These Things Hidden

By: Heather Gudenkauf

Narrated by: Ali Ahn, Angela Lin, Angela Goethals

Author Heather Gudenkauf won instant acclaim for her USA Today and New York Times best-selling debut, The Weight of Silence.

Once the golden child of tiny Linden Falls, Iowa, Allison Glenn watches her reputation crumble as she is sent to prison for five years—convicted of a terrible crime. But what really happened that fateful night? Allison’s younger sister is the only other person who knows the truth. Now out of prison, Allison is more desperate than ever to set the record straight, but the revelation of the truth could have far-reaching consequences.

©2011 Heather Gudenkauf (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

A great listen

Wonderful story. Great narrators. Interesting characters. I couldn't put it down. You will not be disappointed.

Pure Drivel--Beware!

I can't believe I got through the entire book, but I did. So much drivel! The story line is so implausible and unbelievable. Coincidences abound and I kept shaking my head in disbelief. The writing is very simple and filled with minutiae. Action is sorely missing from this book until the very end and that action was so ridiculous I would have preferred to do without it.

The characters were not well-developed, and their behaviors had almost no explanation or basis. Too many of them were unlikeable or downright unpleasant. And following the old trite pattern, the parents of the adult characters must be evil and hateful.

As for the narration, it was passable but not exceptional.

With all these complaints, I managed to stick with the book and finish it in a few days. My recent listen of another of this author's books left me with the feeling it was messed up by the narration. I cannot, however, blame a bad narration for my dislike of this book. I am thinking that Heather Gudenkauf is not my cup of tea. I won't be purchasing any more of her stories.

A Twist I Actually Didn't See Coming!

Where does These Things Hidden rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I think the book was harder for me to get into due to the Audio book. At first, I wasn't fond of the voice of the girl who was doing some of the parts, but eventually I got over it and started really wanting to listen more and more. I still hated the voice imitations she'd do for the five-year-old in the story up until the end, I also didn't care for Charm's voice, but the rest were fine.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not really... It took me a long time to get into, it was only as we reached the climax that I wanted to keep listening.

Psychological Mystery for Kind Hearts

I started listening to this one and couldn't stop. I like Heather Gudenkauf's writing, her depth of perception, and her intuition. She has a way of picking out the wounded in this world and rooting for them, despite the horrible things that have been done to them, and shows us that light that is hidden deep within them. She shows us the selfish, all-wrapped-up-in-themselves people, too, and what they do to those around them. I am never disappointed with the outcome of her stories. If you are a thinker and want to see below the surface, you will love These Things Hidden.

3 stars for story

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

not really, though i was able to finish this one.
I wonder how young the author was when she wrote this book... book didnt start getting good until the end -- the very end :-(

What do you think your next listen will be?

Sue Grafton needs to hurry up with next release...

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

nothing. i could do better

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

A little hard to follow all the characters

I think this would have been better as a book I read rather than an audiobook. The constant changing of characters telling the story from their POV was a tad confusing. It also jumps back and forth between past and present. Lots of ladies doing dumb things that has a trickle down effect to others in their lives. It wasn't too difficult to figure out some aspects of the twists and there were enough red flags all through the book. Still, it was an interesting story.

Good Bone Structure, But Needs Some Meat

The story concept of a teenage girl convicted of killing her newborn daughter who was presumed to be already dead had promise. Even the setup of the dysfunctional extended families was there for the taking.

In the end, though, the author went almost totally in a straight line with the one storyline. The foreshadowing used was quickly answered every time, minimizing the mystery. The one shock reveal near the end of the book was good, and the way the story was revealed in pieces by four characters helped it to be a near-total surprise.

The readers did a very good job in keeping my interest, even though it was a slow-paced story. In my opinion, their work pulled my overall story rating up a full star.

In all, These Things Hidden is an enjoyable story, worth a read or a listen. Just don't expect it to be nuanced with deep hidden meanings.

Great book!

Very suspenseful, I loved not being able to predict what happened next, it had me guessing the whole time. Definitely a great read/listen.

These things hidden

Started out strong and full of mystery, but got a little slow in the middle. The ending was disappointing, but did leave a little surprise in its content.

For Teens

What did you like best about These Things Hidden? What did you like least?

I knew whodunnit long before it was finished.

Would you recommend These Things Hidden to your friends? Why or why not?

No. Too young. Not for adults looking for a more complex or exciting or scary story.

What about the narrators’s performance did you like?

All the readers were very good.

Any additional comments?

Not bad, but as I said-it's for teens.