Friday, May 10, 2019

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

20 comments:

  1. Wow, it sure sounds like a Pet Semetary rip off! I've never read her books but I know a lot of people love them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She is quite popular and I can see her appeal. Her books just don't sit well with me.

      Delete
  2. Oh dear, I confess I quite enjoyed this one - and quite enjoyed the similarities for some reason they just worked for me. I haven't read the first book by this author so perhaps if the King vibe is apparent in every book though I think it would be tiresome. Shame you didn't have a good time with it though.
    Lynn :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think since I had similar issues with the first one, it made the similarities stick out that much more for me on this one. I can definitely understand why people like her.

      Delete
  3. I have never read Pet Semetary so I guess I didn't see the similarities. mmmm . Are you excited about the new Pet Semetary movie?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I am but probably not anytime soon. We watched a new horror last night, The Prodigy, and immediately shut it off when it was headed down the path of the crazy little kid killing the dog. We didn't care that we spend $5.00 to stream it. We won't be finishing.

      Delete
  4. You make some good points. My favorite parts of The Chalk Man were the parts when the characters were kids, probably because those parts were so reminiscent of King's writing. Maybe Tudor is a huge Stephen King fan?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did like the kids part of Chalk Man. There is just some reason Tudor's book don't click for me but so many love them and I have so many other authors to read so it all works out fine.

      Delete
  5. I'll pass on this book but I sure had fun reading your review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed it. I had to find some fun somewhere.

      Delete
  6. I felt the King influence strongly too, though I think it actually made me like the book more. But I know how sometimes those same similarities can be very distracting. At least now you know where you stand with Tudor's style!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yea and I'm not worried, it's not like I don't have plenty of other things to read!

      Delete
  7. It certainly sounds like this author isn't working out for you at all which is a pity. I liked The Chalk Man, which surprised me based on the reviews and I'll be reading this one over the summer. Hope I get on better with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am anxious to hear your thoughts on this one and will look forward to them!

      Delete
  8. Yikes, that would have been too close to Pet Sematary for me, too. Ha ha. 😜

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really was. Oh well, there are other books out there.

      Delete
  9. Bummer. I haven't tried any Tudor books. I always get the feeling my reaction would be similar to yours. And sometimes you just have to snark. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. For the record, your snark is always the way to go! But also, damn this book does not sound good. Pet Cemetary rip off? Sheesh. Snark away some more!

    ReplyDelete
  11. DARN IT!! haha I think this is the only author we don't have similar feelings for! :)

    ReplyDelete