When a woman is found brutally murdered on Austin’s lakeside hike-and-bike trail, investigative reporter Bailey Rhoads turns up on the scene demanding access and answers. She tries to pry information out of the lead detective, Jacob Merritt. But this case is unlike any he’s ever seen, and nothing adds up. With the pressure building, Jacob knows the last thing he needs is a romantic entanglement, but he can’t convince himself to stay away from Bailey.
Bailey has a hunch that the victim wasn’t who she claimed to be and believes this mugging-turned-murder could have been a targeted hit. When she digs deeper, the trail leads her to a high-tech fortress on the outskirts of Austin, where researchers are pushing the boundaries of a cutting-edge technology that could be deadly in the wrong hands.
As a ruthless hit man’s mission becomes clear, Bailey and Jacob join together in a desperate search to locate the next target before the clock ticks down in this lethal game of hide-and-seek.
Release Date: Aug 25, 2020
Series: Texas Murder Files
Book: 1
Heat Level: Warm/Sensual
Publisher: Penguin Group
Imprint: Berkley
Price: $7.99
Hidden is the first book in the new Texas Murder Files by Laura Griffin. The story is about Bailey, a crime beat reporter and Jacob, an Austin detective. These two are passionate about their jobs which would normally make them somewhat advisories. But mutual respect and attraction has them forming a bond as they work together on the death of a woman that was murdered on a jogging trail.
The murder mystery in this book was really entertaining for me. The fact that the woman they find on the trail, Dana Smith, doesn’t appear to really exist sets off a really intriguing story. As a fan of true crime podcasts and investigative journalism, this story was right up my alley. A lot of these scenes reminded me of watching an episode of Law & Order or listening to an episode of the podcast My Favorite Murder.
I won’t give away any of the details of the mystery, I’ll only say Griffin handles these plot points very well. Doling out just enough information as the story went on to keep me interested til the last scene. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing which is pretty impressive since I pride myself in figuring out mysteries right away.
What didn’t work for me was the relationship between Jacob and Bailey. I’ve always been a fan of romantic suspense and I’m happy to suspend reality to believe that a cop and reporter would end up together. But I didn’t feel like I ever got enough in the head of either of these two to know why they were falling in love. The sex scenes were brief and a little tepid, and any emotional conversations seemed stunted.
Since this is the first in a new series I am hoping that other characters in this novel, such as Jacob’s partner will get a chance at a book. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of this love story I did enjoy the book overall and will be keeping up with this series for sure. Fans of a good detective book that is more centered on the investigation and less on the action will probably enjoy this offering. But if you’re looking for high stakes and a lot of action you may want to check out this author’s other series, Tracers.
~ Lindsey
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