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What Was Hidden
What if the messages you stopped yourself sending, started arriving anyway?
When unsent messages flood inboxes worldwide, Aidan, a YouTuber hiding his childhood trauma, and Janice, an old-age ultra-runner escaping failed parenting, are thrown together by a deleted comment. Over two catastrophic days in New York, as essential services struggle to cope with all the extra messages, their connection challenges them to forge an unlikely friendship and confront buried truths.
But their story is just the beginning. What we write to each other, what we don’t, how we keep secrets, how we form relationships, will never be the same again.
When unsent messages flood inboxes worldwide, Aidan, a YouTuber hiding his childhood trauma, and Janice, an old-age ultra-runner escaping failed parenting, are thrown together by a deleted comment. Over two catastrophic days in New York, as essential services struggle to cope with all the extra messages, their connection challenges them to forge an unlikely friendship and confront buried truths.
But their story is just the beginning. What we write to each other, what we don’t, how we keep secrets, how we form relationships, will never be the same again.
254 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 20, 2025
4 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Robertson
126 books8 followersLibrarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 20, 2025
I really loved this book. What Was Hidden unfolds in such an unusual and compelling way. Right from the start, there’s a subtle sense that something isn’t quite right—you can’t put your finger on it, but you know the world the author is crafting has hidden layers waiting to be uncovered. That unease builds until the twist emerges: unsent messages people thought they had deleted mysteriously begin to be delivered. This clever device reshapes everything, altering relationships and gradually exposing a much deeper story beneath the surface.
At the heart of the book are two main characters, Janice and Aiden. Their lives are very different—at almost opposite ends of the age spectrum—yet they are bound by a shared struggle, trying to hold on to something that feels as if it’s slipping away. Paradoxically, it is their differences that make them exactly what each other needs. I loved the way the author brings them together, showing how their stories overlap in surprising and moving ways.
Again and again, the narrative points towards a hidden wisdom behind these miraculous messages—notes that should never have been delivered but somehow are. Each one has a profound impact on people’s relationships. Even in this single example, the miracle feels utterly beautiful, giving Janice and Aiden a sense of beginning again. It makes you wonder: if this is what happens with just two lives, what might be unfolding in relationships all over the world?
This book left me feeling as though I’d been given a glimpse of something bigger—a vision of how broken relationships might be healed, and perhaps even a foretaste of heaven, where communication is open, vulnerable, and honest. It made me ask myself: what would my own relationships look like if this hidden wisdom broke through and helped me to truly connect?
What Was Hidden is a fascinating and deeply satisfying read. It is both unsettling and full of hope, with a story that lingers long after the last page. I’m hungry to read more and see what other miracles Andrew Robertson has in store in future books.
At the heart of the book are two main characters, Janice and Aiden. Their lives are very different—at almost opposite ends of the age spectrum—yet they are bound by a shared struggle, trying to hold on to something that feels as if it’s slipping away. Paradoxically, it is their differences that make them exactly what each other needs. I loved the way the author brings them together, showing how their stories overlap in surprising and moving ways.
Again and again, the narrative points towards a hidden wisdom behind these miraculous messages—notes that should never have been delivered but somehow are. Each one has a profound impact on people’s relationships. Even in this single example, the miracle feels utterly beautiful, giving Janice and Aiden a sense of beginning again. It makes you wonder: if this is what happens with just two lives, what might be unfolding in relationships all over the world?
This book left me feeling as though I’d been given a glimpse of something bigger—a vision of how broken relationships might be healed, and perhaps even a foretaste of heaven, where communication is open, vulnerable, and honest. It made me ask myself: what would my own relationships look like if this hidden wisdom broke through and helped me to truly connect?
What Was Hidden is a fascinating and deeply satisfying read. It is both unsettling and full of hope, with a story that lingers long after the last page. I’m hungry to read more and see what other miracles Andrew Robertson has in store in future books.
Displaying 1 of 1 review