Hidden - (A Lost and Found Novel) by Fern Michaels (Paperback)

Hidden by Fern Michaels is the first A Lost and Found Novel. Cullen and Luna Bodman are opening a restoration shop and café in the new Stillwell Art Center built by Ellie Stillwell. Cullen gets a new table in, and Luna has a feeling about it. Rowena and Arthur Millstone are sure their father wrote a new will before his death, but they have not been able to find it. They want to locate it and destroy it before it comes to light. Luna has worked with U.S. Marshall Christopher Gaines in the past. They are attracted to each other, but neither has made a move. I liked the sound of Hidden with the mystery and the hint of paranormal. In reality, Hidden seemed more like a romance novel with a little “mystery” thrown in (if you can call it that). The paranormal element is talked about, but there is little evidence of it. The author described things in detail (do I really need to know each detail about what a person is wearing including their perfume). We are given in depth background details on Cullen, Luna, and Ellie plus other characters. There is repetition of information. There is one bit that seemed like it was copied from one chapter to the next. Rowena and Arthur are caricatures of bad, rich people. The romance between Christopher Gaines and Luna was awkward and reminded me of a teenager romance (now that I think about it, the whole book is reminiscent of a young adult novel). Luna bumbles and babbles whenever she is around Gaines. Her knees go weak (I am not kidding) and Luna’s face turns red. There are uncomfortable phone calls, texts, and in-person encounters between the pair (made me wonder if we had time traveled back to high school). The “mystery” is no mystery. It was laid out from the beginning. It is obvious how the story will play out from the start. The first half of the book is telling us about the characters, the new art center, and what the bad guys want and how much money they spend. I know we need to be introduced to the characters, but it seemed like it just kept going on and on. There is some action near the end of the book and then it wraps up with a tidy ending. If Hidden had been done differently, it could have been an interesting story. As you can tell, I was disappointed. While Hidden was not for me, I suggest you obtain a sample to see if the book suits you. We each have different reading tastes. The best thing I can say about Hidden is that I finished it (I desperately wanted to DNF it, but I never do that).

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