Allison Glenn tried to hide what happened that night...and failed. The consequence? Five years in prison. Now she's free. But secrets have a way of keeping you caged...When Allison is sent to prison for a heinous crime, she leaves behind her reputation as Linden Falls' golden girl forever. Her parents deny the existence of their once-perfect child. Her former friends exult in her downfall. Her sister, Brynn, faces the whispered rumours every day in the hallways of their small Iowa high school. It's Brynn - shy, quiet Brynn - who carries the burden of what really happened that night. All she wants is to forget Allison and the past that haunts her. But then Allison is released, and is more determined than ever to speak with her sister. Now their legacy of secrets is focused on one little boy. And if the truth is revealed, the consequences will be unimaginable for the adoptive mother who loves him, the girl who tried to protect him and the two sisters who hold the key to all that is hidden.
These Things Hidden
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Beautifully written, compassionately told, and relentlessly suspenseful. --Diane Chamberlain on 'The Weight of Silence'
Deeply moving and exquisitely lyrical, this is a powerhouse of a debut novel. --Tess Gerritsen on 'The Weight of Silence'
This is one of those books, where you are desperate to get to the end, to find out the outcome, but at the same time,DON'T want the novel to end!!!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it - even if I DID have to leave it several times,and I was very sad to have finished it, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anybody I knew!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!! --Amazon Customer Review for 'The Weight of Silence'
Deeply moving and exquisitely lyrical, this is a powerhouse of a debut novel. --Tess Gerritsen on 'The Weight of Silence'
This is one of those books, where you are desperate to get to the end, to find out the outcome, but at the same time,DON'T want the novel to end!!!!!! I thoroughly enjoyed it - even if I DID have to leave it several times,and I was very sad to have finished it, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anybody I knew!!!! ENJOY!!!!!!!!! --Amazon Customer Review for 'The Weight of Silence'
About the Author
Born with a hearing impairment, Heather became a voracious reader as a child and the seed of becoming a writer was planted. She lives in Dubuque, Iowa, with her husband, three children and German Shorthaired pointer.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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This is the only book by this author I have read, though if what the back cover declares "Fans of Jodi Picoult will love this" were true I should in theory be awarding this 5 stars. Sadly though, this book didn't really work for me for a few reasons.
The novel has an interesting premise, Allison, a young woman is released from prison following a terrible crime she has committed, having spent 5 years in prison being the model inmate she is to go to a halfway house, where she can come to terms with her feelings and start to make a new life. In the town we also meet Claire and Jonathan who have struggled with their own infertility but now devote themselves to their adopted son Joshua, and Charm and her fractured family who lives with Gus who is slowly dying of lung cancer, and Allison's sister Brynn who is haunted by the night that lead to her sister's imprisonment. If the plot seems heavy with difficult topics, it is, as the book progresses we will find out what connects what seem to be a set of disparate characters.
The difficulty of the subject matter was not what I struggled with in terms of liking this book. Though it was well written, for some reason I never really warmed to the characters even when it felt like I should have done. Something about them, but more importantly about the suspension of belief required to make the plot work just didn't cut it for me and I didn't find the ending very satisfactory either. I didn't really ever fully believe in the setting and it's not a book that will stay with me or that I will read again I don't think. Slightly disappointing.
The novel has an interesting premise, Allison, a young woman is released from prison following a terrible crime she has committed, having spent 5 years in prison being the model inmate she is to go to a halfway house, where she can come to terms with her feelings and start to make a new life. In the town we also meet Claire and Jonathan who have struggled with their own infertility but now devote themselves to their adopted son Joshua, and Charm and her fractured family who lives with Gus who is slowly dying of lung cancer, and Allison's sister Brynn who is haunted by the night that lead to her sister's imprisonment. If the plot seems heavy with difficult topics, it is, as the book progresses we will find out what connects what seem to be a set of disparate characters.
The difficulty of the subject matter was not what I struggled with in terms of liking this book. Though it was well written, for some reason I never really warmed to the characters even when it felt like I should have done. Something about them, but more importantly about the suspension of belief required to make the plot work just didn't cut it for me and I didn't find the ending very satisfactory either. I didn't really ever fully believe in the setting and it's not a book that will stay with me or that I will read again I don't think. Slightly disappointing.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By A. Linton
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The curse of the Kindle sample strikes again and I am suckered into buying a book on the strength of the first few pages - only to find the writing goes downhill from there. As another reviewer mentioned the whole premise of the book is flawed and myself I doubt in the circumstances Alison would have done any jail time at all - but I told myself that perhaps things are different in the US and I was interested in how she would handle her release from prison and rekindle relations with her parents and sister.
Unfortunately the book hardly deals with that at all - she is released to a halfway house full of unconvincing stereotypes and her parents/sister cut her out of their lives. She starts working for Claire, bookshop owner who has a young son - clearly this is in some way related to her past life in ways we can only guess (none of my guesses were as ridiculous as the reality though). I found it hard enough to swallow the coincidence that brought them together let alone the fact that Claire - having been the victim of violent robbery decides to employ an ex-con who has just gotten out of prison - because it is cheaper ??? (Personally if I was employing a girl who had just gotten out of prison and was going to spend time with my precious son I wouldn't be satisfied by knowing she had committed a 'serious' crime I would want to know exactly what she did!).
