Hidden

Lost and Found #1

by Fern Michaels

A page-turning new story from the bestselling author of No Way Out, perfect for fans of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel! Meet a brother and sister who are drawn into a treacherous mystery through an antique with a dark past, as they race against time to help a single mother and take down a ruthless couple bent on taking control of their family’s legacy…

At first glance, few would guess that Luna and Cullen Bodman are siblings. Cullen is efficient and serious while his younger sister Luna is a free spirit. When the two launch their furniture restoration shop/café—an offshoot of the family’s longtime antique business—in an up-and-coming arts center, little do they know their unique talents may be their only defense against a dangerous betrayal.

When Luna gets a strange sense about a piece Cullen just acquired, the two find themselves uniting to solve a mystery that has far-reaching consequences—never knowing there are some who’ll stop at nothing to claim what they believe is theirs. No matter what, Luna and Cullen know they can rely on each other—and this time, their lives may depend on it…

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

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published August 24, 2021

About the author

Fern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.

As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.

Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.

Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.

READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/

Reviews

[Caitlyn Lynch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m honestly at a loss here, because I’ve read Fern Michaels books before and they were not like this. This is terrible. I can’t even write a synopsis because even after finishing it, I’m still not sure who the protagonists actually were. For a romantic suspense being marketed to fans of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steele, there’s no suspense because nobody is actually ever in peril as two incompetent caricatures of villains look for a missing will (and the one henchman they hire just disappears halfway through the story). There’s barely a hint of romance. But there is a spectacular amount of waffle. Every character even mentioned gets an entire backstory, even if they never appear in the story. For example, Marshall Gaines’ ex-wife. Did we really need to know about her being a dental hygienist? There was a whole page about it! We really didn’t need two chapters on the construction and opening of an arts centre, when nothing actually happened there until several weeks later, and pages and pages from the viewpoint of Ellie, owner of the centre, who had nothing to do with the plot and wasn’t present at the conclusion. Huge swathes of this just needed cutting, for being boring and utterly unrelated to the actual plot.

The timeline is all over the place, and don’t even get me started on the constant point of view switches, sometimes in the middle of a paragraph! This is well proof-read with minimal typos, but it doesn’t feel like an editor has ever even looked at it, and I certainly expect better from a publisher like Kensington and an author with a backlist like Michaels. It honestly reads like a first draft, and one written in simplistic words.

I’m going to share a sample. “Instead, he unbuckled his seat belt, turned her head toward him, brushed her hair from her face, and landed a kiss on her lips. He didn’t miss the mark this time. That would have easily scored a 10.0 in the Olympics.” See what I mean? It reads like bad fanfiction (and I love fanfic, but the lack of editorial oversight does mean the bad stuff absolutely reeks). Why is HE turning HER head? And this ends a chapter - and is the sum total of the romantic action in the book! No major publishing house should be putting out tripe like this. I’m shocked and thoroughly disappointed. One star.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this title via NetGalley.

[Amanda S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my goodness.

I hate to say it but… I will.
This book was boring.

I kept waiting for something amazing to happen… But every single chapter was just a very, very slow progression to a very unexciting conclusion.

Her character descriptions were good, it was a pretty easy read… It was just an unbelievably boring book.

[Victoria · Rating 1 out of 5]

Perhaps I came into this book with the wrong impression. However, when the dust jacket synopsis says “little do they know their unique talents may be their only defense in a matter of life and death” and “Soon, they’re on the hunt for a woman in danger—never knowing there are some who’ll stop at nothing to claim what they believe is theirs” and “and this time, their lives may depend on it...” excuse me for expecting (and hoping for) a bit of heart pounding, or exhilarating mystery story.

However, what I got instead was, a pretty unenjoyable storyline, with characters I never really liked or connected with, who didn’t ever seem to act their age, which lead to moments that just seemed completely cringey, and really no mystery or even true suspense. I felt like I saw little, to no development of the characters past what they were described to be in the beginning. The same traits and nuances felt like they just kept being brought up and knocking you over the head. And honestly, it felt like the characters were literally just stock characters that were included to check off a certain box for the story. Also, I was kind of disappointed that the only growth seemed to be the romantic relationship that, as an avid romance reader, was honestly just not good to me. There kept being mentions of extreme chemistry and energy between the two, but it takes all book to get somewhere? And then it’s just something that is rather innocent? There’s nothing wrong with a clean novel, but the way things were built up, it seemed, eh.

