Here are some of my thoughts that I noted whilst reading this novel:
- The main incident happened very early in the book - I found it difficult to relate or care about what happens to the characters, particularly Ellie. There was no time for the reader to invest in the characters, and I couldn't fully understand where she was coming from.
- The main incident was the most exciting part of the book - The rest of the book just seemed to continue on without a solid reason and was not that interesting. On page 180, was the only other point in the novel where I would have considered it a "thriller", and then I thought ok, maybe something interesting is going to happen now...but then when I found out what actually happened, I was somewhat disappointed.
- I get that you are told to write about what you know, but sometimes the consistent medical information and comments were a bit much.
- There were quite a few moments in the book that it felt like the writer was just trying to get across their views on gun control, the Christian right, "older generations" that came across as stereotypical such as, " These weathered faces saw mass shootings as temper tantrums of spoiled children who played too many video games", "You know how the older generation can be" among other comments... etc. In particular, the description of the assailant's mother - with her "large golden crucifix" around her neck actually made me roll my eyes. It would have been more effective to describe the woman as looking like any other woman you would come across on a daily basis. "Normal" people do inconceivable things. Instead, it came across as the writer's opinion on a certain section of the U.S. population, abortion, gun control etc. and as a result, her characters had no depth and ended up coming across as very stereotypical.
- It was also very anti-climatic when it was discovered that it was the mother who was shooting at Ellie. I was hoping for some interesting twist - like maybe the whole thing with James was a lie, and that he had some underlying motive to become close to Ellie and that it wasn't an accident that he was in the restaurant when the shooter started his killing. Alas, it was not to be.
- Most significantly, I had a very hard time believing that within days (I think it was 11) after Tom is killed, Ellie is sleeping in a bed with James and is setting up house, walking his dog etc. I get that people do strange things when grieving, but it just didn't seemed plausible to me. Her relationship with Tom seemed to me that she couldn't have really loved him deeply, although the writer suggests this, for her to so easily fall for someone else in less than a couple weeks after Tom's death. The writer seemed to add in moments where Ellie felt strange about it etc., but then she continued right on with it. Having personally lost loved ones, including parents, siblings, and other loved ones - I couldn't relate to the quick transfer of feelings from one person to another and it came across as unbelievable.
- All the sections about James' work and his co-workers and his ex were all so unnecessary and made it come off as "high school" and not in a good way.
- The whole contrived trial thing where Ellie could be sent to jail was not interesting and it also did not seem real. I understand how a physician might be considered liable for something like that to some degree, like maybe affecting their license, having an internal review etc... but to be held accountable in the sense that you are going to be sent to jail as a result? Hmmm...I don't know.
-There were also many other moments in the novel where I could see the immature style of a first novel. However, the writer did have some decent prose and descriptions which were let down by a plot which wasn't as solid or as interesting as the actual writing.
Overall, I would probably not recommend this novel in its present state. ( )

Hiding Places was easy to read with a quick pace, which I enjoyed. The plot is like a "slice of life" of grief, mental health, and overcoming tragedy, while also having suspenseful moments that leave you shocked. I enjoyed the characters and their development, watching them change as they faced different parts of the struggle they are going through. Ellie's thoughts and emotions felt real and raw, making her easy to relate to. I have already recommended it to some of my friends! ( )

This was so amazing! The story was 100 % believable and I felt really drawn to Ellie. All of the emotions and turmoil she was going through was so heartbreaking and real.

A free electronic copy of this book was provided for review by publishers BDA Publishing, via Library Thing.

I had a hard time with this book. On the one hand most of the writing was beautifully detailed and really kept my interest. On the other, there were clumsy errors that I would get distracted having to reread to the point of frustration as well as strong author biases and unlikely plots that just left me rolling my eyes.

I'll start with the biases. The author's (main character's) biases are made pretty clear from the 3rd chapter when she mentions "the shooting of yet another young Black man by police" and just goes on from there. You are hammered over and over again how pointing at the mental health crisis in this country rather than gun control laws as the cause of mass shootings is just the rich gun lobby's work. The main character is charged with negligence, and this is also blamed on the gun lobby pulling political strings - I find this extremely unlikely, especially in liberal Chicago of all places... Later she stereotypes all older individuals as not being understanding of mental health needs at all, which was just odd, in my opinion. Several "G**damns" and mentioning how a bad person has a cross necklace multiple times seemed to point to an anti-Christian bias, also, which certainly turned me off.

One of the main plots is a romance after loss. This happens literally within 4 days of the loss. Absolutely unbelievable. It was very hard to reconcile her supposed love for her husband and how quickly she fell for this new person she doesn't even know. It's not that love can't happen after loss, but as a person who has suffered a major loss, it is all consuming in the first weeks. Introducing this plot point as part of the trauma would be believable, but it is presented as real love and connection, which is beyond plausibility for me.

The writing is clumsy at times. I'd have to go back to try to figure out who said something because it wasn't clear often, or sentences would be out of order (the first sentence saying the characters arrived, but then the rest of the paragraph talking about the ride there, for example). Verb tenses would change mid-paragraph a few times. Incorrect words for things were used a few times (postured instead of posited, clamored instead of clambered). It was mostly minor things that could have been caught with one more good edit, but it detracted from enjoyable reading.

Overall, I believe this author has promise - the writing detail did keep me engaged. I just can't recommend this particular book. ( )

An electronic copy of this book was provided for review by publishers BDA Publishing, via Library Thing.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hiding Places starts off with an interesting premise, but loses its way as author E.J. Post can’t seem to settle on a theme. Does she want to write about surviving trauma? Media influence on the justice system? Gun control? Abused kids? The shortfalls in the American medical system’s ability to recognize and treat depressive disorders? Mix all that in with what is, frankly, a pretty unlikely romance thread, and the whole thing threatens to come totally unwrapped.

Ellie Paxton is a traveling ER physician, providing backup and short-term services in various hospital emergency departments. She enjoys the travel and the changing locations of her assignments, sandwiching in time with her husband between gigs. They are enjoying just such a weekend in Chicago when a leisurely brunch erupts in violence as a lone gunman enters the restaurant, spraying bullets in a random but fatal sweep. Ellie’s husband is one of the first victims, killed instantly by a bullet to the brain, and Ellie, acting almost on instinct, grabs the first wounded survivor she can reach and hauls him out of the deadly arc of bullets to shelter behind the restaurant’s bar.

That’s a pretty high mark to start with, and it definitely yanks the reader into the action. Ellie’s heroism saves lives, but at what cost? At this point, Post could have concentrated on her character’s struggles to deal with her own grief and loss along with public and professional fallout from her actions that day. She could have traced Ellie’s increasing obsession with understanding the shooter’s background and determining what brought him to that place and time. She could even have gone with a slow-build romance as the trauma-born relationship with the man she saved brings feelings of being unfaithful to the man she couldn’t save.

Rather than choosing one, or even two areas to explore, Post goes off in all directions at once, fast-forwarding the romance angle in a way that strains credibility. Ultimately, she never gets far below the surface, and is all too quick to have “anonymous donors” smoothing out many of the bumps in the road her heroine is traveling. A last-minute plot complication feels less like a plot twist and more like an annoyance that the reader just has to plow through before getting to the end of this ambitious, but ultimately unsatisfying tale. ( )