As the novel progresses, the plot developments become increasingly hard to swallow as is the cold uncaring behaviour of Alison's parents and Charm's awful mother.
Brynn, Alison's sister is the best character in the novel and I wish the author had focused more on the relationship between the two sisters and the secret they shared, rather than continually introducing more sensational plot twists (the last one I predicted even from reading the Kindle sample).
By the end I had lost interest especially as the ending seemed so predictable. I wish the author had just stuck to the original idea and focused on developing the characters - virtually everyone but Alison/Brynn and Josh is a cardboard cutout - instead of adding a completely implausible twist (the whole Josh storyline) - I was already struggling to accept the hefty prison sentence without being clobbered with even more twists which made the whole thing just seem implausible and silly.
Unfortunately the book hardly deals with that at all - she is released to a halfway house full of unconvincing stereotypes and her parents/sister cut her out of their lives. She starts working for Claire, bookshop owner who has a young son - clearly this is in some way related to her past life in ways we can only guess (none of my guesses were as ridiculous as the reality though). I found it hard enough to swallow the coincidence that brought them together let alone the fact that Claire - having been the victim of violent robbery decides to employ an ex-con who has just gotten out of prison - because it is cheaper ??? (Personally if I was employing a girl who had just gotten out of prison and was going to spend time with my precious son I wouldn't be satisfied by knowing she had committed a 'serious' crime I would want to know exactly what she did!).
As the novel progresses, the plot developments become increasingly hard to swallow as is the cold uncaring behaviour of Alison's parents and Charm's awful mother.
Brynn, Alison's sister is the best character in the novel and I wish the author had focused more on the relationship between the two sisters and the secret they shared, rather than continually introducing more sensational plot twists (the last one I predicted even from reading the Kindle sample).
By the end I had lost interest especially as the ending seemed so predictable. I wish the author had just stuck to the original idea and focused on developing the characters - virtually everyone but Alison/Brynn and Josh is a cardboard cutout - instead of adding a completely implausible twist (the whole Josh storyline) - I was already struggling to accept the hefty prison sentence without being clobbered with even more twists which made the whole thing just seem implausible and silly.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful
By LittleReader
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review
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For me, this beat HG's debut novel hands down... And I really enjoyed that one!
Narrated by all the central characters in turn (a style I love as it often lends itself to superb characterisation), this is a tale of murder, guilt, relationships and, ultimately, secrets...
Allison is released from prison following an horrendous crime commited when she was just 17 and is desperate to make amends with the family that abandoned her following her conviction. A twisty, fast paced read, I was hooked from the first chapter and read it in two days!
HG writes with flair and grace while at the same time remaining utterly human in her observations. 'These Things Hidden' (and there's a fair few surprises...) comes highly recommended. For me, HG is certainly riding high amongst this genre...
Narrated by all the central characters in turn (a style I love as it often lends itself to superb characterisation), this is a tale of murder, guilt, relationships and, ultimately, secrets...
Allison is released from prison following an horrendous crime commited when she was just 17 and is desperate to make amends with the family that abandoned her following her conviction. A twisty, fast paced read, I was hooked from the first chapter and read it in two days!
HG writes with flair and grace while at the same time remaining utterly human in her observations. 'These Things Hidden' (and there's a fair few surprises...) comes highly recommended. For me, HG is certainly riding high amongst this genre...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
3rd book by Heather Gudenkauf and still great!
I absolutely loved this book. It is well written, easy to follow and I fully emphasised with all of the characters. Read more
Published 17 days ago by L. Trevor
3.0 out of 5 stars
Slow to start but a couldn't put it down at the end
This book was a little hard going at first. I had to put it down a lot and it took a while for me to finish, but as it got to 3 quarters of the way in I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 18 days ago by LJ Reed
4.0 out of 5 stars
These things hidden
A fantastic read , it keeps you hooked but found the ending a bit of a let down. But would still defiantly recommend
Published 1 month ago by sunnysue
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best
one of the best books that i ave read. i always read Heather's book. i find them easy to read and get in to the plot. all of heathers books are very well wrote. recommend them all
Published 1 month ago by bookmoviefanatic
5.0 out of 5 stars
These Things Hiddebn
The storyline kept me interested and sometimes got my heart going in suspense as to how the story would develop.
Published 2 months ago by Janet Malley
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enjoyable
I did enjoy this book. Had some good twists to it and was very enjoyable, would recommend this book to anyone
Published 2 months ago by zoe candlin
4.0 out of 5 stars
g ood read
I enjoyed xxx this book but found it a bit slow to start with took a while to guess who did it but towards the last chapters I guessed
Published 2 months ago by POLNTONY
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really enjoyable
I really enjoyed this book, I had already read a previous book by this author and doing a partner read with somebody from a group on the Goodreads site we picked this to read. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Sharman
5.0 out of 5 stars
These Things Hidden
Well written book with believable characters.Went along at a fast pace with a surprising turn of events and a heart stopping moment.Enjoyable read.
Published 6 months ago by faylo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book
I was looking for something new when I purchased this book, and I wasnt disappointed . The narrative was seamless, the characters were believable, and I found myself involved very... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Bhw666
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