The Hidden

By Jessica Verday

n this, the long-awaited conclusion to the saga of Abbey and Caspian, readers finally learn the truth about Kristen's death, the dark destiny that links Abbey to Caspian and the hard choices that Abbey must make if she is to accept Caspian's love and their unexpected fate.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
• Release date: Jan 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9780857076625

Jessica Verday

Jessica Verday is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hollow trilogy, The Beautiful and the Damned, and the Of Monsters and Madness series. Her short stories were featured in The First Time anthology, which she coedited, and Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions. She believes a shoe isn’t a shoe unless it has a three-inch heel, and nothing beats a great pair of boots. When not daydreaming about moving into a library of her own, she can be found working on her next story, redecorating her office, or buying vintage furniture. 

Reviews for The Hidden

[aridy_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I was really disappointed in the end. The it was all very final and a waste. The end felt half thought out and rushed. The main female character was weak. And one female character was only thrown in there at the end to push the plot along, when the story could have been written so much better had the author too a bit more time.

[neopian334 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved this book! The only complaint I have is that (spoiler alert!) Abbey dies. I thought there could be tons of other ways to save Caspian. Yes, I want her to be with him forever, but she had such a short life. Why waste it on a boyfriend when you could die naturally and still be with him?

[thealternativeone · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Book Review - The Hidden by Tobias Hill The Hidden Tobias Hill Format: eBook File Size: 512 KB Publisher: HarperCollins Publication Date: October 13, 2009 Pages: 458 (Portrait view) ISBN: 978-0-06-194305-8 There’s no denying that Tobias Hill has great skill and mastery over the English language and the mystery veiled in The Hidden was compelling enough on the surface to pique my interest but certain aspects of this story did not meet my expectations. One would think that with a story written about an archeological dig in Sparta, Greece that the so-called “hidden” (and, since I dislike spoilers, I won’t divulge what it is here) would be an extraordinary, unprecedented discovery. Think of the possibilities; undiscovered treasure of immense value or warring archeology factions, perhaps a supernatural entity unleashed accidently or even an ancient murder mystery uncovered – sadly, none of the above comes remotely close to the reality. And that’s the real problem with this story. The “hidden,” once known, is so mundane and “been-there-done-that” that I was very disappointed when Mr. Hill finally revealed it. It’s evident that Tobias Hill is a gifted writer. His prose paints fabulous mental images. His characters are believable, real and substantial, but not convincingly appealing in this story and while I was drawn in by his detailed descriptions and the clarity of his voice the narrative seriously lagged in places and what he created with a talented hand fell far short in substance. When I first started writing this review I had in mind giving The Hidden a solid two and a half stars but the more I thought about it the more I decided to boost that to a three; simply because of Hill’s writing proficiency and acumen. The subject is worthy of a story but this one could have been managed profoundly better. I am certain that there are readers that will thoroughly enjoy this mystery but for me the one thing that kept me reading was the anticipation of the reveal which, once uncovered, was a regrettable choice by the author and a disappointment to me. With that said, I should mention that I will attempt to read Tobias Hill again in the future. He definitely has the chops and I do enjoy his style. This story may not have stood out for me but the next may. And, I will say this… It is rare that I give unfavorable reviews but rarer still that I read additional works by an author that did not live up to my expectations. Mr. Hill is an exceptional writer and I will seek out his next book.2 1/2 (oh, yeah) 3 out of 5 starsThe Alternative Southeast Wisconsin

[wrensong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For a mystery, adventure and spy thriller fan this book was a tad difficult to get througjh. But I liked it. So gracefully written without being maudlin, I hate maudlin, it managed to keep my attention through the many, many emotional entanglements of its charactors. I didn't actually get too involved with any of them but in the end wished them well. Especially liked the "Notes toward a Thesis" beginnings of some chapters...

