Book Review | Hide by Kiersten White

Fourteen competitors. The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned theme park. The prize: a lot of money! Mack is sure she can win because she has experience when it comes to hiding herself. But soon she realises that the competition is more sinister than she thought. And everyone is in danger.

Olly olly oxen free. A gradual corruption of the phrase “All ye outs come free.” But nothing is ever free.

Hide is a thrilling horror book that snuck up on me. Initially, I was put off by the multiple POVs changing between paragraphs where the characters’ thoughts bounce around with no warning. But the characters are fleshed out and their motivations for being in the competition are convincing. Soon, I became to get invested in their fates, even the ones designed to be the villains. The characters include a social media influencer, a gas station attention, a fitness instructor, an army vet, and a solar panel salesman.

Mack is cynical and distrustful due to her dark past, but her slow-building relationship with fellow competitor Ava is a highlight. There were others I liked too, and one death, in particular, hit me hard. I thought the book cleverly shows how people behave during desperate times, even to their own detriment.

The storyline doesn’t leave many surprises in the plot, but it was fun guessing who will die and who will survive. The setting is vivid and I could easily imagine being in the theme park with its abandoned rides and twisty lanes surrounded by dilapidated buildings. There’s a folk horror element here, building to an intense climax where everything comes to the light. I did find the ending to be abrupt with a few questions left to answer. Maybe there’s a sequel? I hope so!

Hide is an entertaining horror story with a heart. Read this if you want scares with blood and screams!

I received a copy from the publisher and Netgalley for review purposes.

About the author: Kiersten White

Photo by Nicola de Poli