Blog Tour Review: Hidden by Catherine McKenzie

Publisher: Harper Collins Canada
Pages: 366

Received: Received a copy from Harper Collins Canada in exchange for an honest review

Release Date: June 18, 2013
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Goodreads Synopsis:

When a married man suffers a sudden fatal accident, two women are shattered—his wife and someone else's—and past secrets, desires and regrets are brought to light

While walking home from work one evening, Jeff Manning is struck by a car and killed. Not one but 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 and contend with funeral arrangements, well-meaning family members and the arrival of Jeff’s estranged brother—her ex-boyfriend—Tim.

With Tish’s co-workers in the dark about her connection to Jeff outside the workplace, she volunteers to attend the funeral on the 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, our personal choices and the responsibilities we have to the ones we love.

My Review:

I have so much love for Catherine McKenzie, I stumbled upon one of her books last year and from there read everything that I could of hers. I've been lucky enough to be on blog tours for her last couple of books, and I'm so glad that I got a chance to read her newest book. Honestly this is one book I have been excited about since I heard about it. And this book lived up to all my expectations, I kept needing more from these characters to see what they would do.

I was really intrigued with this book when I heard about it because it deals with something so much different than Catherine has written about before and I really love seeing how an author grows... and trust me Catherine definitely grows with each of her books. They all touch on a different subject but each book has become more serious, and I definitely see this one as her most intense subject.

The fact that this story is told from three perspectives gives readers the whole story, I loved the back and forth of how Jeff's death affected these two women. But seeing Jeff's perspective of the back story was an added bonus and really gave more detail for readers.Catherine McKenzie has told a beautiful story of how one small thing can affect so many people.

The characters in this book are so real, there is nothing over the top in this story. Readers get an emotional ride as you read about Claire and Tish dealing with the fallout from Jeff's death, as well as seeing how Tish and Jeff met and what happened with them. I loved how real the emotions were, and how you can connect with each of the characters, this story is so complex and really shows that not everything is black and white.

The secondary characters also make such a huge impact in the story, and there was not one character I did not like. I loved the complex relationship we learn about between Claire, Jeff and Tim - it was something that I do wish was fleshed out a little more, but I understand that it was just a small part of such a complicated relationship.

Catherine McKenzie is an author that will always be on my watch list, her books are always so engrossing and I'm proud that she is Canadian! HIDDEN really shows that Catherine is able to write about anything she dreams and I for one can't wait for more from her.

Check back tomorrow for an interview with Catherine, and don't forget to follow along on the blog tour! For more information on Catherine McKenzie and her newest novel HIDDEN, check out the Harper Collins Canada website.