I read the prologue pages at the library, trying to decide if it was going to be something that caught my eye and that passed, because I picked it up and checked it out. However, as I got started reading, I just got disappointed. I was reading several chapters, just kind of waiting for the story to start. Everything felt like making the backstory, which is definitely necessary, but I had gotten to the point of “alright, so, let’s get on with the actual plot.” When I got basically halfway into the story and it was still just the same kind of thing, I really wanted to stop reading. But I never really dnf books, especially when I’ve picked them and not been assigned them. I was also hoping I might suddenly become invested. Nope, never happened. I just dragged along until the end, which still wasn’t super action filled or suspenseful.

In conclusion in short, this book was just not it for me. I found it boring and I found really nothing likable about it. Well, I think what I liked most is that it’s finally done.

[Olivia Allbritton · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you enjoy books with a very loose plot, characters that are grown adults but act like middle schoolers, and randomly long winded descriptions of side characters with no relevance this book is for you! But it most certainly is not for me. The description advertised high stakes and drama and gave only 300 pages of boredom.

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hidden by Fern Michaels is the first A Lost and Found Novel. Cullen and Luna Bodman are opening a restoration shop and café in the new Stillwell Art Center built by Ellie Stillwell. Cullen gets a new table in, and Luna has a feeling about it. Rowena and Arthur Millstone are sure their father wrote a new will before his death, but they have not been able to find it. They want to locate it and destroy it before it comes to light. Luna has worked with U.S. Marshall Christopher Gaines in the past. They are attracted to each other, but neither has made a move. I liked the sound of Hidden with the mystery and the hint of paranormal. In reality, Hidden seemed more like a romance novel with a little “mystery” thrown in (if you can call it that). The paranormal element is talked about, but there is little evidence of it. The author described things in detail (do I really need to know each detail about what a person is wearing including their perfume). We are given in depth background details on Cullen, Luna, and Ellie plus other characters. There is repetition of information. There is one bit that seemed like it was copied from one chapter to the next. Rowena and Arthur are caricatures of bad, rich people. The romance between Christopher Gaines and Luna was awkward and reminded me of a teenager romance (now that I think about it, the whole book is reminiscent of a young adult novel). Luna bumbles and babbles whenever she is around Gaines. Her knees go weak (I am not kidding) and Luna’s face turns red. There are uncomfortable phone calls, texts, and in-person encounters between the pair (made me wonder if we had time traveled back to high school). The “mystery” is no mystery. It was laid out from the beginning. It is obvious how the story will play out from the start. The first half of the book is telling us about the characters, the new art center, and what the bad guys want and how much money they spend. I know we need to be introduced to the characters, but it seemed like it just kept going on and on. There is some action near the end of the book and then it wraps up with a tidy ending. If Hidden had been done differently, it could have been an interesting story. As you can tell, I was disappointed. While Hidden was not for me, I suggest you obtain a sample to see if the book suits you. We each have different reading tastes. The best thing I can say about Hidden is that I finished it (I desperately wanted to DNF it, but I never do that).

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

While listening to this audiobook, the story seemed to have two very different plots going on and was very confusing how they fit together. Then at about the halfway mark, it becomes clear how they come together and you just say wow! In true Fern Michaels fashion, there is a dog front and center in the story, although his role wanes as the story progresses. I enjoyed this, so rating 7 out of 10.

[Nila (digitalcreativepages) · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had great expectations from this book. But unfortunately, the prose let me down as nothing much happened. The characters were good, but the long winding passages made them do nothing in most of the book. Overall, quite slow and boring. Not for me.

[CL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feel good story

This is a mystery wrapped up in a “good guys win” scenario and I like how the characters all come together.

[Shirley Bauman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good story. Easy read. Adventurous.

