Hidden Bodies
By Caroline Kepnes
A Dark Thriller
Sequel to You
Synopsis
In the compulsively readable follow-up to her widely acclaimed debut novel, You, Caroline Kepnes weaves a tale that Booklist calls “the love child of Holden Caulfield and Patrick Bateman.”
Hidden Bodies marks the return of a voice that Stephen King described as original and hypnotic, and through the divisive and charmingly sociopathic character of Joe Goldberg, Kepnes satirizes and dissects our culture, blending suspense with scathing wit.
Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.
In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: truelove. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice…
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Robin’s Review
We first meet Joe Goldberg in You, the debut novel from author Caroline Kepnes. An irresistible page-turner, You has been compared to some of the great dark thrillers and has even received praise from author Stephen King. Joe is clever, humorous and quite sociopathic in his quest to find love. He’s a stalker and a murderer, but Joe is also a strangely loveable character. His character has even acquired a dedicated following. Now the adventures of Joe Goldberg resume in the latest novel from Kepnes titled Hidden Bodies.
As the synopsis says, “Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love.” Joe heads west in Hidden Bodies, from New York to Los Angeles, in search of his most recent girlfriend. Although Joe arrives in Los Angeles with an agenda, his plans are soon derailed when he meets Love Quinn and her brother, Forty. Joe is witty and smart, and he quickly blends in with the Hollywood crowd. Love is the perfect woman for Joe, and he is desperate to make her his forever girl. But Joe is haunted by hidden bodies and a mugofurine, and they threaten to derail his plans for a future with Love.
Caroline Kepnes must be one clever author to develop a character such as Joe Goldberg. He is one of the most interesting characters I have EVER come across. Since Hidden Bodies is written in Joe’s point of view, we are given a glimpse into his motivations. Joe is brilliant and quick on his feet when making decisions, but he still becomes entangled in web of lies and deceit as he searches for Amy Adam. He becomes more sidetracked by each new person that he meets. When Joe gets out of one jam, he finds himself in another. It’s controlled chaos.
Kepnes has a special sense of humor embedded in her writing. Hidden Bodies is a dark thriller about a serial killer! You might be thinking to yourself, how could this possibly be funny? There is more irony than I can express in Hidden Bodies. Imagine a serial killer/stalker complaining about people who are mentally ill, violent and crazy! Or grumbling about the lack of safety in the world! Joe is paranoid, as he should be. He attempts to continue a charade of normalcy with Love, while at the same time, he’s stressing out about hidden bodies from his past and plotting another murder!
Hidden Bodies is entertaining, addictive, and at times, had me laughing out loud! Joe is a strangely likeable character, and just as I did when I read You, I couldn’t help pulling for Joe to get the girl. If you haven’t had a chance to read You, I highly recommend it! You will definitely want to read You before you begin reading Hidden Bodies. Both books are excellent choices. I am so excited to share that I’m giving a 5-star rating to Hidden Bodies, and I have added it to my list of 2016 favorites!
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You
By Caroline Kepnes
A Dark Thriller
Synopsis
From debut author Caroline Kepnes comes You, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2014, and a brilliant and terrifying novel for the social media age.
When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.
There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.
As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.
A terrifying exploration of how vulnerable we all are to stalking and manipulation, debut author Caroline Kepnes delivers a razor-sharp novel for our hyper-connected digital age. You is a compulsively readable page-turner that’s being compared to Gone Girl, American Psycho, and Stephen King’s Misery.
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Author Bio
Caroline Kepnes is the author of You and Hidden Bodies. She splits her time between Los Angeles, California and Cape Cod, Massachusetts.
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