[viking2917_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Hidden follows Englishman Ben Mercer as he flees a broken relationship and graduate school in archaeology/history, and heads to Greece. A series of happenstance encounters and decisions lead him to being on a dig in Sparta, chasing the ghosts of the Spartans of Thermopylae fame. The novel intermixes a series of "notes on a thesis", Ben's background notes for a thesis he's composing. The thesis explores the dark side of the Spartans, which contrasts with the more inspirational side of the Spartans as reflected in the story of the Battle of Thermopylae and as fictionalized by, for example, Steven Pressfield in [Gates of Fire], and the thesis notes are actually very interesting in and of themselves and not just in how they advance the storyline. As the dig progresses, Ben ingratiates himself into the dig team and strange things start to happen. Modern as well as ancient Greece are well explored in The Hidden, but I found the activities of the dig team (I won't say more to avoid spoiling) to be a bit unmotivated and muddled. Still, the exploration of the darker side the Spartans was interesting to contrast with books and movies that celebrate them ([Gates of Fire] and the movie 300). I found the front half of the book to be much more enjoyable and convincing than the latter half, but overall it's an interesting read.

[bookmagic_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

my review:I had a hard time getting into this book. I just did not click with the main character, Ben Mercer, who has gone to Greece after the failure of his marriage. It had a lot of qualities that made me think I would enjoy this. I like archeology, Greece, history, and the promise of mystery. But I gave up about 90+ pages in, which I thought was more than a fair chance.Interspersed between chapters is information about ancient Sparta, which I thought was interesting. But the main story just seemed to drag and was rather depressing. Perhaps at another time, I will pick up where I left off and try again.

[larajane_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A young man who has had to leave England ends up in Greece working on an archaelogical dig where strange things begin to happen. I was looking forward to this book, but the parts of it seemed disconnected and the characters were unengaging. It has parallels to The Secret History, but is far less satisfying. A study of alienation which alienated me!

[shirley8_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I received this book to review early this year and have been putting off reading it as it didn't appeal to me. I finally forced myself to read it and at least I learned a little about Archaeology if nothing else!I thought Ben Mercer was a bit odd and I would have preferred reading about the break up of his marriage at the start of the book instead of keep going back to it.I found it interesting about the digging they were doing but I did not really want to know so much about the Spartans!It was a strange book with a strange ending. Hope this author's other books are not the same as I have 2 more to read yet!

[readafew · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The Hidden sounded like it would be an interesting read, and to tell the truth it was interesting, however I would not say I enjoyed it. Actually, I didn't like it. The main character Ben Mercer, was an Archeology student at Oxford, married, with a daughter. He's been separated with from his wife. The divorce is almost final when he decides to take a sabbatical and disappear into Greece for a couple months while he tries to sort out his life.I think this book was supposed to be 'dark' but personally I just found it to be completely depressing. This book starts out with Ben moping around because he screwed up his life with the woman he loved and everything continues to get worse from there. Even when things seem to be looking up it is only an uptick on his downward spiral. During the first part Ben spends a lot of time worrying and thinking about his wife Emine and his daughter. The scenes are not very coherent, scattered glimpses from different times in the relationship, they were hard to piece together. One knew something had happened but what that was, was a complete mystery and I felt a bit of a let down when it was finally revealed. The same kind of let down happened again and again at each new 'reveal'. I think what I found to be the most pathetic part was, we have a man who for all intents and purposes, seems to be reasonably intelligent, well educated, with a wide life experience who has self-esteem issues. He has several people willingly trying to be his friends and warning him away from the 'others', he can see the truth in the warnings but has a need to be accepted anyway, like a moth to a flame. Though they let him get close and pretend to let him in, even he knows he is on the outside being given the scrapes, and yet he is happy because he at least is given a glimpse into the inner sanctum. Ben is a useful tool that is skillfully manipulated and used until his usefulness is gone.

[varske · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I read the book and while I was wondering how to review it, I read some of the reviews here and on Amazon. I agreed with nearly all except about the end. It's a slowly developing book, but since I have lived recently in both Oxford and Athens I was drawn in by the descriptions of places I knew. The split narrative of history of Sparta interlaced with the development of the plot, reminded me a bit of The Master and Margarita, but there is less mystery about it here. The archeology as well as the history was interesting. As for the longing to be in when you are a newcomer, I can sympathise with that. But in the end, I found the final developments gripping but ultimately unconvincing, and that spoilt the book for me at least.

