book in a day or two. It took me over a week to get through this and most of the way through the book I just wanted to make snarky comments. OK I did make snarky comments only there was no one there to hear them.

Maybe it was that I had just been reading Karen Rose and this didn't stack up or maybe it just didn't appeal to me. However, my favorite genre is romantic suspense and this is billed as romantic suspense.

What I liked:

I liked the cover so Kudos to the artist and whoever selected this. I liked the idea of the plot - it had so much potential. I liked a couple of the minor characters - too bad they were "minor" characters. This book should have been exactly what I like to read.

What I didn't like:

I didn't like our main heroine. She seemed like the weak female billed as a strong female, but you never see her being strong. I didn't like our hero, Jack. I didn't get the appeal they had for each other either except on looks only. For example, he gets drunk while he's supposed to be protecting her and she thinks he's an appealing drunk? Most of the story seemed to be them drooling over each other and wondering about getting together. When you get to be part of the suspense it's mainly from the antagonist thinking about how smart he is or from the cops perspective where they are wondering who the bad guy was.

I wanted to like it, but spent most of the time thinking less than nice thoughts and wondering when it would be over.

Please note that I have continued to read the Bone Secrets series and I have enjoyed the other books in the series. Don't necessarily give up on this series, if this book didn't work out for you either. There is a good chance that you may enjoy the later books in the series.

[Lainie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hidden was a mediocre read. I liked the idea of a forensic odontologist and the plot of finding the teeth of her long missing best friend. But there ends the originality of this book. It becomes yet another telling of a "perfect" woman protagonist - you know, a woman with a genius IQ but so much in touch with her sexuality, it's palpable. A woman who is kind to the social misfits, the down-trodden, to children and the elderly but who has a razor sharp tongue kept in her back pocket, saved to take down those who dare to underestimate her. The male characters are of the typical formula, too. There is always that one man nearby, so committed to her that he will do anything for her, except tell her how he wants more from their platonic friendship. The proverbial uber rich playboy, who upon meeting her now wants to end his womanizing ways to settle down and commit to her devotedly. And finally, the evil serial killer who has spent years obsessing over her, plotting the capture of her so that someday he can pet her beautiful blonde hair.

Boring.

[Monnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really, really wanted to like this book. It's the first in the author's "Bone Secrets" novels, with the main character a forensic odontologist who examines teeth and bones for the state medical examiner. It was said to be part thriller - definitely my "thing" - and part romance (well, if the thriller part is good enough, I can force myself to wade through the sappy stuff).

And for the most part, I did like it; for the better part of an hour, in fact, I wrestled with whether I should give it 4 stars or 3. In the end, I decided there was just too much that didn't grab me (or grabbed me the wrong way) to go with the higher number.

The story begins when the decade-old remains of a woman are found under a building owned by former police officer Jack Harper and Lacey Campbell, a dental school instructor and the above-mentioned forensic odontologist is called in to help determine the identity. It turns out it's an old college friend of Campbell; they were both on the championship gymnastic team there. While walking at night together, the friend was abducted and Campbell was nearly killed trying to stop it from happening. But the girl was gone, never to be found again - until now. Similarities in the case lead detectives to conclude she was a victim of the so-called Co-ed Slayer, who murdered nine female students on the Oregon State University campus.

It soon becomes clear that someone is trying to track down and kill, in similar fashion, the witnesses whose testimonies sent the killer to prison. But who that might be is a total mystery, since the killer was captured, confessed and died in prison. Meantime, the beautiful blonde Campbell and the handsome, suave and debonair Harper see lightening bolts every time they see each other - even though he's a person of interest in the murders.

Much of the story, though, seems overly melodramatic, and it was hard to overlook a couple of bloopers (a security system being installed several chapters after it was referred to as already installed and a cell phone that's thrown on the ground and shattered to bits only to reappear a couple of chapters later in perfect working condition, for instance). Perhaps the worst offense was one of the dumbest lines I've ever read - the comment that "even a lesbian" would be vowed by Harper's hunky body.

All that said, it was nowhere near the worst book of this kind I've ever read, and certainly not bad for a debut novel. In fact, it was good enough that I plan to give the next one a try (Chilled in the hope that some of the bugs in this one are worked out. I believe there are three others in the series, but I'll take things one at a time, thank you very much.

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kendra Elliot's Hidden (Montlake Romance 2012) is a fast-moving romance thriller (don't be mislead by the classification as 'thriller'; it isn't) with everything you'd expect in the genre. Dr. Lacey Campbell, a forensic odontologist, is drawn into the ten-year old murder of her best friend when the skeleton shows up in the basement of a rundown apartment building and she is called in to identify it. The de rigeur love interest arrives in the guise of the building owner and they are thrown together as the murders pile up, all connected to one or both of them. After an uninspiring opening with the predictable scenes of boy meets girl, boy is swept away by girl's beauty and strength, girl can't stopping thinking about boy's roguish smile, the plot builds rapidly, deftly weaving their mutual attraction with the serial killer's deadly plans. Each scene includes equal amounts murder mystery and romance, something thriller readers aren't used to, but romance lovers are.

Elliot does only an acceptable job with the characters. They're appealing, but carry the typical, tried-and-true baggage that makes main characters appealing to readers--vicious ex-husbands, murder and death in their background, rigid strength at all the right times for the female and a faux-playboy demeanor for the male. It takes the author about half the book to establish them as individuals, unique in their thoughts and actions, and worthy of your time as a reader. If you can get past that and if you're an aficionado of the romance-thriller genre, you'll like this book.

If you like your thrillers with more action and less steamy looks, bulging manly muscles, curves in all the right places, you may want to pick a different title.

