Synopsis: The little girl peers down the dark alleyway. She isn’t supposed to take this shortcut, but it’s raining and all she wants is to get home quickly. She steps forward. But she never makes it home…
When nine-year-old Charlotte Standish goes missing from her street, it sparks a media frenzy in her small Lake District town. Her distraught parents are desperate to have their little blonde darling back, and Detective Morgan Brookes leads a frantic hunt for the girl. But Charlotte seems to have vanished into thin air.
Chasing up a lead at Charlotte’s school, Morgan is chilled to learn that another girl disappeared from the same street fifteen years ago. But the moment she begins to investigate the link, another local child goes missing. Ten-year-old Macy loves chocolate, her mum and her dog in that order, and Morgan’s heart twists at the thought of anyone harming this precious child.
The missing girls all lived close to each other so Morgan is sure that someone in this tight-knit community must know something. Going door to door, she is closing in on the truth when she gets a call that fills her with guilt; Charlotte’s lifeless body has been found in a local park, with distinctive scratches on her pale arms. Morgan has let one girl down, but she cannot give up on Macy and she’ll tear this town apart to find the final clue in her disappearance. But can Morgan solve this case before any more innocent lives are taken?
Rated: 4/5
My Review: The Hiding Place is the third in this series and I have so far read the books back to back which for me gives me a real insight into the characters. Detective Morgan Brookes is of course back with the team and this time around they are investigating the young girl Charlotte Standish who has gone missing. It seems its not the first time a young child has disappeared from these streets with the previous case being nearly 15 years prior. Charlie along with her boss Ben Matthews are back alongside other team members I have come to know and enjoy reading about such as Amy, Des and Cain.
The main plot line to one side we also see a young journalist Fin Palmer arrive in town and show an interest in Morgan which makes for interesting reading. The plot is well paced and the the storyline moves along well enough to keep you interested in it as the reader. The characters are what always keep me coming back though. Although many readers say that these storylines in this series go outside the realms of possibility (and I don’t disagree) they don’t do it enough to put me off at the moment. I certainly enjoyed this installment and will once again move onto the 4th book in the series to keep the momentum going.
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