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Hide the Child
A terrified little witness
When army ranger Gabe Decker is asked to protect an orphan and her psychologist, Trina Marr, he doesn’t hesitate. Hidden in a remote cabin, Gabe experiences a taste of family life… And when bullets start flying, Gabe puts vows to do whatever it takes to protect them.
384 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2018
94 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Janice Kay Johnson
289 books191 followersJanice Kay Johnson is the author of over a hundred books for children and adults. Her first four published romance novels were coauthored with her mother, also a writer who has since published mysteries and children's books on her own. These were "sweet" romance novels, the author hastens to add; she isn't sure they'd have felt comfortable coauthoring passionate love scenes!
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
Janice graduated from Whitman College with a B.A. in history and then received a master's degree in library science from the University of Washington. She was a branch librarian for a public library system until she began selling her own writing.
She has written six novels for young adults and one picture book for the read-aloud crowd. Rosamund was the outgrowth of all those hours spent reading to her own daughters, and of her passion for growing old roses. Two more of her favorite books were historical novels she wrote for Tor/Forge. The research was pure indulgence for someone who set out intending to be a historian!
Janice is divorced and has raised her two daughters in a small, rural town north of Seattle, Washington. She's an active volunteer and board member for Purrfect Pals, a no-kill cat shelter, and foster kittens often enliven a household that already includes a few more cats than she wants to admit to!
Janice loves writing books about both love and family — about the way generations connect and the power our earliest experiences have on us throughout life. Her Superromance novels are frequent finalists for Romance Writers of America RITA® awards. Along with her books for Harlequin, Janice has written the Cape Trouble series of romantic suspense novels, and is about to launch a new series, Desperation Creek, set in rural eastern Oregon.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 4, 2020
Hide the child. Hide the suspense and action too, it seems. This is your very, very, very standard "hide out in the ranch from killers" Intrigue story, and admittedly one I'm getting more than a bit tired of. Can't they change it up once in a while? At least it's not set in Texas, I guess!
Heroine is Trina Marr, a child psychologist who has fostered three year old Chloe Keif (is that allowed?), who witnessed the murder of her family and now understandably traumatised by it. When Trina and Chloe narrowly escape a fire that burns down her home, Trina calls her brother, who sends in injured army ranger Gabe Decker to protect her. He whisks her off to his ranch where they sit around and wait for something to happen....along with the reader.
Gabe is a surly and uninteresting hero. Any time Trina asks him a question that's the slightest bit probing, he's all, "Stop headshrinking me"....often when he's the one who has initiated the conversation that has led to the questions! He hates psychiatrists, because they make him Feel Things. Trina is generally okay as the heroine, but clearly lousy at her job. Three year old Chloe talks like she's six.
Possible antagonists are totally and utterly off the page. Explanations about why all this is happening are vague and mostly left unexplained. ("It's most likely drug trafficking, but we can't be absolutely sure." Yeah, thanks for that.) Gabe and his buddy Boyd have a cavalcade of retired army folk who can step in to help when things get tough, which helps to further sink any possible suspense. 95% of the book is just Gabe, Trina and Chloe hiding out at the ranch, and even then it couldn't convince me Gabe and Trina were falling in love. Probably because I was so bored!
Dull, dull, dull from start to finish. Even the decent climax couldn't save it.
Heroine is Trina Marr, a child psychologist who has fostered three year old Chloe Keif (is that allowed?), who witnessed the murder of her family and now understandably traumatised by it. When Trina and Chloe narrowly escape a fire that burns down her home, Trina calls her brother, who sends in injured army ranger Gabe Decker to protect her. He whisks her off to his ranch where they sit around and wait for something to happen....along with the reader.
Gabe is a surly and uninteresting hero. Any time Trina asks him a question that's the slightest bit probing, he's all, "Stop headshrinking me"....often when he's the one who has initiated the conversation that has led to the questions! He hates psychiatrists, because they make him Feel Things. Trina is generally okay as the heroine, but clearly lousy at her job. Three year old Chloe talks like she's six.
Possible antagonists are totally and utterly off the page. Explanations about why all this is happening are vague and mostly left unexplained. ("It's most likely drug trafficking, but we can't be absolutely sure." Yeah, thanks for that.) Gabe and his buddy Boyd have a cavalcade of retired army folk who can step in to help when things get tough, which helps to further sink any possible suspense. 95% of the book is just Gabe, Trina and Chloe hiding out at the ranch, and even then it couldn't convince me Gabe and Trina were falling in love. Probably because I was so bored!
Dull, dull, dull from start to finish. Even the decent climax couldn't save it.
November 2, 2018
4.25 stars. *review to follow*
October 9, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and a joy to read. Getting to know Gabe Decker and Trina Marr was fun. The book was full of action and it had a great story as well. You get a chance to know what is happening and the the way she does it is kinda neat. She gets you curious to turn the next page to see what is happening next. It has lots of suspense and action to keep you turning the page to see what happens next. Its worth a read. J
November 8, 2025
4 Stars
I enjoyed this book. It has just the right balance of intrigue and romance. All the characters are richly developed and I quickly found myself invested in Trina, Gabe and Chloe's journey.
Ms. Johnson has had a prolific career with Harlequin, spanning from the mid 80's and I'm happy to see new publications coming in 2026. I've read almost 10% of her over 110 titles and enjoyed them all, and looking forward to reading more.
I enjoyed this book. It has just the right balance of intrigue and romance. All the characters are richly developed and I quickly found myself invested in Trina, Gabe and Chloe's journey.
Ms. Johnson has had a prolific career with Harlequin, spanning from the mid 80's and I'm happy to see new publications coming in 2026. I've read almost 10% of her over 110 titles and enjoyed them all, and looking forward to reading more.
October 14, 2018
Good read about dedicated psychologist and former soldier who are trying to protect child witness. Good character description with just enough back story to add substance. The question of who and why the child is in dangerous isn't immediately obvious, building suspense to the climatic final and literal shootout! A real page-turner!
October 24, 2018
The insta-romance was unneeded as well as the fact that the two main characters are smoking hot. It’s the type of romance that’s worse than YA romances. I did enjoy this book for the plot, though. Could it have been better written? Of course. Would I have liked it to be longer? Heck yes. But overall, I’m pretty satisfied with it.
January 3, 2019
Yummy Heroes!!
This was a great romantic suspense with a sweet woman protecting a little girl who witnessed her parents’ murder but isn’t talking, possible crooked cops pushing to get the information behind the child’s silent lips and a yummy, wounded warrior hero that will watch over the girl and the lady!!
This was a great romantic suspense with a sweet woman protecting a little girl who witnessed her parents’ murder but isn’t talking, possible crooked cops pushing to get the information behind the child’s silent lips and a yummy, wounded warrior hero that will watch over the girl and the lady!!
October 22, 2022
I really enjoyed this intriguing romance. I bought this at the local library book sale and I've given it a 4.5* rating. This is not for the under 18 readers. There is some sexual content and a lot of violence which has left an young child not talking. This story pulled me in quickly and is full of action, and a real page turner.
November 4, 2018
Enjoyable Read
This one started out fast and never slowed down.Action,action and more action.Mystery,suspense and thrills with a really nice romantic interest.I'll be looking forward to reading more from this author.
This one started out fast and never slowed down.Action,action and more action.Mystery,suspense and thrills with a really nice romantic interest.I'll be looking forward to reading more from this author.
July 5, 2021
Great suspense and action.
Did not put this book down from start to finish. I read it in one sitting. I would give it 4 and a half stars if I could. The half star is because there was no epilogue. Other than that it was great. Highly recommend.
Did not put this book down from start to finish. I read it in one sitting. I would give it 4 and a half stars if I could. The half star is because there was no epilogue. Other than that it was great. Highly recommend.
November 12, 2018
Wonderful Story
I really enjoyed this book. The excitement and ending were great. I have not read many books by this author but the ones I have read have been great.....
I really enjoyed this book. The excitement and ending were great. I have not read many books by this author but the ones I have read have been great.....
December 18, 2018
The first I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. The scenes with the little girl were very well written and really brought all three of them to life.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews