Nowhere To Hide

by R. Patrick Gates

When Terror Lurks In The Next Room. . . In a sleepy, quiet neighborhood, Billy Teags comes home to the house where he feels safe, to his mother, brothers, and father. But Billy doesn't know he's about to step into a scene of unimaginable terror and carnage as he comes face to face with the monster who's appeared in his dreams...There's No Escape. . .The neighbors are unaware of what's lurking behind the drawn blinds and closed door of the house down the street. They're not prepared for the bloody rampage about to shock the neighborhood. Most of all, they can't imagine that a serial killer's next target will be one innocent boy, with nowhere to hide, and only one way to fight back. . .

Genres: Horror, Audiobook

323 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Kasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine coming home on Friday, stress of the day is still palpable but the mind is more relaxed, the ticking clock no longer an issue for the next two days and the weekend can begin. But what if your house isn't the safe sanctuary that it always appeared to be, what if there's a blood hungry maniac in there, waiting for the unsuspecting victim, talk about horrible bad luck. That was certainly one unlucky day for seven year old Billy Teags, his weekend of fun and games was not going to happen this time, considering that his whole family has been killed and he's the last little fly in the house. When he finally sees the spider he's a little too late, there is no escape, just a hope that he can hide and survive. His advantage is the knowledge of the house, but his major disadvantage is the killer himself, someone who both shocks and scares and confuses the little boy and the reader as well.

The story was gruesome but it also held a lot of sharp tension, reading about Billy's struggles was tough considering he was a kid and all, especially watching him try to hide and wait out someone that was not going to go away, someone who was taking the whole house apart, looking for his victim. This was very different from what I normally read in horror but enjoyable never the less. I have always like Gates and his bizarre and disturbing imagination and this indeed was an interesting morsel from him. There are a lot of trips back into the past which are important considering that the family is all ready dead when the book begins. Gates still makes the characters believable with his creative and intense use of flashbacks and past history woven into the story and sets the tale up for an explosive ending. It took me a while to read this but when I had time to sit down and read in peace I had a hard time putting it down, I was always wondering what was going to happen next, and most of it only got worse and worse. This had some gross bits in it but in all honesty they paled when compared to his incredibly shocking and great Grimm Memorials, which I personally loved.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a non-stop action from start to finish book. I mean the action never stops. There are no chapters, but the paragraphs do break up from time to time to give you a stopping place. I was completely drawn in and mesmerized by the story.

A 7 year old boy is running from a monster who turns out to be his dad from beginning to end. You get a look inside of the child's and the father's minds. There is nowhere to hide. Wow, what a rush. This author was great at scaring the biscuits out of my plate.
I highly recommend this to people who enjoy horror or Psychological thrillers. Fantastic book.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

R. Patrick Gates is quite possibly the most mysterious writer working in the genre. He has no website, his books have no bios, author info or photos. He books are fairly spaced out and lack consistency, but the quality is more often there than not. Can't speak for his 80s books, which I haven't read, but the later works were pretty good. Strong murder suspense story Tunnelvision and in the 2000s he has particularly excellent Grimm Reapings and Memorials and Prison. Then came the abysmal 'Vaders, an alien invasion story so crappy, that it was difficult to believe it was written by the same person. With this book, his latest, Gates redeems himself to an extent. It's not as good as most aforementioned books, but infinitely better than 'Vaders. This fast paced brutal tale of domestic violence gone extreme features no horrors of supernatural variety, only the human kind, in what is ultimately a straight up battle of wits and determination between a 7 year old kid and a grown man, which eventually takes over the quiet suburb. Gates throws some twists in to keep things interesting. The sheer violence of the story is very aggressive and tough to take in parts (child abuse), so reader beware. Very quick read.

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like how the author split the chapters into the morning, afternoon, and evening of the days of events. Some cheesy jokes like an "Iraq" joke about someone's breasts, "make like a banana and split", and "axing someone a question". There was also a bit of redundancy that I didn't feel was necessary, like a "lost shaker of salt" reference being explained was from the dads favorite artist, Jimmy Buffet. And the amount of people killed was a bit far fetched. But overall I enjoyed this, it kept me engaged. I caught myself holding my breath at times, trying to be quiet so Billy wouldn't get caught by the monster. There was a nice feeling of tension and dread within me while listening, hoping Billy would be able to make it out.

[Richard K. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this was not anywhere near what his 'Grimm' books were......but if you like your horror on the mild side, give it a try.

Eh, this was just an okay home invasion on a Friday afternoon story.
7 year old Billy Teagues come home from school to a family slaughter. But as he starts to look around and he remembers the dream/vision he had just a day earlier; he asks himself 'Is this real? Did this really happen?'

The book is told in time segments, which I thought was kinda stupid, however Billy realizes that he must save his new baby brother from the killer taking his life too....so he places the baby in the bottom dresser drawer and he ventures down into the cellar to hide from the killer. Oh, yeah Billy is TERRIFIED by what is down there.
I will recommend this as it was an okay read.

3 creaks of the cellar stairs

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, that was ....dark and brutal! This was violent, and fast paced mean fiction. Mr. Gates really has no mercy on his characters. This is basically a story about a 7 year old boy trapped in his house being chased and abused by a deranged killer. Does the boy know him? Maybe. Not for the squeamish!

[Maddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

*insert shock emoji here*

This book was a slow-mo car crash turned into an all-out action movie. There's a serious amount of body horror in here and there seems to be no end to the torment of our main character. The entire scene in the attic had me literally holding my breath at points.

I found the monster absolutely terrifying in how believable and everyday it was. The psychological aspect of this thriller was mind melting. I find myself now questioning everyone.... I couldn't ask for more.

[Tammy Bulcao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monsters are real?

This was a fantastic thriller. It was way too long for the content, however it also held my attention the entire book. This story had plenty of suspense, drama & murder. Definitely a page turner.
The narration was absolutely fantastic. I believe this was my first book with Connor Brannigan but hopefully not my last. His performance was phenomenal.
I recommend this book.

Sisters Spotlight 💜

[PK McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read! Brutal acts, but presented in a thoughtful and captivating manner. A truly horrific tale of unspeakable circumstances! Backstory was revealed in "flashback" glimpses and the evolution of the characters was explained in a piece-meal style that unfolded the whole story a bit at a time. Closure of the story loop was handled beautifully! A read that I enjoyed!

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Talk about a riveting, edge-of-your-seat thriller! I really enjoyed this horrific tale. It was vividly (almost too vividly, at times) written and with surprising depth of characters for a horror novel. The action was literally nonstop! I read it from start-to-finish in one sitting and I can't imagine being able to pause for anything! I definitely plan on reading more of this talented author's work!

[Donna Chace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Good! Don't start it until you set aside enough time to read the first 100 pages without putting it down. You won't be sorry; it's that intense! Written through the eyes of a terrified 7 year old, you can't help but feel his fear rip through you, hanging on every written word, hoping and rooting for this poor kid to make it out alive.

[Kym · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to Grimm Memorials by the same author and absolutely loved it, so I was really excited to give this ago.

Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to my expectations.

I think the book would have benefited from being a hundred pages shorter as I found it very repetitive and some sections were so boring I found myself switching off.