[Ashley Gadue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by her. I enjoyed her writing style but the place was to slow, then to fast at the end. I like a book that keeps me on the edge of my seat {so to speak} all the way through. I really liked the plot and wanted to know how it ended so I rushed through just to find the climax and end of the book was very short and sweet so to speak.

[Kat Moyer · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was given the opportunity to read this complimentary book in exchange for my honest opinion. I was excited to start reading it! However, after 3 chapters I KNEW I was going to have to force myself to even finish this book. It’s full of so many filler descriptive words that are unnecessary. It was extremely hard to even visualize Luna being an actual person I can relate to. The entirety of the book seemed like the Author was just throwing descriptive words around to make a book. This is my first Fern Michael’s book and my last. I certainly hope his other 1 million books he has out are more interesting and less ‘dead reading space’, however I will not be the one purchasing any more to read. I really do not recommend this book. The first part of the book I didn’t even fully understand what I was reading! The author kept making references to people in real time that I have ZERO idea whom they actually are and throwing random dates about buildings and even mentioning other actual authors. Horrible experience honestly. I couldn’t get into the story line.

[Kristine · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has been a very long time since I have read a Fern Michaels book, if I'm being honest, it might even be categorized into decades. This book sounded interesting in the fact that it had a supernatural or psychic spin to the story so I decided to go ahead an request the ARC.

The thing that comes to mind when I read this book was that it was EXTREMELY superficial. It really reminded me of books that I read when I was much younger from authors who tended to write in a somewhat different style than the authors now. Danielle Steele and Mary Higgens Clark come to mind. There is just something about the verbiage that is....hmmm....simpler? I'm not sure how to define it other than to say the flow of the dialogue did not seem to be natural. It seemed very forced. Kind of how someone sounds when they talk without using contractions. Stilted and formal. Those are the two words that keep coming up in my head.

Anyway, there really wasn't much to this story. We are introduced to two siblings - a brother and sister. Apparently the sister has psychic abilities - she mentions psychometry - but these abilities are barely touched upon. She likes a U.S. Marshall that she met during a missing child case, but that relationship is explained in a way that I can only describe as juvenile. She likes him, her knees get wobbly, she gets tongue tied...get the picture? Their relationship - if you can call it that - entails some awkward phone conversations, several kisses on the cheek and then FINALLY a real kiss at the end of the book.

There are the requisite bad guys (and girl). They are portrayed as caricatures of actual bad people and then there is another woman with a young child who somehow finds herself in the middle of things. Was the book awful? No. It wasn't. But, it wasn't great. It just was.

It was a very easy read that did not create any feelings of investment - I mean I liked Cullen and Luna...they were very nice. The problem is that it really didn't bring forth any feelings whatsoever. The plot was obvious from the very beginning and it played out in EXACTLY the way that it had telegraphed from the beginning. But, with that being said, it was pleasant.

Will I continue with this series? No, probably not.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. The opinions above are mine and mine alone.

[Nicola “Shortbookthyme” · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a cute, quirky story…
Enjoyable characters…
Light, fast read….
Reading Hidden you will encounter romance, mystery, humor and suspense.
If you are in the mood for a old fashioned type mystery story….you need to read Hidden.
I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion. All opinions expressed are my own.

*Bookstagram @shortbookthyme

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the cast of characters! Such a lovely start to a new series. It had a lull setting the background for the Millstone characters. And of course it was all tied together at the end.

I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Elisa S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Readers do not waste your time this book was extremely boring I skipped through half the book to read the last chapter and epilogue to see how the story ends.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidden is the first book in the Lost and Found series by Fern Michaels. The series features siblings Luna and Cullen. They have opened a furniture restoration shop/café, an offshoot of the family’s longtime antique business, in an up-and-coming arts center. Cullen has purchased a lot of furniture that needs a lot of tender loving care from a junk dealer, not knowing that it came from the estate of a rich gentlemen who recently died. Luna has a bit of a second sight and one of the pieces gives her a feeling. What she finds is an envelop, containing the last will and testament of Randolph Millstone. Not sure what to do with it, she contacts, Marshall Christopher Gaines, a man she has worked with in the past, and has some chemistry with. Meanwhile Arthur and Rowena Millstone are frantically looking for the will before they lose everything.

