Audiobook Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

Audiobook Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline KepnesHidden Bodies (You, #2) by Caroline Kepnes
Narrator: Santino Fontana
Series: You #2
Published by Simon & Schuster Audio on February 23rd 2016
Genres: Fiction, Psychological, Suspense, Thrillers
Format: Audiobook
Length: 13 hrs.
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
four-half-stars
Also by this author: You

Hidden Bodies marks the return of a voice that Stephen King described as original and hypnotic, and through the divisive and charmingly sociopathic character of Joe Goldberg, Kepnes satirizes and dissects our culture, blending suspense with scathing wit.

Joe Goldberg is no stranger to hiding bodies. In the past 10 years, this 30-something has buried four of them, collateral damage in his quest for love. Now he's heading west to Los Angeles, the city of second chances, determined to put his past behind him.

In Hollywood, Joe blends in effortlessly with the other young upstarts. He eats guac, works in a bookstore, and flirts with a journalist neighbor. But while others seem fixated on their own reflections, Joe can't stop looking over his shoulder. The problem with hidden bodies is that they don't always stay that way. They reemerge like dark thoughts, multiplying and threatening to destroy what Joe wants most: true love. And when he finds it in a darkened room in Soho House, he's more desperate than ever to keep his secrets buried. He doesn't want to hurt his new girlfriend - he wants to be with her forever. But if she ever finds out what he's done, he may not have a choice....

I couldn’t look away from last year’s unsettling You, the Caroline Kepnes book that introduced Joe Goldberg, the serial killing bookseller. In Hidden Bodies, Joe’s back to try to find love (and to add to his body count) in this darkly entertaining and macabre sequel. This book had me on edge from start to finish, but I couldn’t help but root for this anti-hero to find his HEA. I need a Hidden Bodies support group!

In You, Joe Goldberg took his obsession with Guinevere Beck to deadly heights, and last we saw him he found a new love interest to stalk. Burned yet again, he takes his obsession for revenge on the road to Los Angeles to search for Amy Adam, the girl who stole his heart along with his books.

So, in Hidden Bodies Joe moves to Hollywood, blocks away from the street I grew up on. He references familiar landmarks like Counterpoint bookstore, La Poubelle, Birds, and the 101 Coffee Shop- I loved that- even though it made my skin crawl that book-Joe was so close by. New York native Joe struggles with the LA lifestyle but soon his quest to find Amy leads him to embrace the city and a new target…

Joe just wants someone to love, and good luck to anyone who gets in his way. He’s smart and has no patience for people who underestimate him. He gets in with an upscale crowd when he meets Love, an organic grocery chain heiress. Could things be finally going Joe’s way?

The secondary characters like Love’s brother Forty, a nosy cop, and a gossipy neighbor provide interest and keep the tension levels high. With the skeletons in Joe’s closet, he’s always looking over his shoulder and trying not to make any (more) mistakes.

hidden bodies narrator santino fontana
Hidden Bodies Narrator Santino Fontana (Photo credit: Audible)

Audiobook narrator Santino Fontana is back again to narrate Hidden Bodies. If you haven’t listened to his narration of You yet, you are missing out. He is perfectly cast in this series and hits all the right notes as the serial killer Joe. I looked Fontana up on IMDB because his voice sounded familiar and found that I know him from his roles in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (he plays Greg) and Frozen (he plays Hans.) I will never look at these characters the same way again! This is the perfect marriage of performer and role –and Fontana delivers a beautifully nuanced performance. I read the book in print before listening to the audiobook and that was also an enjoyable experience though I think Fontana’s performance really enhances the source material. I wonder if he’s in consideration for the potential Showtime series.

Listen to an excerpt:

I thought You worked great as a standalone but Hidden Bodies is the sequel I didn’t know I needed, and now I’m dying to know what happens next. There’s no third book listed on Goodreads, but I can’t imagine this is the end. This is one addictive series that is well worth your time.

Ornament

3 thoughts on “Audiobook Review: Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

  1. Laurie says:

    Couldn’t agree more!! The audio was pure GOLD!

  2. I loved the audio of You and have Hidden Bodies queued up ready to go once I finish my current audio book. I swear Fontana was so good as Joe, I wouldn’t want to meet him – it would creep me out.

  3. […] Reading Date reviews Hidden Bodies, by Caroline Kepnes, narrated by Santino […]

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