Nothing Hidden Ever Stays

by Hr Mason

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Nothing Hidden Ever Stays through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Nothing Hidden Ever Stays is the debut novel of H.R. Mason, and is a dramatic and horrifying thriller. This novel combines thriller elements with the concept of an old curse, ghost stories, and a hauntingly dark past.
Aubrey Ross grew up thinking she had no family. Only to inherit a mansion of a home when the last of a family she never knew she had passed away. But there are times when one should be careful about gifts from unexpected corners. You see, the home Aubrey inherited is haunted. Rossdale may look large and lovely – but there is something dark and sinister lurking in the shadows of this home.
Aubrey is a character hardened by her past. She's learned not to open herself up to the world, so as to prevent herself from further pain. That is until she met Hank Metzger. He's the town sheriff, and the first person to touch her heart in years.
Together these two must navigate a ghost story so much bigger than just the two of them. But how far down the rabbit hole does this story go?

“Everything is yours. Inside that envelope is the paperwork you'll need to claim. Desolate Ridge, your ancestral estate. You own it. All of it.
Desolate Ridge? What kind of name is that?”

Warnings: Nothing Hidden Ever Stays contains within it a ton of female-targeted violence. The haunted tales of the Rossdale Home are full of violent deaths for the women that lived there. It can get a bit much, emotionally, at times. There's also a lot of subtext about control, and even some concerns about mental health (being the cause for all of the violence).

Nothing Hidden Ever Stays was exactly as dark and foreboding as I had hoped and expected. Aubrey's journey was a harrowing one, to say the least. This was not a tale for the faint of heart.
All that being said, I don't think this thriller was for me. I can acknowledge that it was well written, but I just didn't enjoy it that much. Personally, I found myself getting really tired of the repeated scenes of violence against the women of Rossdale. It just became a bit too much by the end. I'm sure other readers know what I mean when I say that.
Did this novel have potential? Absolutely. And for a debut novel, it was pretty solid. I'd be curious to see how H.R. Mason is doing, once they've gotten a few more books under their belt.

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