Book Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Synopsis

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past ten years, this thirty-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he’s heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.

In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can’t stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don’t always stay that way. They re-emerge, like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he’s more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn’t want to hurt his new girlfriend—he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he’s done, he may not have a choice…

Review

This is the second book in the Joe Goldberg Series by Caroline Kepnes. The first book was You. Like You, Hidden bodies, follows Joe, the psychopath with a piling body count. Hidden Bodies pick up from where You ended with Joe searching for love again. Like in the first book, Joe is the narrator and so the whole story is told from his perspective in a second-person narrative. As readers, we are still in Joe’s mind, seeing things from his standpoint, trapped in his thoughts as we follow him to Los Angeles on a revenge mission.

Unlike the first book, there are more psychopaths who join the story. This makes it even more twisted and exciting. Yeah, I know it sounds a bit crazy to be that into these books but I really love this series and Joe is an affable serial killer.

I enjoyed this book like the first one. However, I felt like Hidden Bodies was a bit unrealistic in some instances. Joe seemed way too lucky, things just worked out perfectly for him. For instance; he committed his crimes and always seemed to get away with it way too easily. The way he meets his love interest, Love, is also a bit too simplistic and convenient.

Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes is well written and the story has a good flow that makes it quite the page turner. Joe is still funny and his dark humor made me chuckle a couple of times. I really enjoyed his description of LA, his criticisms were hilarious. Just like in You, Joe is endearing and once again I found myself drawn to a serial killer instead of being repulsed by him.

If you like psychological thrillers then you may like Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes. To better enjoy this book, start by reading You which introduced Joe Goldberg to readers.You can read my review here. This was a fun, easy read and I do hope that we get a Book 3 and see some more of Joe.

Book Review: You by Caroline Kepnes

Synopsis

When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works, he does what anyone would do: he Googles the name on her credit card.

There is only one Guinevere Beck in New York City. She has a public Facebook account and Tweets incessantly, telling Joe everything he needs to know: she is simply Beck to her friends, she went to Brown University, she lives on Bank Street, and she’ll be at a bar in Brooklyn tonight—the perfect place for a “chance” meeting.

As Joe invisibly and obsessively takes control of Beck’s life, he orchestrates a series of events to ensure Beck finds herself in his waiting arms. Moving from stalker to boyfriend, Joe transforms himself into Beck’s perfect man, all while quietly removing the obstacles that stand in their way—even if it means murder.

Review

 

I read Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica and it put me in the mood for psychological thrillers. This book came highly recommended and I was intrigued enough by the synopsis that I just had to read it.

You by Caroline Kepnes is a psychological thriller. It is also one of the creepiest books that I have ever read. The protagonist was so twisted that at times I had to pause and think about the author. Yes, the author. I wondered how she came up with such a sick character. How did she create something so twisted yet fascinating? Joe was weird, a psychopath, and a man so vile yet…lovable.

You by Caroline Kepnes reminded me so much of the TV Show, Dexter, the ‘beloved’ serial killer. In this book, Joe is an insane stalker who is obsessed by Beck, a woman who he had a brief encounter with at the bookstore where he works. The levels of his deprivation are shocking yet Caroline still managed to make him endearing and sympathetic. I found myself feeling sorry for him. Other times, I was secretly routing against him hoping that he would get caught.However, I still had moments whereby I started routing for the stalker and thinking that the stalked is the bad guy. This book is definitely creepy although in a good way.

I  liked the narrative style. The whole story is told from Joe’s perspective through a second person narrative. That means that as readers, we get to see everything through the mind of a psychopath. It is limiting though because at times I wished we could have an idea of what was going on in the other characters’ mind. However, if you have ever been curious about workings of the mind of a psychopath then this book will give you a sneak peak into one.

Apart from the suspenseful story, there is also the fact that serial killer worked in a bookstore and loved books. There were numerous mentions of Stephen King’s Shinning and Doctor Sleep. There were also mentions of Dan Brown’s books especially The Da Vinci Code and other book references that may delight bookworms.

You by Caroline Kepnes was quite a page turner. I read the whole book in just one evening. I would recommend this book for anyone interested in dark humor and psychological thrillers.