Hidden

Hidden

Catherine McKenzie

Genre: Women's Fiction

Summary (from the publisher):  While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Two women fall to pieces at the news: his wife, Claire, and his co-worker Tish. Reeling from her loss, Claire must comfort her grieving son as well as contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members, and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother, who was her ex-boyfriend. Tish volunteers to attend the funeral on her company’s behalf, but only she knows the true risk of inserting herself into the wreckage of Jeff’s life.

Told through the three voices of Jeff, Tish, and Claire, Hidden explores the complexity of relationships, the repercussions of our personal choices, and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

Review:   This book was fine.  It was well-written, with an interesting plot and relatable characters.  Claire's grief following the death of her husband was portrayed movingly, and it made me cry on her behalf, imaging how I would feel in that situation.  Tish was a little harder to understand, since there was really nothing likable about her, and I couldn't get a feeling on what was motivating her.  And the fact that 1/3 of the book was narrated by the dead husband was just a little bizarre.  I had a bit of a hard time differentiating the voices of the three narrators; they all sounded kind of the same.  But most tellingly, I can hardlly remember this book, and I only read it a week ago.  So while I enjoyed it while I was reading it, it's basically just a good book with an ok plot and forgettable characters. 

Rating: 3 stars