[fluffyblue_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book draws you in slowly. I kept thinking about putting it to one side for the first few 'chapters', finding it hard to understand and having little interest/sympathy for the main character. Slowly the characters seep into your brain and you find yourself wanting to keep reading to find out what happens next.In the end, I really enjoyed reading this intelligent novel.

[daniellnic · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Having fled his hometown, school and his spectacularly failed marriage, Ben Mercer has retreated to the tiny town of of Metamorphosis, Greece, where he whiles away the hours living simply as a grill worker in a meat shop and working on his thesis on the peculiarities of ancient Sparta and the customs and psychology of ancient Greeks. Metamorphosis is literally in the middle of nowhere, so Ben is surprised one day by the appearance of Eberhardt, an old classmate from university, who tells him that he is working on an archaeological dig in Sparta. Eberhardt then disappears before Ben can chat with him further and without saying goodbye.

Intrigued, Ben makes a few inquiries and gets himself assigned to the same dig in Sparta, as much to figure out why Eberhardt was so cagey as to further escape the dismal possibilities of his current situation. Ben isn’t welcomed when he gets there. Eberhardt remains aloof and the other archaeologists to whom he seems closely bound show Ben even less interest, which is what make them so interesting to Ben, that and the fact that they seem to have ulterior moves and share a dark secret.

When I initially began reading The Hidden, I enjoyed it very much and was (as I remain) impressed with the beauty and expressiveness of Hill’s prose. I was immediately drawn in to what seemed to me the story of a man who is trying to come to terms with the reprehensible behavior that ruined his marriage, separating him from the wife and child whom he loved deeply. His writing on his thesis, conversations with co-workers on modern Greek culture, and the ruminations which exposed the failings of his marriage were not the gripping mystery that had been promised in the jacket copy, but was a story in which I was deeply interested.

The episode, eventually uncovered, that led to the destruction of Ben’s marriage was unique and one that I would have liked to have seen explored in more detail. If I was reading uneasily it was because the book was supposed to be a thriller, and more than one hundred and fifty pages in I had seen neither hide nor hair of one, and thought that the novel, to its disservice, had been poorly marketed.

Firmly into the second half, though, the novel begins to go astray. Several players are introduced at once and the conversations they have are a jumbled mess of long sentences, where no page breaks or quotation marks make it exceedingly hard to figure out who has said what. The story that had been building throughout the first half of the novel all but completely disappears, and I felt as if I had been dropped into a completely different book, with characters who were alien and a little flat. The mystery, which might have had legs if integrated into the story earlier, was anti-climactic by the time it made it’s way into the last seventy five pages of the novel.

Hill is a talented writer and I loved one of the stories that he was trying to tell. The thesis portion of the novel was interesting but ultimately seemed unconnected to the book, while the last section fragmented what he had been building. There was simply too much going on, but not enough to tie it all together and make it compelling. Contributing to this was the fact the book description totally mismanaged my expectations. I’m definitely curious to see what Hill might write next, but would proceed with extreme caution.

[jeffreymarks · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Beautiful language, but the pace is incredibly slow.

[parthurbook · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One of those books for which the idea, the intellect, the quality of writing and the reviews are all more positive than the actual experience of reading it. Vast tracts in the middle section drag, while the central character's 'big decision' doesn't appear until page 400 of a 470 page novel. Wants to be a thriller and a meditation (like 'The Magus') - but by the final page has fallen between two stools. Hill is a writer of considerable merit, but this isn't his best work.

