Hidden Bodies

Written by Caroline Kepnes

Published by Emily Bestler Books, February 23, 2016

My star rating: 4 stars

THE SYNOPSIS:

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: true love. 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… Find it on Goodreads

MY REVIEW:

Is it wrong to say that I was happy to be back in the head of a serial killer? Within just a few pages I was right back into sympathizing with his thoughts and feelings, laughing along with his twisted thoughts, and rooting for the guy that kills people.

After his relationship with his last girlfriend ended badly (understatement), Joe finds himself in a new relationship with a girl named Amy. Amy is someone that we met briefly in book one, and now she’s working with Joe at the book store. But Amy turns out to be someone Joe didn’t expect. He follows her to LA hoping for a change of pace, but it’s nothing like New York and the whole scene is a little unsettling. Not to mention, he can’t find “off the grid” Amy. He does, however, strike up relationships with quite a few different people and his outlook on LA begins to change. He finds Love…. no really, he meets a girl literally named Love, and he falls head over heels for her. Oh – and he starts killing people – which to a serial killer could most definitely lighten the mood! But there’s still a mug full of his urine left at Peaches house…

As with book 1 (You) this is told in the perspective of Joe himself in first person. So when he’s talking about following someone, he’s saying “you did this”. It gives the whole story a perspective that takes the creep factor up a couple notches. You’re going though the motions of his day literally inside his head and through his eyes. I think that this narrative was done just a little better in the first book, but all the same I still loved it in book 2!

Joe as a character is just so damn likeable! It’s so strange! You know he kills people so you should hate him, right? But as he’s explaining his thoughts and actions, you find yourself strangely understanding why he’s doing these things. Then you end up shaking your head at yourself because you’re sympathizing with a killer! He’s a physchopath so he explains things in a detached and unemotional way. Not to mention he’s just so brutal and crass about it all. Here’s an example that had me laughing so hard:

The place is a nice change of pace for me. I get off Facebook and look at pictures of my new home. There’s a pool – I could hold Amy under the water – and there is a hot tub – I could boil the bitch – and there is a game room – I could choke her with a pool stick – and it’s within walking distance of anything I could ever want. Including, of course, Amy.

But even after he says stuff like that I still like him! He’s a very smart and magnetic person and all the other characters in the book can’t help but like him too. On the outside he doesn’t look like a killer, he’s funny, and he knows just what to say and when to say it. Though honestly, the things he holds inside his head are what make you laugh even harder, and make you understand and sympathize even more. I kept rooting for his relationships, crossing my fingers for a career, and agreeing that certain people needed to be “out of the picture.”

His relationships are a bit different in book 2 opposed to book 1. In this book he actually finds more meaningful relationships and friendships and you hold out hope that he will somehow be happy. Though at the same time you don’t allow yourself to get attached to anyone because you never know if they’re going to screw Joe over and, well, he’s a serial killer – you know how things can end!

The pace in this one was generally steady, with only a few parts being slow and monotonous. I’m going to be honest, this book takes Joe’s story in many directions that I didn’t expect. I enjoyed it for the most part but there were times where his decisions made no sense to me and had me a bit annoyed. But, overall, this was one hell of an enjoyable and twisted read and I absolutely LOVED it!!! I hope there’s going to be a book 3 and we get more from Joe. Some new developments in this one could make for an interesting continuation! I need more from Caroline Kepnes!!! These books were just SO GOOD!!!

Until next time, happy reading!