Hidden Bodies (You #2)

Hidden Bodies (You, #2) by Caroline Kepnes
Series: You #2
Published by Atria/Emily Bestler Books on February 23rd 2016
Genres: Thriller, Psychological
Pages: 448
Format: Kindle Book
Source: Amazon Kindle

In the compulsively readable follow-up to her widely acclaimed debut novel, You, Caroline Kepnes weaves a tale that Booklist calls “the love child of Holden Caulfield and Patrick Bateman.”
Hidden Bodies marks the return of a voice that Stephen King described as original and hypnotic, and through the divisive and charmingly sociopathic character of Joe Goldberg, Kepnes satirizes and dissects our culture, blending suspense with scathing wit.
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: truelove. 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...

Hidden Bodies is my second read for Caroline Kepnes. If you have read “YOU” by Caroline Kepnes, which is the first book in “YOU” series, you will be probably very intrigued to read this book.

Joe Goldberg is back again in this fast paced thriller. The books takes right after where the previous book “You” has ended. Joe Goldberg is now deeply in love with Amy, his new girlfriend whom he met by the end of the previous book. He thinks that he has finally found his better half and living the best love story. However, things don’t turn up as he wished for. As usual, Joe can’t let things go wrong and he takes off to revenge and get things right. However, things keep getting complicated until ….. Actually, I don’t want to spoil this thriller for you. I’ll just let you read and enjoy.

This is a very gripping psychological thriller that will keep your interest right till the end. You don’t need to read “You” before delving into this one. However, I highly recommend you read it first because it gets you into the head of Joe Goldberg, the main character of the two books. Actually, this is where I find Caroline very talented. She could create a lively character that could breathe within the pages of the thriller.

Caroline Kepnes is one of the writers I enjoy their writing styles. Her beautiful writing style is becoming even better in her second book. She knows how to write beautifully and smoothly giving you the right amount of details in each page. You can just lose yourself into the book.

Caroline Kepnes proves for the second time to be a very talented writer. The thriller is fast paced and very suspenseful. However, this is not what makes it different. The real beauty of this book comes from the way Caroline could create a DNA for her main character Joe Goldberg. You can feel him and think like him. The character is very consistent through the two books. It’s always the very amazing Joe Goldberg. I have to admit that Caroline was very talented at creating this character. You have to like him. He can get you so annoyed by his troubled character. You can even hate him at times and feel disgusted. However, you still do like him. I have to admit that. I do like Joe Goldberg. He is also more than a fiction character. Caroline gave him life and voice through both books. You also understand what goes through his mind and even sympathize with his pains and sorrows at times. When I finished reading this book I thought to myself “How many Joe Goldberg are there in our daily whom we just don’t notice?”

I really loved and enjoyed Hidden Bodies. From my point of view, it is even better than the prequel thriller YOU. It proves that the success of the prequel YOU wasn’t just a stroke of luck. It was rather an emergence of a beautiful talent. I will be reading every book Caroline Kepnes writes from now on. I won’t even wait to read the synopsis of her new books. I prefer to delve into them blindly and enjoy the full ride.