Having read and loved all of Andrea’s books I was excited to start reading this one. Well I honestly think it’s her best book yet. From the very start I was completely gripped by the story and I couldn’t put this book down. This is an unputdownable crime thriller thick with suspense and intrigue. A massive 5⭐️ read for me.

Yet another brilliant read from Andrea Mara!
Joanna moves into a new house with her family and all appears well that is until she learns that many years ago a little girl went missing and this was her home.
We are introduced to many characters as the story goes back and forth in time. Normally i struggle to keep up when a book does this but i was so engrossed in the story that i had no problem.
This book will keep you guessing until the very end and i was only sorry that i had finished it.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and leave my honest opinion.

This was an absolutely gripping read. It was tense, atmospheric and fast paced with a storyline that was full of suspense and mystery. It was unpredictable and kept me guessing right until the end and on the edge of my seat for most of the book. I loved it.

Andrea Mara is the Queen of the Unexpected Twist. Not to mention excelling in creating an attention grabbing hook to ensure that the reader's attention is 'hooked' from the opening page.
In 'Hide and Seek', we meet Joanna and her family. They are in the process of moving into a new house in Dublin. However, Joanne soon discovers that not only did her husband's family grow up in the area but that her new home was st the centre of the disappearance of 3 year old Lily Murphy several decades previously. With her own daughter being 3, Joanna feels a connection to the missing child and begins her own investigation. Joanna will find herself delving into the past and into the mysteries of her own childhood.
This n9vel deals with the horror of a missing child, heartbroken families and the danger of secrets in suburban Dublin.
Fantastic, pulse pounding read. And now I'm off to read the rest of Mara's books.

Three year old Lily Murphy went missing while playing hide and seek, never to be found. Thirty odd years later, Joanna and Mark Stedman move into their new home and are shocked to discover that it’s the old Murphy house. As Joanna begins to unravel the mystery of missing Lily, she is convinced she knows what happened to her and who was to blame for her disappearance.

A good solid story with plenty of twists and turns along the way which made for a gripping read.

I found this to be a bit slow. It's the story of a missing girl from 30 years ago and the main character is trying to unravel the mystery in present day whilst also hiding a few secrets of her own. So in that regard, very little action actually happens since its all just about uncovering what happened back in the day and there's no real sense of urgency or danger. There are a number of "missing children" stories around atm and this was starting to feel very similar to all the rest, but it actually takes a very unique turn and the plot becomes completely original! There are a lot of twists and turns and you're drip fed bit and pieces along the way until you get to the final reveal. Granted, it's not the most realistic but I just really enjoyed the fact that the plot took a direction than I'd never had seen coming. There are a lot of characters, and a lot of relevant characters so we don't get to explore each of them as deeply as I would have liked but they are well written and are each unique and have their own voice. It's swings and roundabouts really, youve got a really interesting unique plot but quite a slow pace. Definitely worth a read in my opinion though

I loved loved LOVED this book! A fast paced thriller with twists that you never see coming! I love this author and can’t wait for her next book! Five stars from me, highly recommend.

Many thanks to netgalley and Andrea Mara for the advanced copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

Andrea Mara has done it again, bringing a sense of dread and suspense to any parent who flicks though her books… Lily Murphy has gone missing, playing hide and seek with older children during a neighborhood BBQ, leaving her parents heartbroken and no leads as to what happened to her. Thirty years later, Joanna and her family move into the house where Lily’s family lived all those years ago, and Joanna gets wrapped up in the mystery…

There were lots of twists and turns in this one and I had my suspicions for a few of them - and only one was right! Absolutely kept me on my toes and I could not put it down!! Already cannot wait for the next one!

This is an intriguing thriller told in present day by Joanna, who has just realised her new home has links to a tragic mystery, and in flashbacks to the early eighties where we meet the neighbourhood then in the time leading up to the mysterious disappearance of three year old Lily during a game of hide and seek. Joanna has a really complex past of her own which is gradually revealed throughout the story and it is this that causes her to obsess over Lily, to an excessive extent in my opinion. There’s quite a few characters to get your head around but not so as you lose track of it all and a lot of complex relationships. The revelations when they finally come out are totally unexpected which I loved, I just didn’t really take to Joanna otherwise this would have been a five star read for me.

I loved this book. From the very first page I was gripped by a fast paced & gripping storyline. This is excellently written & has plenty of twists and turns. Not to be missed!

Hide and seek by Andrea Mara.
Close your eyes
And count to ten
And when you open them,
Your child is gone.
Joanna moves to a new house with her family. But her own dark past begins to surface.
A brilliant read. Great story and characters.
Twisty and tense. 5*.

Joanna Stedman and her husband Mark had thought that their new home on the Rowanbrook estate in Ireland was perfect in every so she is understandably shocked when she learns that their new house has a dark past. It had once been the home of little Lily Murphy who had mysteriously disappeared thirty three years ago whilst playing hide and seek on the nearby green. The revelation unsettles Joanna and starts playing on her mind,causing her to channel her inner Nancy Drew and start digging into the events of the past. Some of the people who had been involved in the search for Lily including Joanna's own in laws still lived in the neighbourhood so Joanna starts questioning them about what they remembered about the events leading up to that tragic day. Gradually a picture begins to emerge that reveals the truths that were hiding behind the doors of the various characters, a picture that vastly differs from the friendly neighbourhood the residents tried so hard to portray is as with their fun filled barbeques and lavish dinner parties. A picture of concealed prejudices,gossip, back stabbing, abuse, judgements, neglect, lies and hidden secrets.

What had happened to Lily? Had she drowned in the stream that ran through the woods close to where she had been playing? Why was Joanna suddenly being haunted by visions of a locked room, sweet papers and a little girl with blonde hair? Was there a connection between Lily's disappearance and Joanna's dark and tragic past?

This enthralling story flips in and forth between 2018 where we follow Joanna's investigation into the events of the past and 1985 where the story is told from the duel perspectives of Lily's mother Mary and a girl called Fran who used to babysit whenever Lily's parents went out for the evening. In both time frames,the author has cleverly imbued her eclectic cast of characters with auras of unreliability and untrustworthiness and that includes Joanna who had been harbouring her own secrets from the people in her life. As the story unfolds, the reader discovers that the author has ingeniously manipulated you into believing in versions of both people and events that you eventually discover are not whom or what they initially appeared to be.

Wow,I absolutely bloody loved this extremely well written,cleverly plotted mystery/thriller that had me hooked in and captivated from the spine chilling opening sentence right through to the satisfying concluding dash of poetic justice. The clever plot has more twists and turns than a stream meandering through the woods and a number of serious omg revelations that I certainly didn't see coming. A gripping,enthralling read that is very very highly recommended and definitely going to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

#HideandSeek #NetGalley
Awesome novel.
Lily Murphy hasn't been found. Her parents search the woods and tell themselves that the worst hasn't happened - but deep down they know this peaceful Dublin suburb will never be the same again. Years later, Joanna moves into a new house. It seems perfect in every way, until she learns that this was once Lily Murphy's home. From that moment onwards, a sense of dread seems to follow her from room to room. As Joanna unravels the secrets at the heart of this close-knit community, her own dark past begins to resurface. Because she thinks she knows what really happened to Lily - and if the truth gets out, it might be her undoing...
I enjoyed her debut novel and this was more funny and intriguing than it. Absolutely enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Transworld Publishers for giving me an advance copy.

After Joanna moves into her family’s forever home, she is disturbed to learn that in 1985 the 3 year old daughter who lived there at the time disappeared without a trace. Just what did happen to Lily Murphy and who was responsible?
Told in dual timelines of 2018 and 1985 as Joanna learns more about the story through neighbours and her mother in law, who all knew the Murphy family. Threads of the tale are uncovered and tangents are travelled as Joanna plays detective with her new friends and knowledge as she unpicks the truth. But what secrets of her own are hidden in Joanna’s past, and what links her own memories of a little blonde girl locked away in a room with Lily…..
So many plot lines in this story.! A number of characters exist in both timelines for the reader to consider just who knows what. A great read. Thank you NetGalley for my copy.

I absolutely loved Andrea Mara's last novel, All Her Fault and so was looking forward to Hide and Seek. Decades after the disappearance of 3 year old Lily from a Dublin suburb, Joanna and her family move into Lily's old family home. Joanna feels a sense of unease in her new home and begins to uncover the secrets of her community and her own past.
Sadly I found this to be a rather unoriginal novel that was repetitive and cliched. I think there is a sudden trend for novels about missing children and it may be that I have read too many of them. I didn't feel that the characters were explored in depth and so I didn't connect with characters or plot and subsequently the novel didn't flow for me.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.