Kind of a Disappointment

TITLE: The Hiding Place
AUTHOR: C.J. Tudor
PUBLISHER: Crown
PUBLISHING DATE: February 5, 2019

FROM GOODREADS: Joe never wanted to come back to Arnhill. After the way things ended with his old gang--the betrayal, the suicide, the murder--and after what happened when his sister went missing, the last thing he wanted to do was return to his hometown. But Joe doesn't have a choice. Because judging by what was done to that poor Morton kid, what happened all those years ago to Joe's sister is happening again. And only Joe knows who is really at fault. 

Lying his way into a teaching job at his former high school is the easy part. Facing off with former friends who are none too happy to have him back in town--while avoiding the enemies he's made in the years since--is tougher. But the hardest part of all will be returning to that abandoned mine where it all went wrong and his life changed forever, and finally confronting the shocking, horrifying truth about Arnhill, his sister, and himself. Because for Joe, the worst moment of his life wasn't the day his sister went missing. It was the day she came back. 

MY THOUGHTS: I really, really, really have mixed feelings about this book.  Part of me wants to be all serious with my review yet part of me wants to be kind of snarky because I didn't really enjoy it and I need to get SOME fun out of it.

So "The Hiding Place" is about a family who loses their cat and seeing his children's grief, the father buries it in an eerie cemetery.  The next day it comes back but it isn't the same.  Whoops, that's "PET SEMATARY."  Let's try this again.  So when Joe was a kid, his sister tragically died but only he knew about it.  Several days later, she returns but she is not quite right.  Many years pass and Joe, afraid that the same thing is happening and spurred on by a mysterious email, returns to his hometown to try to put a stop to evil once and for all.

Well I guess snark won.  As I said before, I didn't not really care for this book.  I felt like I had already read it and I when I read Tudor's first release, "The Chalk Man," which I also think played out like an early Stephen King novel, I had similar feelings.  Joe was an okay character.  He was HIGHLY flawed but I felt he had been through a lot which explained why.  I also liked Beth, the emo art teacher who befriends Joe even though she knows he has tons of secrets.  The novel goes back and forth between present day and the past which is a writing technique I really enjoy so it also had that going for it.  But man, I could not shake the feeling that this book was kind of a rip-off from one of my favorites.

There were several twists and turns throughout the book but even if I didn't know what they would specifically be, I expected them to come.  Yet there were some positives about "The Hiding Place."  Tudor does write well-paced books and I find her writing style itself enjoyable.  In fact, I highlighted more quotes and passages in the book on my Kindle than I have in a long time.  I also never really considered putting the book down so it did kind of draw me in.

I can see why people love Tudor's books so much.  I really wanted to as well, both with this one and "The Chalk Man."  I think if I wasn't such a King fan and had never read his books, I would have rated this one much higher.  I really think these books are probably great for someone who is not an avid horror reader.  So see, I am being somewhat objective.  I think if people are interested in checking this book out they should do so.  It's very popular and quite well-loved. And hey, if King hasn't considered suing her, then who am I to judge?

RATING: 2 PAWS