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The Hidden

A Novel

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available
A stunning tale of folkloric suspense for fans of Victor LaValle and Alma Katsufrom the critically acclaimed author of Little Darlings
This “beautifully original thriller . . . of murder, desperation, and the nature of motherhood” puts a spine-tingling twist on the Selkies of Celtic mythology (Christopher Golden, New York Times–bestselling author).

One dark December night, in a small seaside town, a little girl is found abandoned. When her mother finally arrives, authorities release the pair, believing it to be an innocent case of a toddler running off.
Gregor, a seemingly single man, is found bludgeoned and left for dead in his apartment, but the discovery of children’s toys raises more questions than answers.
 
Every night, Ruby gazes into Gregor’s apartment, leading to the discovery of his secret family: his unusually silent daughter and his mentally unstable wife, Constance, who insists that she is descended from the mythological Selkies. She begs Ruby to aid in finding the sealskin that Gregor has hidden from her, making it impossible to return to her people.
 
DS Joanna Harper’s investigation into Gregor’s assault leads her to CCTV footage of the mother-daughter pair from town. Harper realizes she knows the woman almost as well as she knows herself: it’s her estranged daughter, Ruby. No matter the depth of Ruby’s involvement, she knows she will choose her daughter over her career.
 
Steeped in local legend and exploring the depths of what it means to be a mother, Melanie Golding’s newest novel is a stunning tale of folkloric suspense for fans of Victor Lavalle and Alma Katsu.
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    • Kirkus

      September 1, 2021
      Following her memorably creepy debut, Little Darlings (2019), Golding scaffolds an unsettling series of revelations on the folktale "The Mermaid Wife." As if eager to please Sgt. Friday, Golding begins with just the facts. Leonie Douglas is a toddler suddenly separated from her mother in a shop in the seaside town of Cleethorpes. Ruby Harper, violinist and teacher, shows up and claims Leonie as her daughter; she happens to be wearing the same outfit as Constance Douglas, the girl's actual mother. Diane Rathbone, the Social Services worker called to the scene by the fast-arriving police, questions Ruby briefly before letting her go, convinced that she couldn't possibly harm the little girl she says is hers. Meanwhile, in response to a call from Sarah Stefanidis, who's noticed a telltale drip from her ceiling, DS Joanna Harper and PC Steve Atkinson break into the silent flat above hers and find her neighbor Gregor Franks in his bathtub, filled with drugs, bleeding from a head wound, and close to death. A series of flashbacks show Ruby's slow entanglement with Gregor and her baffled encounters with Constance, whom he describes as his housemate and ex-lover and who describes herself as a prisoner who longs to rejoin her people, the mythological selkies. Assigned to investigate the assault on Gregor, Joanna, who's already demonstrated her cavalier attitude toward the rules, finds herself irresistibly drawn into an unauthorized search for Leonie and Ruby--and willing to tell just as many lies as Ruby about what she's up to and why. Long before the end, readers will be questioning all their assumptions about who are the victims, who are the criminals, and exactly which facts really are the facts. As dexterously shape-shifting as the legends it draws from.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      September 27, 2021
      Early in British author Golding’s intriguing paranormal mystery set in an unnamed English seaside town, Det. Sgt. Joanna Harper, last seen in Little Darlings, and a police constable break into the flat of Gregor Franks, where they find Gregor floating in his bathtub, barely alive and with a traumatic head injury. Flashback: after discovering a disturbing family secret, emotionally vulnerable Ruby winds up in a government sponsored flat, from which she watches her handsome neighbor, Gregor, who lives with mentally unstable Constance and their two-year-old daughter, Leonie. After befriending the charming Gregor, Ruby begins to look after Leonie while Constance spends her days barely conscious, mumbling stories of her homeland across the sea and its mythical community of seals. Constance longs to return to her clan, but she can’t without her magical coat, which Gregor has kept hidden. When Ruby realizes Gregor has a dark side and Constance may not be as crazy as she seems, she helps Constance plot her and Leonie’s escape from Gregor. Golding smoothly mixes folklore with an insightful exploration of motherhood. This offbeat tale should win her new fans. Agent: Madeleine Milburn, Madeleine Milburn Literary (U.K).

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