No Hiding in Boise

By: Kim Hooper

Narrated by: Devon Sorvari, Stephanie Willing, Hillary Huber, Stephanie Einstein, Madeleine Maby, Nick Mondelli, Michael Brusasco, Patrick Lawlor, Adam Barr, Pete Cross, Neil Hellegers

Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's Summary

Angie is awakened by a midnight call from an officer with the Boise Police Department and thinks there must be a misunderstanding. The officer tells her that her husband was involved in a shooting at a local bar, but how can that be when her husband is sleeping right next to her? But when she turns to wake him, he isn’t there. 

Tessa is the 23-year-old bartender who escapes to a backroom storage closet during the shooting. When it comes to light that five people were killed, she is burdened with the question of why she survived. 

Joyce wakes up to a knock at her front door, a knock she assumes is her wayward son, Jed, who must have lost his keys. It’s not Jed, though. Two police officers tell her that Jed is dead, shot at a bar. Then they deliver even worse news: “We have reason to believe your son was the shooter.” 

So begins the story of three women tied together by tragic fate - a wife trying to understand why her now-comatose husband was frequenting a bar in the middle of the night, the young woman whom her husband was apparently pursuing, and a mother who is forced to confront the reality of who her son was and who she is.

©2021 Kim Hooper (P)2021 Dreamscape Media, LLC

fantastic audio involving contemporary issues

“No Hiding in Boise” is an outstanding novel examining the aftermath and ripple effects of mass shootings. I listened to the audio narrated Devon Sorvari, Stephanie Willing, Hillary Huber, and nine others. It sounds overwhelming in narrators, but the nine others are the victims who provide individual excerpts.

The three main narrators are Angie, Tessa, and Joyce. Angie begins the narration when the police call her at midnight to inform her that her husband has been shot and is in the hospital. Angie thought her husband was in bed with her, had no idea he was at a bar.

Tessa was the bartender at the bar where the shooting took place. When the shooting began, she was paralyzed by fear, and Kale, Angie’s husband, told her to run and hide. Tessa feels that Kale saved her.

Joyce, poor poor Joyce is the mother of the shooter, Jed. Jed is 28, lives with Joyce, and is an angry man. Joyce is the most sympathetic character for me. This is a mother to an adult man, who she knows isn’t happy, but didn’t see any indication that he would do this.

The story revolves around the three women and how they cope. As one can imagine, Joyce is horrified. She reflects, attempting to find what when wrong. A computer post begins about the shooting. In that, someone compares her to the mothers of the Columbine shooters. I personally felt that was wrong in that those were teen boys who had arsenals stored in their bedrooms and garage. Those mothers intentionally didn’t notice nor care. Those mothers are legally responsible for their teen children. Joyce allowed her young adult son to live in her house. No firearms were in his bedroom or garage. What Joyce could be found guilty of, is allowing a depressed son to live in her home. What parent hasn’t allowed that?

But I digress. I absolutely found this story fascinating. Author Kim Hooper disperses in her story, narratives from the victims and wounded survivors. These narratives added dimension to the story.

There are a couple of plot twists that increases the psychological depth. Given our unfortunate time in America with regard to mass shootings, I found this to be timely and fascinating. Mental health is a true issue in these shootings and as a culture, we need to address how we can proactively reduce the risks. Anger issues also come into play. In America, if you cut someone off, you risk being shot at as evidenced recently in California. As a society we are an angry group.

There are so many layers that go into play with shootings. It’s not just gun laws we need to examine. We need to examine all the issues.

I highly recommend this audio. I assume the books would be just as grand. I felt the different narrators did add impact. This audio will stay with me for a long time!

Consequences

A compelling story examine the consequences of random acts. The characters and shifting POV build suspense and compassion for all of the victims. Maybe there were a few too many coincidences as the story built to the finale, but I’m willing to accept that because the story is so good. ❤️ this book.

Too Simplistic

The concept of this novel is so intriguing, but the main characters are lacking of any emotional depth, and I find the story’s potential is buried beneath the author’s bitter tone towards men in general…. It’s literally chapter after chapter peppered with slights and jabs at men who obviously operate on a single tiny little brain cell. The fact that chapters are told from alternating points of view, men included, makes it far, far less tolerable than if it was just one or two vindictive character. Even if the main characters were interesting to me, this invalidated POV would be challenging, but alas, despite being the supposed superior and deeper of the sexes, all 3 mains are flat and dull and I simply couldn’t care less what happens to any of them at this point, so DNF. 3 hours was already far too generous, I have none left to offer to this self-validating dribble.

Interesting to hear all POV's

This was an interesting way to show how an awful event affects so many different people.
To hear from those who survived is pretty normal, but to hear from the shooter's mom was very emotional.
I also enjoyed hearing a little bit about the lives of those that didn't survive. The author did a great job of throwing us into their lives and seeing the normal things that they were doing that led them to the bar.
I don't know how much time the author spent in Boise, but she got the places right, and the performers said Boise correctly, which is a huge bonus!

Emotional and thought provoking

I loved having all the different voices for each character, the perspectives of this tragedy and it’s aftermath.
The story was moving and especially the voice of the mother of the shooting I found surprisingly relatable. While it does touch on the reality of the easy access of guns this is in no way an anti-gun story. It is so much more complex and has so many layers than that. I’m so glad I listened.