Nowhere to Hide

By Nancy Bush

"Do unto others . . ." Carefully, he carves the words into their flesh. The victims are all young, brunette, pretty. But she's the one he really wants. The others are just a way to case the rage that has festered for years, until the only thing that calms him is the knife slicing through skin . . .

Detective September Rafferty-Nine to her friends-recognizes the artwork that arrives in the mail. She created it back in second grade. Now a killer's words are slashed across it in what looks like blood. He knows her. September's investigation leads to her cold classmate, Jake Westerly. She wants to believe Jake is innocent. But trusting anyone could be her last mistake . . .

Every slight, every slur, he remembers them all. They turned him into a monster, and now they will suffer for it. Starting with September, he'll show them that the past can never stay hidden, and the time of vengeance is at hand . . .

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Oct 2, 2014
• ISBN: 9781447278924

Nancy Bush

Bestselling author Nancy Bush has had an eclectic writing career. She started her first story when she heard how young mothers were making money writing romance novels. She thought, "I can do that," and talked her sister, bestselling author, Lisa Jackson, into joining her in her foray into writing. Nancy began her career in the romance genre, writing both contemporary and historical novels, but being a mystery buff, she kept trying to add suspense into the plot, as much as her editors would allow. In 2002 she was chosen by ABC Television to be part of a writing group "think tank" which was tasked with developing story for ABC's daytime dramas. She was one of two people selected from that group to actually become a breakdown writer for, at the time, one of ABC's top-rated daytime shows: All My Children. Nancy made the move to New York to join the AMC team while she was writing for the soap. That was an experience, she admits. Ask her, and she'll swear that the pressure cooker of delivering story every day - lots and lots of story -- helped focus her writing. When Nancy returned to her home state of Oregon she channeled that newfound energy into writing the kind of books she's always loved: mysteries. She is the author of the gripping mystery novels Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Huide, Nowhere Safe, You Can't Escape and I'll Find You. Like her sister Lisa, she's now a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, both in her co-writing ventures and on her own merits as well.

Reviews for Nowhere to Hide

[carol420 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Detective September "Nine" Rafferty, is seemingly the latest target of a serial killer when she receives a drawing she made in second grade with the words "Do Unto Others As She Did To Me" scrawled all over it. The same words that have been carved into the bodies of the last two victims, both who resemble her closely. During the course of the investigation, a third victim is found along with a link to Nine's past - Jake Westerly.

Jake and "Nine" pick up their relationship which is a good thing. The thing that annoyed me about this book and earned it 3 stars was the repetitiveness throughout the story line....things that didn't need to be repeated over and over. The basis of the story was good but I didn't find the investigation believable...and who remembers what they drew or did a report on in 2nd grade? Also the dysfunctional family scenes could have been cut down, although I wonder why the Raffety father's many wives hadn't killed him. Otherwise it had it's good points and is well worth reading.

[msromanticreads · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Detective September “Nine” Rafferty, is seemingly the latest target of a serial killer when she receives a drawing she made in second grade with the words ”Do Unto Others As She Did To Me” scrawled all over it. The same words that have been carved into the bodies of the last two victims, both who resemble her closely. During the course of the investigation, a third victim is found along with a link to Nine's past – Jake Westerly. Nine had a crush on Jake in high school, but he never paid her much attention, until he and his then girlfriend, Loni, broke up. One night together was all they had, but Nine's hopes for more were crushed when Jake went back to Loni.

Jake Westerly is back in town to check in with the family business, when he runs across Nine. It's not the reunion he had hoped for as he quickly learns that he's a person of interest in a murder case. Against her better judgment, Nine confides in him the personal twist in the case, and he not only becomes protective of her, he decides he's going to tag along and help her. He learns that the path to her heart is a rough one. One that may not lead to a future if they can't catch the killer closing in on her.

This was my first book by author Nancy Bush. The blurb absolutely caught my attention, and I was expecting the story to perhaps focus more on Nine and Jake's relationship, and the mystery/thriller part would flow alongside. The impression I was left with was the opposite. Nine is absolutely focused on her job, and she comes across as a little stiff (unless she has her repeating daydreams about that one night with Jake). Next to the wealth of information about the case, there's yet more information to digest about the highly dysfunctional Rafferty family. To put it into perspective, I counted around 30 characters, and those are the ones that I can remember. The character that really stood out was the villain. Sadly, most of the sex that happens in this book are his scenes.

I didn't find the chemistry between Nine and Jake believable. On their own, they were great characters, but together, not so much. Considering how much Jake had hurt her in her teenage years, she never once asked him whether or not the rumors that humiliated her were true. Jake didn't even take the first step and apologize. Perhaps he was too drunk back then to remember, but addressing the pink elephant in the room from either of them is something I expected to happen. Overall the story was good, but I was a little overwhelmed by too many characters and by the family drama playing off to the side. The ending sets up the next story, but I'm not sure if I would read it because it involves two characters I didn't really care about in this one.

Thank you to Kensington Books via NetGalley for the ARC.

Disclaimer: A review in exchange for the ARC was not promised. The views and opinions expressed in this review are my own, and in no way represent the views or opinions of the publisher/distributor.

[booksgaloreca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received this book as part of the early reviewers program. I found that it was an engaging read. Murder, suspense, & mystery with a bit of romance thrown in. It was a good fast read and I am looking forward to the next one in the series.

[twylyghtbay · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book and the prior book about September's brother, August. I don't know any adults who remember grade school projects as-well-as the characters in this book. It would be exceptionally creepy to all of a sudden receive childhood art from a local serial killer stalker, but then stalkers and serial killers are creepy by definition. I like the author and will read more of her books.

[cal8769 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Detective September Rafferty is drawn into a gruesome series of murders where the victims are carved with, 'Do unto others as she did to me'. Then September receives a childhood art project with the same phrase written on it. Is she next to die?This is my first Bush book and it didn't appeal to me. I'm not sure why. There seemed to be a back story that I missed, maybe this is a series. The plot seemed good but it didn't catch my attention. It seemed very far fetched that 30 year old people can remember the art projects that they did in 2nd grade. I was annoyed by some of the information that she added to the story that seemed useless while I had questions that weren't answered. I am going to give some more of her books a try. I hope this one was a fluke.

[mandolin_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I had a hard time staying interested in this book. I'm not sure if this is part of a series, but I felt like I was missing some back story on the main character, September. The pace wasn't as fast as I would have preferred, which isn't to say it was boring, but in this genre I like more action and less personal drama.