The Hidden: A Novel of Suspense

by Bill Pronzini

Overview

A series of seemingly random murders along a fifty-mile stretch of the
rugged northern California coast, committed by an unknown dubbed by the
media the Coastline Killer. A young couple with marital problems, Shelby
and Jay Macklin, who decide to spend the week between Christmas and New
Year's at a friend's remote coastal cottage. Two couples in a
neighboring home whose relationships are thick with festering menace. A
fierce winter storm that leads to a night of unrelenting terror. These
are the main ingredients in Bill Pronzini's chilling and twist-filled
tale about the hidden nature of crime and its motives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802778369
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/01/2010
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	564 KB

About the Author

Bill Pronzini is the author of more than forty novels, including three
in collaboration with his wife, the novelist Marcia Muller, and is the
creator of the popular Nameless Detective series. A six-time nominee for
the Edgar Allan Poe Award (most recently for A Wasteland of Strangers),
Pronzini is also the recipient of two Shamus Awards. He received a
Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America in May 2008. He
lives in Northern California.
Bill Pronzini is the author of more than forty novels, including three in collaboration with his wife, the novelist Marcia Muller, and is the creator of the popular Nameless Detective series. A six-time nominee for the Edgar Allan Poe Award (most recently for A Wasteland of Strangers), Pronzini is also the recipient of two Shamus Awards. He received a Grand Master award from the Mystery Writers of America in May 2008. He lives in Northern California.

Editorial Reviews

Routine prose and thin characters mar this stand-alone novel of suspense from MWA Grand Master Pronzini (The Other Side of Silence). Jay Macklin, who six months earlier lost his office manager job, has persuaded his paramedic wife, Shelby Hunter, to spend a few days at a friend's remote Northern California cottage, in a last-ditch effort to save their 12-year-old marriage. At night, in a winter downpour, they have trouble finding the cottage. On a search for matches after a power failure, the couple drive to a neighbor's house, where they encounter Brian and Claire Lomax, whose marriage is obviously in more trouble than their own. Jay and Shelby soon realize Brian physically abuses Claire. When the Coastline Killer, a vigilante who's been targeting random victims because they don't respect the environment, claims another victim, the local police consider Jay a suspect. The denouement will leave many readers feeling cheated. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

Jay Macklin is hoping that spending the time between Christmas and New Year's with his wife, Shelby, at a friend's cottage on the Northern California coast will bring them closer together after a hard year. After they lose power during a storm on their first night, they visit their neighbors for some matches. Brian Lomax answers the door with a gun in hand, and even after the Macklins are invited in for a drink, the tension in the house is enough to send them away quickly. Interspersed with the main action are several vignettes featuring a man who is willing to murder those who threaten the coastal wilderness. The bad weather, the marital strife, and the suspicion that almost every character displays lend Pronzini's (Savages; The Crimes of Jordan Wise) latest book a gloomy air. Jay doesn't evoke much sympathy, and the real action, on a dark and stormy night, no less, doesn't occur until the final quarter. VERDICT Not Pronzini's strongest work, this is still worth a look for his fans and most mystery collections. [Pronzini is married to Marcia Muller, whose latest Sharon McCone mystery, Coming Back, is reviewed above.—Ed.]—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Library Journal