Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

‘You can’t go back and alter the past, but you can go forward, become a person who remembers.’

For those who have read ‘You’, ‘Hidden Bodies’ is the sequel, read on. For those who haven’t read ‘You’, stop. Read ‘You’ first.

Still here? You remember Joe Goldberg, who manages Mooney’s Rare and Used Bookstore in New York, the serial killer whose last relationship – with Guinevere Beck – ended so badly? Well, Joe has a new girlfriend: Amy Kendell Adam. Joe has learned a lot from his relationship with Beck, he knows exactly how to make his relationship with Amy succeed. They are even collecting copies of one of their favourite books – ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’ – together. What could possibly go wrong?

‘In this bar, lying to these strangers, there has never been more honesty between us.’

Joe is devastated when Amy disappears, and he vows to find her. His search takes him to Hollywood. And while he’s there to track down Amy, Joe has to fill in his time somehow. Joe’s life in Hollywood becomes complicated. He’s still searching for Amy, but he’s found Love (and her brother Forty) and his life becomes even more interesting.

Will Joe find Amy? Has he escaped the consequences of his murderous past, or will some evidence he left behind be his downfall?

This novel moves at a cracking pace, and while every moral fibre of my being wants to see Joe brought to justice, I’m worried that I find him generally likeable. Immature and impulsive, but likeable. How does that work? Ms Kepnes has created a character who fits perfectly within the pop culture he inhabits. How much easier is it to be a serial killer in an internet-enabled world?

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster (Australia) for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith