Hide and Seek

By: Josh Lanyon

Narrated by: James Woodrich

For museum curator Andrew Allison, the sleepy little Maine village of Safehaven has always lived up to its name—until now. Fleeing an abusive relationship, Andy has returned to Safehaven for a few weeks while he figures out the future and helps elderly Uncle Cuthbert run his antiques shop. But when Andy arrives, he learns Uncle Cuthbert is in the hospital, critically injured, the victim of a late-night break-in.

Worse, one of the first messages on the shop’s answering machine is from Marcus, Andy’s ex, demanding to know Andy’s whereabouts.

Nor does the bad news stop there. It seems whoever broke into Time in a Bottle is still looking for that mysterious whatever. Something they didn’t find the first time. Something they now believe Andy has.

Something worth killing for?

The good news is former bad boy Quinn Rafferty, Andy’s high school crush, is back in town and interested in renewing their acquaintanceship.

Quinn is not a man to run from things that go bump in the night, be they mysterious midnight prowlers or a relationship-shy, fish-out-of-water museum curator.

But Quinn has a few secrets of his own....

©2022 Josh Lanyon (P)2022 Josh Lanyon

Good story. Decent narration.

I can't resist any Josh Lanyon book. I am working my way through the backlist, and like the earlier books, this book has something that catches my interest. I like the way Lanyon adds mystery to both the characters and the plot. Who is Quinn? Why did he return to his home town after a long absence? How is he involved in the mess that Andy gets wrapped up in?

Interesting story with layers. The book is a standalone, but I could see the potential for more stories taking place in this setting, and I would read them.

The narration was decent, but the performance was more like being read to than an actual theater style performance that most audiobooks are given nowadays.

great

well written, lyric and real. Lanyon is making a place for themselves in literate circles.

Very, very enjoyable listen

I really enjoyed this one - even more than I thought I might. I was completely sucked in and fully invested from start to finish. I wouldn't say it's my favorite Lanyon, but that'd because there are so many to choose from for that position - it was definitely a good one and I will likely listen to it/read it again - it's always fun to listen to a mystery again & pick out the clues missed the first listen.

So far as the audio narration, it was decent - not the absolute best - sometimes the pauses between lines, words, chapters, and such could've been either longer or shorter to make it flow better, but that's a pretty small deal. The emoting and voice differentiation was very good. I wouldn't mind listening to this narrator again.

Audio editing needed tweaking

The narrator was terrific and I liked the story, but the audio editing had a quirk that jarred me every single chapter.

As written, this being a mystery, Lanyon’s chapters often end with a mild cliffhanger or information reveal. But almost as soon as the narrator finished saying the last syllable of the chapter-Chapter Next would interrupt. Give the listener a second the savor the implication the author has just made! The narrator has just used great intonation for us to recognize the danger! inherent in what was just spoken-And the audio editor jumps on top.

Definitely not a reason to avoid the book, but annoying.

Clever and Creative Mystery Kept Me Guessing!

I read Josh Lanyon's Hide and Seek in her Patreon chapter by chapter, so I was really looking forward to listening to the audio version.

This is a clever mystery, with some of the hallmark twists and turns I adore in Lanyon's writing. And such terrific charcters! I loved Andy, he's got the whole underdog vibe down, and I was rooting for him from the start.

As tends to be her way, Andy's love interest Quinn isn't immediately trustworthy or likable. I always enjoy the conflict Josh Lanyon builds between the MCs, the sense that everything isn't always going to come up roses, keeps it interesting. As I always tell new Fanyons: "stay the course, and have faith!" because at the very least, we can count on a happily for now.

The narrator, James Woodrich, is new to me. He does a nice job with the voices, and his inflections worked well with the story. And I'm giving Mr. Woodrich a few extra points for actually singing the Beatles lyrics. That was fun.

Great start to a new series!

second-chance, attempted-murder, m-m-mystery, m-m-romance, murder, murder-investigation, bias, family-drama, family-dynamics, family, friction, friendship, frustration, law-enforcement, smuggling, small-town, small-business, verbal-humor, abusive-spouse, new-series*****

For 16 years Andy thought that Quinn was dead (instead of escaping his murderous grandfather), but he shows up just when he's needed the most. Trying to escape his own abusive relationship and fearing for his uncle's life (badly beaten during a business robbery, Andy feels his own life spiraling out of control. And then there's the odd man seeming to be pulling rabbits out of a green fedora.
So starts a great new series that looks to prove as riveting and unputdownable as the Secrets and Scrabble mysteries! Lots of action/interaction, plot twists, red herrings, and colorful characters. Loved it!
James Woodrich does a wonderful job with interpreting the story, situations and characters and has a very pleasant voice.

Good characters and story, ending…meh

I like the characters and places that this author creates, but the endings always seem like an afterthought. Not always a big deal, except when it’s a murder mystery.

Nakita Thomas

I loved it I will be listening to it again. I hope Hide and Seek become out with a second book.

enjoyed it

📖 Story comment: The concept was good, but parts of the story felt flat and it wasn't to the usual standard I've come to expect from this author. Hopefully, as the first in a series it will develop a little more ... what word am I looking for ... dimension. It was interesting enough that I will give the next instalment a chance.

I'd call it an easy pace, something to listen to in the background while doing something else, the only problem with that though, is I found there wasn't enough difference between the dialogue and the characters and I'd lose track of who was speaking. I would have liked a little more character development, but perhaps that will come.

🎧 Narrator comment: James Woodrich is a new narrator for me, and looking at his available catalog, he hasn't had a lot of experience with this type of story. The potential is there and with practice he will be a great narrator, but this one falls a little short. There's some difference between the voices of the characters, but I would have liked it better if there were more, and a stronger difference between the characters and general dialogue. His timing is generally good, but at times came across a little monotone and would have been better with a little more expression and/or emotion. Its a reasonable performance though and I wouldn't not listen to another title narrated by him.

-------
📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 5
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list • 8 kept me up past bed-time • 9 recommended to family/friends • 10 own it in all formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]
-------

Another Winner for Josh

Loved the mystery, loved the story, loved the narration!!!❤️❤️❤️

Josh Lanyon is on my Buy on Sight List for a reason.😁