[tinwara · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Ben Mercer, a 25 year old graduate student from Oxford, escapes England after a painful divorce. For a student of the classics, Greece is a logical destination. After a few weeks of work in a grill-restaurant in the Athens suburb of Metamorphosis, Ben learns of an archaeological dig going on in Sparta and joins the team. The atmosphere in the team is secretive, and Ben slowly sets out to find out what's going on. That's the short summary. Telling more would probably give away too much of the suspense, as that it what kind of novel this finally is: a suspense novel.There were several things which I really liked about this book. One is the setting: Greece, and the way Tobias Hill mixes up ancient history and the more recent history of Greece with the story which is set in present time. I also liked the language, which is poetic and original. The descriptions of the places, whether they are towns like Sparta or the grill-restaurant in Metamorphosis are vivid and sometimes almost like a poem: more into the atmosphere than in the actual physical description. I enjoyed reading those.However. There are some aspects to this book that made it less pleasant to read than I would have wished. My main problem with the book is in its characters. It seems like Mr Hill is not so very interested in his characters, which leaves them dead to me as a reader. Ben Mercer is like an empty vessel, just observing and watching , without any development. An outsider could be an interesting character, however Ben is just a no-person. The same goes for the team at the dig. This consists of caricatures: a very beautiful woman, another very beautiful woman, a grumpy Georgian, a lad from London and an intellectual from Oxford. They don't come to live at all. Why would one of the beautiful women fall for Ben? What do they share? I didn't get a clue. Why did the group want to hang out with Ben at all? A second problem is in the credibility of the storyline. To me the story lost its credibility at the so called secret of the group. Why would a group so diverse as the digging team share this secret anger against a regime that is no more and doesn't have anything to do with their own country, and more than that, has more parallels than not with the former Spartan culture? Can't say too much about that here, but this turn of the plot was not only unexpected but also improbable. Why didn't the group talk about politics at all, why did they initiate Ben in rituals, but not in conviction? I have a lot of questions for Mr Hill. I feel that this book has potential, but has been published too early in the writing process.

[sarazet · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

No doubt this is a well-written story, but I just can't stand the protagonist. He's weak and desperate, and all we get to do is watch him sink into the sad results of his character flaws. Plus, I really wanted this to be more about archaeology than it was. Not the book's fault, but still.

[neddieb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The FInal book in this series was not a disappointment!

[lrhubble · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Contemporary, Sleepy HollowAbbey knows that her destiny is with Caspian. Their bond goes beyond even death. Abbey is finally learning the full truth of what ties them together and to the town of Sleepy Hollow. She now has some very difficult decisions to make. Caspian is the love of her life but is that love worth dying for? Abbey is going to have to decide just what is most important to her as she learns about the dark fate that links her with Caspian. This is a wonderful ending to this trilogy. It ties up all the threads that tied this trilogy together with a very satisfying ending. Readers will not be disappointed with the way this series wraps up. This story is just as much a page turner as the first two book proved to be. This whole series puts a great spin on the Legend of Sleepy Hollow and brings it to life in a way that will have readers mourning the ending of this trilogy. This is a young adult series that is sure to please any reader that picks it up and is definitely worth reading especially given the popularity of the show Sleepy Hollow.

[sensitivemuse · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I loved The Hollow and The Haunted. Both stories were well written with rich detailed settings, beautiful descriptions, and the characters were also very well done. Overall those two books were excellent. So. Of course my expectations for The Hidden were high as I assumed it would be just as awesome as the first two.Okay. So the romance between Abbey and Caspian was beautifully written. They were just about perfect together. They had the chemistry going and Caspian was such a sweetheart (the tuxedo moment anyone?). It was like the ideal boyfriend that just about every girl would love to have.Now we get to the sticky parts. I’m not sure what was going on in the third and final book but why was there so many new elements introduced??? it just seems a bit late to be introducing these new plot hooks and characters isn’t it? why wasn’t this in at least the second book and not crammed all in the conclusion? It just seems like these new characters were created just for the sake of convenience. ((Warning, spoiler ahead. Stop if you haven’t read the book yet))Then we come down to the part where it really gets a bit ugly. Abbey had everything going for her. EVERYTHING. Except of course choosing between the boyfriend and a life owning your own store with massive opportunities ahead. I can’t say agree with her choice. Seriously? I understand you love the guy so much and you’d do anything to be with him (literally...like dying). Is that really a wise choice? Sure Caspian’s a great guy but to throw away all that, die just to be with him? I was at a massive mind blowing standstill between the feeling of: ‘did that just really happen?’ ‘you seriously chose to die to be with your boyfriend?’ and then the feeling of: ‘I can’t believe you did this, what the...MOTHER FATHER GENTLEMAN, did you actually do what you just did’ to slapping the book closed and cursing for a good solid few minutes non stop. No I did not agree with her choice. And this is why I’m starting to hate it when a series is about to wrap themselves up. Everything is rushed just to finish this book, slap in some strange new elements and rush everything in the last novel only to end it this way. Gee. Thanks for making me wait for an ending that feels like a giant slap in face when I greatly enjoyed the first two books. why have endings to such great trilogies become so…..bad????