[Debby *BabyDee* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lacey Campbell, a forensic dental specialist is sent to a crime scene to determine the remains of a bones left in an apartment building. Little does she know until later that the bones belonged to her best friend from her gymnastic squad. Also enters ex cop Jack Harper who is put into the equation due to the fact that the building in question is owned by his family. Sparks fly between Lacey and Jack and an instant connection begins along with a string of murders that are related a serial killer who's been dead for almost two years. Lacy becomes a target and she has Jack and a friend reporter fighting to keep her safe from harm.

As I listened to this story, I found it hard to turn off until I was finished. I became enthralled in what was going to happen next. Although I am not big on suspense romance, this was one that had me wanting more. I did like the detectives investigating the case but they didn't really seem to be a factor in the resolution...although it introduced Callahan in subsequent novels by this author.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story which was exciting and adventurous. I have put the next book in this series on the list to be read and hope I get the same reaction as I did with this story.

4-Stars

[julia ☆ [owls reads] · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wasn't really for me.

Hidden was fast paced and engaging, but the plot kind of lost me during the end of it--it was a bit too all over the place. I really liked the personal connection of the mystery to the POV characters, though, and how much tension and emotion that brought along. The major conflicts were mainly internal instead of that related to the mystery, which was a bit of a bummer.

I really really disliked the supposed love triangle and the posturing from Jack and Michael. They treated Lacey either like she was incompetent or like she was a toy they could tug around. Lacey also didn't really set firm boundaries with them and kind of let that go on? She put up with it instead of telling them to cut it out and standing up for herself.

I am going forward with reading the second installment, mostly because I've really enjoyed other works by Elliot in the past and I know the story focuses on other characters.

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was in the mood for a romantic suspense and had gotten this book for x-mas. It has all the elements of that genre and the plot of the story had some nice twists. It's just the execution of the story was heavy-handed - which is hard to explain. This is a debut novel, so it's probably just inexperience and there are some really good scenes and characters. I loved that the main protagonist, Lacey Campbell is a Forensic Dentist and she also teaches at a dental school - that was a really cool angle and the author did her research. I wanted more scenes with that element, but the story veers away from that pretty early. And I will admit, I'm more into the suspense than the romance. I also wished Lacey was more proactive in helping to solve the puzzle.

[İlkim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Baş karakteri adli diş hekimi olan bir kitabı neden bu kadar bekletmişim ki? Kendimden bir şeyler bulduğum kadar hikayeden de keyif aldım. Kesinlikle seriye devam edeceğim.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hidden was a fantastic start to the Bone Secrets romantic suspense series.

Lacey Campbell barely survived an attack from the Co-Ed Slayer eleven years ago but her best friend, Suzanne, wasn't so lucky. Now working as a forensic odontologist, Lacey analyzes teeth and bones for the state medical examiner. When she is called to a crime scene, Lacey is devastated to identify Suzanne's remains. But Suzanne's remains were just the beginning of Lacey's nightmare as someone is killing witnesses who testified against the Co-Ed Slayer resulting in his death. Working with ex-cop Jack Harper, Lacey begins the search for a killer who is circling closer and closer.

This book begins with Lacey arriving at an apartment complex where a skeleton has been recently dumped under the building. Due to something left behind at the scene, Lacey identifies the remains as those of her best friend from college. From there, several people connected to the Co-Ed Slayer case begin turning up dead in increasingly disturbing crime scenes. Initially a lot of evidence points to Jack as a potential suspect to the point it becomes clear that someone is trying to set him up. One thing that did annoy me was that Lacey's friend Michael, a reporter, would not lay off of Jack even after it was obvious it wasn't him. Throughout the book we get chapters from the killer's point of view which is something I enjoy in thrillers as it provides some great insight into their motives. The ending of this book was very fast paced with a lot happening in the last quarter of the book. I found the ending suspenseful and overall very well done.

Lacey and Jack's relationship starts off as an immediate attraction on both sides although initially Lacey finds Jack to be a bit arrogant. As the killer begins picking people off, Lacey and Jack grow closer as Jack appoints himself her bodyguard due to his experience as a former cop. Jack definitely has alpha male tendencies, particularly when it comes to his need to protect Lacey. I personally don't mind alpha male heroes as long as they don't become overbearing, so I didn't mind this aspect of his personality. I thought the buildup in the pair's relationship was well done and I liked its' progression throughout the book.

Overall Hidden was a great read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Chilled, soon.

[Beanbag Love · Rating 3 out of 5]

The premise is good, but some really stupid moves by the investigators annoyed me. One of those, "really, you're just considering that now?" kinds of things.

The lead characters were fine, but made me a little itchy. The male lead, Jack, is an ex-cop who hasn't carried a gun in years. He refuses to. But he's the guy who insists he's going to keep the heroine safe. Everyone is like, "he'll take care of her," but I'm wondering how he's supposed to do that since he carries no weapons whatsoever.

I have to give it to the heroine, Lacey, that she carries pepper spray with her everywhere she goes. I hate when female characters who've had past experiences with assault don't bother to learn to protect themselves later on. It doesn't make any logical sense.

So she's more armed and prepared than he is, but he's the guy that everyone looks to for her safety. Because he's a guy and a former cop who's still dealing with PTSD. *sighs*

Anyway, I really did like the premise as well as some of the twists and deflections, but ultimately I wasn't blown away by the execution of the story.

Three stars -- it wasn't bad, it just wasn't great.

[María Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Releí este libro y me dí cuenta cuando venía a escribir una pequeña reseña (no recordaba absolutamente nada). La primera vez le dí una estrella y se nota que no me gustó nada, pero como la lectura cambia con las circunstancias esta vez le doy 3 por entretenimiento a pesar de que es más romántica que policial y de que el trabajo policial es flojo.



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Ni emoción, ni suspenso y con unos policías tontos de remate que nunca sospecharon de lo más obvio...