The Hidden by Melanie Golding

A man is discovered in his bathtub, beaten nearly to death. His apartment shows signs of having been inhabited by a child, who is now missing. Meanwhile a child turns up in a shop alone. A woman, claiming to be her mother, appears and claims her. What happens next is a country-wide, multi-layered manhunt.

Sounds like a suspense-thriller, doesn't it? But it's not really. Thriller, somewhat. Suspense, kind of. But really this is a supernatural story about selkies, intertwined with some other criminal and police procedural elements. If you're into the supernatural you'll enjoy this. Personally, I don't like supernatural stories and I feel a little mislead since the description of this book didn't tell me that's what I was getting in for. I also don't like reading stories where no one is good. I need someone to root for and unfortunately I couldn't bond with anyone in this story. There were too many places where a simple answer to their problems was readily available but was ignored in favor of a much more complicated and dangerous one, though the ultimate outcome was the same.

I do feel that the story was well-written and for people who appreciate this type of story I think it would be very enjoyable. Personally, though, it wasn't my cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.