The Hiding Place, also known as The Taking of Emily Throne, is a thriller that centers around guilt and grief, and is filled with intense situations that will keep you totally immersed in the story.

This book began with a terribly brutal and dark prologue that really set the tone for the rest of the book. Compared to C.J. Tudors first book, The Chalk Man, this one felt much darker!

This story is about a man named Joe Thorne. Joe has wound up in a tight spot due to his gambling addiction. To kill two birds with one stone, he decides to accept a teaching position back in his hometown so he could get the money that he needs to bail himself out and settle some things from his past that have been weighing on him.

Joe seems to think that this trip will be rather quick. However, things don’t go quite as he as planned…

Right from the start, it is made clear that he wasn’t welcome back in town. Certain characters warn him not to stir things up. But as Joe digs and gathers more information, he winds up ticking off some powerful people. Just when he thinks that he had the upper hand, he soon finds that the other players at the table have a few tricks up their sleeves.

While reading, I couldn’t help but feel that there was this lingering sense of dread that just wouldn’t go away. Just when I thought the story was going to follow one path, I was shocked by what came next! Needless to say, I couldn’t put this book down; I devoured it in just one day.

This book had so many little one-liners that hinted at what was to come. I loved that there were hints for what would happen in the present-day timeline as well as hints for what was soon to be revealed about their past. Each of these lines were so wonderfully placed in the narrative!

I loved that the book took its time. Nothing was rushed, but it certainly wasn’t slow either. I really enjoyed that we got little flashbacks into the past only as they were necessary to fill in just enough backstory to keep the story line in present day going strong. As we were given more information about the past, things quickly became more and more intense. It was really interesting to see just how deep the story would go.

The characters were all so interesting and so wonderfully developed for their roles. Each of them were so realistic! I could really picture each of them and hear them in my head. It doesn’t happen to me very often, but this was a case where I could practically see this story as a film playing out in my mind because of how vivid it was.

I will note that many of the characters were a bit unlikable, but the author really hit the nail on then head when describing the people in a toxic hometown. Joe himself certainly had many faults, but I couldn’t help but root for him and hope that everything would turn out okay.

My favorite passages:
The past has a habit of repeating on you. Like bad curry.

But I do believe you can still feel the echoes of bad things. They imprint on the fabric of our reality, like a footprint in concrete. Whatever made the impression is long gone, but you can never erase the mark it left.

Everyone has a pair of boogie shoes. The ones they sling on when they want to feel comfortable and at ease. Some days you need them more than others.

Funny how the biggest bluffs are the ones you pull on yourself.

Gloria might look like a delicate china doll. But the only doll she has anything in common with is Chucky.

If the eyes are the windows to the soul, Gloria’s reveal nothing but empty rooms covered in blood-spattered sheets.

That’s the problem with life. It never gives you a heads-up. Never offers you even the slightest clue that this might be an important moment. You might want to take some time, drink it in. It never lets you know that something is worth holding on to until it’s gone.

“We’re all still children inside. The same fears, the same joys. We just get taller, and better at hiding things.”

“People say that life finds a way. Perhaps, sometimes, death does too.”

My final thoughts:
I absolutely loved this book and I will definitely be rereading it time and time again! The story line flowed really well, the authors writing style was wonderful, the cast was amazing, and the elements of darkness, violence, and suspense were so well done! This is a book that I really wish would have a movie or series adaptation; it’s just screaming to be on the screen!

I cannot wait to see what C.J. Tudor writes next!

If you enjoy character-driven thrillers with a wonderful suspense build up, sprinkled with moments of intensity before things get really crazy, then I highly recommend this one to you!