I have been somewhat disappointed with Fern Michael's last few books. There were parts of this book that I enjoyed, but others that were overly dramatic. I really liked Luna's character, her skills and her somewhat bohemian nature. Her feelings toward Christopher seemed realistic and I liked that they had known each other for awhile before acting on their feelings. I also liked how the mystery wraps up and the good guys win. What I didn't like was that not much happened in this story that was recommended to fans of Nora Roberts and Danielle Steel. There were some over the top stereotypical characters that made me laugh more than anything else. Lots of bumbling, being in the wrong place, and artists that hide from everyone. It was an okay read, and I will read the next one, just to see what Cullen and Luna are up to, but if it continues in the same vein, I will definitely move on. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Eva Kaminsky. It was an easy and entertaining performance, which did add to my rating.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5! This was a good mix up from the other mysteries I have read. There were a few too many narrators for me which was the main thing I didn’t love. I did like the plot but felt like it ended abruptly.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun mystery.... 1st in a 2 book series.

[Olivia Astete · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got this book complimentary from Influenster in exchange for my honest review. I have to say that this genre really isn’t my cup of tea, but it is a decent book. Not a big fan on the writing or the way the story is told. However, the plot and idea of the story is a great one that I think people may love. It was an easy read and a very quick one so I think this will be good for those who like to read through books quickly. I am interested in reading Fern Michaels other books in hopes I will like them more than this one.

[Angela Austin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read from a good author. Book was exciting and anxious to get to book two!

[Alexandra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book was provided by Influenster for my honest review.

Dang I will never get those hours back. There are so many things I didn't like about this book, but let me start by telling you not to trust the blurb on the back of the book. It lies to you! It promises a brother/sister psychic mystery solving duo, which sounds great! Sounds like it promises "The Mentalist", and " Psych" and "Sherlock Holmes". No no, my friends, the blurb is a blatant lie. In my opinion, there was never a mystery and the brother/sister team doesn't solve anything. What I got was a lot of pointless side stories with only a couple of important plot points that happened to eventually stumble together into a rather obvious resolution. The ending left no questions to be answered in the supposed second installment, not that I will be reading it anyways. I guess if you are looking for a slice of life low budget sitcom vibe you might like this.

The writing. THE WRITING. It's bad. I don't mind third person, I don't mind dual/triple perspectives - but there are ways to do that well. Ms Michaels seemed to change the character voices sentence to sentence with little to no transition. This left me with a jarring feeling of momentarily not knowing who was doing the narration.

The characters were unrealistic and annoying, and I didn't connect with anyone. The character interactions were downright cringe-inducing. Things that were supposed to be funny were just not and it was CONSTANT. Another observation was that some of the actions characters took did not make any sense. Why would someone buy an atlas at a bookstore to get to a remote area? Why would that person buy the atlas only to later use the GPS on her phone? The world may never know.

The characters may have been cringey, but it was made worse by the fact that there were a lot of side characters who served literally no purpose. Ellie could have been cut entirely. She served no purpose. But we did get to waste time learning her whole life story. Minute details were wasted on the most pointless things so much that I don't think the real story started until almost two thirds through the book.

This could have been a mediocre 100 page novella. It is very clear that this book was pumped out to be released and sold as quickly as possible.


Would not recommend.

[Tiffany www.instagram.com/tiffs_bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

HIDDEN(Lost and Found Series # 1) By Fern Michaels
Romance fiction
320 pages

In Fern Michaels newest series we meet a brother and a sister, Cullen and Luna Bodman. Cullen is an antique restoration dealer and Luna has alot of gifts but her main gig is a coffee shop. These two sometimes work together seeing as how their shops are in the same big market-place. These two have a great relationship and find themselves embroiled in the same mystery together by the purchase by Cullen of a desk that needs restoration.  Can these siblings figure out this mystery before it's too late??

