The Hiding Place

by David Bell

Overview

Twenty-five years after a child's murder shocks a small Ohio town, new evidence forces everyone to question what they believe in this tense thriller from the bestselling author of Bring Her Home and Cemetery Girl.

Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her four-year-old brother in the park. Now, with the twenty-fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions. Could the man convicted of the murder—who spent more than two decades in prison—really be innocent?

Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth. 

Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451237965
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/02/2012
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	180,937
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

David Bell is a bestselling and award-winning author whose work has been translated into six languages. He’s currently an associate professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He received an MA in creative writing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a PhD in American literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. His novels include Bring Her Home, Since She Went Away, Somebody I Used to Know, The Forgotten Girl, Never Come Back, The Hiding Place, and Cemetery Girl.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“[Bell] writes with a clarity of both vision and purpose; and his characters are eerily familiar because they are just like you and me.”—Thomas F. Monteleone, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Fearful Symmetries

Praise for Cemetery Girl

"Cemetery Girl is a smasher. It twists and turns and never lets go, and...it could happen just this way."
—Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End

"Cemetery Girl is more than just an utterly compelling thriller—and it certainly is that. David Bell's stellar novel is also a haunting meditation on the ties that bind parent to child, husband to wife, brother to brother­—and what survives even under the most shattering possible circumstance. An absolutely riveting, absorbing read not to be missed."
—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author of Darkness, My Old Friend

"Trust me: you have never read a missing persons story like this one....A fast, mean head trip of a thriller that reads like a collaboration between Michael Connelly and the gothic fiction of Joyce Carol Oates, Cemetery Girl is one of those novels that you cannot shake after it's over. A winner on every level."
—Will Lavender, New York Times bestselling author of Dominance

"Cemetery Girl grabbed me by the throat on page one and never let up. An intense, unrelenting powerhouse of a book, and the work of a master."
—John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author of Damage

"A smart, tense, creepy take on the story of a missing daughter, told by her far-from-perfect father. If you think you know this tale—from all- too-familiar newspaper accounts, from lesser movies and books—then this terrific novel will make you think otherwise."
—Brock Clarke, national bestselling author of Exley and An Arsonist's Guide to Writers' Homes in New England

Reading Group Guide

INTRODUCTION

Twenty–five–years ago, the disappearance of four–year–old Justin Manning rocked the small town of Dove Point, Ohio. After his body was found in a shallow grave in the woods two months later, the repercussions were felt for years..

Janet Manning has been haunted by the murder since the day she lost sight of her brother in the park. Now, with the twenty–fifth anniversary of Justin’s death looming, a detective and a newspaper reporter have started to ask questions, opening old wounds and raising new suspicions. Could the man convicted of the murder—who spent more than two decades in prison—really be innocent? Janet’s childhood friend and high school crush, who was in the park with her that day, has returned to Dove Point, where he is wrestling with his own conflicted memories of the events. And a strange man appears at Janet’s door in the middle of the night, claiming to know the truth.

Soon, years of deceit will be swept away, and the truth about what happened to Janet’s brother will be revealed. And the answers that Janet has sought may be found much closer to home than she ever could have imagined.

ABOUT DAVID BELL

David Bell is currently an assistant professor of English at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He received an MA in creative writing from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and a PhD in American literature and creative writing from the University of Cincinnati. He has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize twice. His previous novel is Cemetery Girl.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

There are a number of parent–child relationships in The Hiding Place. What is the nature of these relationships? Do any of them seem healthier than others?

If you are a parent, how do you feel about the decision to leave Janet in charge of her little brother on the day he disappeared? Is there ever a time when this is okay? Was this fair to Janet?

Janet is haunted by and feels guilty about the disappearance and death of her brother. Do you think this contributes to her intense desire to believe that the man on the porch is really her brother as an adult?

Everyone in the story has a secret he or she is keeping. Why do people who are close to one another—people who are even in the same family and intimately related—so often keep secrets from one another?

Are the men in the story—Bill Manning, Michael Bower, Steven Kollman, Frank Stynes—less capable of dealing with their emotional pain and torment than the women? Do any of the men deal with their emotions better than the others?

In many ways, Ashleigh is the most physically courageous character in the story. Is that just because she’s young, or is something else driving her to do the things she does?

Ashleigh is withdrawn from her mom emotionally, but she also possesses an intense desire to make her mother happy, even going so far as to risk her own safety to do so. Is this typical teenage behavior? Why or why not?

Discuss Janet’s complicated feelings for Michael. Does she really care for him, or does she just intensely associate him with her past? Or does Michael simply represent the freedom Janet has never had?

Like Janet, Detective Stynes feels guilt and regret over events in the past. Why is Stynes attempting to finally deal with these things? Why couldn’t he do it right the first time?

Why is Steven Kollman so drawn to Janet? Do you sympathize with him at all or understand why he approaches Janet the way he does?

Discuss Dante Rogers. Do you feel any sympathy for him? Is it possible for him to ever have a normal life? Will he ever get over or deal with the inappropriate feelings he has toward young children?

How do you think the Manning family will move on after the end of the book?

Will Janet ever see Michael or her mother clearly, especially after what she learns about them at the end of the book?

Whom do you blame the most for what happened to Justin—Michael or Ray Bower? Why?

Why is the book called The Hiding Place?

Editorial Reviews

Bell follows his 2011 debut, Cemetery Girl, with an artfully constructed tale that charts the devastating, life-changing effects over 25 years on the people most affected by the murder of a four-year-old boy, Justin Manning, in Dove Point, Ohio. Justin’s sister, Janet, and playmate Michael Bower, then seven-year-olds, were supposed to look after Justin in the park where he disappeared. A 17-year-old black boy, Dante Rogers, was arrested for the crime, tried as an adult, and served 22 years in prison. When the local newspaper revisits the killing, so perforce do Janet; her father, Bill Manning; her 15-year-old daughter, Ashleigh; and Det. Frank Stynes, who was part of the original investigation. Bower’s return to Dove Point and a stranger hinting at new knowledge about Justin’s death prove to be catalysts for a total re-examination. The quiet dignity of Rogers, the secrets the Mannings buried with Justin, and the conscience-clearing efforts of Stynes make for a powerful, provocative novel. Agent: Laney Katz Becker, Markson Thoma Literary. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Hiding Place

“An artfully constructed tale that charts the devastating, life-changing effects over twenty-five years on the people most affected by the murder of a four-year-old boy….a powerful, provocative novel.”—Publishers Weekly

“David Bell does a masterful job of crafting a crime story, with the guilty and innocent existing next to each other, whether they realize it or not. He has also created a tense drama of emotions and relationships. It is a riveting book with surprising but believable twists on every page.”—Suspense Magazine

“A gem of a book….Bell has written another winning thriller that is certain to entertain, frighten and swiftly climb bestseller lists.”—Bowling Green Daily News

More Praise for David Bell

“One of the brightest and best crime fiction writers of our time.”—Suspense Magazine

“A natural storyteller and a superb writer.”—#1 New York Times Bestselling Author Nelson DeMille

“David Bell writes spellbinding and gripping thrillers that get under your skin and refuse to let go."—New York Times Bestselling Author Linwood Barclay

From the Publisher