I am really excited to be part of the Blog Tour for AJ Waines’ new book, Dark Place To Hide! Read on for more information and my review!

Synopsis:

She’s trying to tell you – if only you’d listen…
About to break the news to his wife, Diane, that he’s infertile, criminology expert, Harper Penn, gets a call to say she’s been rushed to hospital with a miscarriage. Five days later, when Diane fails to return from the village shop, police think she must have taken off with a secret lover, but Harper is convinced the online messages are not from her.
In the same Hampshire village, plucky seven-year-old Clara has retreated into a make-believe world after an accident. Then she, too, goes missing.
As Harper sets out on a desperate quest to find them both, he has no idea what he’s up against. Could the threat be closer than he thinks? And is there a hidden message in Clara’s fairy tales?
DARK PLACE TO HIDE is a chilling psychological mystery with a cold-blooded deviant lurking at the core.

I had no idea what to expect when I started reading this novel, but I was sucked in right from the start! It definitely fits well in the ‘psychological mystery’ category and moves along at a great pace without being too fast.
The characters were really well developed. Harper was a great character in my opinion, partly because he wasn’t too perfect. He had his problems, but he was determined to find his wife and Clara and his troubled past and weaknesses only added to the richness of his personality. I really liked Clara as a character too and thought she was really sweet and charming! Despite the great characterization, it doesn’t feel like we learn a huge amount about Diane (but then, she is a missing person so that make sense really!) One character I actively disliked (and I’m pretty sure I, as the reader, was meant to) was Alexa. I found her so annoying, but felt she was also instrumental in a part of the book that I really didn’t like. It is one of her actions whilst her sister Diane was missing that I felt was quite ridiculous, and that is my only real criticism of this novel. I don’t want to specify what exactly or say much more so as not to give too much away, but reading it you may recognise which part I’m talking about and feel like I did, thinking ‘C’mon, would she really do that?’.
Most of the novel is told from Harper’s point of view, and we really see the desperation he endures with his wife missing. Hearing his thoughts and understanding what he is feeling allows the reader to understand him as a character on a much deeper level. We also see some of the story from Diane’s perspective and Clara’s too, both of which add to the tension which is really well built throughout the novel.
I really enjoyed this novel, and felt it was very well written. I would certainly like to read more of AJ Waines’ novels and would definitely recommend Dark Place To Hide as an entertaining, well-crafted read. Give it a go!
Rating: 4/5
Dark Place To Hide is out now and available to buy on Amazon here.
Many thanks to the author who provided an advance copy of this novel in return for an honest review

About the Author
AJ Waines was a Psychotherapist for fifteen years, during which time she worked with ex-offenders from high-security institutions, giving her a rare insight into abnormal psychology. She is now a full-time novelist with an Agent and has publishing deals in France and Germany (Random House). Both her debut novels, The Evil Beneath and Girl on a Train have been Number One in ‘Murder’ and ‘Psychological Thrillers’ in the UK Kindle Charts. Girl on a Train has also been a Number One Bestseller in the entire Kindle Chart in Australia. In 2015, she was ranked in the Top 100 UK authors on Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).
Her new psychological thriller, Dark Place to Hide, was released July 30th 2015, and is available HERE.
Alison lives in Southampton, UK, with her husband. Visit her website and blog, or follow her on Twitter and Facebook.