Hiding Places ~ Review

Hiding Places
By Erin Healy

Kate Whitby was at that age where she was in between - still a child and on the verge of becoming a young woman.  A time when her character and person were becoming unique and knowable to those closest to her.  Unfortunately those closest to her often didn't see her or notice who she was becoming.  But this was all about to change - and the change was one that would forever alter her family.

Over the course of a few days a series of events in Evergreen, Colorado, and nearby Denver are about to collide and Harrison Lodge, along with Kate's family, is about to be caught in the middle.

Kate is determined to protect those she loves, but there isn't a lot an 11 year old girl can do.  But Kate can guard the secrets everyone is keeping - secrets that if revealed could hurt her family.  Kate's kindness doesn't stop with her family.  She is one of those rare individuals who cares about those around her, those whom she sees in need, those whom are hurting.  And when she finds Charlie Fuse, a young man on the run and in need, she offers him what she can - refuge within Harrison Lodge.

But Charlie is a hunted man.  And those who are after him won't let anyone stop them from finding their prey and if those in Harrison Lodge get in the way..., there are ways to deal with problems.

Hiding Places is a well-written book that will hold you captive from the opening scene.  This is a story about family.  What makes a family a family?  Is it the ties of blood?  Is it a choice?  Bonds of loyalty?  Unconditional love?

How do the choices we make affect those around us?  And just how far out do the ripples we make reach out?  Hiding Places examines how the various characters lives intersect and entangle because of the choices they each make.  How do we hide from those closest to us?  And even more importantly why do we hide parts of who we are from our family?

Having read a few of Erin's books in the past I was delighted to discover this newest gem from her. Her books always make one stop and think after the book has been put down.  In this case one has to wonder what am I hiding and why.  Hiding Places is a suspense filled offering that will keep you guessing and wondering from cover-to-cover.

If you are looking a book club reading suggestion I highly recommend this book - it is doubtful anyone would be unable to read this book or find it unpalatable.  There are characters whom one will love and whom one will despise.  And then there are those with whom one will find empathy even if they are unfathomable to one's way of thinking.

I was provided a copy of this book by the Fiction Guild in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book:

Family means safety. Family means protection. Until it doesn't.

Eleven-year-old Kate Whitby leads an invisible life, the youngest member of her odd family. They live in their historic small-town hotel, where she is an expert at keeping everyone's secrets: her sister's a thief, her great-grandmother isn't as crazy as people think, her mother lives in the past, and her beloved grandfather might have killed his best friend.

Devoted to the people she loves-more than they have ever been to her-Kate vows to protect each one. Charlie Fuse has lived on the streets since his alcoholic father threw him out. When Charlie's powerful street family tests his loyalty by demanding that he kill the son of a rival gang leader, he refuses. They frame him for the murder, forcing Charlie to run.

When Kate finds Charlie injured and penniless, she hides him from his enemies and her uncharitable relatives, unaware that he has a connection to her family as old as the hotel itself.

The murderous gang tracks Charlie down. To flush him out, they take the clueless family hostage and threaten young Kate. Even then, Kate keeps Charlie hidden, putting all her childlike faith in one terrible hope: that the family who has never been able to protect her before might learn how to do it now.

About the Author:
Erin Healy is the bestselling coauthor of Burn and Kiss (with Ted Dekker) and an award-winning editor for many bestselling authors. She is a member of ACFW and Academy of Christian Editors. Her novels include such thrilling stories as Never Let You Go, The Baker's Wife, Stranger Things, and Motherless. She and her family live in Colorado. 

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