‘Some houses have their secrets. But so do some people . . .‘
– The Hiding Place
[ About the Book ]
Abandoned as a baby in the hallway of a shared house in London, Marina has never known her parents, and the circumstances of her birth still remain a mystery.
Now an adult, Marina has returned to the house where it all started, determined to find out who she really is. But the walls of this house hold more than memories, and Marina’s reappearance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the other tenants.
Someone is watching Marina.
Someone who knows the truth . . .
[ My Review ]
The Hiding Place by Jenny Quintana was published in paperback format August 19th with Pan Macmillan and is described as ‘a story about identity, love, long-buried secrets and lies.‘
Set across two different timelines The Hiding Place tells the story of young Connie, a seventeen year old girl in love. It is 1964 and she is desperate to follow her boyfriend Johnny to Paris. Connie lives with her father, Thomas, in a flat at Harrington Gardens. Her mother passed away the previous year, leaving Connie and her father unprepared for a life without her. Thomas runs a second-hand book shop and Connie assists him there, as well as helping out at home with the daily chores. Connie fell deeply in love with her neighbour, Johnny, a young man with dreams of being an artist. She helped him fulfil his ambition to get to Paris with the intention of following him once he was established, but the letters never arrived. Now Connie is in trouble and realises that she has no-one to confide in. Scared of what lies ahead, Connie tries to sort things out herself but her innocence has consequences.
Marina is a young woman searching for the truth. Working in various fields, she makes the decision to move to London and into a dingy flat in Harrington Gardens. It is the winter of 1991 and Marina is in search of the truth. Abandoned as a baby within the walls of Harrington Gardens, Marina was adopted. Brought up in a loving home, Marina never wanted for anything, except to uncover the truth of her beginnings. Harrington Gardens is faded, the house very much past its prime, but its walls have secrets. Marina, determined to reveal its past, wastes no time in researching the facts surrounding the unsolved mystery of her birth with very shocking results.
The Hiding Place is a slow-moving tale of suspense with some very vivid characters moving in and out of the shadows. Drenched in atmosphere, Jenny Quintana creates a wonderful rendition of life in the 1960s with lots of people of all types coming and going, busy with their day-to-day survival. But the same house in the 1990s is a much sadder and decrepit imitation of its former self. Marina moves into a damp, unloved and dirty flat, sensing a sadness in the building, a house very much past its prime but also one carrying a very deep secret.
Connie stole my heart. Although distraught following the death of her mother, she carried an innocence, a naivety that left her very much open to disappointment and heartache. It is very easy to capture her image in your mind and her sense of desperation jumps off the pages. Connie was young and in love but the world isn’t always generous to lovers.
Marina longs for the truth. Hungry for knowledge, she tentatively uncovers the very affecting secret surrounding her mysterious arrival into the world, the key that will unlock her past.
Packed with suspense, The Hiding Place pulls at the heartstrings, leaving the reader bereft by the story that unfolds. The Hiding Place is a captivating tale, a poignant and intriguing mystery beautifully and sensitively written with a confident hand.
[ Bio ]
Jenny Quintana grew up in Essex and Berkshire, before studying English Literature in London. She has taught in London, Seville and Athens and has also written books for teaching English as a foreign language. Her first novel, The Missing Girl, was published in 2017 and chosen as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month. She now lives with her family in Berkshire.
The Hiding Place is her third novel.
Twitter ~ @jennyquintana95