I am a huge fan of Fern Michaels books and I loved this new one as well!!!  In my opinion this book is the adorable first in a great series that will charm readers. Which is what Ms Michaels is famous for with her books.  The brother and sister in this series are too adorable and so likable. I will definitely impatiently await the next book in this series. I highly recommend this book.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book in a Goodreads Giveaway (thank you). Honestly, I feel like I just read a Trixie Beldin mystery, which was great when I was 12, but I expect a little more out if books now. I have never read a Fern Michaels book, but I figured she was a prolific author for a reason and it would be good. Literally the only reason I kept reading was because I wanted to know what would happen with Luna and Gaines. In a nutshell, I found the main concept ok and the character development was good, but it all played out like a YA mystery. The dialogue was largely unrealistic, the conclusions people jumped to were huge and kind of ridiculous, and the end wrapped up like a tidy little gift.
Probably won’t read any more in this series.

[Evonne Kendle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is just so excruciatingly boring. Absolutely nothing ever happens. Michaels is adept at character development, so she kept me hanging on for about 180 pages as she developed characters, thinking a plot would develop or waiting for the action to kick in. But it never does. There is simply no action, no forward plot in this book. You definitely get the sense she is trying to establish these characters for a future series, but unless she finds more exciting plot lines, the series will be as big a flop as this novel.

[Regan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Huge disappointment. I hadn't read Fern Michaels for a good 30-35 years and when I saw the blurb for this one thought it was time. I like a good mystery and add in some paranormal or psychic events and I'm hooked. This one sort of offered that, but it was more like a 4th or 5th grader wrote it for a book report. I wondered if Michaels had her grandchild write it and see how it went before coming out with the fact a juvenile wrote it. The dialogue was stilted and it was just a slog. Because I liked the author years ago I kept going along with it hoping it would get better. It didn't.

[Alex (Alex's Version) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh my goodness.

I hate to say it but… I will.
This book was boring.

I kept waiting for something amazing to happen… But every single chapter was just a very, very slow progression to a very unexciting conclusion.

Her character descriptions were good, it was a pretty easy read… It was just an unbelievably boring book.

[Peg · Rating 2 out of 5]

So-so..lacking the strong female like in the Sisterhood series.

[Alisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was pretty good. I wish I bought a hard cover copy of this book. The paperback is a little small too read and a tad chunky. Overall good book though.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this book through Influenster in exchange for my honest review. Hidden is a book that is easy to read. It is a love story and mystery rolled into one. One side of the book you follow a woman where you get to meet her brother, dog, and love interest. And on the other you meet a greedy man and his wife looking for something important. As the story progresses you realize that these two very different lives and people are connected by luck (or not so much luck). One thing I think could be improved is the character depth. You only get to know some of these characters at surface level and they do not grow or change throughout the story. I would have liked to learn more about some of them. Also there was not much suspense. I think the synopsis on the book was more exciting than the book itself. It was kind of boring and nothing of excitement or intrigued popped up. When I got halfway through the book I still could not describe what the story is about. Maybe her other books are better than this one. I will probably read a couple more of her books because I found this to be smooth and easy to read. They are perfect for work since I can easily put it down and pick right back up. Hopefully some of the other books are more exciting so that I actually have a hard time putting it down.

[maddie ⋆ | thecozybookshelf · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meet a brother and sister who are drawn into a treacherous mystery through an antique with a dark past, as they race against time to help a single mother take down a ruthless couple bent on taking control of their family’s legacy.

I received this book complimentary from Influenster in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Thoughts:
- I'm so sorry. I *really* did not like this book. Honestly, nothing even happened in this story. The synopsis paints a creepy mystery but there was nothing mysterious at all about this because you knew what was happening the entire time. There was no action, conflict, or elements of surprise. This book just introduced you to a cast of characters and that's pretty much it.
- The dialogue in this one made me cringe and want to skip passages. Nothing about it was realistic or humorous, even though they'd 'burst out laughing'. Entire paragraphs were dedicated to information that had nothing to do with the plot and everything was written like a newspaper article, there was no real storytelling drawing me in, just odd recaps.
- I also thought the way the author depicted women was uncomfortable. They were generally very shallow (and in the case of Luna, consistently being demeaned to 'kooky' and 'quirky' and nothing else). I also hate when people refer to women strictly as females, which this author did. The only reason I was able to finish this one was because it was such a fast read (and I always guilt myself into finishing books). I would not recommend this one.