The Hiding Place

by Karen Harper

After spending nine months in a coma, Tara Kinsale awakes to devastating news. Her best friend, Alexis, has been murdered, leaving Tara as guardian to her daughter, Claire. And Tara's husband has divorced her for another woman.

Forced to start over, Tara focuses on reopening her P.I. firm and caring for Claire. But soon her world is shattered again when Nick MacMahon, Claire's uncle, returns from military service in Afghanistan to take guardianship of his niece. The bad dream turns unbearable when Tara learns that something precious was taken from her while she was in a coma.

Working with Nick, a man haunted by his own past, Tara begins to investigate the missing months of her life. Together, they will find that secrets don't stay buried forever...even when they are kept in the darkest of hiding places.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Mystery Thriller

400 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2008

About the author

A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Karen Harper is a former college English instructor (The Ohio State University) and high school literature and writing teacher. A lifelong Ohioan, Karen and her husband Don divide their time between the midwest and the southeast, both locations she has used in her books. Besides her American settings, Karen loves the British Isles, where her Scottish and English roots run deep, and where she has set many of her historical Tudor-era mysteries and her historical novels about real and dynamic British women. Karen's books have been published in many foreign languages and she won the Mary Higgins Clark Award for 2005. Karen has given numerous talks to readers and writers across the county. Her most recent books include THE SOUTH SHORES TRILOGY (CHASING SHADOWS, DROWNING TIDES and FALLING DARKNESS.) Her latest historical is THE ROYAL NANNY. Please visit her website at www.KarenHarperAuthor and her fb page at www.facebook.com/KarenHarperAuthor

Reviews

[Louie the Mustache Matos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just imagine that you wake from a coma to find that your husband has divorced you and remarried.
Your best friend was brutally murdered by her husband who is now in jail; she also made you her daughter’s guardian until her uncle returns from the military. You go to the gynecologist for a regular checkup to find that you were pregnant while in said coma, and that you gave birth to a stillborn child. The Hiding Place by Karen Harper is a thriller that stretches the parameters of believability. There is a mystery here, cloaked within a riddle, wrapped in an enigma, but because I love mysteries, I go along although it is a soap opera-type story. In my youth, I would come home from High School and watch General Hospital, because my girlfriend watched it and it gave us something to talk about over the phone. There were adventurous characters that would liven what would ordinarily be standard soap opera fare with espionage and intrigue. This book is very reminiscent of the General Hospital of the early 1980s. It was OK, but very much about a military hunk and a woman on a mission to reinforce the idea that most affluent people are inherently bad and that women need saving. The book is antiquated in its premises, but it was OK and so 2 and a half Grey Geeks for the blog, but 2 stars for Goodreads.

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

For one thing, this is not "The hiding place" I wanted to read. That said, it's so plenty of girl power crap and maternity instinct BS that makes me sick. On the other hand, I have created a drinking game, for every time I read "vaginal delivery ", I am entitled to a gin tonic ;-) So the book is turning out quite good afterwards, or I am so wasted that I can't tell the difference.

[Kristin Childers · Rating 1 out of 5]

The ending was obvious from chapter one. Maybe it is just a personal obsession, but I hate to quit books without finishing them. The resolution was so clear, I should have skipped reading this. I want my three hours back.

[Marci Heath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nicely written.

[Jessica Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Predictable with a capital P, but I still enjoyed it. I had the entire book figured out by the end of the fifth chapter, but I didn't mind. Sometimes it's nice to know where something is headed. Narration was spot on and engaging, too!

[LoriAnn Kocialski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a GREAT book! I really liked it and look forward to reading more by this author! Any suggestions?

[M.E. Aster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Hiding Place by Karen Harper. It was my first book by this author and I would definitely pick up another by her.

This book kept my attention for the get go. The aspect of lost children mixed with the tracker dog plot line was very well done and I enjoyed the budding romance between the two main characters.

I did guess the main twist before it was revealed but overall I really liked this book and I would recommend it to fans of mystery stories.

[Linda C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tara Kinsale was assaulted during her attempt to help her friend retrieve her daughter stolen by her ex-husband. Tara ended up spending 11 months in a coma, her friend murdered and the ex sent to prison. When Tara wakes she finds herself with temporary custody of her friend's child, Claire, and trying to put her life back together. While in the coma her husband divorced her and moved to Seattle. Then Claire's Uncle Nick returns from Afghanistan where he was training K9 trackers and handlers, to take over custody of Claire. Tara's life is again rocked by this and the sudden discovery that she was pregnant and had a child while in her coma. Working with Nick, Tara tries to piece together her past. There was a lot going on here, but most of it was predictable and sometimes excessively explanatory. A decent read.

[N.C. Madigan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehh....

I read the book "The Last Boleyn" by Karen Harper and liked it well enough. I prefer Philippa Gregory's writing style to Harper's, but it wasn't all that bad.

But this book felt so different from "The Last Boleyn." The writing style was juvenile, the dialogue was choppy and way too sentimental, the events were too convenient, and the romance was too easy and predictable. It was modeled a little too much like a chick flick for my tastes. Also, Nick cried too much.

I would probably try reading any of her other historical fiction novels, but I probably won't read any of her modern fiction.

[Tbabe001 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good story, the romance was just lacking. The hardest thing to find in RS ....is finding Authors that can blend romance and suspense.

[NotTheTea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Man that was predictable no matter what they did to divert the tide. You can guess what exactly happened before 30% of the book.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I had this book on my to-read list, I must have heard something about it. Karen Harper is a popular author but I couldn't recall reading any of her books.

Frankly there were so many inaccuracies and/or plainly wrong 'facts'. Right from the start of chapter 2 a main character of the book is described wrongly and that really annoyed me. There is no breed of dog called "Golden Lab" There are Golden Retrievers and there are Labrador Retrievers. The color of Golden Retrievers are several shades of gold, hence their name, their hair is soft and wavy and considered 'long haired'. Labrador Retrievers are found in colors of black, yellow or chocolate and are considered short haired dogs. While these dogs have similar characteristics, they were developed independently in different countries. Correct information about these breeds of dogs is EASILY found online, kennel clubs (AKC UKC) and Wikipedia come foremost to mind. There's really no excuse for errors and confusion. So why the confusion here? It's simple, the author didn't bother to check her facts.
This annoyed me so much that I told myself to never bother reading another book by Karen Harper. However, I softened a bit when I got to the back and learned that the author lives in Columbus Ohio.

Then I came to my goodreads page and discovered I've read 6 books by Karen Harper in the past, from 2010 to 2014 and that I have several on my to-read list. Well, my memory issues are why I started using goodreads in the first place. I'd given 5 of those books a two star rating and one has a 4 star rating.
Will I read another? or should I just shoot myself in the foot now?

[Ashante Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant surprise from the very first chapter. This book had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish trying to figure out the big mystery. So, Tara wakes up from a coma to find herself divorced, her best friend dead and she's taking care of her best friend's daughter until her friend's brother gets home from over seas to take custody. What the big deal… well, her best friend was actually murdered and something is not right about what people are telling her. So she spends her time unraveling the mystery of her past because she can't remember much and she's really curious as to why her husband divorced her why she was in a coma. When the uncle, Nick comes home and the threat of losing the only connection to her friend becomes real. The two work together in the mystery and become close. With clues and their individual skills in their own professions, they learn the horrible truth of what happened starting the night her friend died. This book is really good and a real page turner. However, I don't know that I would classify this as a romance or a romance mystery. The book focuses solely on Tara and what has happened to her in the past and all of the effects of that time. Other than them talking about what was going on or dealing with the little girl there's no buildup of the relationship at all and the timeframe for the book when Nick comes into the picture of all of a week. If you're expecting anything more that a couple of kisses and a hug or two… this is not the book for you but if you're looking for a good mystery where you can follow the clues, then give it a try. 

[Asma Kirli · Rating 2 out of 5]

You should see everything coming before it happens. Within the beginning 30-60 pages the average person should be able to predict what will happen next. There was no mystery to me. It wasn't entertaining and the characters never came to life. I never felt interested in the story. No surprises here...

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was okay. The plot was easy to figure out throughout the story. The romance between Nick and Tara would have been great if the author had shown more of that side. Overall, I would probably not read another of her books.

[Angela Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised some reviews said they were surprised with the story. There were some twists but I had a pretty good idea where the story was headed. I still liked the book a lot and look forward to reading others by this author.

[Lia Blackett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Predictable. The author uses heaps of unnecessary foreshadowing that take away from the "mystery" of the story. I had a very good idea of what the end would be before i had read 100 pages. It was an interesting enough story that I read to the end though:)

[Dani Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had plot figured out by chapter 3 but continued to read (I'm not someone that can just quit a book unfortunately) . Characters were kind of flat with little or no development and the plot line just lacked... something. It just seemed like every other "romantic mystery". Just a disappointing read.

[Jenn Brouwer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. I loved the characters. The only reason it got 3 stars from me instead of 4 is the predictability, you knew what was going to happen within the first 100 pages. I prefer the story to be a little more complex and suspenseful

[Brandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book quickly just so you can move on to a different one? This book doesn't have any twists that you can't guess. I feel like the author keeps referring to things that happened earlier in the book as if you don't remember them. The writing is decent.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like this writer but I figured out the entire plot of this book within the first 40 pages so it ws a bit of a let down.

[Carra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horribly predictible.

[Kim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh. This was awful. I stopped reading about 100 pages in. Bad writing, obvious plot and annoying flat characters. No thanks.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have recently discovered this author and have enjoyed reading her books. I have read a couple about the Amish in Ohio and a couple of other ones. They have been fun to read.

[Cherie Reeves · Rating 2 out of 5]

predictable book with predictable ending. Not a bad read just not outstanding. Girl is in coma, husband leaves her for her friend, etc.

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Yawn

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn't the book I thought it was. I listened anyway. Some unexpected twists but mostly predictable.

[Pat Moffitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I knew how this book was going to end before I had read very much of it. There was really no reason to read all of it except I hate not finishing a book.

[Jo Grodahl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not worth finishing

So disappointed. Description made it sound really interesting, but it was so slow and poorly written that I didn't even finish the book.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't finish it.