To Brooke, image is everything. She works hard to maintain perfect grades, perfect looks, a perfect life—especially after “the incident” that threatened it all. Getting into her dream university puts her that much closer to a fresh start. How can she say no to celebrating with all her classmates?
Hanging out with her crush by the bonfire is the perfect end to the night. Except it isn’t the end. An old truck starts aggressively tailing Brooke and her best friend on the isolated road toward home. Someone thinks they know the truth about “the incident,” and they won’t stop until it’s all out in the open. This terrifying drive is about to bring out Brooke’s worst fears … if she survives it.
No Place Left to Hide by Megan Lally is a fast-paced and twisty YA thriller that keeps readers on edge. The story follows Brooke Goodwin, a high school senior who has worked hard to maintain her reputation since an “incident” that threatened to take it all away. When she gets into her dream university, she agrees to celebrate with her classmates. Following the gathering, Brooke and her best friend are pursued by a menacing truck on a desolate mountain road. The mysterious driver claims to know the truth about the incident, and Brooke must confront her worst fears in order to survive.
This is Megan Lally’s follow-up to her wildly successful debut, That’s Not My Name. This book feels more YA as most of its characters are teens, but there is no shortage of suspense for adult readers. The story is told in Brooke’s POV in a dual timeline structure, alternating between the present (car chase) and mysterious events from months earlier. In the flashback chapters, readers discover something terrible happened at a party Brooke hosted at the start of senior year. The switching timelines slowly unveil the intricacies of Brooke’s character and the circumstances that have led to her current predicament.
Brooke is the epitome of an unreliable narrator—she’s unlikeable, irritating, and values her reputation above everything else. By the end, readers will see how far she is willing to go to protect her reputation. Her fear during the car chase is palpable. As the tension escalates, you’ll be furiously turning pages wanting to see how it all ends for her! There are quite a few side characters in the story, and some, including Brooke’s best friend, Jena, could have been better developed to make their actions believable.
The first thirty percent of the story has a high school “mean girls” vibe to it. There’s caddy, superficial dialogue and lots of talk of the “big party” everyone’s attending. Once Brooke and Jena leave the party and are pursued, the pacing becomes relentless, and the story gets much more thrilling. Seasoned thriller readers will find some of the twists predictable, but Lally throws in some clever detours that will have your heads spinning! By the end of it all, you’ll be thoroughly entertained and be left with some strong opinions of the characters—even those who are deemed as “heroes.” The last chapter is presented in mixed media format and feels a bit unfinished—it would have been beneficial to have included an epilogue for more character resolution after such dramatic scenes.
Overall, No Place Left To Hide is an action-packed revenge thriller that is most certainly binge-worthy! Readers who enjoy popcorn thrillers, teenage drama, unreliable narrators, and heart-pounding tension will love this book!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of No Place To Hide is an edge-of-your-seat listening experience, narrated by talented actress and narrator Justis Bolding. If you’ve listened to any of Bolding’s other audiobooks, you’ll know she’s a master of bringing young adult characters vividly to life. In this book, Bolding portrays protagonist Brooke with a lot of anxiety and emotional intensity—accurately capturing a character who’s being threatened and has a lot to lose!
Bolding paces the narration well and increases the pacing during the heated dialogue and thrilling car chase scenes. In particular, the confrontational scenes between Brooke and Claire (in the past timeline) are incredibly entertaining and keep readers fully engrossed in all the teenage drama. Bolding also gives distinct voices and personalities to all the characters, including some very realistic-sounding male voices—it’s easy to forget you’re only listening to a single narrator and not a multicast production!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality coupled with Bolding’s addictive and dramatic storytelling make the audiobook the recommended reading format for this book. For readers who love popcorn thrillers, unreliable narrators, and unstoppable audiobooks full of thrills and twists, this is a binge-worthy listen!
Narrator Performace
The audiobook of No Place To Hide is an edge-of-your-seat listening experience, narrated by talented actress and narrator Justis Bolding. If you’ve listened to any of Bolding’s other audiobooks, you’ll know she’s a master of bringing young adult characters vividly to life. In this book, Bolding portrays protagonist Brooke with a lot of anxiety and emotional intensity—accurately capturing a character who’s being threatened and has a lot to lose!
Bolding paces the narration well and increases the pacing during the heated dialogue and thrilling car chase scenes. In particular, the confrontational scenes between Brooke and Claire (in the past timeline) are incredibly entertaining and keep readers fully engrossed in all the teenage drama. Bolding also gives distinct voices and personalities to all the characters, including some very realistic-sounding male voices—it’s easy to forget you’re only listening to a single narrator and not a multicast production!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality coupled with Bolding’s addictive and dramatic storytelling make the audiobook the recommended reading format for this book. For readers who love popcorn thrillers, unreliable narrators, and unstoppable audiobooks full of thrills and twists, this is a binge-worthy listen!
The audiobook of No Place To Hide is an edge-of-your-seat listening experience, narrated by talented actress and narrator Justis Bolding. If you’ve listened to any of Bolding’s other audiobooks, you’ll know she’s a master of bringing young adult characters vividly to life. In this book, Bolding portrays protagonist Brooke with a lot of anxiety and emotional intensity—accurately capturing a character who’s being threatened and has a lot to lose!
Bolding paces the narration well and increases the pacing during the heated dialogue and thrilling car chase scenes. In particular, the confrontational scenes between Brooke and Claire (in the past timeline) are incredibly entertaining and keep readers fully engrossed in all the teenage drama. Bolding also gives distinct voices and personalities to all the characters, including some very realistic-sounding male voices—it’s easy to forget you’re only listening to a single narrator and not a multicast production!
Overall, this audiobook’s high production quality coupled with Bolding’s addictive and dramatic storytelling make the audiobook the recommended reading format for this book. For readers who love popcorn thrillers, unreliable narrators, and unstoppable audiobooks full of thrills and twists, this is a binge-worthy listen!