[belleofthebook_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Hollow started off as riveting and exciting, though I didn't exactly buy the connection between Caspian and Abbey in the beginning. I raced through it, but once I hit the second book in the series, The Haunted, I almost came to a screeching halt. My interest was all but lost, but I just had one more book to read before I was finished with the series. I approached The Hidden with trepidation, but I'm glad I decided to indulge in the final book of the trilogy. There were many questions hanging in the balance and while I felt like there were some continuity issues, I think The Hidden was the strongest of the series. The bond between Caspian and Abbey finally grew to a believable level, though I'm not sure they were completely developed. I wish there had been more of a backstory to all the Revenants and a little more insight into Nicholas and Katy because I felt like those were interesting aspects, but perhaps that would have taken away from the main story arc? If anything, it likely would have strengthened it. And Cyn, I would like to have learned more of her history as well. Overall, I don't think the ending was as tidy as it could have been. I suppose it all worked out for everyone involved, but I felt the details were just too lacking. Not a bad series to read, but I'm placing it somewhere in the middle.

[ebbith0115 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the ending. It's a great book.

[bookswithbite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is another series that I have followed from the beginning and sad to see it go. I knew that once I read it, I would be happy to finally know how it all ends.So the story line pretty much picks up from right where it left off. More secrets are revealed, motives are now known, and it times to make some big decisions. At this point of the story, my heart was in my throat. I was so nervous, yet excited to see how it will finally end. Ms. Verday close up all loose ends answering any questions the reader has.The love story is still very much intact and growing. I loved that Caspian and Abbey have a love that goes beyond time. A love that is fresh and beautiful. Now the big question, was I happy with the ending? Yes and no. Why? Well I was happy cause everyone got their happy ending. What I didn't like is, I was hoping it would end differently. But still, I am happy that it did end on a good note.This is one great series! Full of magical worlds, mysterious creatures, and love that is pure, The Hollow is where I want to live.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"The Hollow" was seriously one of the most compelling YA books I have ever read. The follow up "The Haunted" moved along the relationship between grieving Abby and ghostly Caspian. The concluding book of the trilogy "The Hidden" resolves all the issues posed in the first two novels and closes this haunting and romantic tale. I feel very strongly about this series and I am trying very hard to not give a single thing away. This was an over 300 page book that I flew through in less than a day. The love story was beautifully portrayed here. I believe in the love between our main characters and the pain of not being able to touch each other was beyond heartbreaking. This book starts shortly after "The Haunted" and Abby's family is trying to come to terms with the 'break in' that happened previously. Vincent is moving up his game and he wants Abby. The Revenants have a major presence in this installment and I have mixed feelings about that group. I want to say that I both liked and disliked how this story ended. It seems very fitting and there was a nice little twist at the end involving Kristen. I didn't like the place this story left Abby's parents and not hardly a word was mentioned dealing with that aspect. There were a couple things I just didn't buy. There is a new character brought in for a particular purpose and I just hate when that happens at the end of a series. We aren't invested in this character and the whole involvement of this character just felt off. While the actual resolution of the book was mostly satisfying, I thought the climax was, well a little anti-climactic. It could have and should have been expanded on. That said, I couldn't possible give this book less than four stars. It is truly a beautiful and magical story. It is one of the most realistic and beautiful of the Young Adult romances...I truly buy the love here. Also, the overall arc dealing with Kristen's death was an amazing portrayal of friendship's love and grief. I mourned right along with Abby these last couple years. If you haven't been swept into this world yet, I urge you to read these books. They are quality and they are fun reading. Just the tie-ins to "Sleepy Hollow" alone is reason to read, and yet there is so very much more here to discover. I will seek out anything the author presents in future.